When Stan and I started PS Audio back in 1974 we consisted of nothing more than the two of us. No employees, no helpers, nada.
And aside from hand building every single unit we sold there was also the task of answering customer questions. Those questions came in two forms: phone calls and letters. Mostly letters.
Each day we'd head out to the mailbox and return with a fistfull of envelopes. One of us would then spend the next few hours reading, writing, folding, stuffing, addressing, and the final flourish, the licking of the stamp.
Fast forward 50 years and the phones are still ringing but instead of licking stamps we are now clicking send.
It's interesting to me how much things have changed and yet how much is really still the same. When I remember back to those 'good old days' of envelopes and stamps, my little brain sighs and tells me how relaxed all that was compared to the hustle of today. No urgency, just a walk in the park at a leisurely pace.
Of course, as I've mentioned before, this is a total fallacy. Back then I was busier than a one legged man at an ass kicking contest. I didn't have time to tie my shoe.
In my memory the high-end music systems back then were extraordinary—at least they were compared to the consumer crap I was used to. I imagine they would not be so impressive today, not with all the progress and experience of what's come after.
Sometimes it feels like we're in an endless loop until you realize it's actually a never ending spiral.
Same but different.
