I looked back at the circumstances under which I acquired my L100s in 1970 to see what the equivalent sacrifice would require today. I paid $273 each, or $576 for the pair, plus Ohio sales tax which was I think a whopping 2% at the time.

I was a college student, working part-time during the school year, but working a pretty sweet job on the Penn Central Railroad during the summer. My part-time job paid $1.30/hr. The railroad gig netted me about $500 every two weeks, really good income for a college kid at the time.

Anyway, I had tuition, room and board, books, gas and insurance for the car (1963 1/2 Ford Galaxie 500 Fastback), etc., so my expenses were up there, and getting a real stereo was kind of a luxury. I did not live at home for free in the summer; my parents were divorced and I was on my own.

I saved up for three months in the summer before going in to Woodville Appliance to make a down payment to put the speakers on lay-away. Then I squeezed 20 to 30 bucks a month out of my budget to make payments. Finally, I got a second job working the night shift at a 7-Up distributor's warehouse loading trucks to pay off the final $80.

All-in-all I worked for eight months to buy those speakers. At the time I paid them off, I was working two jobs, going to college full-time, and paying all my expenses. The speakers took about 15% of my net income during that time. They've been paying me back ever since.

So if all things were equal today at my present income, if I set aside 15% of my net for eight months, I'd have enough to buy a complete Performance Series system, or some TiK gear. If I really went into austerity mode, I could get those K2s in a year. If I were 21, I probably would just do it.

Now I know some of us will put that 15% into retirement or whatever, but priorities, people! I had a nice awakening four years ago with a nasty heart attack, and I decided that the only time that matters is NOW. Sure, I put a few bucks aside in case I do live for a while but the truth is I want to live now. So I had no problem finding a way to cough up the bucks for a super deal on the Performance Series.

Five years ago I would have rationalized my way out of doing that.

I guess my point is that the Performance Series is no more economically challenging to purchase than those L100s thirty years ago. Those of us over 50 should consider that perhaps our commitment isn't what it used to be, and it's not all just JBL cheaping out and letting us down.