Stephen Mejias

I'm not even sure what holiday it was that kept us out of the office yesterday, but I am thankful for it. We can call it Tweak Day.

Long weekends are good for undressing audio gear, playing games with cables and interconnects, fooling around with speaker placement, and devouring instruction manuals. Who knew?

Have I mentioned that I hate instruction manuals? I do. (Usually.) But, this weekend, there was one that actually commanded my attention. In fact, it had me hotly... riveted. I might go so far as to say: I was engrossed, captivated, immersed, absolutely bathed in pine salts and drenched in rare scented oils, rapt in black silk and even doused by colorful flowers. Yes.

But before you get to the instruction manual, you have to open the box.

The heavy brown box that held the Moscode amp had been sitting in my kitchen, waiting patiently for me to cut through its clear tape with my Ginsu (as seen on TV) to release all of its tube magic. Had I only known. Had I even the slightest glimmer of just how much magic was waiting inside for me, I would have certainly sliced sooner. But like some distant star twinkling over the Lower East Side, I could hardly make it out. It took a long, holiday weekend. This holiday weekend — this Tweak Day weekend — offered me the time.

Beneath the two layers of brown box and clear tape, tucked away to one side of the protective foam, secured within a package of bubble wrap, and mated to a long, thin, cardboard case, was a very special letter. With the author's permission, I share it with you:

Dear Stephen, [How kind, I thought, in this day and night of text messaging and blogging.]

Thank you [thank me?] for accepting the Moscode 401HR amplifier for your first kiss in the world of tubes. [He reads the blog?!] I think you will be more than pleasantly surprised with her performance. She will be more than gentle with you. She will caress you with all her voluptuous sumptuous splendor. [Whoa.]

Part of the fun of tube audio is experimenting with tubes. [Part of the fun? But, George, I hate experimenting. I'm the Anti-Tweaker.] Different tubes change the sound appreciably, so I've included some extra tubes for you to experiment with. [Hmm, they must be inside this long, thin, cardboard case. Cool.] Just follow the directions in the manual [But, George, I hate manuals.] and enjoy tweaking with your finest test equipment — your ears. [I don't know about this, but I'll give it a shot.]

When you flip down the front panel (tug at the top) the amplifier turns off and instantly mutes in complete safety to your speakers and you. You don't have to actually push the power button to change tubes. After you've installed the next set of tubes, just flip the front panel back up. The interlock engages and there is a 45 second muted warm up delay and then you are back in business. I've included a glove to use at your leisure to make the process easier. [A glove? I hope it's good-looking.]

As with any fine audio gear (and fine audiophiles), the Moscode 401HR gets better with age. Leave it on all the time for awhile to allow it to settle in — one week minimum or longer. It draws about 150 watts idling, so it doesn't draw an overbearing amount of ConEd's finest from the wall. [That's PSE&G for us Jersey Boys.]

Again, thanks and enjoy the Moscode 401HR.

Yours truly,

George Kaye
President
Moscode, Inc.

By the end of this letter, as I hope you can imagine, I was glowing with a slow and steady build of anticipation and excitement. That is: My tubes were starting to warm up. I felt as though I was holding the key to Chester Copperpot's secret treasure; I was embarking on some wild adventure, and I had George Kaye as my guide.

This kind of personal involvement exists throughout the Moscode experience, from the friendly Audition Terms to the lighthearted Referral Program, and all throughout the instruction manual. And so, it seems to me, if you purchase a Moscode amplifier, you're purchasing a bit of the enthusiasm, knowledge, humor, and kindness of George Kaye, along with some painfully and wonderfully beautiful music. More on the music later. Is $5000 more than I can even think about. Hell yeah. I'm young and poor. Now you know.

Would it be worth it? Damn straight.
Now I know.