Permanence "A"

When was the last time you bought something that would last for 50-plus years?
This is a Concord HES-40 amplifier and tuner, with inputs for speakers, phono (er, a turntable, kiddies), tape and another auxiliary toy. A friend of mine had this in his basement -- it was his father-in-law's.

It was well-loved enough to have been wrapped in newspapers and stored in its original box.

It was made in the late 1950s in the USA. It weighs about 50 pounds, all brass, steel and aluminum. The glass display is GLASS. The two light bulbs are BULBS, not LEDs. The dials work via nylon STRINGS. Those big shiny towers are vacuum tubes. They have some MERCURY in them and they get warm and toasty and smell like a house fire about to happen. The knobs are Bakelite, a sort of pre-plastic.
I admit to polishing her up a tad. But she worked the first time I plugged her in. I knew she would, because that's just how things were built back then: To last.
Granted, you can't put this in your pocket. Hell, you can barely lift it. Still: How long is that iPod or Blackberry going to hold up? Right. I thought so.

Concord HES-40. 40 watts, stereo. Make an offer.
P.C. 2010 Recorded Works Limited