THE LEFT SPEAKER IS LOW

Let me set the scene.  In setting up my stereo, the guy I hired to do it right (he's a local dealer) uncovered a problem.  He narrowed it down to the (Classe) amplifier which was still just barely under warranty* but had to be shipped back to its home in Montreal.  Via Buffalo.  The amp weighs 92 pounds nekkid.

Weeks fly by.  The clock behind the counter in c movie diners dances...

The AMP is back (*about $400 later.)  The local guy is here.  I have also invested in new wiring.  So we hook it up and it's right.  A Great Relief, because I tend to be not trusting in these things.  But Classe says they had 'er going for days and it passed every test. More'n once, said the fella I spoke to at Classe.  French accents are cool.

And then my local guy notices it's fading again on the left.  Measurements confirm.  The exact thing I sent it in for the first time.

Testing continues, all of a sudden there's a horrible otherworldly sound just shrieking like high James Brown, but electronic.  Really loud.  You can't shout over it loud.  We run around... no smoke... not in the attic, not outside or in any room.  Squealing reveals itself to be the sound of ten smoke detectors firing at once all over the house, and, right where we were.  At first we were pulling plugs and flipping switches, then realized it wasn't the stereo gone batshit crazy.

This house has several electric panels and I am pulling all switches.  The sound continues.  He's got his fingers in his ears.  When I checked the attic I swiped a pair of my cutting the grass muffler/headphone and threw them on.   Kinda a mild " You've got the suit on so you'll have to be the one to enter the reactor..." feeling.

Last night, before sleep, I noticed the smoke detector flashing red more often than I ever noticed.  On a whim and a ladder, I "demounted" the detector... and they all stopped.

So where were we?  My local guy knows somebody up there in the company that through its holdings owns my amp manufacturer. 

BTW there's no local service.  But I guess you know that from the story.

I gotta get ten new batteries for the smoke detectors.  Looks like they were about a year old.  Seems about right.