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As our listening, talking and general enjoying was coming to an end, I started to feel a certain sense of nostalgia. I found myself thinking that people like JC and Herb and the kind of experience and knowledge they have of our shared hifi heritage and classic audio gear from companies like Western Electric, RCA and Altec Lansing seems to be in short supply these days. But then I realized that most of their stories were shared and some expanded on by Jonathan Halpern and John DeVore.


As I thought about this more during my late-night/early morning westerly drive home, I realized there still are people out there with this knowledge and passion. We simply no longer have a place where they can readily share it. Back in the days of Sound Practices, many of the writers were also in the business. Herb had Eddy Electric and later was the US Importer for Audio Note. JC and Komuro had Dinosaur. Other writers included Mike LaFevre of Magnequest, Hiroyasu Kondo of Kondo, J.C. Verdier, Don Garber of Fi and Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio.


Even though we’re talking about a mere 15 or so years ago, today’s hifi reading public appears much less accepting of this overlap. It seems that we’ve gotten increasingly cynical to the point where some suggest the mere presence and proximity of advertising to content—or familiarity between reviewer and manufacturer—clouds any possible glimpse at impartiality. Granted, Sound Practices articles were not your typical product review but they certainly put forth the views of the writer who in many cases offered similar if not the same product under discussion.



The only sense I can make of this disparity between then and now is that the Sound Practices approach was aimed at responsible grown-up readers; people who thought for themselves. This is in direct contrast to our new-found sensitivity which appears to demand the assistance of self-appointed industry watchdogs chomping at the bit while straining their beady bloodshot eyes to spot even the slimmest sign of so-called impropriety to save less intelligent readers from their wide-eyed optimistic ignorance.


Considered Community
From JC’s post-event email: “Good to know that there is some kind of considered community left out there.” I’m convinced now more than ever that the hifi world needs more Monkeyhaus. For my way of thinking, the return of JC Morrison to our wonderful world of hifi is also a most welcome and refreshing event. Mainly because the discerning few now have another option for custom-made hifi designed and built by someone who knows exactly what he’s doing; and perhaps more importantly and more unusually, why he’s doing it and what its place is within our living hifi history. We’re talking end-to-end knowledge. Music in to music out. Recording studio to software. And all that without a hint of the politically correct polite smarmy salesmanship of the hifi pundit or the rabid myopic fanaticism of the tweaky hifi cultist.


I can hear some of you thinking, “well, that’s not unusual. Most designers of hifi gear must know what they’re doing, why they’re doing it and have a firm grasp on more than just their piece of the hifi puzzle. And they must all share the goal of building gear that serves the music”. I’d have to say that while this would make perfect sense, I’d also remind you that nothing’s perfect, not even in our beloved hifi hobby. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and/or correspond with a number of equipment manufacturers and can tell you that some show a frightening lack of knowledge/interest outside their piece of the hi-fi puzzle. Others seem to operate under the assumption that hifi history is irrelevant while others believe that their revolutionary product design takes precedence over everything including music.


"Damn! That sounds like crap!"
"Yes it does" responds the proud designer. "You see, most music is poorly recorded so you’ll find that through my revolutionary _____  most recordings will be rendered unlistenable."
"Gee whiz! What progress!"



Nearing the end of our evening, JC asked: "What do you think?" To which Herb replied, "If I were you, I’d be grinning." I would just add that all of us were because JC’s amps play music. All kinds. While this may sound like faint praise compared to the oh-so-serious goal of perfectly absolute sound forever or revolutionary über-musical inventions, when it comes to listening to music on a hifi, I can’t think of greater praise or anything more satisfying than a musically enlightened grin.