Robert Baird

So there I was, part of a motley crew of HE 2006 attendees and fellow travelers, groovin' with deejays Ming and FS and their four turntable assault at the Friday night rave that ended day one of HE 2006. Unfortunately, no one else was there.

So we adjourned to an upstairs hotel room where we were exposed to an assault of another sort. Now it’s only my opinion but some of the "components" that are in the rooms at the Sheraton Gateway at LAX are less than whatcha might call Hi Fidelity. Under the television, there was a musical device, bolted to the shelf of the entertainment center. Renowned in print ads and television commercials for its sound, this unit was what one of my female companions for the evening called "Gray, kinda small, an older version."

Yes, I'm being vague, and it’s only my opinion (extra large hint), but a box that relies only on a very small remote and has no controls on the unit itself is just not the best design I've ever seen. Particularly when the credit card sized remote has disappeared. After much searching and kvetching, we were forced to listen to our Thin Lizzy disc (I said it was getting late) at mouse-like volumes. Another well-oiled participant in these late night heroics was heard to remark: "You gotta admit though that you enjoyed the sound when you were only six inches from the unit."

For everyone not in Los Angeles at HE 2006, we’re missing you and you are missing yet another example of the community and good feelings that exist in among the Stereophile readership.