Stephen Mejias

While doing some research for our November issue, I found myself clicking around the Bel Canto site, and guess what I discovered:

A blog!

Modern Sound — Audio for the Right Minded Listener — was created by Bel Canto's founder, John Stronczer, to communicate his and Bel Canto's philosophies on music, audio, and life.

I asked John about the significance of the name, "Modern Sound." He explained:

Modern Sound is a reference that encompasses both the old and new. It coincides with my personal return to the 'old' 2 channel values (as opposed to the Home Theater world) and Bel Canto's return to these same values with our new equipment. It is meant to signify that modern technology, well applied, can bring much to the old audiophile values.

And, I wondered: Who is the right minded listener? John answered:

The 'right minded listener' is someone who uses the audio system to dig into music, enhance their lives with music, and not just follow short-lived audio fads and trends. The 'right minded listener' doesn't assume that going newer, bigger, and more expensive, or constantly churning the system is necessarily going to help them reach some nirvana. This listener will always stay grounded in the music and the fact that the audio system should simply be the best possible conduit for the music.

I like it.

John's June 14th entry, "Musical Pain Relief," is a lovely and inspiring piece on the healing properties of music. He tells us the three things he's learned from listening to and improving his audio system:

1. The better it gets, the more music I listen to and the more real pleasure I get from the music.
2. The better my system is, the more types of music and recordings I can enjoy without second-guessing the 'sound' every other minute.
3. The better the audio system is, the more personal connection you have with the musicians who made the music.

John goes on to make clear that the third point is, by far, the most important. It sounds, to me, that John Stronczer has got his priorities straight. I strive to be a right minded listener. I'll be staying tuned to the Modern Sound.