Stephen Mejias

Alright, Kristina, before you leave us for your boyfriend and Boston, before you dive into ontology and photography, before you dedicate your days to the books and your nights to the booze, before you lose track of the earth's revolutions — keeping time, instead, with semesters and exams — before all of that and everything else, if, in fact, you do decide you want to fill your spare moments with music — good music, produced with magic — then I've found a few things for you to read. I hope this will help.

I meant to mention it sooner, but I held on. I didn't want to give it away too soon. But at just about the same time you were piecing together your $1000 system, Josh Ray, another young and enthusiastic presence in the high-end audio industry, posted his own suggestions for a college system. Josh's site, Sonic Flare, has become a daily visit.

I'd also like for you to read John DeVore's article, "Buying Loudspeakers: A Speaker Designer's Perspective." John DeVore, as you know, brought hi-fi into my home.

And then I think you should read Bob Reina's review of the JBL S38. Bob begins, "JBL speakers remind me of college." As a matter of fact, you can try any of several BJR reviews. This dude's always getting misty-eyed over his college years. I get the feeling, too, that it was a good time in his life. I remember reading something about a frat house.

You wouldn't know anything about frat houses, Kristina. Keep it that way.

Finally, I want you to read this beautiful piece by my man, Jon Iverson. In "Mentors & Audio Shows," Jon answers the question: "Where do audiophiles come from?" It has nothing to do with the stork, Kristina. You be sure to stay in the women's dorm.

And that's it. I hope you've enjoyed your time here at Stereophile. We certainly enjoyed having you around. I know the work wasn't always fun. But I hope you know how much it meant to us. "Recommended Components" is now complete, and the Buyer's Guide is looking very good.

I started to say: "We couldn't have done it without you." But, you know, that just wouldn't be true. We could have. We would have worked harder and later, we would have lost sleep and weight and hair and eye sight, we would have grown grouchy and frustrated. We could have done it without you, but why would we want to? You made it so much more enjoyable. Thanks, KR. We'll miss you. Have a great time in school.