Stephen Mejias

I heard music, and I liked it.

So, at the 2005 Home Entertainment Show in New York last April, I didn't need to be told to visit the DeVore Fidelity room. It was one of my first stops. This time I brought a stack of my own music. And friends, too. We listened happily to Sonic Youth and the Magnetic Fields and TV on the Radio.

And, again, music is what I heard. As a matter of fact, I had just seen Sonic Youth perform live at Maxwell's, so I had an excellent reference. Immediately, with the first shimmering guitar riffs and blistering hi-hat hits produced by the DeVore speakers, I was taken back to that show.

The experience certainly increased my interest in hi-end audio. I began to imagine how nice it might be to recreate this little bit of magic in my own living room. However, after the Home Entertainment Show — aside from hauling equipment in and out of the office and reading about it in our pages — I pretty much lost all contact with hi-end gear. Similarly, aside from contacting manufacturers for images to run along with their reviews, I pretty much lost all contact with the folks I'd met at the shows, including John DeVore.

So, I was very happy when, back on September 21st — five days into the blog — I received an e-mail from John. He wrote:

I'm shocked that, after your boom-box admission, you haven't been deluged by offers of cheap or free hi-fi gear. Maybe you have. I'm certainly willing to send you a pair of my little gibbon 3s for awhile. A sort of non-reviewer exploration of a simple starter system. They could be paired with a cool entry-level piece like the Arcam Solo or something.

Yeah, I was pretty shocked about that, too, John.

Actually, I'm still shocked: John DeVore's still the only guy who's offered. I mean, seriously, hi-fi dudes, I'm a powerful tool around here. Feel free to use me.

Till you use me up.

Funny, too, that John mentioned the Arcam Solo because I had had my eyes set on it ever since reading Art Dudley's review in our July issue. Art wrote:

Arcam's new solo is the rare audiophile product that swims with, rather than against, the flow of mainstream consumerism — toward simplicity, convergence, and relative smallness. Now you can have a mobile phone that doubles as a camera, a laptop computer that doubles as a movie player — and a perfectionist-quality integrated amplifier that doubles as a CD player and a tuner.

And that sounded right up my alley.
Literally: Monmouth Street in Jersey City is narrow.

So, near the end of my time at Wes', I sent an e-mail to Kyla Wells, Marketing Coordinator for Audiophile Systems, the people who handle distribution for Arcam, and asked for a loan. I received a prompt response:

It just so happens, a Solo is on its way back from a reviewer and is expected to arrive this Thursday, the 27th.

Sometimes, I do get lucky. The Arcam, as you know, was in my hands on Monday, the 31st.

This weekend, John DeVore will be coming over with a pair of his Gibbon 3s. Yes, we'll be setting up a simple starter system.

By the way, I was lying when I said John was the only guy who'd offered any gear. Just this afternoon, Antony Michaelson of Musical Fidelity — yes, that Musical Fidelity — stopped by for a quick visit.

Heh heh heh. I laugh Sam Tellig's evil laugh.