Alright, back in action. Montreal was a blast. Seriously the most fun I've ever had at a hi-fi show. This was due partly to the fact that we didn't have to adjust to a different time zone, partly to the overall laidback, friendly atmosphere, and partly to the smaller, less demanding size of the show. And I didn't even get sick!

I was thrilled to see the emphasis on smaller, less expensive components and systems. True high end sound does not have to be tied to monstrous, mega-priced loudspeakers and backbreaking amplifiers. At Salon Son & Image, I saw great gateways into high end hi-fi round every corner. (Our June issue's "As We See It" will discuss this in more detail.) I saw many beautiful women, too.

Which reminds me: During the "Ask the Editors" session on Saturday afternoon, one audience member wondered what we could do to get more women interested in audio. The four of us on the panel—John Atkinson, Art Dudley, Bob Deutsch, and me—all sort of just put our heads down and laughed. Not that it's a bad question or anything. It's a great question, but as JA said, women can be difficult to understand. And, hey, men can be just as abstruse. I used to put a lot of thought into the challenge of getting more women into hi-fi, but I've now put the matter aside. I figure it all comes down to nature and nurture. A woman's lack of interest in audio may be as simple a thing as a man's lack of interest in purses. And you don't see women going around wondering why men don't care more about their purses.

Anyhow, you can find the full video coverage of our SSI "Ask the Editors" session here. Check it out. I come off as the stuttering, bumbling fool that I am.

And another thing: During a breakfast one morning, the conversation turned to hi-fi's relevance in a world cluttered with other distractions such as entire downloadable lives and handheld video games and 5000" television screens. Hi-fi used to be the thing. Hi-fi used to be cool. Now it's on the fringe. So, what I really wanna know is: How do we make hi-fi cool again?

Also: Excellent discussion in the forum sparked by Michigan J. Frog's impressions of the SSI show.

A week removed from SSI, and we're now just about done shipping our June issue to prepress. I'm pooped and reduced to fragments, dangling modifiers, and split infinitives.