Stephen Mejias

It's what a good night is all about, friends, beer, laughter and some music thrown in. Is there anything else one can ask for?

no doubt, you guys have a swell time hanging out at the monkeyhaus. you even listen to music, which seems to be of far less importance than drinking beer and oogling devore speakers. nothing wrong with drinking and oogling. but the drinking and oogling, as presented, seems to share the raison d'etre for the get-togethers along with the opportunity to post numerous pictures of devore speakers. somehow, i don't think this was your intent. oh, yes, the beer is, i am sure, incredible and the conversation scintillating. since the music piece seems to be a minor piece of the action, perhaps you could share some of the interesting banter?

Little johnny, No doubt you are having a miserable time hanging out on this blog, yet here you are, showing your ass and suffering like a little bitch. Somehow, I think this WAS your intent, which begs the question: what is your reason for being?

obviously, when push comes to shove, you do have a thin skin. you fail to respond to a 'straight' question re reporting interesting conversation. i absolutely am serious, the guest list is filled with interesting characters and some of their musical/industry/critical observations would be interesting to share, certainly more so than one more rousing valorization of beer choice and additional pictures of devore's no doubt fine speakers. re "having a miserable time...". that would require taking your inconsequential writing seriously. as to "suffering like a little bitch': solid misogynistic bull and of less sensibility then using the affected term, 'dude'. as to "showing my ass". the combination of this phrase and its predecessor is evidence of a mild case of adolescent "camp" sensibility that requires no further discussion.on another note, i do look forward to your newest venture on "affordable equipment". perhaps ja's red pencil will be sharpened and ready.you may now return to your claque.

Hey johnnyt, I don't mean to derail your rant seeing as you were reveling and rolling in the presumed effect of your pushing and shoving, but "rvance" is not "Stephen Mejias".

What happened to the series of comments where John Devore himself claimed to have the only speaker cabinets made of solid bamboo (while others use veneers), and was promptly corrected by someone who pointed out that there's another company that uses solid bamboo as well? I certainly understand deleting offensive posts, but I saw nothing inappropriate with that exchange at all. (It's funny--the other manufacturer that uses solid bamboo cabinets was featured in the post immediately before the Monkeyhaus series.) Your blog is the first thing I check on the site; I enjoy your writing and your refreshing approach to the hobby--please don't reduce your credibility by appearing to protect a manufacturer.

michael lavorna: i appreciate your correction. my apology is due to stephen: i apologize for my careless misreading; i did get caught up: my mistake. obviously, i do have several strong issues with elements of the blog and those substantive issues remain and should, rightly, be deleted.jt

johnnyt, I apologize for MY thin skin and MY defensiveness and sensitivity to posts that take me out of the generous spirit of the host. "Bitch" was poorly chosen to refer to someone who bitches, rather than characterize you in the gangsta vernacular of the day. I still don't understand why detractors don't just move on to warmer climes instead of raining on this one.

AB looks like he's been smoking some of those left handed cigarettes.

It seems when ever your having a good time , there is always some jealous person that wants to pee on your parade . to those I say pee off .

rvance, thanx for clarification. "let it be".tim soroski (and sm): perhaps, i just expect 'more' from am.am: to that extent you felt disrespected by my posting, my sincere apology. there was an unnecessary harshness of tone. no disrespect intended.jt

Well, Monty, that certainly explains cake with beer...

These pictures definitely capture the vibe of what it's like to spend an evening at the monkeyhaus, and make me very jealous that my music loving friends and I don't have access to an industrial-type space for this type of activity. You know, a space where all you have to do to make it fit for the next party once all guests have left is cover the gear w/ plastic then hose everything away!

@fy415, the post you're probably asking about was never deleted, it is right here in the CES coverage from two years ago: http://blog.stereophile.com/ces2009/the_old_bamboo/ I certainly don't claim to be the only manufacturer with solid bamboo speaker cabinets--and to the best of my knowledge, no one has claimed that about us.

johnnyt: In the past, I have used more words to describe the Monkeyhaus. See, for instance: http://blog.stereophile.com/stephenmejias/at_the_monkeyhaus/With these recent posts, however, I wanted to share more pictures. I see John DeVore's Monkeyhaus as a positive example of what hi-fi has to offer at its very best: great music, conversation, friendship, and fun. I think it's important that people are aware of how much fun we can have, and I hope that people decide to throw their own listening parties.

sm- understood. you 'guys' are having one fine and dandy time. as well you should. jt

When you're into a hobby that involves hardware (and not many hbiies don't involve hardware at some level), it's hard to avoid mention of hardware when talking about the pursuit of your hobby. So, when audiophiles gather to enjoy some music, they will inevitably also talk of the hardware when they talk about the get-together. When one particular hardware manufacturer gets mentioned frequently because he happens to stage parties (or whatever you call it) attended by interesting people, there's a fine line between transporting the fun and enthusiasm of these events and becoming a guerilla marketing vehicle for that hardware manufacturer. So far, I think Steven has managed to stay on the right side of that line.I do think, however, that DeVore Products should not be reviewed in the magazine by one of the Monkeyhaus regulars.

Looks like you guys are having a great time. I am also impressed that you drink real beer.On that front, could you do me a favor and get Mr. Halpren totally wasted and then hit him up for a show Leben RS 28 CX preamp. I missed one on audiogon and now have to try to save for a year to afford most probably a used one.