Stephen Mejias

I should have known by the looks in their shining eyes. When people told me that I'd probably enjoy it, that it was probably a good idea for me to go, they were being coy. But never mind: No words could have prepared me for the enormity of the event, for the knee-weakening prospect of innumerable treasures. And so, on Saturday morning, when I decided to go to the WFMU">http://www.wfmu.org/recfair/">WFMU Record Fair, I was entirely, woefully, indubitably unprepared. I am reminded of my">http://www.stereophile.com/news/010605cessm/index.html">my first Consumer Electronics Show. You can't know what it's like until you've been. And only after it's over can you pretend to prepare for the following year. I will begin pretending to prepare for next year's event today&#151taking for granted that next year will exist&#151but, until then, I'm left wanting a do-over, wondering why didn't anybody tell me it would be like this, while nevertheless enjoying the few treasures I did come home with.

You'd think that setting up a pair of loudspeakers would be a piece of cake: Stick 'em where they look good, and be done with it. It can be as simple as that, but to get the best sound from your speakers, you'll have to do a bit more work.

We're lucky. There's always an enormous amount of great live music to be enjoyed in New York City, but this week is especially crammed with sound. The CMJ Music Marathon is here. As I type, our very own Mikey Fremer is moderating a discussion titled "Hi Fidelity for the Future." Panelists include NYU professor Jim Anderson; David Chesky of Chesky Records and HDTracks.comhttp://www.stereophile.com/news/052008hdtracks/index.html">HDTracks.com…;; D&M">http://www.stereophile.com/news/11283/index.html">D&M Holdings' Jeffrey Cowan; and the">http://news.cnet.com/audiophiliac/">the Audiophiliac, Steve Guttenberg.

Audio shows are tough. As a member of the press and, more specifically, as a representative of Stereophile magazine, I feel an extreme amount of pressure to do as thorough a job as physically and mentally possible. (I should emphasize that I put this pressure on myself.) It would be outstanding if a single person could cover an entire show, spending quality time with manufacturers, dealers, and readers, while also actually having the opportunity to listen to the gear being presented. But no audio show is ideal&#151not even this year's Rocky">http://blog.stereophile.com/rmaf2008/">Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, which was, by all accounts gleaned so far, a great, great success.

I didn't see any mountains, but I did get to see lots of smiling faces. I hope you're enjoying our coverage from the Rocky Mountain Audio fest because it's really kicking ass over">http://blog.stereophile.com/rmaf2008/">over here.

And tomorrow we leave for Denver to cover "America's Audio Show," the Rocky">http://audiofest.net/2008/">Rocky Mountain Audio Fest.

John Lennon of the Beatles was born on October 9, 1940. He would have been 68 this week. To celebrate, Lyric Hi-Fi & Video (1221 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY) will be spinning Beatles and Lennon albums all day long, from 10am to 6pm. Fans are invited to stop by and enjoy.