Stephen Mejias

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So it appears as if I will be going into blog retirement. For how long, I am uncertain.

I have two days left here at Stereophile. John says he should be wearing black, mourning my departure. I laugh and he tells me once again that I will get far in the business world if I continue to laugh at jokes that are not funny — some sound advice I will definitely take with me. As the summer draws to a close, I think to myself: "Will the audiophile bug continue to itch while I am away from the kooky crew on Madison Ave?" Who am I kidding? It probably will.

For starters, I could have used a sweet-sounding pair of speakers this past weekend. With the Yankees in Boston, I was totally, completely, and utterly alone in wanting to celebrate my team's victories while I stayed at my boyfriend's apartment near Fenway. The conversation quickly went from baseball to football and how the Patriots are going to kill the Redskins, and so on and so on. Seeing as how my excitement got drowned out by the uncomfortable murmur of devastated Red Sox fans, I, in the most subtle demonstration of girlfriend supportiveness, really wanted to blast Queen's "Under Pressure" down Commonwealth Avenue until the wee hours of the morning. In the end, I settled for a few shots of Jagermeister in a Metallica shot glass — a peace-offering for my Red Sox fan of a boyfriend.

Aside from baseball, this weekend also proved epic because I found my camera. Stephen has been saying things beginning, "You crazy college kids," ever since I told him how I lost my FujiFilm on a trip to Boston in the middle of the summer. [Jagermeister was, again, involved. –Ed.] I am happy to say that what has been lost is now found, and the money I would have used to purchase a new camera can now be more wisely spent on some audio components. This may prove crucial on those nights when the sounds of Patriots victories need to be drowned out by Fastball's "Are You Ready For the Fallout?"

Anyway, I haven't come to a final decision on what components I want to purchase for my apartment. So many people have made such great suggestions and I haven't stopped researching. I've got a good foundation to work with and am confident that I'll make a well-informed decision.

So far, nothing has changed my opinion about the integrated amps I picked out. I still like the Tangent AMP-100 integrated amp ($349) and the Cambridge Audio Azur 340A integrated amp ($329). There has, however, been some change in my opinion of loudspeakers. I was devastated to find out that the Monitor Audio Radius 180 I posted earlier was for the price of just one, not the pair, and so they fall out of my price range. On the other hand, I am happy to say that I have somewhat gotten over my superficial aversion to certain finishes and will "settle" (for lack of a better word) for cherry and rosemary, if possible. Black is an option I will consider only if the speakers really "wow" me.

It is best to start at the beginning and I must say that the Tannoy Mercury F2 are still in the race to live with me in Beantown. For now, the Monitor Audio Radius 180 are being pushed aside and the Energy Speaker RC Minis are out completely, as I have been told they're not loud enough for my purposes.

Everyone has said really good things about the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1. In Bob Reina's article, the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 "is a reviewers dream," so to speak. I hadn't even considered what that meant until Stephen suggested the article in the first place, but if I set my speaker criteria to that of BJR's, I find: 1) no shoddy packing material, 2) no flimsy binding posts, 3) no confusing owner's manuals and 4) nothing ugly. That said, I have also become interested in the JBL S38 loudspeakers, mainly because they are said to be really loud without "coloration or strain," which, in layman's terms, must mean they're in control even at "knock-your-socks-off" volumes. This would be ideal because I listen to a hell of a lot of rock music, and I like my music loud. I am having a hard time ignoring the Epos ELS-3 loudspeaker because they are affordable and they are said to be bass-y and rich-sounding. Furthermore, these speakers were suggested as "college system" material. In any case, anything that is chocolate to my ears with good bass quality is a winner for me.

I will be checking the comments on my blog entries while I am away "drinking like a fish" and "keeping time with semesters and exams." When the time is right I will ask John and Stephen to post my special guest entry about the components I've purchased. By then, I will probably have more questions than ever: "How long does it take to break in speakers?" or "Where do I put these babies so they sound right?" For now, thanks for reading my blogs! And especially big "Thank Yous" to John, Stephen, Elizabeth and Robert for just being good-hearted people and fun to work with. I will miss John's Hawaiian shirts and his clogs very, very much. It's been fun.

PS: I think it's funny that I have to use my own Buyer's Guide and "Recommended Components" issues to make purchases now. See ya!