It’s the time of year for saving money!
It was news to me as well as all of the readers of AudiophileReview.com that our fearless editor, Steven Stone, was making his tenth summer trip to the Rocky Grass Academy. Questions abound both internally and with our most loyal readers about what Steven is REALLY doing at “band camp” this summer.
Here is some of the speculation that we are hearing from our sources:
• Steven is learning a heavy metal version of “Kumbaya” to play at the next Runco dealer/sales event in Cabo San Lucas, thus taking over for Home Theater Magazine’s Scott Wilkinson and his wife. Little has been said if Stone will bring the conch shell to “start off the event” as Wilkinson did.
• Steven is learning authentic voodoo skills that include sticking pins in a doll that bares a striking resemblance to former Stereophile writer and current audiophile public relations person, J-10.
• Steven is eating a lot more apple pie than normal.
• Steven is rumored to have made a pact to lose his virginity before he graduates high school.
In all seriousness, one of the major issues with many old-school audiophiles is that they tend to make the audio gear the end game when the true passion starts with music. That’s something Steven gets and is most passionate about. Just like buying a new DAC might get you to listen to your CD collection all over again like it was new – experiencing (playing, hearing, supporting) live music has the same effect.
The next generation of audiophiles are Generation Y and they love music but in ways that are very different than the often stringent historical rules of the audiophile world. They could care less about sitting by themselves in a dark room and listening to an album from start to finish. They multi-task, network with their friends and often have very short attention spans, but at the same time music is almost always part of the media equation. Could this “largest generation in U.S. history” be the biggest group of audiophiles ever? Believe it or not, it’s possible in time. They need to grow into careers. They need to find banks to lend them money for homes. But their love for music and high technology is in their DNA – just like Steven’s. We all should pledge to go out and hear some live jazz or buy a ticket to a stadium rock show. Being close to real music is the essence of the audiophile hobby and it’s at the core of the passion.
