On Saturday evening, at show's close, Bea and Luke Manley of VTL, with the support of Nordost, hosted a Martini tribute to the recently departed founder of Stereophile, the inimitable J. Gordon Holt. Located outside Nordost's Humboldt Peak room on the Denver Marriott Tech Center's mezzanine, the tribute drew a huge crowd of industry icons.
Forty-seven years after Gordon published the first issue of Stereophile, his son, Charles Holt (above), joined John Atkinson, Gordon's long-time friend Bob O'Neill, veteran tube-amp designer Roger Modjeski, and fellow publishing icon Harry Pearson of The Absolute Sound in raising a glass to the irascible pioneer.
Gordon's cutting-edge analysis of the best and worst that the high-end has to offer was founded on the premise that the best way to review audio components is to listen to them. As common sense as that concept may be, it's amazing how upsetting it remains to people who think that audio is about everything except how the music affects you. Thanks, Gordon, for constantly reminding us that our passion is rooted in the love of music.
