Stephen Mejias

If you're new to hi-fi, you might not be aware of the fiercely controversial and seemingly endless argument regarding the importance of blind listening in determining a component's worth. Essentially, there are those who believe that if differences in sound cannot be perceived while listening blindfolded, or under similarly exhausting, stressful, and inhumane conditions, then differences do not exist, and we're all just full of shit when we tell you that the $30,000 Musical Fidelity Titan sounds nothing at all like the $159 Sonic Impact Super T, that, in fact, they're basically the same amp, so you might as well buy the cheaper one.

You see, JA, if you play the ride cymbal with a chicken wing, you're bound to get a lot more air in the upper octave… Photo by Jeff">http://www.jeffwong.com/">Jeff Wong.

I like to stop by Sound">http://www.soundopinions.org/">Sound Opinions, where rock critics, Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot, slap each other in the face with their favorite album covers. No, they don't really do that. Sometimes they agree. They're smart and funny and loveable. Jim is from the Chicago Sun-Times and Greg is from the Chicago Tribune, and they love rock and roll.

"Where did you say this photo was taken, JA?"

Among the treasures discovered this morning, we have the very first issue of Stereophile, punk rock-style buttons, several outstanding hi-fi cartoons drawn by JGH, and some absolutely shocking show photos.

If you can find some of the oldest issues of Stereophile, you'll see that several of the covers hold a short, sweet, often humorous "AUDIO VERITY." These nuggets of hi-fi wisdom were written by Stereophile founder, J. Gordon Holt.

In 1962, J. Gordon Holt started a magazine based on the simple, beautiful idea that the quality of an audio component should be measured, first and foremost, by how it sounds. That magazine, of course, was Stereophile.