| Editorial October 2002
A Moment of Reflection
There are times when we all need to sit back and
reflect on things. Certainly the past year has provided many such moments -- some quite
profound. I’m getting more introspective as I grow older, knowing that my experiences
now will be the memories that stay with me tomorrow. This type of big-picture reflection
is good for someone who is used to zeroing in on small, minute details day in and day out.
Reviewing home-theater equipment is great fun. I’ve
been with the SoundStage! Network for over four years and it has afforded me the
opportunity to test a lot of gear, and to have a lot of fun. This has been a
passion for me for a long, long time, to which my dad will painfully attest.
I remember getting a new Sears stereo for Christmas when I
was a young teenager; boy was I happy -- for a while. I changed the speakers out to
something better almost immediately by raiding my father’s system to get his larger
Realistics. This, too, held me for a short time. A few years later I got another stereo
for Christmas, this time out of the Crutchfield catalog. I sold it some months later to
"upgrade" yet again. My dad was furious of course -- this wasn’t the first
time it had happened, and he was tired of finding my Christmas gifts with "Sold"
signs on them. Of course, I knew what I was doing. I was on the quest for better
sound!
My father swore off buying any more equipment because he
knew I’d trade it or tweak it or blow out the woofers. Looking back, though, even my
dad would agree, it was all necessary to build the kind of wonderment into my psyche that
I needed to fuel my desire to learn and experience. It was an investment of sorts, and my
parents and I still laugh over dinner about those early days (like the time I built some
speaker cabinets in my bedroom!). What’s interesting though, is that the details are
less clear than the feelings of nostalgia they provoke.
The memories are important, not because of the
actual gear involved, but of the pleasure gained and the experiences received at the time.
Those thoughts are what make me introspective now. As I edit articles, un-box the latest
speakers to come through the house, or debate with my coworkers over the particulars of a
standard to put into our reviewing guidelines, I know the details are unimportant overall,
in the long term. It is the time in my life, and the feelings involved, that I’ll
remember, and that plays right into the importance of why we’re all here and involved
in this hobby.
When it comes right down to it, we’re looking for
enjoyment and satisfaction. Perhaps spending time with your wife and kids at Blockbuster
figuring out what movie to rent for Saturday night, or getting together with your buddies
to hook up that new receiver one of the crew is so excited about, or being inspired to
tears by a great movie -- these are what you’ll remember. And it’s as it
should be.
I can’t really wrap up this editorial in a neat little
package like I usually try to do. I’m not really sure how to conclude, but to say enjoy
this stuff, the memories it makes, the folks you meet, the movies you watch, and time
in your life. There may come a day when you need those memories; perhaps the hobby of home
entertainment will be out of your reach. You’ll appreciate the moments more, and make
more out of them. And at the end of the day, you’ll have gotten what’s truly
important out of home theater.
...Jeff Fritz
editor@hometheatersound.com |
