Dear John
My father once said to me ‘There are only two types of people in the world. Those who ‘get it’ and those who don’t. Strive to be the former. ‘ He would have been young, dynamic and passionate about the world at that time. Now he sits in a chair struggling to remember my name.
I start with this because only this weekend I visited him in Plymouth and sat with him through the long nights. What Alzheimer’s appears to do in some people is destroy the capacity for short term memory, but courageously hold on to the past.
I write this whilst listening to the new Hegel Mohican CD player I collected from you only this morning. As with the Hegel H300 amplifier and Karma Ceramique loudspeakers I’ve bought off you over the last 6 months, your capacity for measured, generous, knowledgeable judgement is precious and appreciated. As my father would say you ‘get it’.
One of the conversations my father loves these days is to reflect upon the past. This weekend, because I told him I was buying a new CD player, we discussed his Hifi collection. He remembered every detail: Colaro Transcription record deck, Leak valve pre/power combination and Goodmans speakers. Followed in the early 70’s with a Garrard 401, SME arm , Leak Stereo 30 Plus and B+W DM2’s.
The crowning glory was his final line up: Linn Sondek, Ittok, Quad 44/404 and the fabulous Quad ESL’s. He never understood CD, never could comprehend an MP3 or how I could get music from my phone through to my speakers. He quite simply wasn’t interested. Streaming? His mind was gone by then, thank god I didn’t have to explain!
Last week I phoned to talk CD players and to wax lyrical about the Hegel amplifier and Kharma speakers I’ve brought from you this year. Measured, polite and professional as ever, you understood that, like my father, I was never really going to go down the streaming route. The best CD player for what and how I listened to music you felt was the Hegel Mohican. Not the most expensive, not one that you were simply trying to get rid of, simply the best thing for me. I drove up early yesterday and picked it up. Drove back, connected it up and sat back. ( It’s that simple) It is outstanding! It is simply the most lyrical, detailed, sweet and dynamic CD player I have ever heard. And trust me, I’ve had 5 of them. My problem was that CD struggled to bring joy to the music when lined up beside vinyl on a LP 12 Ittok Cadenza Black. The Hegel Mohican sits beside the LP12, not in competition, but in companionship. Of course I obsessively did a comparative test with Peter Gabriel’s SO album. Both had a distinctive musical timing and grace about them, but if you want me to be completely honest, the Hegel Mohican stole it! (
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