Thank You
Dear Gary:
With Widescreen Review’s 100th issue, I figured I owe you an email expressing how thankful I am to all the help you and your magazine have given me throughout the years.
I started reading Widescreen Review with Issue 8 (April/May 1994) after noticing an interesting cover on a magazine piled up next to the LaserDisc section of my local Tel Aviv (Israel) branch of Tower Records. By Issue 12, I was a subscriber, and since then I have shared your ride all the way.
My collection of Widescreen Reviews has always been with me whenever I moved, whether from one address to another or whether when migrating to the other side of the world (I now live in Melbourne, Australia). One thing that is easy to notice about my Widescreen Review collection is that it is heavy; yes, you should definitely repent for the backaches you’ve caused me. No other magazine can be blamed as much as yours: I gave many others a chance, but not even my ancient collection of Stereophiles survived; they were abandoned years ago. Wherever I go, your magazine is still the best, most indispensable asset this audiophile can think of.
For years I have been wondering what makes your magazine so appealing. I think the bottom line is that you are a man of principle guided by the most simple of concepts––to have the best one can have. I have been there with you when LaserDiscs were the only proper thing out there and others kept on saying VHS. I have been there in your fight against lossy compression (ala AC-3). I truly believed in your arguments for a high-definition LaserDisc that would have outperformed DVD and given us true high-definition quality years ago. And my ears constantly support your arguments against the Home THX philosophy.
The beauty of it all is that you don’t just criticize, you go all the way to suggesting the best alternative possible. Sadly, in a world governed by big companies that listen only to the dollar, people like you will mostly be remembered as Don Quixotes, but I just think the world would be a miserable place if it wasn’t for the likes of you.
Philosophy and spirit aside, you have single-handedly helped me enjoy my life much more. And what a mighty achievement that is! The guidance provided in your magazine and your occasional replies to my letters (and later, emails) on issues such as loudspeaker placement and general equipment setup mean that although my listening room is far from ideal and although my equipment would be considered low-fi by the vast majority of your readership, my virtually 12-year-old setup is still my ultimate reference system. Feedback from people who invested ten times more and the regard they give me as a reference in all that has to do with audio and video, provides additional support to my claim of fame. But I am making the same point I’ve made before here again: The bottom line is it is your philosophy that helped me and my friends maximize our enjoyment of my old and cheap equipment.
Which goes to show that in the end, it’s not what you have but how you use the things that you have which counts. And you are the one that constantly teaches me the “how” part.
Thank you for constantly providing me with your essential home theatre resources for more than 10 years now. I am looking forward to putting my hands on Widescreen Review 500th issue (I’ll find some space for them all, no worries).
Moshe Reuveni, Melbourne, Australia
mailto:moshe.reuveni@volante.com.au
Editor-In-Chief and Publisher Gary Reber Comments:
Thank you Moshe for such wonderful words of support for Widescreen Review. All of us at the magazine were thrilled to read your letter. It is truly satisfying to know that readers appreciate our hard and passionate work to help others get the most performance and enjoyment out of their home theatres.
You can E-mail Widescreen Review @ mailto:editorgary@widescreenreview.com