Drying in the desert

Hi Doug,

After a few years of being in my own little private world, I’ve decided to get back in the fun of high-end audio shows and such (mostly the Vegas shows). This meant looking at some of the online magazines for show reports. Where have I been, right? Anyway, I looked up SoundStage! and saw the most artful pages I have ever seen from this industry. Your magazine is breathtaking. I love the colors and layout. The pages are extremely inviting, making the reader a part of the content. Wow!

I moved to Vegas in 2004 because of the weather conditions for listening. By far the best place I have ever been to tune. I noticed this on the many trips I made out here, but didn’t realize the full impact till I moved here. I build my “tuneable rooms” and other toys here then ship them out to their new homes. It’s too bad that exhibitors can’t bring their systems here months before the show so that they have a chance to cure in this natural kiln. For me, I lock in the drying process and the client only has to set their room at 25 to 40 percent after they get the product to keep the quality at its peak (just like they do instruments). The difference is staggering. I have found that finishes never really cure when a product is made in an environment that has humidity levels above 20 percent most of the year. Interesting, isn’t it? Even solder joints are affected, as well as any type of termination. Ever since I started nature-curing parts and pieces out here, it’s hard to listen to products that do not have the same curing process applied. Anyway, I’ll show you sometime if you ever make it out this way and have time.

Bye for now -- very, very nice magazine!

Take care,
Michael Green

Great to hear from you, Michael, and we’re certainly happy you like the look of our new sites. Very interesting comments about Vegas -- having just returned home, I can attest to the fact that the place is very dry! Keep in touch. . . . Doug Schneider