Hi Srajan, I just wanted to take a minute to wish you and Ivette a tremendous 2021 that we all hope will see a semblance of normality resume, whether in public health or in politics around the world. I also wanted to let you know I won’t be able to contribute to 6moons going forward; there have been other times in my career where I have had to temporarily step back due to workload but this time is different. My hearing is actually declining more than is typical at my age and a condition that afflicted my dad and my grandpa around the same age and it doesn’t seem I will be able to change the trend. We never go deaf but our hearing ability is reduced and higher level listening—at level most folks would consider still low—will trigger pain which I have been increasingly experiencing for the past year.
It means that my days of critical listening are over and that I will have to focus my listening on short periods at low levels purely for music enjoyment purposes as they will unfortunately be far more limited than they have been; nowadays 30 minutes is about as long as I can go which makes listening to any Wagner opera a multi-week effort. My first review was January 2007 and those FJ OMs still have a proud place in our home-theater system; it has been a fun and enjoyable 14-year journey and I am sad to have to end it but I will continue to be a loyal reader of your musings. Thank you for the opportunities you provided me with and all the amazing gear that went through my various music rooms around the world over that period. Thank you for the freedom you give your writers and for never letting any commercial consideration influence any conclusion or writings.
It is crazy to think that we have never met face to face and I certainly hope we’ll get a chance to remedy this at some point in the future. I wish you the very best and continued success with 6moons for years to come. Frederic Beudot
