While attending a Stereophile show at the Hilton in Chicago (part of winter CES?), The elavator door opened and I came face-to-face with Mr. Hirsch. I'll always regret not paying respects to this gentleman (just pretended to be unaware of him). At the same show (or maybe a year later), I happened upon J. Gordon Holt dragging his famous cigarette in a hallway. Wish I would have bummed one and lit up with him...
Julian Hirsch dies
I'll bet the majority of us grew up reading his work in Stereo Review. Here's a link to his N.Y. Times obituary, containing a succinct mention of the reason why most audiophiles eventually outgrew his reviewing method. But until we did - if you were anything like me - you pored over his every word (and measurement) each month when your father's latest issue arrived. R.I.P.