MEDIA ROOM INSIDER: SEDONA PARADISE

An open-plan viewing/ listening space grows in the Arizona desert, with equipment choices guided by Sound & Vision reviews

- BOB ANKOSKO

IF THERE'S a heaven on earth, it might well be Sedona, the town and breathtakingly beautiful region in northern Arizona famous for its reddish-orange sandstone formations majestic creations that rise up from the desert landscape and glow brilliantly when the sun rises and sets. Sedona is serene, a place of mystical energy—the embodiment of America the Beautiful. It's easy to see why Wisconsin native John Hayward and his wife Bonnie were drawn there, and why they chose to build their dream home there in 2020.

The Haywards ran a financial planning practice for 35 years but long before that John was a hi-fi salesman and played keyboards in The Rings, a power-pop band that shared a talent agency with another Midwest rock group, Cheap Trick. “We used to play the same bars and bowling alleys before they signed with Epic Records," he reminisces. “For every band like Cheap Trick there were 300 bands like ours."

Like many S&V readers, Hayward's appreciation of music fostered an early love of electronics. “I met some audiophiles in the 1970s who introduced me to high-end stereo." It was around that time he subscribed to Stereo Review (predecessor to this magazine), Audiophile, and our sister publication at the time, High Fidelity. “Stereo Review was the bible when I sold hi-fi, especially the annual buying guides." As Hayward's enthusiasm for hi-fi grew, he added subscriptions to Home Theater, AV Interiors, Widescreen Review, and our present-day sister mag, Stereophile.