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RMAF 2020 Show Report
Featuring the most luxurious destination for America's high-end audio, personal audio, and immersive sound exhibition, plus excellent weather too, the family friendly Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center is Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest's (RMAF) 2020's home in Denver. Celebrating RMAF's very special 17th continuous Denver event, more than any other American audiophile show, attendees can enjoy the beautiful atmosphere and consistently glorious weather. All are welcome and questions are encouraged. Many exhibit spaces will, in total, feature more than 200 high-end audio, video, personal audio, and immersive sound brands. Many exhibitors continue to come back each year to showcase the very finest of high fidelity luxury audio gear. Come experience many major household audio brands from around the world during this truly international showcase of luxurious lifestyle for music lovers.
RMAF 2020 In Denver Has Been
Cancelled No industry is ever immune to setbacks and disasters that loom large on our personal landscapes. Sometimes, they seem small in retrospect, but sometimes, the magnitude of the crisis is never diminished, and the only thing that matters is survival and managing the calamity with as much grace as we can muster. At RMAF, our hearts have been broken by some of those disasters, but our spirit has always triumphed. We have never shied away from difficult times. Over the years, we have endured many obstacles, including:
Here in the RMAF office, we have remained calm and quiet for weeks, waiting for the dust to settle around the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown so that we could evaluate the possibilities for our show in the wake of a worldwide shutdown. Even now, some parts of the United States are beginning to reopen, although the numbers of people contracting the virus, and the number of deaths attributed to it are still rising, and the CDC is projecting an even more deadly second wave in the fall. We remain uncertain that this is the right course of action, although we wish it were otherwise. We are frightened on behalf of our friends in the audio industry on many levels. While the financial health of our exhibitors is reflected in our own company's well-being, for us that is a secondary concern. The very worst thing that we can envision is for someone to fall ill because they came to our show, whether as an exhibitor, a journalist, an attendee, or a volunteer. Good health is a precious gift, and we are learning that although recovery is possible, the residual effects of COVID-19 can be profound, and we are unwilling to risk even one case. Up until now, we have held onto the possibility that our October show could be produced as planned. After watching and listening to the news concerning the Coronavirus pandemic, and reading all the trade publications, we no longer hold that hope. We have determined that the course of action that we must take to remain a viable entity is to cancel our show for 2020. As we stated in March, RMAF will be issuing full refunds to those exhibitors who have made their initial deposits. We understand that in times such as these, finances can be a delicate balance, so you may expect to see your refund within the next 7 to 10 business days. If your company issued a check, you may be assured that it remains un-deposited, and we will return it or shred it at your direction. For some of you, this may come as a relief; for others, perhaps not. Either way, you may rest assured that we are facing the future with optimism and exuberance, and plan to use the coming year to explore new ways of making RMAF better and more enjoyable for everyone! We remain open to your suggestions and insights and look forward to a time when our closely knit circle of friends can gather again in celebration of sound! Until then, we send you our heartiest wishes for good health and great happiness. Your Friends,
This Just In From RMAF Dear Friends in Audio - As we move into our third week of isolation, we are by turns horrified by the hardships our friends and neighbors are enduring, and hopeful as we watch others transcend their own trying circumstances. Whether it's an illness in your family, or a downturn in business that looms large in your world, we want you to know that you are not alone. We'd be lying if we didn't tell you that we sometimes get overtaken by nerves too. It's a scary time in the world today, but we are determined to lead with our hearts, and not let fear consume us. In our business, we are connected by more than a shared interest in audio. Our ties are those of friendship and respect, and just as we celebrate each others' triumphs and successes in audio and elsewhere, we also grieve the losses we are all experiencing right now. We want you to know that you are very much in our thoughts these days, and we thank you for sharing both the ups and downs of life, because that is the hallmark of true friendship. Your calls and emails remind us daily that no matter where this all leads us, we are not alone! Recently, one of our friends in the trade show display business was bemoaning the implosion of her industry. "I just don't know how to pivot on this," she said. And that got us talking about how we might rethink our business model, and what an online show could look like for the audio industry. Just as we were beginning that conversation, it was suggested that we turn RMAF digital and have our show online if it can't happen in person. Hmmmm... Right this minute, we can't quite get a visual (or an audio) on that, but we don't want to be so set in our old ways that we miss an opportunity to expand our horizons and allow RMAF to have new life and energy in a different format. So, we are asking for your opinion and your vision. Is an online show a good idea? How could it work? What would you envision as the best way to present your own products online in concert with other exhibitors? You already have a website but you still go to shows, so it has to be more than what you can do alone, right? We are genuinely interested in your feedback, so send us your thoughts in as much detail as you can muster, and we will try to amalgamate the information we receive and see what comes of it. Send your ideas to systems@audiofest.net. Of course, we still don't know what will happen as spring arrives and rolls on into summer, but we remain optimistic that RMAF will go on as planned in early October. Six months is a good bit of time, and lots can happen between now and then, so we hope you will hang in there, and join us in Denver in the fall. We have a contract with the Gaylord, so if they are open, RMAF is a go. But we are also committed to offering full refunds if for some reason RMAF does not happen. It's almost risk free, so start planning now for our October reunion! We can't wait to see you! With that in mind, we are now assigning rooms to both new and returning exhibitors, so if you exhibited at RMAF in 2019, and you want your same space, let us know now before we assign it to someone else! We have a surprising number of brand new exhibitors ready to book their rooms, so we are excited and hopeful that 2020 will turn out to be a good year after all! If you have already filled out our room assignment survey, we thank you! If you haven't, please help us stay organized by filling it out now! Lastly, we know that many of you have a robust online / social media presence, but not everyone is as active as they'd like to be, so we'd like to add to your efforts by sharing any videos or photos that you send our way. Sure, some of your followers will see it twice (and what's wrong with that?), but we probably have some different friends and followers, so you'll get some new views too! A little extra exposure can't hurt, right? So, if you are planning to come to RMAF in 2020, send your photos and videos to Jules at ecowriter@yahoo.com, and we'll help you use up your company's 15 minutes of fame! So, it's with enthusiasm, good humor, and wide open hearts that we invite you to join us in October for some hard work, some innovative new products, and some great stories, along with some intense relief as we all find our new normal. Warm Regards - Marjorie and Marcie PS: if you still haven't watched Jana Dagdagan's cool video of RMAF 2019, check it out below.
RMAF 2020 Show Report
RMAF 2020 Exhibitor Registration Is Now Open RMAF's website gurus are putting the final touches on this year's updates, so they will begin room assignments on Tuesday, February 25, 2020. Room assignments for exhibitors who did not show at RMAF 2019 will begin on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. RMAF received many rave reviews from exhibitors, press members, and attendees alike on their first year at Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center. There's no doubt the Gaylord is America's most luxurious show venue, which is very family friendly and has excellent weather during the event too! Interest in participating in RMAF 2020 has been quite high, so we encourage you to make your decision and room selection early so you get one of your top choices. Visit RMAF's exhibitor registration web page to reserve your room now.
More About RMAF 2020 When you arrive in Denver, getting to the Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center is only a very short ride from the airport. RMAF received many positive responses concerning Industry Day. Once again RMAF will be incorporating a fourth day within their show. As the event did during 2019, they will offer seminars that are geared especially for audiophiles and music lovers alike. Attendees will greatly benefit learning from the experts.
While the press will be welcome to attend press day, you can certainly setup meetings with them to audition your equipment on that day. In addition to product rollout parties and press events, the Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest encourages you to take advantage of this extra Industry Day to meet with distributors and dealers, train staff on new products, forge relationships within our changing industry, and attend one or more of our informational seminars. Exhibitors have been requesting this for years, and RMAF truly listens to their exhibitors, press members, and attendees alike. If you have ideas or suggestions about topics you want to learn about, the staff at RMAF are happy to hear them. Have fun and as always, enjoy the music!
RMAF is proud to announce that 2020 marks their sixth year of their Entry Level Room series. Unlike many corporate-owned events, RMAF truly cares about the industry and donates these rooms, free of charge, to a host of exhibitors who offer new innovative products at a reasonable price for people looking to enter the high-end market. There were five rooms again this year. Each room featured a loudspeaker and headphone system. The price point for these are rooms are: $500, $1000, $1500, $2500 and $5000.
During RMAF 2020, Enjoy the Music.com will be handing out our prestigious Best Of 2020 Blue Note Awards! Each year we bestow only a few products that we feel merit extra attention. Furthermore, we're also once again sponsoring the Thursday night industry press party and all seminars, as we are longtime supporters for both the industry and in ensuing attendees enjoy an abundance of educational events too.
From turntables and reel-to-reel to digital audio streaming, personal audio, immersive sound and more, there's no doubt RMAF 2020 will offer an abundance of great listening experiences. Everyone at Enjoy the Music.com looks forward to seeing you at RMAF!
Qubuz Is Official RMAF Hi-Res Music
Streaming Partner
Where Voice: (720) 452-6900
When
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Previous RMAF & CanJam Denver
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