July 2008

Your Comments Concerning Awards
Plus new DIY Magazine and updated visuals for this website.
Article By Steven R. Rochlin
Click here to e-mail reviewer

  The jury is out with a verdict and fro the many e-mails i received it appears 95% feel that there are already too many awards given within the high-end audio industry. A few of you, who shall remain nameless and did not publish your e-mails, felt that one mainstream print magazine in particular seems to give award to every product they review. Another letter really got me laughing about this 'ethereal' website that has given great reviews and awards to more 'lousy' equipment than any site on the Internet according to his e-mail. It is interesting how many people complained about that site.

Be that as it may, other magazines do not really concern me, as it is obvious that audiophiles realize what the truth is versus fiction. Enjoy he Music.com is not here to pander to manufacturers nor give out endless wards. Instead, it appears that my goal to have equipment truly earn an award means few achieve that goal. As such, not one letter said Enjoy the Music.com was giving out too many awards, so we must be doing the right thing. Below is one example of the letters received:

Hi Steven,

Concerning the quantity of award Enjoy the Music.com gives out each year, very few, IMHO. Sure, when something really pushes the Art & Science of Sound Reproduction forward then give it a special award (like a Nobel prize). But otherwise these things just seem like rather pretentious "best buy" lists .. you know the sort of thing e.g. which loudspeaker under USD 2000 got this years (Insert Name Of Magazine) top award?

Call this Brand X so the next question is "how to I Google or eBay" for the cheapest one?

Surely this is not what it is about?

People should go and listen -- not read lists. And how are those lists made up? Usually of favorable reviews by a small number of reviewers (as few as one?). It is said (by me, if no one else) that a good reviewer is a reviewer with whose opinions I agree ;>)

So what worth is it to me to read a review by a reviewer with whose opinions I'm unfamiliar and whose opinions I haven't correlated with my own? Sum up: awards are generally pretentious, of little significance and based on a précis of the original review(s).

I don't need shopping lists.

Cordially,

Paul Rutherford

There were a few of you who felt that Enjoy the Music.com should give out some type of award or make the appropriate comments within our show reports, so you know which product truly deserve extra special attention. Ok, i have heard your pleas and will give out perhaps two or three awards during my show reports, while other writers within our staff can decide how they want to handle awards or the lack thereof. Ask any of our writers if i have ever limited or overly edited their articles and you will note not one complaint.

Many thanks everyone for your e-mails and appreciate all your kind words. Together, Enjoy the Music.com continues to evolve to be the very best online high-end audiophile website.

Subtle Changes
As this website is well over 4000 web pages, over 15000 if you printed them out, it is hard to make drastic overall changes to the layout. Still, am always seeking ways to provide a cleaner appearance while keeping the pages loading fast. While most readers have 2MB+ download speed, am sure there are still people suing modems, and so want to keep things speeding right along so you can get to the information you desire in a timely manner. Hopefully, you will enjoy the small layout and visual tweaks made within this issue, and unless there is a huge outcry of complaints shall keep things this way for quite some time.

At the top of each review there are now links back to the homepage page of main sections of Enjoy the Music.com. Yes, there is also a top advertisement, yet this is to help offset the six new reviewers that have been hired in the past two months... and am still looking for two more writers! This site is going full steam ahead as our readership and content is expanding at a staggering rate in 2008. In fact, of things stay on track then 2008 will be the most productive year in the nearly 14 years of Enjoy the Music.com!

DIY Dreams
It is no secret my love for DIY and kits began as a child, and due to the success of the Sound Practices section i have decided to hire writers and launch a new DIY Magazine. While this is a losing proposition in the bean counter (read: financial) sense, it is a great resource and one i feel needs to be address within 'mainstream' web magazines. Enjoy the Music.com is the very first, and currently the only, site that will have a separate section dedicated to DIY and kits. While the Review Magazine has published quite a few DIY tweaks and kit reviews, i felt it was time to produce a new magazine dedicated to these endeavors. Simply consider it an extension of the overall theme in which my hopes are for you to enjoy the music.

It matters not if you have a large budget for Superior Audio, looking for good value within the Review Magazine, or love to build your own gear as seen within the new DIY Magazine, the goal is to further your musicals bliss via audio gear. As always, in the end what really matters is that we all....

Enjoy the Music (Pink Floyd "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" right now),

Steven R. Rochlin

"Nobody knows where you are
How near or how far
Shine on you crazy diamond

Pile on many more layers
And I'll be joining you there
Shine on you crazy diamond

And we'll bask in the shadow
Of yesterday's triumph
Sail on the steel breeze
Come on you boy child
You winner and loser
Come on you miner for truth and delusion
And shine"