High-Performance Audio Reviews
Music News, Show Reports, And More!
29 Years Of Service To Music Lovers
October 2020
We're All In This Together A bit of retrospective during Enjoy the
Music.com's 25th Anniversary. Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin
Without
a doubt the familiar phrase "Hindsight is 2020" almost feels like it
originated as a message from a future time traveler, which we have profoundly
misunderstood (h/t Steve Hoffman). Looking back during the past 25 years, and
~9000(!) web pages ago, this site was originally launched as a way to easily
answer the many questions I was receiving from others online. Back then, as
best I recall, there were less than a single handful of audiophile sites online.
With webmastering skills still in its infancy, Enjoy the Music.com also became
a hub of sorts for various magazines. Looking back at those early days always
brings a smile to my face, with the joy of chatting with newfound online friends
all around the world.
Back in November 1999, we began helping Hi-Fi
News & Record Review by posting their latest issue, as most magazines at
that time did not have any web presence. A few years later we were helping The
Absolute Sound, The $ensible Sound, Audiophile Audition, and The
Audiophile Voice. Generally, back in those days, once a magazine created its
own website Enjoy the Music.com backed away and let them flourish. While
some magazines have come and gone, today Enjoy the Music.com works
together with a total of 12
publications (in 2020).
Some businesspeople within our industry wonder
why do we help our 'competition'? Please re-read the title of this editorial.
For those wondering why we're not helping more publications, we've asked (and
re-asked), yet they declined our 100% free offer. Some understand the desire to
work together as all boats rise in high tide, while others may have owners who won't
let them; big business can be like that at times. Think of it along the lines of
a business that builds and sells events versus an industry enthusiast-operated
audiophile show.
As all of us within the high-end audio community
are all in this together, it reminds me of days working for Heathkit
Electronics. Here's why....
It All Kinda Sorta Started With....
First and foremost, it started with my parents. Am very,
very fortunate as have both parents within my life (2023 update, mom passed), with dad being my hero in so
many ways, and mom being a guiding force for flair and style. Dad always
designed massive manufacturing plants with an eye towards what is best for those
working day-in and day-out to produce a high-quality garments. He sought to
create a positive and productive environment. Odds are right now you have two or
three clothing items within your home my dad had some part in creating.
During my Heathkit days back in
the 1980s, there was a back wall with programs and shareware on 5.25" floppy
disk. We donated this section to programmers free of cost, so they had a place
to share and sell their programs. This was a remarkable time for computer
geeks and I loved every minute of it. It felt like... magic! It also made me
realize that while one programmer might not know everything, we all came together
to help one another learn and grow. We were in this together.
Monthly Magazines And Daily News
Updates
Have never seen this all on one web page, so be forewarned
as there is going to be lots of scrolling. Below are all current (2020) partner magazine
issues, links to each month's news page (we use a single page for a month as
one page for each and every news item alone would be many
thousands of pages in and of
itself!), and show reports. So sit back, relax, and get ready to do some scrolling my friends.
Phew!
With hundreds of links above, that's quite a bit of
information we gladly provide for free to our readership over the past 25 years
(as of 2020),
plus it's free to our partner magazines as well. Am personally humbled, and
honored to be of service to many of my friends all around the world. If I've somehow helped just one person enjoy those precious moments in life with music:
to laugh, to cry, to sing and dance... it's all been worth it.
When my wife / Muse Heather and I first attended a
hi-fi show
together, she was amazed at how many people we never met yet who knew us via this
site (and online chats, discussion boards, etc). Sadly, right now some music
lovers are suffering from emotional / mental illness conditions due to having to
stay at home due to Covid-19. We're all very passionate about what we create that
benefits music lovers worldwide. It all boils down to this, in the end we truly
are all in this... together.
As always in the end
what really matters is that you...