November 2013

In This Issue And Some Senseless Ramblings
RMAF / CanJam, The Industry... And Changing Perspective.
Incredibly successful event in Denver and it is time for some new sh...
Article By Steven R. Rochlin

  Please take the below as 'tough love', pleeeeease.

Warning: Strong language and frank industry discussion below.

First, huge thanks Marjorie and everyone with RMAF for producing a truly great event! Of course Jude gets props as ringleader of CanJam and he, too, did a superlative job at wrangling all the great PMP manufacturers and associated devices in Denver. Yours Truly was, as always, frantically busy during the show and the month of October was a record in the amount of bandwidth the site delivered; and this does not include any of the bandwidth for videos or the 192kHz/24-bit music file. As many of you know, Enjoy the Music.com produced live audio/video streaming online including a chat where you could ask questions IRT (in real time) to whomever we were visiting or interviewing. Also recorded live music @ RMAF in 192kHz/24-bit using top-grade gear, which you can download at either this or this link (note: same file @ both links, yet am offering two links in case one is unavailable. If both links say "This account's public links are generating too much traffic..." then please wait 24 hours and try again as bandwidth allotment refreshes every 24 hours). Of course our usual daily live updates were also produced. All the aforementioned is available for free to our partner magazines to use as they see fit per our press release. A copy of our ad within the RMAF show guide can be seen at the very bottom of this Web page just below the music video. Lastly, we have many pics from myself, photojournalist Ron Nagle and a report of CanJam by Michael Mercer.

Would also like to welcome Australian Hi-Fi and CANADA HiFi coming aboard as magazine partners within Enjoy the Music.com plus we are now official media partners with TAVES. Both magazines join The Absolute Sound, hi-fi+, HIFICRITIC, HiFi Media, Hi-Fi World and legacy publications Sound Practices and VALVE magazine. Am deeply honored and truly humbled to have, in total, nine magazines to have come aboard Enjoy the Music.com to date. Yours Truly is grateful and takes this responsibility very seriously, as in a sense we are extensions and representatives of your publication. When advertising enquiries come to our e-mail inbox instead of yours, many of our partnered magazine know we forward them to the appropriate magazine personnel and have never and will never front-run your business. Your trust is in very safe hands. No other Web site comes close in accomplishing such a task in this day and age of self-centered, bean-counter ruled short-sighted business weenies. Sure I understand such selfish business practices, and s/he who stands alone...

Harsh Reality
Please accept my apologies here and now for the blunt words you are about to read. I did not create the current reality within the high performance audio industry, am simply having to deal with it... and the headaches it produces. Few realize this, yet in the past year or so have been 'testing' my friendships and, on a separate scheme, these trade member's devotion to furthering the high fidelity audio industry. Sadly, some have failed the 'test'. One wild plan in the back on my mind was to just buy out a legacy magazine, as running the numbers was relatively easy and cheap enough. But then it hit me, why would one use their valuable resources to go backwards? Sure leverage buyouts are great if you also get a nice set of patents, proprietary technology, and other items you can profit from that make them unique and in a class of their own. Yet this legacy entity has virtually nothing unique to offer anyone that has not already been done time and time and time and time and time and time and time and time... and time again. Of course being predictable may be a good thing, yet to guys like me it becomes very boring and may not bring in youthful and energetic people who expect something fresh and new.

Same Ol' Same Ol'
Anyone in the modern music industry knows you have to offer 'new shit' or else you go stale... and fade away or die off. Sure guys posting videos online is kinda sorta new, and I highly admire Michael Fremer for his abundant efforts in many directions to name one of many. There is more to be said in general, yet why harp on the obvious as I want to go from the reviewers/magazines to the manufacturer side.

Hey manufacturers, how many of you had a thumbdrive with info and photos to give to the press? In Europe this is normal, but it seems in the USA it is nearly unheard of. Why? As expected, one of the only guys who had info on a thumbdrive plus an incredible new invention that could transform the industry at the core level per se was Gordon Rankin of Wavelength Audio. Naturally a man of advanced technology, he had a thumbdrive and the announcement of StreamWerxs technology can be seen at this video. This is not to say other products or people were lackluster @ RMAF, far from it so don't you dare try to corner me here. Am simply pointing out only one person/company (of many) and his efforts as an example. There is simply not enough space to talk about each and every great new product at RMAF in this editorial, yet the technology Gordon launched is a real game changer. Think about it, where would music lovers be without Gordon Rankin's successful implementation of Asynchronous USB technology we now greatly benefit from in many products? Get my point?

During this past weekend's trip to our family home on Longboats Key, Florida, I had a meeting of the Braintrust. Floated some new shit for them to consider and it was very well received. Will not go into the finances, yet rest assured it is a huge risk. Me? i've been dead broke before and in fact this Web site nearly caused bankruptcy in the early days. For I am just a single guy in the vast and immense universe. Thus how can a teeny tiny living and breathing entity make any real difference in an industry? Hmmm, maybe we should ask Gordon Rankin? This brings me to my own personal ultimatum. Few know this, yet when Enjoy the Music.com hit 6000 pages there was a pseudo automatic decision that would be made. This was my own personal deadline, as no one else was complaining about their investment. Far from it! Keep in mind we here @ Enjoy the Music.com refuse to adhere to selfish bean counters and thus do not rip you off with pageviews by breaking down show reports into one manufacturer per page (thus a 50 page 'show report') and our reviews/articles are on one page, not three or four to get more pageviews in hopes that more pageviews means you have higher odds of clicking banner ads. Even with such a large site, virtually never received a request asking where a review of XYZ product is since we provide a search engine that handles things quite nicely.

New Shit
Do you wish there was something new to break through the daily noise? During the RMAF I asked David Robinson of Positive Feedback if he'd like to form a Web magazine association/organization that would represent the high fidelity audio industry. Without even the slightest pause he said yes. David, I love you! Asking another online guy, he hemmed and hawed a bit and it boiled down to his different strategy. Asking another longtime Web guy caused me to be perplexed as had to try an explain it to him in various ways many times. He still didn't 'get it' and thus never really answered. It seems he could not even grasp the concept(!). Perhaps he did not understand the question? Reminded me of meetings with certain financial guys (always guys, sadly) as they can't understand my simple concepts because, perhaps, they are paid to not understand them. Some people resist change and the future. At this point I realized my goal was not just an uphill battle, it would be impossible to accomplish. Thus, since no one wants to have, arguably, the world's strongest consumer economy (until China really kicks in) to have a proper organization concerning high fidelity audio it is time for something new and to go it alone per se to take all the risk.

Would you like to see something new that helps all of us... and more? If so, then first I ask the industry for help because it is obvious no other magazine is daring enough to take immense risk, invest massive funds and perhaps lack the vision and follow-through to have such ideas come to fruition. And yes, how does one make a small fortune in this industry? You start with a big one. Am well aware of Fi magazine, the sad demise of Listener magazine... and others who have been passed around to many multiples of owners like a good-time girl looking for her next 'Jon' for money.

So what is this 'new thing' you ask? Am not going to say for now, though rest assured the wheels are already turning and massive finances are in place. The clock is ticking and might gather more funding as necessary from people who understand the future. Yes my good friends Tyll and Art, am smart enough to never give up control. You see this picture of two pennies, these are the same two I 'began life' with in 1988 after being dead broke, living out of my car and sleeping on the beach. Been there, done that, and am willing to follow my dream and if that means doing it all over again to be where things are 25 years later so be it. As the Grateful Dead sings, "What a long strange trip it's been". Another factor is that, frankly, could not live with myself if I never gave myself permission to try. In my eyes I'd be a big failure due to not having the cahonies to even try. So please sit back, relax, and keep your seat back and tray tables in their upright and locked position because something new is on its way that will benefit us all. Am not doing this for me or some ego-driven bullshit, far from it! Hey, I tried to let others do something per my Memo. Have nearly begged others to help in various ways and my Memo, while greatly received, has spurred virtually nada, zilch... a grand total of Jack shit (and Jack left years ago).

Lead, Follow, Or Get...
Rules, like reality, are only 'limits' to those who choose to operate within that set of parameters. How can the sky be the limit when there are 3000 visible galaxies yet to be explored by the human race? A recent super-computer estimated that the number may be as high as 500 billion. Those who have been pushing the industry forward... who have worked tirelessly to enhance the joy of music... that have a deep passion and love music... You will be rewarded handsomely. Again, this new venture is not about me or Enjoy the Music.com. It is for all of us. Those of you who are ruled by selfish bean counters can continue your self-centered path. Those with open minds who understand the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, you will be rewarded. This site has reached 6000 pages and my personal clock says my time is up per se. So it is me and me alone who is personally forced not go to the next level, but to redefine things. Ok, perhaps not redefine, but to take immense risk. If I fail, the haters can laugh at my then broke ass as I once again live out of a car, sleep on the beach, etc. Hey, that's cool as been there, done that and would gladly do it all over again to follow my dreams. It'll be a 'small' write-off for others, though judging by my track record they know I am working smart, not just hard as hard work is absolutely zero guarantee of success. As harsh as my critics are, am at least 10x more critical on myself.

We have met the enemy and he is us. Please accept my apologies now if I may be a bit short on time in this article, or short on time with you during shows. My shortness in time with you is due to thinking of the millions of people who are waiting for information in a timely manner. It may also be due to other tasks I wish to bring to millions of people worldwide. Again, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

Side Note: Had lunch with a very prominent manufacturer at the Longboat (Beach) Key Club, as we have a nice family home there on the beach, have been members there for many years, and he was amazed at my calmness. Very few of you know the real me per se because you only experience my human entity during shows. Those frantic moments are when time works against me, tick tick ticking away every second. Add to that, none of you have ever been within my home, and there is good reason for that as 'inventions' here are not for you or anyone else to experience at this time. Some of my creative ideas and not ready.... yet.

S.O.N.Y. (Soon Only Not Yet)

Will leave you with this thought: The most valuable commodity we all have is our time. A most humble thanks for choosing to spend your incredibly valuable time here @ Enjoy the Music.com for the past 18 years. Some of you might also know how very special the number 18 is. So here's to life... and to new shit because you, kind reader and those within the high fidelity audio industry, deserve better than the same things warmed over time and time and time and time and time again. As always, in the end what really matters is that you...

Enjoy the Music,

You owe it to the people.
We're so happy we can hardly count.
It could be made into a monster if we all pull together as a team.

Our Ad Within RMAF's Show Guide
  Welcome to Denver! Everyone @ Enjoy the Music.com would like to congratulate the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest as 2013's event celebrates their 10 year anniversary! Our heartfelt thanks go out to this amazing, diverse, and expanding industry as new technologies allow us to increase our enjoyment of music. We also want to thank all the manufacturers as there are so many wonderful new products at RMAF, which take hundreds to perhaps thousands of hours to develop. Of course our magazine and show partners play a key role at informing and entertaining enthusiastic music lovers worldwide too.

Naturally it is you, the distinguished manufacturers and distributors within this industry, who deserve accolades for bringing millions of music lovers all around the world a more joyous way of life. From the musicians and recording engineers to those of you who meticulously craft consumer electronics, your efforts are a testament to the reason we are all here today. The world is filled with more musical bliss because of you!

I also want to thank our partner magazines The Absolute Sound, hi-fi+, HIFICRITIC, Hi-Fi World, Sound Practices, VALVE and newly joined HiFi Media magazine to the Enjoy the Music.com family. All of us in the media are helping to educate both seasoned audiophiles and new members who have started their journey through high fidelity audio. Each publication has earned their loyal readership due to many years of hard work and dedication; they all truly deserve to be recognized for their countless hours of effort. Bravo!

To everyone within the high fidelity audio industry, please allow me to wish you and yours a successful and abundant event! Everyone here at Enjoy the Music.com are overjoyed to bring you our virtually live RMAF 2013 coverage. When you get back to your hotel room, please log on and see how we are all working together to show the world the many splendors this industry has to offer! As always, in the end what really matters is that we all...

Enjoy the Music,

Editor and Creative Director, Enjoy the Music.com