December 2019

A Look Back At 2019
As we plan for our 25th anniversary in 2020.
Editorial By Steven R. Rochlin

  Virtual everyone within the high-end audio community agrees that 2019 was a banner year for our industry! There were a record number of well-attended events all around the world... for starters. Manufacturers are holding a record number of smaller events at their dealers' locations as well. New products you ask? Again, during 2019 there were a record number of new products launched from both major and boutique consumer hi-fi electronics companies. The above list are just Enjoy the Music.com's reports during 2019, as we have over 240 high-end audio show reports online to date.

Those who attended Munich's major HIGH END event during 2019 were privy to seeing "Enjoy The Music" everywhere they went.  :)

Great Audiophile Gift 2019
Our Great Audiophile Gift 2019 special feature is the largest we've produced to date, with 50 very special products we know many of you will enjoy! We all love gifts, yet getting that something special for an audiophile can be quite a challenge. Enjoy the Music.com's annual Great Audiophile Gift wish list has some truly spectacular ideas for music lovers starting at around $10 and reaching to a still reasonable $500 or so. While last year's gift ideas were extremely diverse, we've asked our readers, manufacturers, and distributors what they felt would make a great gift for music lovers this holiday season. By working together, we've once again completely outdone ourselves this year with 50 Great Audiophile Gift suggestions! We have a free gift for our readers too!

New Reviewers
During 2019 Enjoy the Music.com hired a record number of new reviewers and photojournalists, and we're seeking to hire more! One of our new reviewers is Dr. Michael R. Bump, who is a member of the Percussive Arts Society Board of Directors, and a Professor / Director of Percussion Studies, at Truman State University's Department of Music. Another great new reviewer we hired in 2019 is Bob Grossman, Principal Librarian of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Member of the Orchestra Media Committee. As a musician, he's a retired freelance bassoonist.

Press Releases In 2019?
We had quite a few special press releases, and so below we present those we published during the past 12 months.

HIFICRITIC Celebrates 10 Year Partnership With Enjoy the Music.com
Enjoy the Music.com, a leader in CE audio equipment reviews, news and show reports, are celebrating their ten year partnership with HIFICRITIC audio review magazine. This marks the eighth print publication joining what has been referred to as the Internet's leading site for high-end audio consumer electronics reviews and information. HIFICRITIC's Editor In Chief Martin Colloms and Senior Contributing Editor Andrew Everard see this as a mark of increasing recognition for their professionally produced print publication directed at serious stereo enthusiasts.
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Enjoy the Music.com Sponsors AXPONA 2019
Industry mixer and all seminars are sponsored by Enjoy the Music.com.
Enjoy the Music.com, a leader in CE audio equipment reviews, news and show reports, are joining AXPONA in celebrating their ten years of providing high-end audio events within North America by sponsoring their Industry Welcome Mixer and Seminar Room. AXPONA's three-day experience features multiple hotel floors featuring fascinating listening rooms, The Expo Hall's Record Fair, a dedicated Ear Gear Expo, seminars, and live musical performances. To kick off the AXPONA experience, all manufacturers, dealers, distributors and press are invited to an exclusive Industry Welcome Mixer to network, make connections, and set meetings for the event.
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Positive Feedback Partners With Enjoy the Music.com
Content sharing will expand fan base of both CE audio publications.
Enjoy the Music.com, a significant provider in CE audio equipment reviews, news and show reports since 1995, is excited to announce a partnership with highly-respected Positive Feedback magazine. Both magazines deliver on their vision of content sharing, so that both benefit with enhanced visibility to their perspective worldwide audience. For nearly 25 years, Enjoy the Music.com is an essential resource for information about the high-end audio industry and high resolution / streaming music on the Internet. Positive Feedback's partnership celebrates the ninth publication to benefit from our longstanding readership.
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Stereo Magazine Teams Up With Enjoy the Music.com
STEREO, Europe's most respected magazine, partners with Enjoy the Music.com.
Enjoy the Music.com, a significant provider in high-end luxury audio equipment reviews, news and show reports since 1995, is elated to announce our teaming up with STEREO Magazine. As Europe's most respected magazine, STEREO has successfully reached millions of music lovers throughout the world spanning many decades. This new partnership continues the vision of both publications to share in the joys of music and how to best reproduce it within your home, office, and everywhere possible.
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Enjoy the Music.com Launches Monthly Contests!
Enjoy the Music.com, a longstanding source for luxurious high-end home and portable audio equipment reviews, news and show reports since 1995, is launching monthly gear contests to bring great music to our enthusiastic worldwide readership. Years ago, the site delivered multiple contests that, in total, offered over $250,000 in prizes. During 2012, our High-Stakes High-End Giveaway presented prizes that, in total, were valued at nearly $90,000!
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Enjoy the Music.com Sponsors
RMAF's Industry / Press Party Plus All Seminars
Enjoy the Music.com, high-end audio's celebrated online site since 1995 and a leader in providing industry news, gear reviews, and show reports, is pleased to announce that we're sponsoring the 16th annual Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest (RMAF) Thursday night industry / press party plus all event seminars. For nearly 25 years, Enjoy the Music.com has been a major resource for information about consumer electronics high-end audio industry and high resolution / streaming music on the Internet. We're helping to celebrate Rocky Mountain International Audio Fest's sweet 16th event, which is one of the largest fall season home entertainment show open to the general public within the United States.
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Best Of 2019 Blue Note Equipment Awards
Enjoy the Music.com celebrates the best hi-fi gear of 2019!
Enjoy the Music.com, high-end audio's celebrated online site since 1995 and a leader in providing industry news, gear reviews, and show reports, is pleased to announce our Best Of 2019 Blue Note Awards. Enjoy the Music.com's Best Of 2019 Blue Note Awards celebrates the many great achievements by audiophile manufacturers within the high-end audio and Hi-Res Audio industry.
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Enjoy the Music.com Celebrates 10 Year
Partnership With Hi-Fi World Magazine
Enjoy the Music.com, high-end audio's celebrated online site since 1995 and a leader in providing industry news, gear reviews, and show reports, is pleased to celebrate our 10 year anniversary with partner magazine Hi-Fi World. As an independently owned British magazine, Hi-Fi World specializes in reviewing high-end audio equipment, think pieces, and audiophile show reports.
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Hi-Res Music Finally 'Arrives' In 2019!
While for some it may seem new, quite a few of us envisioned Hi-Res Music on the Internet since the 1990s. Most of us were using dial-up to connect to the web back then, so streaming Hi-Res was not possible as Napster's lossy MP3 took hold. Major music labels, slow to react, were left in the dust. With today's faster Internet connection and the ability to heavily data-mine by the music industry, there's no doubt Qobuz and Amazon will be joined by other major music streaming services during 2020 for those who desire true lossless Hi-Res Music.

Those enjoying Deezer have both good and bad news. The good news is that they now offer lossless CD quality on desktop, and for both Android and iOS apps. The bad news, it is still just circa 1980s CD sound quality. Of course small boutique online music labels have been offering true Hi-Res Music for quite a few years. HDtracks has been selling Hi-Res Music for many years now. Will Apple, Tencent, and perhaps TikTok finally join the ranks of music services to provide true lossless Hi-Res Music streaming? Only time will tell.

And this brings us to...

2020 Marks Enjoy the Music.com's 25th Anniversary
(Phew) Has it really been 25 years since Enjoy the Music.com was launched on the Internet? Some of our readers are not quite 25 years old, and we're hiring new reviewers who are less than 25 too! While a quarter of a century is not that a long a time from the perspective of the age of our universe, we are happy to be one of the most longstanding authorities on the Internet. In fact the world's very first high-end audio show report online was by Enjoy the Music.com's Creative Director Steven R. Rochlin. With well over 240 show reports online and over 20 years of industry news, to name a few things, it is always interesting to look back at where we were, where we are right now, and of course where we want to be during 2020 and beyond. I look forward to you joining us for 2020 as we celebrate our very special 25th anniversary.

As always in the end what really matters is that you...

Enjoy the Music,

Steven R. Rochlin