A Letter to the Editors & their Editorial Teams

[JackD201]

Dear Eds,

So what are your battle plans this year? For those of us unfortunate enough not to be able to attend, we are forced to live vicariously through show reports. Sadly, so many rooms get passed over. As a result we are forced to basically amalgamate whatever is on line to get as complete a picture as we can from wildly divergent sources. Some have pictures and names of products but no impressions whatsoever. Some just cover the usual suspects which already get a lot of press on their own. I think this is a bit sad especially for the smaller, newer companies who need the exposure more, some of whom might actually deserve it. You print and online organizations are very much relied on. The bloggers can't cover much being one man armies plus we don't know, for the most part, what their biases are. They are however becoming more and more appreciated. Something that should be taken note of, and I'm quite sure you have. Some of you have already enlisted some.

I guess what I am saying is that my New Year's audio industry wish is to have reports that have a more unified feel to them. Teams acting like teams during the play-offs as opposed to all stars at the all star game. Cover every inch of the court and do it with intensity! Well, try anyway. That's where the plan comes in. So coaches, errr, editors, what's the plan?



Jack

 

[jap]

Do you really expect any of the top reviewers to respond to your post on this site with less than 5K members?

This is a wonderful forum, but I really doubt the folks that do most of the CES reporting are following the daily activity here.

BTW, all I want to see are some high quality pictures, who cares what anyone thinks of the SQ of systems in hotel rooms.

For HiEnd manufacturers this is a dealer/rep show.

 

[JackD201]

yep and I AM a dealer/rep. Quite a few of us here from Scandinavia to Asia if you haven't noticed. Many not attending either. There are also quite a few Editors and Senior Asst Editors on this board too. This site has the highest concentration of both that I know of 5k membership notwithstanding.

 

[jfrech]

Coverage is very spotty and generally pics and the press release blurbs. For the amount of money spent on a show like this...you'd think the industry would cover better...it's free advertising for the manufactures and our industry needs new clients. Helps us all...

 

[MylesBAstor]

Dear Eds,

So what are your battle plans this year? For those of us unfortunate enough not to be able to attend, we are forced to live vicariously through show reports. Sadly, so many rooms get passed over. As a result we are forced to basically amalgamate whatever is on line to get as complete a picture as we can from wildly divergent sources. Some have pictures and names of products but no impressions whatsoever. Some just cover the usual suspects which already get a lot of press on their own. I think this is a bit sad especially for the smaller, newer companies who need the exposure more, some of whom might actually deserve it. You print and online organizations are very much relied on. The bloggers can't cover much being one man armies plus we don't know, for the most part, what their biases are. They are however becoming more and more appreciated. Something that should be taken note of, and I'm quite sure you have. Some of you have already enlisted some.

I guess what I am saying is that my New Year's audio industry wish is to have reports that have a more unified feel to them. Teams acting like teams during the play-offs as opposed to all stars at the all star game. Cover every inch of the court and do it with intensity! Well, try anyway. That's where the plan comes in. So coaches, errr, editors, what's the plan?



Jack

Jack,

You're in the industry and know that there's a million reasons why. Speaking as an industry veteran, it would take days to write a reply to this subject. All of you have to remember that reporting on audio show is far more than going from room to room like a robot and writing everything down. (not to mention that 99% of us pay OUR own way to these shows.) These shows are HUGE and there's the human factor involved. It is impossible, even setting limits for each writers coverage, to just go from room to room without talking to people. That doesn't even begin to take into account that there are many other people, writers, distributors and dealers also vying for attention. Also remember this is a trade show and business comes first for the exhibitors so in the end, it's not about the sound. For instance, for one person to cover every room at the show and not to talk to anyone would require probably being in each room no more than five mins. Hands? Any volunteers? No the mags do a damn good job and I'm sorry if the readers are disappointed.

As far as the coverage goes, the industry tries its best to cover all the rooms and goings on at all the shows. I actually think that that Stereophile and TAS do, considering everything that goes on, a damn fine job.

 

[LL21]

I know it seems silly for an audiophile group to listen to video/audio snips...but I have to admit, when Audiogon used to post video/audio snips of each room at CES using (I think) largely the same recording equipment (Albert Porter?)...it was a lot of fun to actually listen to many of the various setups that were at the show.

 

[JackD201]

Hi Myles,

I know all too well how tough it is. I tried to do it at the Tokyo Audio Show for all of you guys and my notes are still on paper and my pics in my camera. I'll post most of them for sure next month. What the experience did was really make me appreciate what show reporters go through. I mean, you gotta really love this stuff to do it at all.

What I was wondering is if there's a particular plan of attack, a coordinated one. I suppose if one had an army of competent reporters you wouldn't even need one. Just let 'em loose! Not quite the case in a shortage situation.

Thanks for your inputs!

 

[MylesBAstor]

Well I think TAS and Stereophile take the best approach eg. Each reviewer is assigned a particular area eg. expensive amps, speakers, digital, entry level gear, etc. But OTOH, that reviewer still wants to see the whole show!

The iPad definitely helps. Taking notes on the iPad for each room saves a step in writing as well as preventing some errors in translation. But you still have to take the time to also go through the pictures and edit them for either print or the web (that has different requirements).

But once again, it comes down to the size of these shows nowadays and the time we have to cover them. The 21/2 days set aside for RMAF for example is way too short to cover all the rooms! One has four days for CES and still it's impossible to see all the rooms.

 

[JackD201]

Speaking about wanting to see the whole show, in Tokyo, there were multiple set ups in the rooms and these were played according to prepared schedules. One had to really make an itinerary. It was tough going into a room then not be able to listen to what you came in there for. Man that was tough. If I could read japanese I would have known that was the way things were. Well, now I know

Our show is so modest in size that even as an exhibitor I can get to hang out in most of the high-end rooms. Then the doors close for the night and we REALLY get to hang out and punish the heck out of each other's systems. LOL.

So no set assignments by you, David and the gang at PFO?

 

[mep]

I think Myles summed it up best. TAS and Stereophile provide the most in-depth coverage with assignments handed out to all writers. But then, I assume all of those writers trips to the shows are fully paid for by the magazines. As Myles said, 99% of reviewers are paying for their own airfare, rental car, hotel bill, and meals. I already feel like a robot at the shows-so much to see, so little time. It's supposed to be a fun time, and yet it can easily turn into something different.

The other truth is that hearing great sound at an audio show is a rarity and not to be taken for granted (IMO). Let's face it, most rooms don't sound so good. They sound like small hotel rooms crammed full of gear and people that won't stop yammering. And when rooms do sound bad, where do you begin to assign the blame? Can you really single out one component and assign the blame or do you just trash the whole room and paint everything in it with the brush of suspicion?

At the last RMAF, after hearing the sound in the Paragon room hosted by Larry and focusing on Nick Doshi's electronics, I had to force myself to get up and leave and trudge around to the rest of the rooms. And yes, the Wilson Audio demo at the Hyatt down the street was something to be heard as has been discussed earlier. That's why I went back several times to soak it all up. Back at RMAF, whenever I and my ears needed a break, I made a dash to the Paragon room to recharge my batteries.

You are asking for the impossible Jack.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

So what are your battle plans this year?

It may surprise you to learn that the reports you want are an adjunct to the main reasons most of us attend industry shows. My purpose in going to CES is to look for interesting products for review and I usually do very little reporting. This year, since our "team" is small, I will pitch in.

 

[Peter Breuninger]

Perhaps you missed our show coverage There's nothing like it.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Perhaps you missed our show coverage There's nothing like it.

LOL! Always the Promoter!

I enjoy visiting your space often....

 

[microstrip]

(...) As far as the coverage goes, the industry tries its best to cover all the rooms and goings on at all the shows. I actually think that that Stereophile and TAS do, considering everything that goes on, a damn fine job.

Being some one who reads forum coverage mostly for enjoyment (thanks to WBF usually we usually get information about new products before shows), I think that with help of few volunteers who keep track of the CES coverage in different sites and mags we can get a nice perspective of the show. Personally I do not care for videos or audio clips (sorry PB), but love the pictures, small details about the systems, such as cables and music being played, and mostly the high-end gossip ...

 

[jap]

If you want to track the CES coverage on different sites and mags, I suggest you bookmark this site:

http://www.dailyaudiophile.com/

 

[treitz3]

That's a nice contribution to the WBF forum itself and topic at hand, jap. Much appreciated.

Tom

 

[microstrip]

If you want to track of the CES coverage on different sites and mags, I suggest you bookmark this site:

http://www.dailyaudiophile.com/

Thanks jap - I was thinking about them, but could not find the bookmark.

 

[jap]

Thanks jap - I was thinking about them, but could not find the bookmark.

I bookmarked after I saw it posted on WBF earlier this year, see Post #216 here:

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...th-to-Personal-Revelation&p=189425#post189425