Welcome to the first presentation of EISA’s product awards in which SoundStage! Hi-Fi has taken part. SoundStage! Hi-Fi became an EISA member in June 2018, and is the organization’s only Canadian member.

EISA’s origins date back to 1982, when the editors of five European photography magazines met to select The Camera of the Year. The organization wasn’t then formally called the European Imaging and Sound Association, but as its membership and the types of products for which it presented awards grew to include audio and video, that was the name they settled on. As of August 15, 2018, EISA includes more than 55 print magazines and websites worldwide -- which is why the letters of its acronym now stand for Expert Imaging and Sound Association. At EISA’s website, www.EISA.eu, you can learn more about all of the current award categories, see a list of member organizations, and learn about who runs EISA itself.

The 2018-2019 EISA product awards were agreed on by all EISA members following a lengthy selection process that began in May 2018 at the EISA Global Press Convention, held in Antwerp, Belgium. The six product-award groups correspond to the names of EISA’s current Expert Groups: Hi-Fi, Home Theater Audio, Home Theater Display and Video, In-Car Electronics, Mobile Devices, and Photography. The Hi-Fi and Home Theater Audio awards are published in full on this site, as they’re of direct interest to our readers. We’ve also provided menu links to the EISA website for the list of awards for the other Expert Groups. Each of EISA’s other member print magazines and websites will also publish some or all of the awards on or after August 15, 2018.

The award trophies will be presented on August 31, 2018, in Berlin, Germany, at EISA’s annual gala event. In attendance will be representatives of the winning manufacturers, as well as people from EISA member print magazines and websites -- including SoundStage! Hi-Fi.

For more about EISA and the awards process, watch this short video featuring Paul Miller, President of EISA. We filmed it in Antwerp in May, at the 2018 EISA Global Press Convention.

. . . Doug Schneider
das@soundstagenetwork.com