Arlington, VA – 12/06/2012 – Following last night’s announcement by The Recording Academy of the nominees for the 2013 GRAMMY Awards  , the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^®, launched today, in partnership with The Recording Academy^®, QualitySoundMatters.com, an online portal that promotes enhanced consumer awareness of higher-quality sound for music.
 
QualitySoundMatters.com offers information to consumers and audio professionals about the importance of sound quality. The site provides insight about how to find and enjoy higher-quality music recordings. QualitySoundMatters.com features articles on products, technologies, record labels, recording artists and music producers who are using quality audio to improve recordings.
 
“Music artists, producers, and engineers spend countless hours in the studio to create a product that they feel passionate about and want to share with the world,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CEA, who wrote about this topic yesterday in a column for Forbes. “When that product reaches its audience in a format that strips it of its details, or when that product is consumed via audio gear that robs it of its uniqueness, both the artist and the audience lose something – namely, the dynamic impact and pure essence of the recording. By partnering with the people who know quality audio best—the Recording Academy—CEA is helping to educate consumers about why quality audio matters and where they can find it.”
 
CEA is partnering with The Recording Academy’s Producers & Engineering (P&E) Wing to bring quality audio and quality audio products together. The Recording Academy’s P&E Wing offers the technical understanding of manufacturing and producing high quality audio while CEA represents the products that enhance consumers’ playback options. By coming together, QualitySoundMatters.com is the ultimate resource on everything needed to understand and achieve a better sounding audio experience.
 
Nine in ten audio enthusiasts say sound quality is the most important component of a quality audio experience, according to CEA’s new market research study, Discovering the Motivations and Opportunities Behind Home Audio Upgrades (November 2012). CEA’s study found several motivators for consumers purchasing and/or upgrading their audio equipment: desire for the latest and greatest technology; need to replace worn-out, broken or outdated equipment; and desire for upgraded audio after life changes such as the purchase of a new home or the end of a relationship. The study also demonstrated that price, quality and size/weight are the most important purchase considerations for consumers.
 
The Discovering the Motivations and Opportunities Behind Home Audio Upgrades study was conducted in September 2012 via in-depth, online interviews of 72 U.S. adults. The qualitative study was designed and formulated by CEA Market Research, the most comprehensive source of sales data, forecasts, consumer research and historical trends for the consumer electronics industry. Please cite any information to the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^®. Each complete study is available free to CEA member companies at members.CE.org. Non-members may purchase each study at the CEA Store.