| pinkmouse |
edit by V: *** http://uk.diyaudio.com/festival07 ***
Hi folks
Well, this is just a provisional idea, but it's about time we all got together to listen to each other's stuff and drink some beer.
We would probably be looking at some time in the summer, located somewhere relatively central. So, if you're interested, have something wonderful you want to show the world, just fancy meeting other like minded folks, have a venue available, or whatever, post away. :) |
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| richie00boy |
| I'd be up for it, especially if it's that hall near Ant. Summer will give me time to get moving with some projects! |
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| pinkmouse |
| quote: | Originally posted by richie00boy
Summer will give me time to get moving with some projects! |
Exactly! ;) |
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| dnsey |
| Sounds like a great idea! How about near (time and location) the NVCF, for those who have to travel? |
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| pinkmouse |
| What's the NVCF? |
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| poynton |
Count me in!
Will it be a swap-meet as well?
http://www.nvcf.org.uk/
Andy
PS for moderators
What about starting a new section on the forum for meetings like this ??
This is so well buried. I only stumbled onto it by chance!!!!!
Andy |
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| Tenson |
I'm up for it if it is near-by. If not, then I might have to befriend PinkMouse with some beer and cookies and scrounge a lift hehe! ;)
I'm about to build some small coaxial floorstanders soon so I could drag them along, maybe. |
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| sharpi31 |
| That is an excellent idea - I am up for it, assuming the venue isn't the south coast..... |
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| pinkmouse |
Points roughly in order:
NVCF is in April, that might be a bit soon
Swap meet - possibly, what do people want?
Good idea on the new topic, we'll discuss it.
I'm sure we can sort something out regarding lifts, Graeme Finlayson is close as well and he might be up for it.
Sharpi31, how about Lands End? ;)
Back in an hour or so, I'm going to watch Ronnie O'Sullivan play now. |
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| SimontY |
Hello PM,
Nice idea. I might be up for a meetup, it would be great to put some faces to names I regularly see on here, such as your own.
I'd not like to drive any more than 3 hours ideally, but being in Sheffield I can reach most of England easily enough, especially the way I drive. :devilr:
It looks like many of you are down South, but to be fair our Scottish friends, we'd need to have something no lower than the midlands or so, lol. Or else it's a terrible drive (or expensive train ride).
Simon |
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| martin clark |
| I'm up for it, can provide lift from South west (bath-bristol area) |
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| giulio |
Guys,
it sounds great. For those of you w/in travelling distance from London there is also the London DIY Hi-Fi Circle. In theory the website is here but the connection seems rather slow.
The circle has a rather long tradition dating back to the 60s. It meets once monthly on the last thursday of the month in a pub close to Victoria Station and occasionaly at members' home meetings.
Quite a few UK-flagged people hanging out here are members.
Best
Giulio |
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| pinkmouse |
| quote: | Originally posted by giulio
It meets once monthly on the last thursday of the month in a pub close to Victoria Station and occasionaly at members' home meetings. |
I went up to one near the The British Museum a few years ago. They seemed to be a bit valve obsessed. ;) |
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| SY |
| If you do this in a place where less-than-nosebleed lodging is available, I might pack up the wife and kid and make a summer vacation out of it (my winter vacation was ETF). |
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| AndrewT |
| quote: | | located somewhere relatively central |
that'll be Perth then :joker:, central to the Scottish World .
Forget the flat earth folk:whacko:, they got it completely wrong , Everything revolves about Scotland :tongue:. Check the planets next time your outside. |
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| SimontY |
| quote: | Originally posted by AndrewT
that'll be Perth then :joker:, central to the Scottish World .
Forget the flat earth folk:whacko:, they got it completely wrong , Everything revolves about Scotland :tongue:. Check the planets next time your outside. |
I passed through Perth recently, had a MacDonald's meal there. The Scottish countryside is nice. |
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| rowemeister |
delusional springs to mind :whazzat: :clown:
Brent |
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| poynton |
| quote: | Originally posted by SimontY
.......... had a MacDonald's meal there. |
And survived ?????
or was that when you turned green ?
or did you mean Mr. and Mrs. MacDonald, of 14 Acacia Avenue? |
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| SimontY |
| It was a bit scary but I was so hungry having climbed 3 mountains in 2 days and it's a long way from home. :warped: |
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| pinkmouse |
| quote: | Originally posted by SimontY
...had a MacDonald's meal there ... having climbed 3 mountains in 2 days... |
Have you seen a psychiatrist recently? I can recommend a couple if you want ;) |
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| AndrewT |
Hi,
can we take a poll for takers between Dunnet head (north of John O'groats) and Mull of Galloway or should that be Lamberton (to exclude any location on the wrong side of the Border)?
Oh heck! let's include the Norsemen on the islands if they want to partake.
I wonder if that Mac :ill: could put one off ever re-visiting the mountains? :umbrella: |
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| SimontY |
| quote: | Originally posted by pinkmouse
Have you seen a psychiatrist recently? I can recommend a couple if you want ;) |
Hehe, perhaps it sounds harder than it is. I reached the summit of three - Ben McDuie (sp?), Ben Lawes and Cairn Gorm (not much snow for a ski resort lol). But only one (Ben Lawes) involved 1000m of actual ascent. My knee hurt at the end of day two :-| |
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| SimontY |
| quote: | Originally posted by AndrewT
I wonder if that Mac :ill: could put one off ever re-visiting the mountains? :umbrella: |
I'll definately be back to Scotland for more. You do have good mountains. ;)
Just let's not talk about the unheated curry house or pub in Pitlochry. :no: |
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| AndrewT |
Hi,
I live on what seems to be one (a pygmy version), we had snow last night and again this afternoon. (I'm typing this at 1030feet AOD). Yes, that's higher than the M6 going through the Lake district!
On a clear day :rain: I can see Ben Cleuch from my front door ( about 45miles)
Does Lawes have an "r" in it? |
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| jacco vermeulen |
| quote: | Originally posted by pinkmouse
Have you seen a psychiatrist recently? |
Actually Al,
after 4 weeks on the Highland route i would have comitted homocide for either a psychiater or McDonalds.
One realises to have picked the wrong partner for such an endeavour when you start talking to 80lbs of backpack, stuffed with muesli and freeze dried rations, because the Scottish mountain buddy is a nut who is busy writing his memoires all day.
The bloke wrote lengthy pages each day in his book on how well his brekky of muesli and water tasted, the same story all over every evening for the freeze dry and water ration dinner.
(i recollect getting drunk on Lothian road and Princess street afterwards, loosing the SCO-NL darts match, before jumping an Edinburgh punk lass. The lady had a B/F in jail, but she carried a smashing P&T collection. You're welcome to call me Eddie Hitler.) |
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| rowemeister |
LOL
Nice one
Brent |
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| adfinni |
Im sure i could find some time in the summer after ive graduated.
Just DON'T let me touch anything, or it will die / explode / implode / explode again !!!!! ;) |
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| rowemeister |
LMAO
There will be a 10 meter exclusion zone from all equipment and you must wear oven gloves
LOL
Brent |
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| poynton |
So How many so far are interested ??
I guess that any overseas visitors who make the trip will be welcomed.
Andy |
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| AMV8 |
A UK meet sounds a great idea.
I sounds like agreeing what equipment sounds like might be a piece of cake compared to agreeing upon where a " central location" for the meet" might be.
Does central mean central to the UK? At the moment it seems to have a bias towards central Scotland or even central Scottish highlands - although that region does have great countryside.
One advantage of being a little further south is that it does get a little warmer the further south you go!
Don |
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| richie00boy |
| I think Andrew was just poking fun. I'm not going to Scotland anyway! |
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| rowemeister |
Me either
I don't have a skirt :clown:
Brent |
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| adfinni |
| quote: | Originally posted by rowemeister
Me either
I don't have a skirt :clown:
Brent |
Im sure i can lend you one of mine. I have plenty that were used during fancy dress in my first year :D |
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| SimontY |
| quote: | Originally posted by adfinni
Im sure i can lend you one of mine. I have plenty that were used during fancy dress in my first year :D |
lol, any excuse to wear women's clothes! |
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| SimontY |
Is this thing supposed to be held at someone's house then or what? Who has a big house? And who doesn't mind the risk of people they don't know coming in and potentially being naughty (eg helping themselves to one's possessions)?
Not having ever done such a meet before, how do we ensure there are no such problems? Is this forum immune to riff-raff? I'd like to think it is but you never quite know...
Would people be bringing various bits of kit to show off? I'd imagine that's a big part of it, so it needs to be somewhere we can actually listen to gear properly.
Who here has done a meetup like this before and how did it all work out?
Simon |
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| rowemeister |
| quote: | Originally posted by adfinni
Im sure i can lend you one of mine. I have plenty :D |
:bigeyes:
:fim: should you really be telling us this LOL
Brent |
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| rowemeister |
| quote: | Originally posted by SimontY
Is this thing supposed to be held at someone's house then or what? Who has a big house? And who doesn't mind the risk of people they don't know coming in and potentially being naughty (eg helping themselves to one's possessions)?
Not having ever done such a meet before, how do we ensure there are no such problems? Is this forum immune to riff-raff? I'd like to think it is but you never quite know...
Would people be bringing various bits of kit to show off? I'd imagine that's a big part of it, so it needs to be somewhere we can actually listen to gear properly.
Who here has done a meetup like this before and how did it all work out?
Simon |
I've done a meet up with the BMW car club, we hired a race track for the day and did loads of tyre ripping :D
Also did a meet up with some mates I play Xbox online with and we went to Alton Towers. That was a right laugh.
Not sure how this would work though
Brent |
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| dnsey |
| A hotel seems like a good bet. 'Domestic' conditions without disrupting someone's home, and drinks, food and accomodation readily available! |
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| pinkmouse |
| I was thinking of possibly two options, a pub with function room/s (and B+B would be nice), or a village hall type thing. |
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| poynton |
More than one room would be better.
One for general display / bragging, one or more for listening/comparing.
I think 2 (at least) would be better to cope with the analog/digital rivalry!
Hotels usually have small function rooms as well as conference rooms.
Obviously, someone with good haggling skills will have to do the honours.
Also, if the date is made later rather than earlier, announcements could be made in the local press and national hifi mags. to drum up interest if a swap meet was held. Entry, table fees would help with costs.
Andy
We could also get more people along if we advertised it to TV fans. |
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| pinkmouse |
I don't mind the haggling, as an event production manager I used to do it all the time! :).
I just need recommendations for a decent place. |
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| rowemeister |
The Doncaster Moat House :D
Brent |
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| pinkmouse |
| I was thinking more of the Warwick, Stratford or Oxford areas, so other halves have something to do if they come along! ;) |
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| poynton |
Coventry central is better.
Better motorway connections from all areas.
Andy |
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| poynton |
The Chase looks OK.
Plenty of different rooms and at least you know the costs.
But where IS Nuneaton ?
Andy |
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| SimontY |
| quote: | Originally posted by poynton
But where IS Nuneaton ?
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I really don't know! All of those pubs serve real ales, which is key to evening relaxation. I'd say you're looking in a sensible area now. Not far from London for all you southeners, and not terribly far from the north either!
Will we need some kind of special permission to play loud music? lol
Simon |
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| AndrewT |
Hi,
maybe "poking fun" as Richie said, but equally the Scottish listeners (and non Scottish that choose to live here) might prefer less travelling and arrange an alternative but more local meet. |
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| poynton |
| quote: | Originally posted by SimontY
Will we need some kind of special permission to play loud music? lol
Simon |
That depends on whether you would bring along your sunami-inducing multi-driver speakers (or haven't you finished them yet ?)
Andy |
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| SY |
From one of pinkmouse's links:
"Please note we do not accommodate 18th or 21st birthdays."
This is why I love Britain. |
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| SimontY |
| quote: | Originally posted by poynton
That depends on whether you would bring along your sunami-inducing multi-driver speakers (or haven't you finished them yet ?)
Andy |
The project for extra bass went on hold. To be honest I've found the bass is now adequate, the main improvemen coming from all the CD63 upgrades I've recently done. I am going to try building speakers with 4 x 7" drivers for a friend's new home cinema system though! ;)
Simon |
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| ash_dac |
| Make sure you find a place that sells pork scratchings to go with the beer. |
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| ShinOBIWAN |
Wow, lots of interest here.
I for one am definitely in. DIYing loudspeakers is a lonely business around my parts so meeting up to enjoy the company of like minded nutters sounds great to me.
Al already knows the details but I'll throw it out there again:
I have FOC access to a large venue with 3 rooms, one of which is a good sized lounge another is a rather large hall with a stage and the final one is yet another hall about the size of a five a side football pitch. To the rear of the building is a large concreted playground area. The building itself is detached and its no concern about noise so we would have the option of playing stupidly loud.
The building is located in the suburbs of Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
So just thought that might be another possibility for some, eitherway I'll go with whatever suits the masses, providing we can arrange a suitable date and that it isn't too far a drive.
I've got a couple of interesting bits of kit I could bring along, including the PC and projector to demo room correction and PCXO FIR filtering in conjunction with others loudspeaker designs - it would be interesting to see how much things can or cannot be improved. I also have a reliable and fairly accurate test jig so could measure drivers and loudspeakers if there's any interest in that. But sadly I don't currently have any DIY loudspeakers I can bring along but if I get my backside in gear that might change by Summer, if not I could bring some KEF Reference 201's for comparison. Also have a four channel amp based on Aussieamp NX150 Synergy modules running in class A for 50w per channel. |
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| adfinni |
| quote: | Originally posted by rowemeister
:bigeyes:
:fim: should you really be telling us this LOL
Brent |
Lol YA i don't really care tbh :D
Id love to hear some other gear, mainly speakers, as as much as (lots of as's) i love my modded monitor audios, i want more, but don't wana spend £1k on some dynaudios that ive taken a fancy to. Plus at a meet i could show off my lovely millett hybrid and HF-1 combo ! |
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| pinkmouse |
Flying visit...
Ant's place sounds good, I just didn't want to assume it was available without his confirmation. The small room for critical listening, the medium size for mucking around, and the large would be good to set up as a testing suite, that big, gating should be pretty straightforward!
What do other people think of Chesterfield? I suppose we would also need to sort out local accommodation. Is there a nearby pub for ash_dac's pork scratchings? ;)
On another point, would you like me to try and sort out some supplier presence?
:edit:
I can see a Marantz modding showdown as one attraction. ;) |
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| eeka chu |
I'm a student in the electronics department at York university and the events organiser for our IEEE branch...
I could ask around and see if I can find some rooms here for a meet up if enough people wanted to come... it might also be easier to get suppliers along to a univeristy.
There are rooms to sleep in at the university that can be rented by the public, they're usually free during the holidays I think.
Our electronics department actually has a section devoted to audio electronics... I haven't explored that floor yet. They must have some good rooms in there.
There's a good chance I would be able to get the exhibition rooms for free if I sell it as a chance for the students to check things out... quite a lot of people here are interested in audio.
York is fairly well placed in the middle of the country and there's a futuristic bus with a 'pilot' and sound effects rather than a bell that stops outside the station that'll bring people to the doorstep of the university. It also has an automatic ticket machine that has been the source of much anger in York. That, combined with watching tourists try to talk to the driver, errr pilot, through the plastic shielding around him, makes for a fun bus journey.
York has 9,637 pubs and tea shops. Which is impressive, as only 8 people live here. Fact. |
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| Tim F |
Central London > Chesterfield 160miles
Central Edinburgh > Chesterfield 260 miles
Central Bristol > Chesterfield 160 miles
Central Buxton > Chesterfield 25 miles
Sounds pretty central to me.
Seriously though its just off the M1
Mainline for trains & buses.
OK for hotels
Plenty of pubs
With the offer of a detached venue what more can you ask for? |
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| Tenson |
That sounds like the best idea to me, since it has easy public access and accommodation.
| quote: | Originally posted by eeka chu
I'm a student in the electronics department at York university and the events organiser for our IEEE branch...
I could ask around and see if I can find some rooms here for a meet up if enough people wanted to come... it might also be easier to get suppliers along to a univeristy.
There are rooms to sleep in at the university that can be rented by the public, they're usually free during the holidays I think.
Our electronics department actually has a section devoted to audio electronics... I haven't explored that floor yet. They must have some good rooms in there.
There's a good chance I would be able to get the exhibition rooms for free if I sell it as a chance for the students to check things out... quite a lot of people here are interested in audio.
York is fairly well placed in the middle of the country and there's a futuristic bus with a 'pilot' and sound effects rather than a bell that stops outside the station that'll bring people to the doorstep of the university. It also has an automatic ticket machine that has been the source of much anger in York. That, combined with watching tourists try to talk to the driver, errr pilot, through the plastic shielding around him, makes for a fun bus journey.
York has 9,637 pubs and tea shops. Which is impressive, as only 8 people live here. Fact. |
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| RobWells |
I'll try and make it.
Rob. |
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| ShinOBIWAN |
| quote: | Originally posted by pinkmouse
[B]Flying visit...
Ant's place sounds good, I just didn't want to assume it was available without his confirmation. The small room for critical listening, the medium size for mucking around, and the large would be good to set up as a testing suite, that big, gating should be pretty straightforward! |
Yep, I voluntarily do the books for Littlemoor Charity who are the folks who run and maintain the building I suggested so get it for nothing. I've had the building on a few occasions now for birthdays, Christmas etc. Even had a mate do a DJ set there once for family and friends, he'd brought along a large pair of pro Mackies and the whole thing was pretty intense, eventually as we all got more ****ed it turned into a karaoke night though. What I'm trying to say is that we won't be distrubing anyone and its very roomy.
I'll drop in and take a few shots on my way home from work on Monday to give folks a better idea.
We'll have to book a date a couple of weeks in advance just to be sure we're not sharing the building with the local slimming world class or something daft.
| quote: | | What do other people think of Chesterfield? I suppose we would also need to sort out local accommodation. Is there a nearby pub for ash_dac's pork scratchings? ;) |
There's at least 4 decent sized hotels I can think of that are between 5 and 15 minutes drive away. I can get further details if there's interest and I can assure that at least 2 have beeroffs attached.
BTW, the building I suggested has an entertainment license so its legal to consume alcohol on the premises. Big bonus. Most places would scoff at that. :D There's also a chippy, off license and supermarket straight across the road for munchies and supplies. The main thing is that they sell chocolate brownie flavour Frijj milkshake, I grab one of those virtually everyday on the way home from work... yes, there is indeed a god.
Also has good access via bus and train with both of those being only a short 10 minute taxi drive to the venue. I don't mind picking folks up from the train station if need be. |
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| ShinOBIWAN |
| quote: | Originally posted by eeka chu
I'm a student in the electronics department at York university and the events organiser for our IEEE branch...
I could ask around and see if I can find some rooms here for a meet up if enough people wanted to come... it might also be easier to get suppliers along to a univeristy.
There are rooms to sleep in at the university that can be rented by the public, they're usually free during the holidays I think.
Our electronics department actually has a section devoted to audio electronics... I haven't explored that floor yet. They must have some good rooms in there.
There's a good chance I would be able to get the exhibition rooms for free if I sell it as a chance for the students to check things out... quite a lot of people here are interested in audio.
York is fairly well placed in the middle of the country and there's a futuristic bus with a 'pilot' and sound effects rather than a bell that stops outside the station that'll bring people to the doorstep of the university. It also has an automatic ticket machine that has been the source of much anger in York. That, combined with watching tourists try to talk to the driver, errr pilot, through the plastic shielding around him, makes for a fun bus journey.
York has 9,637 pubs and tea shops. Which is impressive, as only 8 people live here. Fact. |
Sounds like a great venue, if its easier for people than my suggestion then I'm up for that too. York isn't far away from me at all.
Would be nice to get back to a Uni, even if it was only for a day or two. Had some great times supposedly 'studying' during my younger years.
Hmm... when I was at Sheffield Uni, the media studies block had a rather tasty Genelec outfitted studio using the big 3-way soffit mount designs. Wondering if you audio engineering department would have something that was similarly lust worthy for us to maybe sample.
York is also a beautiful city, plenty to see and do and yes, tons of little cozy pubs hidden away. So for those that bring along their wives it could make a nice mini vacation. |
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| float |
I'd be up for this is possible, but I like to keep the other half and hobbies as separate as possible.:D
Coventry still sounds ideal -most central, at least geographicallly.
My living here has no bearing whatsoever on this suggestion:angel: |
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| richie00boy |
| I'm for Chesterfield myself purely because it's less than 15 mins from my parents house :) Could do York though if it ends up there. |
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| pinkmouse |
| Much as I love York, (and it is the centre of the entire universe :D), it is about 5 1/2 hours drive away for me... |
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| len_scanlan |
Just found this thread - fantastic, it's about time we UK diyers had a meet. Have been jealous of all the get-togethers our friends in the USA organise seemingly every month.
Chesterfield sounds like a good venue, my vote is for somewhere a few extraneous dBs of volume won't get the local council round with a noise control order. No probs with the location, I'd be heading up from London, its only a few hours away.
Hopefully I'll have my new sub ready by then and possibly a few other bits'n'bobs I'd be delighted to show.
My suggestion would be for June / July -ish so we all have time to get a lick of paint on the speakers and the mess-o-amp-modules in a box.
Maybe we could also arrange a table or two for anyone interested in a swap / trade kind of thing?
cheers,
Len. |
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| SimontY |
| quote: | Originally posted by pinkmouse
I can see a Marantz modding showdown as one attraction. ;) |
So can I LOL :whazzat:
Chesterfield and York are easy for me to get to. Especially Chesterfield, I could almost walk!
Simon |
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| AndrewT |
Simon,
waaalk with all that gear under your arm?
If I'm walking, I better set off now to make June/July.
Second call for a poll of Scottish based listeners. |
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| SimontY |
I'll probably only bring my cd player. I doubt anyone would be interested in my other gear. Maybe preamp as that's easy to move!
But seriously, I will not be walking, it would probably take many hours lol |
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| EC8010 |
I visited York once. Didn't like it. Nor Coventry. But at least Coventry is reasonably accessible (although the beer was rubbish).
SY: You can stay at our place. You don't mind cycling up there on the tandem, do you? |
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| pinkmouse |
I think we need to club together to get Rob a 7.5 Tonner so he can bring all four of his Labhorns. ;)
I'm sure a couple of tables for swapping stuff would be feasible. |
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| jacco vermeulen |
| quote: | Originally posted by pinkmouse
Much as I love York |
Would you prefer Wales ?
A few days of B+B in June/July (Beer and a Barf) and a meet with some of you blokes sounds lovely.
I've got some travel due thanks to the G/F doing a Monaco casino 3-nighter in March. (med-conv., my foot)
An allnighter on the ferry to Hull for Yorkshire pudding is fine by me, i live at a five minute drive from the P&O and Cobelfret terminal, a bit closer to London would be much nicer.
Hi-de-Hi :clown: |
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| SY |
| quote: | | SY: You can stay at our place. You don't mind cycling up there on the tandem, do you? |
Perfect. That way, Jimmy can stay behind and destroy your speakers while we're off hobnobbing. "But I was just trying to play with the cats!" |
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| poynton |
| quote: | Originally posted by jacco vermeulen
Would you prefer Wales ?
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????? |
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| EC8010 |
| quote: | Originally posted by SY
That way, Jimmy can stay behind and destroy your speakers while we're off hobnobbing. |
Ah, did I not mention the 'No kids' rule? |
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| SY |
Ah, did I not mention the "gotta bring the wife and kid to get away with THIS one" rule? That's why I was concerned with lodging costs.
Also, we cannot stay at a hotel that has a minibar. My wife is firmly convinced that if you quadruple the price of a Toblerone, it tastes much better. |
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| jacco vermeulen |
| quote: | Originally posted by poynton
????? |
Good morning, campers.
=> PRESS
Stuart,
you're supposed to place it in the micro-wave, suck it empty with a straw and put the Toblerone box back in the minibar. |
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| poynton |
| quote: | Originally posted by jacco vermeulen
Good morning, campers.
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well, if you are getting personnal.
Bring your caravan and chocolate sprinklies !! |
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| jacco vermeulen |
| quote: | Originally posted by poynton
Bring chocolate sprinklies |
Da teg. |
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| SimontY |
| I could bring my sub... it just about fits in the car lol :devilr: |
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| RobWells |
| quote: | Originally posted by pinkmouse
I think we need to club together to get Rob a 7.5 Tonner so he can bring all four of his Labhorns. ;)
I'm sure a couple of tables for swapping stuff would be feasible. |
Steady Al, only have 2 of them built :D - have the wood cut for another 4, but no drivers. The ones in my front room ain't going nowhere - they're behind my screen and my missus has just informed me that they're staying put :) .It was a ****** to squeeze them in and they actually are jammed against the ceiling.:devilr: I have access to my works van so could in theory bring 4, and would love to hear what they'd do in a big space. Better get my garage cleared out enough to start assembly.....
Rob. |
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| eeka chu |
Since there's been some interest I'll start asking about a visit to York, it'll take forever with it being an institution so it's best to start early!
I know we have a conference organising section, but I'll see what I can get from the electronics department directly. And whether I can put it forward as an IEEE event...
To get free stuff, it'd have to offer the students something as opposed to just being a meeting for audiophiles. So it'd be helped if it was in the format of... 'heres this circuit, heres why it sounds the way it does, heres how it sounds' to some extent.
The York station is on the coast mainline from London to Edinborough, so you can get here from there direct. It's also direct on the Liverpool, Manchester line. So carrying gear on the train wouldn't be too much of a problem.
The bus is easy, it even has 'university' written on it and goes past the station every five or ten minutes.
There's a central hall here that looks remarkably like a UFO that we might be able to get for listening.
As legend has it, Hendrix himself played in the hall during the 60's, as well as Bob Dylan - who was later banned.
York University has over 1 million ducks. Only one of these is Fit Duck. 
If you visit you must pay him homage, breaddy homage, lest he strike ye down with his mighty jedi powerZ! :hot:
York is the second most visited city in the UK, after London. It also has an M&S, H&M and other clothing related department stores for wife & girlfriend distraction. |
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| poynton |
| quote: | Originally posted by SimontY
I could bring my sub... it just about fits in the car lol :devilr: |
Get a bigger car, Simon !!! |
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| janneman |
Err... Is it too off-topic if I ask about the programme? Are you guys looking at say, two days with a sleep-over in between? Full weekend? I would love to come.
Are you planning time for presentations (there must be quite a few guys with interesting things to explain or experiences to relate)? Like parallel listening sessions with presentations, or what?
Jan Didden. |
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| pinkmouse |
| quote: | Originally posted by janneman
Err... Is it too off-topic if I ask about the programme? |
C'mon Jan, give me a chance. I only pitched this idea a couple of days ago! :) |
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| Netlist |
Depending on the date I might eventually pop in with some wine and an ugly but good working amp.
/Hugo |
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| pinkmouse |
| quote: | Originally posted by Netlist
Depending on the date I might eventually pop in with some wine and an ugly but good working amp. |
Hasn't SY already booked that gig? ;) |
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| janneman |
| quote: | Originally posted by Netlist
Depending on the date I might eventually pop in with some wine and an ugly but good working amp.
/Hugo |
I can give you a lift provided the wine fits in my trunk ;)
Jan Didden |
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| janneman |
| quote: | Originally posted by pinkmouse
C'mon Jan, give me a chance. I only pitched this idea a couple of days ago! :) |
Al,
I wasn't targeting you! You deserve our praise just for the idea! I thought maybe someone would have ideas about the programme? What they want to do, see, listen etc?
Having been involved with the initial DutchDIY meets, I know it's important to put a skeleton programme together early. It may (partly) drive the venue choice.
Jan Didden |
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| pinkmouse |
Okay guys, my thoughts as they currently stand.
Firstly, I think we need to keep this first event relatively simple. We can always expand for next year, but I would like to grow based on a sound footing.
So, I suggest we use Ant's Chesterfield venue this time around. York sounds great, but once we get into using a venue like that, things get complicated, i.e. insurance, security, tailoring the programme to suit their needs etc. Maybe next time.
So, how do we do it. I suggest we start with a 1 1/2 day programme, kicking off at lunchtime on a Saturday, and all day Sunday. The small room will have maybe three booked events, the Marantz CD showdown looks like one possible, maybe a chip amp session, I'm sure we can add more as we go along. The rest of the time we can organise some informal auditions and listening.
The medium size room will have a demo/mucking around area, with perhaps a couple of presentations, (if we can find willing volunteers), along with swap tables, and if I can get them, a couple of trade tables as well. Normally, traders pay a concession fee to sell, but this time around, as it is a new event, I may just see if we can get a couple of door prizes out of them.
The big hall will be set up as a test suite, so people can bring along their own kit for measuring, with a rota of volunteers manning the PC, (Ant and Vikash come to mind for that duty! ;) ). Of course, if the weather is good, we could set up outside for a sub shootout as well.
So, what I need from you guys:
Most importantly, does this sound feasible?
A date. I suggest around the end of July, beginning of August.
Ant, can you email me with the hotel details, so I can follow that up?
Anyone willing to do a presentation, or have ideas on what you would like to hear about? edit: I could do an introductory guide to Eagle if people want.
People to bring kit! :) |
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| ShinOBIWAN |
| quote: | Originally posted by pinkmouse Okay guys, my thoughts as they currently stand.
Firstly, I think we need to keep this first event relatively simple. We can always expand for next year, but I would like to grow based on a sound footing.
So, I suggest we use Ant's Chesterfield venue this time around. York sounds great, but once we get into using a venue like that, things get complicated, i.e. insurance, security, tailoring the programme to suit their needs etc. Maybe next time. |
Sounds fine to me Al and since there's interest then I'll flesh the details out a little more.
I'll drop in tomorrow and get some photo's taken to give folks an idea of what to expect. I'll say now that its spartan and basic since its really a community building run by a charity on a tight budget. It is however a well maintained and clean but well used grade 2 listed building that used to be the local school back in the late 19th and early 20th century.
The facilities include a kitchen, male and female toilets as well as a food preperation area that ajoins all three rooms.
The main hall is wood panel flooring and very high vaulted ceilings and the smaller hall is pretty much a similar construction. The L shaped lounge area is carpetted with much lower ceilings. Overall its more suited to serious listening and pretty much the perfect size to allow speakers to breath well away from walls but no so large as swallow up standmounts. Its possibly big enough to run two setups in there, obviously not at the same time but the option is there anyway.
The building has plenty of chairs and tables that we can make use of as well as other basic things such as a couple of fridges/freezers, microwave, kettle, glasses and cups and so on.
When it comes to options for food, well we're spoilt for choice really. Pizza Hut, Domino's and a raft of Greek, Indian and Chinese fast food places that will do delivery. Straight over the road from the club is a fish and chips place, a newsagent and a Spar supermarket. Alternatively we can book and go out for a meal, there's a really nice Italian place I know if the masses like that sort of thing, there's also a decent hotel/pub called the Olde House that does nice food just a couple of minutes drive or about a 15 minute walk from the club.
Here's a quick map showing the location of Hotels relative to the venue:
Red is the venue. Green are the hotels:
1 = Olde House
I mentioned this one above as a possible place for a meal, its also a hotel too. Its within walking distance of the club(about 15 minutes). Bit more info on that here:
http://www.infotel.co.uk/10117
2 = Travel Lodge
Don't really know much about this one. Its about 5 minutes away in the car.
http://www.travelodge.co.uk/find_a_...21/Chesterfield
3 = Travel Inn
There's also the Travel Inn, which is about 10 minutes drive away. I had friends stay in this one over new year and they said it was really nice, I do know it has a family pub attached to it too:
http://www.premiertravelinn.com/pti...o?hotelId=24048
4 = You tell me :D
And finally there's another one but the name escapes me, it is however about 15 minutes away and situated very close to Chesterfield town center and is also close to the train and bus stations. I'll find out what its called and post details.
| quote: | | So, how do we do it. I suggest we start with a 1 1/2 day programme, kicking off at lunchtime on a Saturday, and all day Sunday. The small room will have maybe three booked events, the Marantz CD showdown looks like one possible, maybe a chip amp session, I'm sure we can add more as we go along. The rest of the time we can organise some informal auditions and listening. |
Sounds good, the lounge would be the best choice for more serious listening.
If we do have it over here then it would be feasible to bring along my next design and this room would be ideal to really stretch its legs so I'll really pull my backside out and try and get the Tarantism's finished in time for this event, most likely will be bare MDF enclosures but it'd be nice to get some feedback on them:
I'd like to maybe see a cable test of some kind just because I've still yet to hear any real differences between differing types, would be nice to explore that a bit more.
I also really enjoy auditioning amps so the more of those the better, especially if someone brings along class D, class A, class AB and some tube flavour too. I'll bring along whatever I have at the time.
| quote: | | The medium size room will have a demo/mucking around area, with perhaps a couple of presentations, (if we can find willing volunteers), along with swap tables, and if I can get them, a couple of trade tables as well. Normally, traders pay a concession fee to sell, but this time around, as it is a new event, I may just see if we can get a couple of door prizes out of them. |
I've got a projector which I'll be happy to do a PCXO, FIR filtering and DRC demonstation on. Others could also bring along photo's, slideshows or whatever else that runs on a PC to show on the big screen.
Would be nice if someone could teach us more about passive XO design too.
Speaking of the projector - if there's enough demand I could bring along the KEF Reference 5.1 setup, my screen and do a cinema setup so we could watch a movie at some point. Got plenty of 720 progressive high def material with suitably overblown soundtracks. Could even use the same setup for a bit of big screen PC gaming.
Just throwing ideas around.
| quote: | | The big hall will be set up as a test suite, so people can bring along their own kit for measuring, with a rota of volunteers manning the PC, (Ant and Vikash come to mind for that duty! ;) ). Of course, if the weather is good, we could set up outside for a sub shootout as well. |
Yep if someone wants to bring along drivers for TS testing or maybe others want a rough idea of how how their speakers measure - not a problem. I think between me Vik we'd have virtually every type of measurement covered using a fairly extensive range of programs.
| quote: | | A date. I suggest around the end of July, beginning of August. |
That's perfect actually as its in the summer holidays plus we should be having good weather then.
| quote: | | edit: I could do an introductory guide to Eagle if people want. |
Eagle? What's that Al?
What we really need is plenty of kit there of all types, I'll bring what I can but we'd soon get bored of that unless we have a good variety, commercial stuff certainly welcome as it would make for interesting comparisons! So really don't be shy about what you bring. Personally speaking I'd like to see speakers, amps and cables, the more the better. But the thing that all of us would be most interested in is others music collections, I love listening to something that I've never heard before and even stuff that might not be quite to our taste can often be a real eye opener and there's also the chance that we'll get hooked on something completely new :)
PS. We ought to compile a list of the stuff folks might bring to give us an idea of how we can better shape the demos and sessions. I think the worst thing we could do is turn up with a load of kit and then just hap-hazzardly swap bits without any direction. I think that would likely be pretty unfulling for most. |
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| richie00boy |
Ant I think your #4 is the Chesterfield Hotel?
If you want to email me the images you just put up I'll host them, as your bandwidth limit has been exceeded. |
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| Netlist |
| quote: | Originally posted by pinkmouse
Hasn't SY already booked that gig? ;) |
OK, I'll wire mine properly.
| quote: | Originally posted by janneman
I can give you a lift provided the wine fits in my trunk ;)
Jan Didden |
We'll make it fit. :)
Nice offer. I'll keep in touch.
/Hugo |
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| pinkmouse |
| quote: | Originally posted by ShinOBIWAN
Eagle? What's that Al? |
The PCB layout program. :)
I'd like to hear a Class A shootout, Krell vs Pass Labs perhaps? It would be nice to have a certain amount of reference kit to compare to as well. |
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| Netlist |
Well, if AlephX fits in the trunk...
/Hugo |
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| poynton |
| quote: | Originally posted by pinkmouse
I'd like to hear a Class A shootout, Krell vs Pass Labs perhaps? It would be nice to have a certain amount of reference kit to compare to as well. |
We need some kind of agenda so that a balance is drawn between input (analogue and digital), amps ( valve, solid state , chip-amp) and speakers.
One thing I would like to see/hear is the controversy over blue lights in cdps. Brents Marantz has them in ??
Andy |
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| ShinOBIWAN |
| quote: | Originally posted by richie00boy
Ant I think your #4 is the Chesterfield Hotel?
If you want to email me the images you just put up I'll host them, as your bandwidth limit has been exceeded. |
Forgot about Chesterfield Hotel, its actually right next to the train station that one. Number 4 is close by and I think its a Forte Posthouse Hotel. |
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| SimontY |
| quote: | Originally posted by poynton
One thing I would like to see/hear is the controversy over blue lights in cdps. Brents Marantz has them in ??
Andy |
You're kidding, right? I really don't think you'll hear such a small change in an unfamiliar system and room, over a short listen. Maybe we can compare his and mine. The differences will make it worthwhile hearing both.
If you were serious though....his player has a switch for the LEDs. My LEDs are not on a switch.
It does look like we'll need some kind of agenda now with so much interest gathering!
Simon |
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| poynton |
| quote: | Originally posted by SimontY
You're kidding, right?
Simon |
:D |
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