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Home » Audio » General » Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 1
| Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 1 [message #1555] |
Mon, 02 May 2005 14:51  |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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I was very pleased with the turnout of the Great Plains Audiofest. It started out as essentially a combined club meeting for the Tulsa and Houston Audio Clubs, but quickly became something more. Many of us had been itching for something like this for a long time, so it was immediately evident that this should become an annual event virtually from the start.We kind of threw together the show quickly, from conception to event in just two months. So that's not a lot of time to get the word out. But I was amazed with how great it turned out. Next year's success is assured, and we'll probably extend through Sunday and make that a seminar day. We made the mistake of not posting any schedule on the GPAF website, opting instead to make announcements here. That's fine for the "locals" and people involved in the clubs, but there were a whole lot of people that found the GPAF website by other means. So they did not know we would be taking down on Sunday and I heard there were several people that came Sunday afternoon, some even coming from out of town. I'm very sorry that happened, and next time we'll put a schedule on the GPAF website. Still, the event was incredible. I got to see a lot of old friends and I made a lot of new ones too. This deal is a keeper. The Embassy Suites is beautiful and its staff was pleasant and helpful. Room acoustics in hotels are never good, what room is, really, but as that goes, these were probably towards the better end of the scale. All room boundaries were very solid concrete except the wall facing the atrium. It was drywall and not braced. But the rest of the room and furniture inside was solid. The carpeting and furniture deadened the room just enough that no one treated their rooms at all. The systems sounded pretty good in those rooms. The atrium was attractive, and the open area tended to keep each of us from "walking" on each other acoustically. The hotel staff was slightly concerned that we would make a lot of noise that might fill the atrium - and we most certainly could have done that - but that's not what these kinds of shows are about. Music levels are typically no louder than conversation levels, or maybe just a bit above. Ironically, the fountains in the atrium below were louder than anything else, and it made us all tempted to shut our doors for serious listening sessions.    
Click photo for larger view
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| Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 2 [message #1558 is a reply to message #1555] |
Mon, 02 May 2005 17:27  |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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Geddes and AudioKinesis Room
It was a real treat having these two at GPAF. I've known Duke for quite some time, and I think he must be the nicest guy in the business. When you meet him in person, he'll always greet you with a big smile full of warmth. Real warmth, not just the salesman smile. He has teamed up with Dr. Earl Geddes to bring a truly exceptional series of loudspeakers to market. The Summa loudspeaker was on display at GPAF.
Geddes Summa Loudspeaker
They were handing out flyers and diskettes with information about the speakers, so they came prepared. In case you missed your copy of the diskette, here is the specifications document that was on it:
I really like these speakers. They are a DI matched two-way, with a 15" midwoofer and a 1" compresson driver. So naturally, I'm in agreement with its design principles and really liked their sound.
Duke LeJeune and Earl Geddes
Earl is one of the most interesting people in the business. There are a lot of talented people in this business, but Earl is alone in one aspect. He is both academically popular and also approachable to the general public. You don't see that very often. Most of the people that publish a lot in academic circles don't involve themselves much with the public. Those that get directly involved with manufacturing, sales or DIY aren't usually publishing a lot for peer review. But Earl does both, and I think that's to his credit.
In person, Earl is a lot of fun. He is just as quick to get into a discussion if the situation is right. He loves to take a contrarian position, often arguing a point that opposes his own published and stated views. Earl sits quietly and watches, and if the conversation takes a turn that is interesting for him, out will come a stream of information. But as you might expect, he marks his words with passion, not like a repository of information but more like an artist striving to make the painting just right.
Duke and Lori LeJeune
Duke brought his wife Lori, and she was a most pleasant and gracious hostess. To tell the truth, she stole the show. Lori brought some little lamps that got everyone's attention. She sold more of them than she brought. Check out the lamp at the lower right in the photo below. As the lamp slowly changes colors, it steams off water vapor that looks like fog that settles in the valleys at dawn. It hangs in the air, sneaking over the edge of the lamp and drifting away. That thing was so cool, I just had to buy two of them.
Earl and Duke, standing beside the Summa loudspeaker
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| Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 3 [message #1559 is a reply to message #1558] |
Mon, 02 May 2005 18:03 |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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Great Plains Audio Society Room
The Great Plains Audio Club room was manned by Mark Margiotta, who recently purchased an Audio Note system, including a pair of Audio Note Conquest monoblocks and AN/E Series speakers.
Mark was very helpful preparing for the Great Plains Audiofest, as were many of the other members of the club. We had all talked about doing something like this, and when it came time, everyone pitched in to do their part to make things go as smoothly as possible, to help out of town visitors and to make sure everyone felt welcome.
Here is a photo of the Tulsa gang, all of whom could be seen in the halls and rooms of the Embassy Suites last weekend:
Standing, from left to right: Mark Margiotta, Phil Wilson, Wayne Parham, Forrest Merrill, Mark Fitzgerald and Akhilesh Bajaj
Seated: Anitesh Bajaj
And one more, Bill Wassilak:
Bill Wassilak standing beside Johan Van Zyl and Vinay Balamuru of Rhino Acoustics (BassMax)
Mark Margiotta brought in his Audio Note system and he and Phil Wilson treated people to munchies and drinks throughout the day Saturday. Mark has been a long time vacuum tube enthusiast, and has a very nice vinyl collection. He has recently switched from planars and high power push-pull tube amps to SET and higher efficiency speakers. It was nice that he brought his new Audio Note system, both because it is a great sounding rig and also because the Audio Note dealer couldn't make it.
Audio Note USA's David Cope planned to be here, but did not show up. I was told that he may have had a death in the family, and if so, we reach out to him. David skipped the Stereophile show to be here in Tulsa, so it would have taken something major to keep him away. We wish him the best. Mark's system sounded very nice and served as a fitting demonstration of Audio Note gear.
Audio Note Conquest Monoblocks, AN/E Series Speakers, Sota Satellite turntable, Meridian CD player and Audio Illusions Preamp
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| Great review and pics [message #1560 is a reply to message #1559] |
Tue, 03 May 2005 07:47 |
spkrman57
Messages: 522
Registered: May 2009
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Illuminati (1st Degree) |
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Wayne,
Great for those of us who could not attend to see the pics and the people. I had to settle for the "WAF" (Wrongsideofthetracks Audio Fest) here in Columbus, Ohio (See General forum for info).
One of these days I will have to travel down to one of your(Tulsa audio groups) get togethers.
Ron
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| Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 4 [message #1561 is a reply to message #1559] |
Tue, 03 May 2005 15:05 |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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Brines Acoustics Room
If you've never heard a single driver speaker, then this room would have spoiled you. If you have, then this room might have surprised you. Single driver speakers have often been touted for their coherence and imaging. But the tradeoff usually means limited bass and reduced volume, sometimes some coloration.
Brines' speakers don't have these tradeoffs. You get the single driver magic and the bass. Even from Lowthers. That's right, I said Lowthers. I'm the guy across the atrium running the huge 15" 600 watt woofers in horns and I'm telling you these speakers made some serious bass.
Brines FB-16, FT-1600 and LT-2000 loudspeakers
Deep bass wasn't the only thing that impressed me about these speakers. The overall presentation was good, and tonal balance was right. Bob Brines choses components that have controlled cones so midrange is nice and treble is extended without being shrill. He also uses a compensation network to ensure that the response is just right.
Bob Brines
In the photo below, you see Bob Brines' SP-10 subwoofer, which uses a Peerless 850146 in a 2.0ft3 cabinet tuned to 30Hz. It sounds good with the small FB-16 speakers, but isn't required with the larger ones. They go to 40Hz. On the other hand, crossing over to the mains at 100Hz reduces IMD by reducing bandwidth, so it is an option to consider with any of the models. But the bottom line is that the larger speakers don't need a sub.
Jim Rivers showing his appreciation of Brines' speakers
You'll notice that Bob brought a portable CD player and a Tripath amp, both sitting on top of the sub in the picture above. These are small enough to carry in your shirt pocket, and make plenty of sound. But Bob also connected three nice tube amps, just so we could all hear several system combinations.
The AudioTropic Musical Machine, Nelson Audio Image SE8 and Heart Audio Stoetkit Jr. MkII were played in the Brines room at one point or another. The Musical Machine sounded very nice, and is really a great match for single driver speakers. It's a beautiful amp with lovely sound, but it didn't have quite the power output Bob wanted. I suspect the Walkman didn't drive it to its full level. The Image SE8 is a wonderful little amp, but it didn't do it for Bob, so it was used elsewhere. But the Stoetkit struck a chord.
Heart Stoetkit Jr. MkII sitting on Brines SP-10 sub
Bob seemed to like the Stoetkit, and I understand because I was smitten by that little amp too. Frank Stuppel provided those to AudioRoundTable.com participants as a group buy last summer, and I fell in love with it right away. You can find more information about the Stoetkit in the FSAudio forum. Here's a closeup view:
Heart Audio Stoetkit Jr. MkII
So there were lots of things to see and hear in the Brines Acoustics room. If you're interested in single driver speakers and you didn't get a chance to hear them, make every effort to audition a pair sometime.
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| Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 5 [message #1562 is a reply to message #1561] |
Tue, 03 May 2005 16:08 |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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Houston Audio Club Room
Fred Thompson manned the Houston Audio Club room and treated us to his FredArrays. Man, these speakers really sound good. Much better than they have a right to, given the cost figures Fred claims. I told him he should sell them, no kidding. Give 'em a name like "Great 888" and sell 'em for $888, whatdya think? But Fred says there's no sexier name than FredArray. 
FredArray speaker
I am so glad I got to meet Fred. We've visited so many times here that I felt like I knew him. He is really a neat guy, and more talented than he gives himself credit for. I'm telling you, those speakers of his are really neat.
Fred Thompson with his FredArray speakers
I wouldn't change much about the Great Plains Audiofest next year, but one of the things I'll definitely do differently is to allow myself more time. For example, next year, I'll ask someone in the Tulsa group to act as concierge, getting neccessaries for out of town exhibitors that need them. I'll ask another to act as photographer. And another will be in charge of promotions and press releases. The reason is that I found myself doing this stuff and it gave me little time to sit and listen as much as I'd like.
I really wanted to spend more time in Fred's room, to listen to his Ella amp and other goodies. I got to hear several songs on the FredArrays - enough to realize they were pretty awesome speakers - but I intended to get back more. We were able to eat dinner together Saturday night, along with our wives, the Margiotta's, the LeJeune's and Earl Geddes, and that was a pleasant evening. But I really wanted to spend more time with Fred, because he is such a nice guy and he has a lot of really cool toys to check out.
Here is some of the other equipment:
Dk Design Group VS.1 Reference MkII Integrated Amp and Scott Nixon Tube DAC
Ella Amplifier with KT88's
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| Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 6 [message #1578 is a reply to message #1562] |
Tue, 03 May 2005 23:01 |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18792
Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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Abraxas Audio Room
Abraxas Audio specializes in hand-built, made to order amps. But unlike some of the other custom builders, you can get a nice amp from Abraxas Audio for less than a few thousand bucks. In fact, you can get an amp from Jef for just a few hundred bucks, and it's really a great looking and great sounding amp. That's less money than most of the popular kits, so you might be asking how Jef can afford to make these groovy amps so inexpensively.
I'm thinking he has a rich uncle or something.
Just look at these things:
The way I identify Abraxas Audio amps is by color. Most of them have a brushed aluminum chassis with an anodized or painted color trim, but each is different. The first one I saw and heard was the blue one that Jim Denton bought. It sounded surprisingly good, especially for the price. Must be the rich uncle. At GPAF, Jef brought a yellow amp and a black amp, and Jim's blue amp was there too.
Jef and Deborah at Abraxas Audio
If you're wanting to make the plunge into a lower power SET amp, I suggest you drop Jef a line. You can get an amp from him for less than you'd spend on a good kit, and you won't have to pick up an iron.
Here's another view:
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