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Audio Show Visitors [message #67295] Fri, 29 April 2011 17:35 Go to next message
AudioFred is currently offline  AudioFred
Messages: 377
Registered: May 2009
Location: Houston
Illuminati (1st Degree)
I hate to be an old curmudgeon, but since I'm not selling anything at this year's LSAF I can afford the luxury of being one. So here's the link to someting about audio show visitors I posted way down in the torture chamber of the AudioRoundTable dungeon after last year's LSAF. http://audioroundtable.com/forum/index.php?t=msg&th=12510&start=0&

In that post I did fail to mention the worst visitor from hell, the guy who brings a CD of bad music, badly performed, badly recorded, badly mixed, and badly mastered, and wants to hear every torturous second of a nine minute track played at jet-engine-spooled-to-takeoff-power volume levels. So this year no Metallica Death Magnetic, no Californication, no steam locomotive sound effects tracks, no barry Manilow, and please no Lawrence Welk favorites. If you need to californicate please do it in Wayne's or Duke's rooms. Laughing
Re: Audio Show Visitors [message #67297 is a reply to message #67295] Fri, 29 April 2011 18:17 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18678
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Oh, God, another total belly laugh! Fred, that's just too funny! Made even more so by the thread of truth in the humor. I had forgotten your list from last year, but now remembering, just laughed my ass off.

You know, I always have at least one of those bad music guys visit my room every year. And it never fails - he's a lingerer too. It's not always the same guy, and the length of his stay varies from year to year. But there's always at least one of those guys.

I endure their bad music because it is important to them and because for every one bad music guy, I get to be introduced to wonderful new music from ten good music guys. So the balance still falls heavily towards the enjoyable side of the scale. But you're so right about the bad music guy. He's there, and he wants you to play that nasty old MP3 track of some weird music that runs everyone out of the room.

I remember the first show like this I ever did, I noticed John Wolfe ran a pretty tight ship in the Classic Audio Reproductions room, playing his own record albums at a fairly loud volume, and staying behind a partition away from the rest of the people in the room. It was like he was sort of isolating himself from his audience, fellow enthusiasts and potential customers. I remember wondering why he did that. But I now know why - It was because bad music guy could ruin his show!

I've talked with him at other shows since then and realized he is not aloof or something like I first thought. He was just deep into the moment, enjoying his presentation, grooving with the sound. And avoiding any possibility of a run-in with bad music guy!

There's something to be said of that. Maybe I should limit the selections in my room too, make sure the only things played are quality cuts. I've been guilty of allowing some pretty strange stuff to be put into the player. But then again, like I said, there's always those ten new albums I find every show. So, naaah, it's worth the risk. I'll keep myself open to suggestion, let people play what they want to hear. Just please understand if you walk into my room and hear the chinese teahouse court orchestra playing nine inch nails cover songs - I didn't bring that disk - kindly excuse yourself and come back in a half hour or so. And bring something pleasant to listen to.

Re: Audio Show Visitors [message #67305 is a reply to message #67297] Sat, 30 April 2011 05:28 Go to previous messageGo to next message
AudioFred is currently offline  AudioFred
Messages: 377
Registered: May 2009
Location: Houston
Illuminati (1st Degree)
Wayne Parham wrote on Fri, 29 April 2011 18:17


Just please understand if you walk into my room and hear the chinese teahouse court orchestra playing nine inch nails cover songs - I didn't bring that disk - kindly excuse yourself and come back in a half hour or so. And bring something pleasant to listen to.




I really do feel sorry for the RMAF exhibitor who's spent thousands of dollars to be there and must sell at least one more $80,000 speaker between the show and the end of the year to break even for that year. Just as he cues the bad music guy's disk the Stereophile reviewer whose assigned to do a feature story on "obscenely overpriced speakers that only an audiosnob would buy" walks into the room, sits for 12 seconds, and quietly leaves. Shocked

Fortunately we don't have that pressure at the LSAF, and we can tolerate a few minutes of bad music, laugh to ourselves about it, and find that Mr Bad Music is a nice guy whose musical tastes are just different from ours.
Re: Audio Show Visitors [message #67335 is a reply to message #67305] Sat, 30 April 2011 22:25 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18678
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Your first paragraph made me want to reply with the pics of the lauging guys, 'cause it really busted me up. But your second paragraph made me think; You know, you're really right. Hit the nail on the head with that one, methinks.

Re: Audio Show Visitors [message #67735 is a reply to message #67335] Thu, 19 May 2011 10:31 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18678
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

This year, I got a big surprise. Bad music guy burst into my room, as gregarious as always. Not in a bad way, don't misunderstand. But still, I grinned and shaked his hand, secretly cringing in expectation of the disk he would want me to play. Sure enough, here it was. I can't tell you which disk it was because that would give him away. He's someone I would consider a friend, or at least a welcome aquaintance. It's just that his music usually, well, sucks. So but I popped in his disk and discretely turned the volume down a smidge as it loaded up. Then a smidge more down for good measure.

The music started and it was actually pretty good. Tuneful, tight, recorded and mixed very well. I reached for the remote to bring the volume back up. Bad music guy surprised me with this one. He brought in a really great disk. Smile

Re: Audio Show Visitors [message #67737 is a reply to message #67735] Thu, 19 May 2011 11:03 Go to previous messageGo to next message
AudioFred is currently offline  AudioFred
Messages: 377
Registered: May 2009
Location: Houston
Illuminati (1st Degree)
I didn't have any bad music guys, but I had more than the usual number of backsiders (people who study the backside of the equipment). Next year I plan to tape this image to the backside of the speakers:

index.php?t=getfile&id=411&private=0
Re: Audio Show Visitors [message #67743 is a reply to message #67737] Thu, 19 May 2011 12:55 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18678
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

That's freaking hilarious!

You know, I did too. I think they were looking for Duke's magic mystery stuff!

Re: Audio Show Visitors [message #68224 is a reply to message #67743] Fri, 17 June 2011 22:44 Go to previous message
gofar99 is currently offline  gofar99
Messages: 1903
Registered: May 2010
Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, I somehow missed this thread and agree. We were quite fortunate that there were few bad guys visiting us. I suspect that it was because we were often playing vinyl and they had never seen an LP before and figured we couldn't play their CD. I had the Oppo on the lower shelf and it was rather inconspicuous. I plan on doing the same next year as well. This time with more vinyl and my now nearly perfected tube phono preamp. With the exception of the Oppo it will be totally analog. Now if I could just convince someone local to lend me some Martin Logan ESLs we would be ecstatic (almost rhymes with electrostatic). Very Happy

Good Listening
Bruce
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