West coast gathering!

[warviper]

I was wondering if there would be anypeople interested. I have a fairly large house and I would be more than happy to host a gathering. I would like to have a ton of people over but even a couple would be great. Here is my gear list.

LS90s
1Cs
CS1000p
DefTech bpx
Klipsch rsw12
deftech psw15
Carver TFM 15cb
Sunfire refrence
Sunfire MKII
Yamahaa rx2300
Pioneer 45a dvd sacdp


Yea and i only got like 20 cds that are in good condition the rest are from my younger years when I didnt take care of stuff.

I live in Boise ID and would like to host this so lets make this happen.

[RuSsMaN]

Good on you, for wanting to get something together. That being said, the line starts over THERE.

Troy is hosting a gathering in October on the right coast, so if you *really* want to do something, with 'Polk' backing, I suggest you start milling ideas around August, and shoot for a Dec/Jan date.

Not to say you can't get some bro's togther, by all means, DO IT. I've been over this at length with Polk, and they can only 'sponsor / endorse' so much, if that makes sense.

Cheers,
Russ

[warviper]

Thanx for the info. Maybe a moderator can comment on this. But I would love to do this with or with out polk. Not sure how much Polk helps out with these types of things but I am willing to provide beer, steaks and the space. Please dont take this wrong I would be honered to have Polk the company take intrest in this but I also see how they cant be sending out stuff or people every time some one has a BBQ. LOL I dont have the first idea on how to even start this so if you wanna show me I will learn. We have cold winters here so the January December time frame will be too cold in my opinion. And Im not sure if planing something a year in advanced is a doable thing. Lets take it step by step and see how many would even be interested. Then I will go to polk and see if they will give us their blessing. Sniff Sniff, wished I lived on the east coast. :( Naw the west is still the best.:D

[danger boy]

LOVE IT! this is actually doable. Yes, Dec. Jan is the freakin middle of winter around the Northwest. :eek: we'd be eating frozen steakcicles for sure.

Warviper, count me in bro.

Summer is the best time for outdoor activities.. after we've gotten our listen on.
It would be cool to have a Polk blessing on the gathering.. but since we're so isolated from the rest of the Polk speaker owners.. i say we plan to go ahead with it.

Boise is only a few hundred miles as opposed to 2850 miles to the east coast. give or take a mile or two.
:p

gear I can bring is a nice pair of monitor 7's, tube DAC (woo hoo), and maybe the SVS 20-39PCi

end of July, most of Aug, or Sept all lookin good right now.

Lets keep this movin ahead.

[I-SIG]

I'd love to go, warviper, but what we really need is someone in Utah or Nevada to step up to host so that the location would be more centralized. From here in AZ, it would be about as close to go another TX Polk gathering.

Wes

[hoosier21]

I'm thinking Vegas is close enough to ANYONE on here.

[danger boy]

Originally posted by hoosier21
I'm thinking Vegas is close enough to ANYONE on here.

yes, but are there any club members in Vegas? that's why Boise makes sense for Northwest club Polkies

A AZ gathering makes sense for those members in and near AZ. There are a few members in AZ who are pretty active on here.

Why not just regional gatherings? but if anyone wants to travel to the host city.. as a member they'd be more than welcome. ;)

I'd love more than anything to be able to make the SC gathering. but it ain't going to happen. I"d have to sell my entire HT system to be able to afford just the plane ticket there. :eek:

[scottvamp]

My vote is for AZ or Las Vegas. I could do either. Sounds like fun!

[warviper]

Stop yer bitching, its only 9 hours to Boise from Vegas.;) :D

[I-SIG]

Originally posted by warviper
Stop yer bitching, its only 9 hours to Boise from Vegas.;) :D

Only it take 6-7 to get to Vegas from Tucson!

Wes

[danger boy]

you all could do a Vegas/Tucson gathering.. ;)

[brettw22]

What's amazing is that between Phoenix/Tucson to Vegas there isn't a major freeway between the two of them. Most of the drive is a one lane road.....it fu$%in SUCKS!!!!!!!

[warviper]

Im all for a meet some place else but no promises can be made on my part. It would be great to be able to just get togeather any where.

Al if you want you can stop by to check out the 1cs anytime.

[dorokusai]

Sounds like a great idea for you folks, get that hooked up!

[Airplay355]

wheres the east coast one at? im in NY

[danger boy]

Originally posted by warviper
Im all for a meet some place else but no promises can be made on my part. It would be great to be able to just get togeather any where.

Al if you want you can stop by to check out the 1cs anytime.

thanks.. i'd love to hear em.

I guess we'll never find a place that will accomidate everyone every time, all the time.

I hope we can go with the Boise Polkfest this summer. I know I'd be able to make that. As for any other place outside of WA, ID, OR, or MT, it's doubtful i could attend. I"m willing to travel.. but two to three days to get there just doesn't make enough sense to me.

Lets have a Northwest gathering then a Southwest one, etc.

I'll be in Reno/Tahoe early next month if anyone lives in either place. :p

Lets keep this alive as long as we can.

[audiobliss]

Originally posted by Airplay355
wheres the east coast one at? im in NY

Yeah, I'd like to know, too. I live in NC.

[dorokusai]

SC. East Coast Polkfest (http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=19232)

[audiobliss]

haha; wow; right under my nose. :rolleyes: I couldn't have been more blind. Thanks.

[warviper]

Well Danger Boy let me know the time you wanna come over.

[danger boy]

I will do that.. i'd like to come over in July or Aug. i'll have to see when i can escape for a three day weekend. and drive down on a Fri. and drive back on Sun. It's been years... (over 15) since I was last in Boise.
I'm sure it's changed just a wee bit since then. ha ha ha.

Hey what is your first name?

There are a few other Polkies on here from the Northwest.. maybe once we have a date pinned down.. others might want to make the trip too.

Al the pal

[warviper]

Uhhh Warviper is my first name.;)


Cuong is how its spelled Cwong is how its pronounced.

[avelanchefan]

I-SIG,

Where in Tucson do you live? I am in Tucson also, work at UMC, and live in Sahuarita actually.

[danger boy]

warviper, how does Aug. 7th sound to ya?

I've got a long weekend coming up then... so i wouldn't have to be rushed.

Do you know how far it is from Spokane to Boise? I'm guessing.. somewhere around 6 to 7 hours. give or take an hour or two.

get back to me when you know if that date will work out with your plans. I wish it could be sooner than that.. but i've already got most of July booked up. :D

[dorokusai]

If I start walking now, I think I can make that one....sign me up :)

[warviper]

Originally posted by dorokusai
If I start walking now, I think I can make that one....sign me up :)


If you come can you bring the turtle with you?:D

[dorokusai]

LOL!

[Zen Dragon]

I'm Seattle area, and I'm all for the Nortwest gathering. Keep the info flowing, but Aug sounds great. Jeesh, I know the Polks were built in MD, but you'd think there woulda been more Polk migration than there has been.
Steaks, beer and Polks sound awesome. I have the 1C's also. I'd love to hear them on the Sunfire. I could contribute some mixed CD music, and maybe some gear. I am playing musical amps right now and have several in need of repair in the garage when I find the time.

[danger boy]

Zen Dragon, sounds good man... lets keep this gathering alive.. lets make it Northwest Audiofest 2004

Lets see who else we can get on board. I think there is a somewhat newbie in the Portland area.. maybe he'd be interested too. :D

I got the William Hung CD i can bring :p She bangs, She bangs!! :eek:

[F1nut]

Forget it, I'm not walking!

[warviper]

Cool as long as the main day is sunday Im all good I think we should start talking days that it should be held on. This is gonna be a great time.

[danger boy]

how about Aug. 7th or 8th? that weekend would work for me.. but Warviper, it's your call.

Are you thinking something small on sat. then the main day being on Sunday. or sunday only?

Just want to be on the same page. Once we got the date set... I think more will be on board with this. ;)

al

[steveinaz]

Originally posted by avelanchefan
I-SIG,

Where in Tucson do you live? I am in Tucson also, work at UMC, and live in Sahuarita actually.

Alright! Another Arizonan, thats what I'm talkin' about.

[I-SIG]

Originally posted by avelanchefan
I-SIG,

Where in Tucson do you live? I am in Tucson also, work at UMC, and live in Sahuarita actually.

Sean,

PM sent, bud!

Steve in AZ,

Right on the money! A SW Polkie gathering is looking more and more possible!

Wes

[steveinaz]

You, me, Brett, and Avelanchefan might have to get together, knock back some suds a listen to some tunes!

[warviper]

I gotta buisness to run and i cant get away from it but it would be ideal if you guys could start showing up saturday night so my wifey can make you guys some breakfast. Maybe hook up Al's Svs and watch some movies.


I dont see a problem with that date. Im off to slave away monday morning but feel free to stay the whole day. Lol longer if you like Im realy woudnt mind.


It would be great if you guys could bring different gear and Cds. Ill try to pay the electric bill till after the meeting. ;)

[danger boy]

lets start a list of who is planning to attend. and what gear and software they are bringing. Date is Aug 7th, 8th. Location Boise, ID

1. Danger Boy - SVS sub, CAL tube DAC, some MFSL CD's
2.
3.
4.
5.

[Shizelbs]

Are you serious about hauling that sub down to Boise?

[danger boy]

the beauty of tube subs.. they are light weight. it's a whopping 48 pounds light.

about half the weight of a comparable box sub. Plus I need to build up my arms. ;)

[warviper]

Zen Dragon you still good to go? Ill start PMing my addy to those who wish to show.

[danger boy]

I've been gone and week... and no more people are on board with the Pac Northwest audiofest 2004?

Come on guys... the more people the more beer we can consume. lol

warviper is kind enough to offer up his pad for us to get together and talk and listen and just generally BS in a nice relaxed atmosphere.

How about it guys? Lets make this happen in Boise.

al

[warviper]

.:D

[warviper]

Hmmm anybody else wanna come? Zen and Danger any favorite beers or beverages? Hope there are some last minute people.

[dorokusai]

I'm on the way! Oh wait I'm drunk, nevermind. ;) The only thing I have to say is pictures, pictures and pictures.

[danger boy]

warviper, do you know of any el cheap-o motels in Boise or near your place? I"m really looking forward to this audiofest and drinking some beers and checking out some fine tunes.

BTW, i like most any beer.. except the dark heavy ones.. to malty/hoppy for my tastes. ;)

[warviper]

No need for hotels I have one guest bedroom and a spare bedroom. I also have six couches available if more people are coming over. I would be honored if you guys stayed over.

[danger boy]

warviper,

that's a very nice gesture.. i'll take you up on it. Saving money on a motel.. means more money for beer. ;)

Al

[danger boy]

ok guys... this is only about two weeks away now. How come more Northwest guys haven't signed up yet? C'mon it's not that far to Boise. It'll be more fun than mowing the lawn on a hot summer day. ha ha ha.

who's in for sure?

1. Warviper (host)
2. Danger Boy
3. Zen Dragon ?
4. ??
5. ??

how cool would it be to have a few more guys with more gear to demo? :D

[danger boy]

ok. we're less than two weeks away till we meet for the first ever Northwest Audio fest 2004.

Who else is coming?

A few more guys would be great.

[danger boy]

warviper,

hey are things still good to go? Let me know what's the status for that weekend. If plans have changed... just let me know..

Al

[warviper]

Every thing is still good to go on my end. Making sure the wife is ready and putting togeather some food for you to try it should be a great time. Wish more were coming. Maybe after you confirm that Im not some three eyed freak that next year there will be more people that can come.

[danger boy]

ok sounds good.

Yeah i wish a few more could make it..

Hey if it's alright with you.. my roommate is willing to make the drive down with me. Is it ok if he hangs with us too? He's very nice and a great guy.

Al

[F1nut]

Come on you west coast people, get your arse's in gear. What could be better than hanging out with other Polkies for a day or so and listening to gear!?!

[warviper]

Sure thing. As long as there is still room for the Svs I dont mind at all.;) :D

[dorokusai]

Enjoy the gathering folks, take pics and tell lies :D

[danger boy]

hey guys.. there is still time if you leave now.. to make the Northwest Audiofest 2004 in Boise, ID. lol

It's this weekend!!!

It's open to anyone and everyone from the forum within ear shot of this post.

Any Polkies in Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Utah, Nevada?????

[Zen Dragon]

Sorry guys I have been out of pocket. Had someone leave at work which means 12 and 14 hour days for the last couple weeks. I am very sad to say this weekend is a no-go for me. I have house guests traveling in to visit. I am major bummed as I would have loved to do a Polk gathering. Warm weather, bar-b-que, beer and music just go together in such a great way. I am very sorry I can not attend. :(
Half my Summer's been a bust so far from the work schedule. Missed a brew fest and a blues festival locally too.

[warviper]

Too bad Zen, maybe we can hook up at a latter date. You will be missed.

[Zen Dragon]

Please keep me updated on how it goes, and any other dates or developements

[danger boy]

it's finally time. this weekend.. i'm traveling to meet up with warviper and hang out and listen to some 1C's and Sunfire.

Man this is going to be cool.

I'll take pics and report back next week once my ears recover. ha ha ha. ;)

[warviper]

Just wanted to let everyone know that I had a great time and Al and his friend Rich were real great guys. When i get some more time Ill get to the specifics. Hey Al make sure you post the pics.:D

[danger boy]

I had a wonderful weekend in Boise. Got to meet warviper, his wife and two daughters. Lovely family.

I'll post some pics tonight after work.

stay tuned.

[danger boy]

here is Cuong (warvipers) 2 channel set up. it's built around the (sda) 1C's.

this is my (Danger Boy's) first ever exposure to any SDA's, ever. I've led a sheltered life. what can i say?? ha ha ha

Anyway. We listened to some music without the CAL tube DAC. I was immediately impressed with the SDA effect of the 1C's. (i'm easily impressed) ;)

I was curiouis what the sound would be like if we disconnected the SDA cable. Hmmmm? Interesting. First it sounded pretty flat. No soundstage. To me they didn't even sound like they were in stereo. It sounded like a left and right mono signal only. We quickly reconnected the cable again.

We then hooked up the CAL DAC and continued to listen to more music. Everything from some mellow lounge music to some Black Eyed Peas, to Evanescence, to John Mellencamp.. etc.

The 1C's are hooked up via signal cables, to a B&K preamp running to I think a Sunfire amp, with plenty of power behind it.

After listening to several different types of music.. I was sad to learn that the 1C's appear to lack decent bass. Yes they can handle some bass.. with ease. But not if you leave your treble and bass knobs at 0 or flat. Treble was nice. Bass was somewhat lacking. This of course was not because of a lack of power.. the Sunfire i think was around 300wpc. Plenty of headroom.

Once we upped the bass a few clicks on the B&K preamp.. to me, they appeared to come to life quite a bit.

I'll let warviper correct or add to anything in here he likes.

on to more pics :D

[danger boy]

nice shot of the left 1C ...

[danger boy]

here is Al (danger boy) on the left and Cuong (warviper) on the right.

Discussing the finer points of good beer. lol
not really.

This was the begining of the 2 channel listening.

I thought it was fair that I post a pic so you all would believe me that I was actually there.

Small gathering. warviper, danger boy and DB's roommate Rich. (Rich is taking the pics)

[danger boy]

warviper looking thru his collection of CD's

[danger boy]

here is danger boy on the left and warviper on the right. forgot to attach in earlier post.

[danger boy]

after to many beers.. ha ha ha.

we had to have a seat.. and hook up the monitor 7b's. to the Sunfire amp.

surprising how nice the monitor 7's sound still. The 7's made the trip from Spokane to Boise with ease.. about 400+ miles.

FYI: Banana plugs help make connections much easier with my stubby fingers. :)

[danger boy]

the four of us... warviper , his wife, DB and Rich. this time we let Rich eat and not have to take any more pics. :p

to wrap up our wonderful visit.. we finished it off with a trip to the Texas Roadhouse restaurant.

(try the prime rib. it's excellent)!!

[danger boy]

we did watch a movie and listen to about half of Hell Freezes Over by the Eagles in DTS.

I'll let warviper tell you about his HT set up... and how he liked the SVS.

We hooked up my SVS 20-39PCi. The SVS also made the trip from Spokane to Boise and back again unharmed. ha ha ha.

[F1nut]

Looks like everybody had a good time and good to finally put a face to Warviper, his lovely wife and DB's roommate, I've seen you before Al. :)

The 1C's should have plenty of bass as they are rated down to 15Hz and 35Hz at -3dB, so I'd have to say it was something other than the speakers. For starters, I'm sure spikes would help on that carpet.

Thanks for sharing the gathering with us and hopefully this will inspire more West Coast Polkfests!

[Shizelbs]

I'm glad to hear you all had a good time. At the same time, however, screw you all for not having to work on the weekends. I am jealous and pissed I was not there. Go to hell.:mad:

[danger boy]

I can't say why the 1C's seemed to lack bass... but they did. especially when we moved them away from the back wall.

That was my only experience with any SDA's. I'd need to "borrow" a pair for someone in here for closer inspection. :p

When we upped the bass on the pre.. the bass became mid level bass thumpy. and not hitting very low at all. It seemed unnatural sounding when we did this.

So I can't say why it sounded that way to my ears. I'm not a bass head by any means. but two channel music sounds best to me if there is some bass to it. At a flat level on the trebble and bass.. the bass was nearly gone.

What would spikes do for the sound?

We listened to the 1C's standing and sitting on the floor.. it didn't seem to make any difference to my ears..

[F1nut]

The SDA's need to be close to the back wall to produce decent bass, it's just part of the design. The spikes will anchor the cabinet to a solid mass (the sub-flooring), in turn helping solidify the bass. They are other factors involved including the source, cables and room acoustics.

[warviper]

I noticed that too about the Sdas that the bass was lacking but to me it was because I was so use to boomy bass from other speakers that the sdas natural sounding bass was lacking. It kinda grows on you and when you hear other speakers you get hit in the face with how muddy and booomy they appear to be. Thats why Im gonna leave it at flat on the tone control and and find other fixes for it. The B&k preamp does not do the Sdas any favors in the bass department either it seems to be sucking a little of the bass out some how compared to the Adcom Passive unit that I had hooked up prior to the B&K.

All for now but more to come latter.:D

[dorokusai]

Fantastic, nice to see another face, Warviper, added to the list. I saw a pic of that crazy Al a long time ago :)

Sounds like it was a cool get together. Monitor 7's...sweet.

Al - If you are hearing bass issues, you are a slave to the SVS ;) It could be a number of factors, but only WV knows the particulars. I think the windows behind the speakers may be contributing to the flattening of the bass, due to it not being a true surface. Glass as far as I know, tends to ring or simply reflect to another surface or area...one of which could be outdoors.

I have ran into a "too much" bass issue a couple times given the material, and my listening volume. It has never...ever...been boomy, always tight, placement is 2" from the wall, and the setup is not SDA "recommended".

The "too much bass" experience is due to the fact that one of my 8 mid/bass drivers was tapping, in other words being overdriven. It may be that it is, or will be the first driver to expire at some point. I have "Warm" tubes coupled with an Amp that is known to be really heavy in the bass region....so needless to say, I'm cool in that respect.

I really think that it's 75% gear driven for SDA placement, as the three best setups I have heard, non-standard placement essentially, have been Russman, F1Nut and Myself. None of these setups are "ideal" yet ALL of them sound beyond normal. The SDA is going to do what it does regardless of the room in my experience, within reason.

I guess it depends on how much you subscribe to reflection, room gain, blah blah. I subscribe to the idea, but often there is not alot one is able to do about placement of mains, and you make the best decision possible. I believe in room issues, but I'll be damned if the aformentioned setups aren't stellar regardless of that fact, especially F1Nut's.

As a side note, the common theme in all the best SDA's I have heard?...Tubes. Tube Pre, Tube Integrated and Tube Pre.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it Sound & Vision Magazine!

[I-SIG]

Originally posted by danger boy
After listening to several different types of music.. I was sad to learn that the 1C's appear to lack decent bass. Yes they can handle some bass.. with ease. But not if you leave your treble and bass knobs at 0 or flat. Treble was nice. Bass was somewhat lacking. This of course was not because of a lack of power.. the Sunfire i think was around 300wpc. Plenty of headroom.

Once we upped the bass a few clicks on the B&K preamp.. to me, they appeared to come to life quite a bit.


Interesting. My 1C's dig down pretty well to about 25Hz. I wonder how much help my "tubish" Audio Alchemy DLC preamp adds, not to mention a rather beastly Parasound...

FWIW, I run mine about 6-7" from the back wall and have at least 2 ft. on the outside of each speaker. Hmmm...I think I'll create a System Showcase tonight! :D See how my rinky-dink set-up compares to the other SDAnuts around here.

Wes
(my bass comments come from before I added the SVS)

[warviper]

Now first off is much thanx to Al and his freind Rich for makeing the long trip.

SVS:

The Svs that all brought over looked big and bad. It easily double the size of ieather of my subs. The sound that it produces is clean and strong, not over powering. I think that my dual setup has more volume to it but there seems to be a verry strained sound no where near the smooth sound that the svs makes. I was impressed considering the fact that the svs retails for about 600 and my deftech was almost 900 and the klipsh was about a grand. Some one had it right in there signature, "If I had only known what to buy". Ohh well luckily this is one of lifes problems that can be fixed.



Tube Dac:

Sniff...... man I miss that little black box. Like with most things I find with audio I find that when I first heard it I did not notice that much of a change but noe that it is gone I definitly feel it now that it is gone. The vocals were so much clearer and vibrant. The clarity was spot on and the percision was something that I truely miss.


Monitor 7s:

Well Im just gonna say it, when i first saw the 7s I thought old speakers old sound. I have a pair of speakers in the garage that look similar to the 7s being that they are about 20 years old. That is all that they have in common, the 7s were wonderfull. We hooked it up to the sunfire 300wpc and they sounded almost as good as the 1cs in the mid and high range but they do trail off in the low range. Lol not knocking the 7s they are a about a quarter the size of the 1cs so they do verry admrible job. So bottom line is if you have an opprotunity to purchase a pair you should do it because they are keepers.

To be continued......