AK Fest 2007. Will the fest move ?

[grumpy]

Well its looking like it just may.

A few ( but not to many) complained about the hotel we have used in the past. Yeah its dumpy. Yeah it does not fit in with "high end" audio, Yeah the neighborhood could be better.

BUT AK fest is not about the snobs who would not attend due to an area thats not really all that bad. AK fest has never nor does it plan on ever aspiring to be a rocky mountain fest, Stereophile or CES. AK fest is about friends, lack of the typical attitude that comes along with these shows. Its more of a pizza/beer party accompanied by tons of great audio and good friends and always will be. Few of our members would care to attend some stuffy snooty show. After all thats why AK was founded to begin with wasn't it ?

With that said we have started investigating moving the fest. No not to another state. For now it will stay put in the greater Detroit area. If this happens the drawbacks will be increased attendance and listening room fees. Not just a little but a substantial amount. If it does we will do everything possible to minimize the fee's

The pluses are a more wife friendly hotel with free shuttles to local malls, Better restaurants with possible free ( which helps offset attending costs ) breakfast. Greater amenities such as on site restaurants and lounges, pools etc..

Its not easy putting on the fest and we do not wish it upon anyone. Finding a hotel willing to host and tolerate 500 plus stereo geeks for a weekend is near impossible but if it can be done we will get er done !

Updates will be coming in the future so please check back soon. Thanks

Grumpy

[jcmjrt]

I don't know if you are asking for comments or not...but if I got a vote...I like cheap and friendly to some crazy noisy stereo folks who drink beer and eat pizza and BBQ. I don't give a hoot about better restaurants and shuttles to the mall. There was barely time to see everything there anyway so who needs other amenities? I wouldn't have time to use them. All of the elevators functionioning I could hope for....but I'd rather drink and eat wings while listening to tunes and...

[EchoWars]

The hotel is a rat-trap, but as you say the focus is the gear, and not the physical surroundings. I'd think the room costs would have to go wayyy up for even a small increase in personal comfort level.

[bolly]

this years venue wasnt bad at all, you should see some of the places I've spent the night! :D

[Sandy G]

The hotel was fine, just wish they'd had a functioning restaurant. OTOH, that place down by your house, Dave, was FABULOUS...<grin>

[grumpy]

Sorry I should have pointed out that all comments are welcome. Thanks.

Grumpy

[hpsenicka]

Despite the flaws and shortcomings of the current hotel, one major advantage is that they have given us a fairly high degree of freedom and pretty much let us take over a couple of floors of the building for the weekend.

A potential risk of choosing a different venue is that they may have stricter rules/policies that would constrain what we could/couldn't do. I don't think that would be a good tradeoff.

[piece-it pete]

Tho I understand the desire of the couples, I personally don't care.

The place is a little worn but servicable. Heck I only left once!

I will support your decision either way.

Pete

[RichPA]

Though I wouldn't mind a better hotel (and especially one with a restaraunt, or in easy walking distance of restaraunts), I agree that the place was serviceable and I agree with Henry's point about essentially having free run of the part of the hotel where the Fest was held. The best thing about another location would be greater spouse-friendliness. Like Pete, I would certainly support whatever decision you make.

[Drybasement]

I wish they had an in house restaurant although it looked to me as if they might be opening one up soon. Did anybody else notice that?

My room was tired looking but comfortable and clean and the rate was certainly agreeable with me. Hey, at least it had a coffee maker.

The pool was closed this year which disappointed a few people. No one can predict that though.

Whatever you decide to do Grumpy is fine by me but if status quo remains the same I'll be just as happy.

Cheers

[Retro Stereo]

Oh, I don't know, being at the 2005 Fest with my S.O., I didn't have the freedom I did when she decided "not" to return to the 2006 Fest. So, keeping that in mind, if I want her to stay at home again next year, we need to have it at the same place! :yes:

Seriously, it doesn't matter either way to me, but I think some of the S.O.'s would prefer being closer to shopping areas, restaurants, having a working swimming pool, an "in hotel" restaurant, etc.

Simply put, what it comes down to is, you go cheap and leave the S.O.'s at home (unless of course, they're into audio as much as you are, which mine isn't), or you change the venue to better accommodate bringing the S.O.'s along. Regardless, I'll still be going to future Fest's with, or without, my S.O. Just my $.02



Retro

[Andyman]

FWIW, I think the hotel is a helluva bargain for what we do, and quite honestly, I think moving it to another venue may wind up costing us some of the freedoms we've come to enjoy where we are at.

What other place will allow a bunch of audio goofballs to take over a floor and play music all day (and a good part of the night) long? No it's not 4 stars, but as a local, there's TONS of stuff to do within 10 miles of there. Just give them the keys, some maps and a cell phone and they'll be fine (as long as they don't go south into Detroit)

Want shopping? Drive up to The Somerset Collection on 16 and Coolidge, or head over to 15 and Maple for downtown Birmingham. Feeling a little funkier? Head to 11 and Main in Royal Oak (that's where Memphis Smoke is; I know some of you have been there) for the smaller boutiques. Or just head over to Woodward and run it from 9 mile (beautiful downtown Ferndale) out to 16 Mile; there's lots on it, including the Detroit Zoo.

Maybe what we need to do a better job of is providing alternative, non audio entertainment for the SOs? If that's the case, I'll volunteer right now to work out some maps and suggested places for food, drink, shopping and merriment.

If folks want a pool and breakfast; I'm sure we could also find alternative lodging within a short drive. Might not be downstairs convenient, but this is an AudioFest, not a weekend at the Spa, and FWIW, I think the access to the music and systems should be the #1 issue, not if the pool is open or not! :yes:

[Fisherdude]

Although I was unable to make it this year, (and I promise to be back next year, wherever it is!), I have made the previous two, so I'll toss in my thoughts.

Like many of us, I've travelled a lot on business, and stayed in my share of Hyatt Regencies, etc. So, the HoJo ain't quite high-end. However...

They do put up with us, and that's not a small thing. Seriously. If we consider moving, we really, really need to be totally honest and up front with the new venue, so there aren't any surprises once the music starts. The last thing we need is for the manager to start threatening us about the music.

My sense is that the wishes for a nicer place are pretty much spouse-driven. That's not a bad thing, certainly. My wife just rolls her eyes and won't have anything to do with my personal little addictions, but she lets me go with no griping at all. For everybody whose spouse actually attends with them, that's terrific. And I understand the need to keep mama happy.

The current hotel is a bit ragged around the edges, but I thought it was fully acceptable, given what we do there. Glenn's assesment might be a tad harsh... :D. At least you don't need to wear flip-flops in the shower...

The one issue I thought was a bit of an irritant to me was the lack of a decent coffee shop/restaurant. I really don't want to have to drive somewhere just for a quickie meal. As far as the neigborhood, I didn't find it threatening in the least, and there's few things I enjoy more than finding neat little hole-in-the-wall local restaurants to try.

Anyway, my two cents. I'm coming next year no matter what, no matter where.

Clay

[WhiteSE]

I agree with most..the freedom that hotel provides can prove priceless...And the current place may help to keep the meeting as a nonchalant, friendly thing...although I am one of the ones who mentioned maybe a change...But I think I was just tired....I was up from 2am to take a flt, got lost finding the hotel, and the AC wasnt working, so it was quite an unpleasant night...the 2nd night was slightly better...

But i can see the benefits of that place quite clearly...

[Andyman]

The one issue I thought was a bit of an irritant to me was the lack of a decent coffee shop/restaurant.
Anyway, my two cents. I'm coming next year no matter what, no matter where.

Clay

FWIW, I'm not sure if I'm going to do a room or not next year, but I can bring my Krups coffee machine and a set it up somewhere. Heck, maybe we could even raise a few scheckels with a bottomless AK coffee mug???

And as far as the spouses, I only recall 3-4 I met aside from Nancy and Steph and they all seemed to be doing fine.

[rca2000]

But so WHAT?? We were only there a couple of days, or even one. For 'fest needs, I thought it was fine. As others have stated, we were all in and out with loads of gear, and it seemed that not too much fuss was made of things. SO, I vote we keep it here, UNLESS another hotel can be gotten, that will work out as well and NOT cost us all a lot more. If the women want to go to the malls,let them drive there, I am sure there are some not far away, and if they can't secure the use of a car........ there are cabs. And in April, WHO CARES about a swimming pool, anyhoo??

[grumpy]

So far I'm not as optimistic as I was a couple of days ago about moving the fest. Dang hotels are just so closed minded...

Doesn't mean i will give up on the search.

[Sandy G]

Well, I really didn't have a problem w/the Izzit Inn we stayed at this year, except for the lack of a beanery. OK, it wasn't the Waldorf, but we didn't pay Waldorf prices either. I would imagine our little group was a pretty good shot of business for them...and we really weren't all THAT wild...

[CarlV]

The place is a bargain and they tolerated us well.
Granted when I complained of all the things wrong with my room they marked it as uninhabitable, they did gave me another with no BS.
They were fixing the whole top floor to work their way down. I am sure there will be a reastaurant and prolly a bar soon enough to help re-coup these expenses.


Carl

[Fisher-Dave]

If it was not for the wife and kids,I could be happy living here in TN under three sheets of tin between two rocks so I vote to keep the fest in the same place. The rooms are not that bad really,and its not like we called it a vacation but a time to enjoy ourselves and see n swap gear,and listen to some nice tunes while getting to know each other. All was fine to me. :thmbsp:

[Billfort]

Well yeah, the hotel is pretty bad but the critical thing for me is that we got to set up the show and enjoy it pretty much on our own terms - no way in hell a more uppity hotel (that would cost a LOT more) would have given us the freedom we enjoy there. I've been to a bunch of audio shows and all where in nicer hotels that cost more and had better facilities but every one of them was very restrictive and heavy handed with a bunch of rules that would have killed a lot of the fun I've had at every AKfest so far.

That being said though I'm one of the guys that brings along the family and sorry, I have no intention of taking a 'screw them, it's all about me' attitude. I like traveling with them and make this a bit of a break for us - hell, my wife even likes the audio stuff to a point.

The pool would have been nice, the rooms are hurting and not having even a half-assed restaurant and bar on-site sucks. Add to this the fact that my wife doesn't drive and I was warned not to let her go walking around that hood on her own made it a little boring for her and made me feel bad about constantly bailing on her to enjoy the show.

If the hotel gets it's shit together a little bit I'm all for leaving it right where it is. I can and will do a better job of making it a fun time for my family.

[brainsmasher]

I had no real problems with the place, sure it was a little run down but who here isnt? If they had a resaurant in house we would have never seen my future ex wife at that breakfast place up the road, forget the name of the place but her ass was outa this world. Not that it is possible but if we did it during the summer would a school be willing to rent us an auditorium and some classrooms. This would give us bigger listening rooms, tables, chairs and a place to put some featured systems in areas for everybody to listen to and gawk at. And 10 hours drive time closer would be a great benifit to me, not that I didnt love listening to 20 hours of " I gotta get that Sota TT" .

[cableguy]

I say leave it as well. I am in the Hospitality industry and what they are doing for us is great. IMHO, it would cost cosiderably more, and we would lose the freedom's that we have now. Instead of a new location, why not put together a "Visitors Packet" that highlights area attractoins, eatery's, shopping, Thrift stores, hock shops, nightclubs those kind of things. Directions, phone numbers ect....

[grumpy]

Again we appreciate all your input. Please keep it coming. Thanks

Grumpy

[MarkAnderson]

Aside from that goofy-ass elevator that wouldn't stop at the twelfth floor and the lack of a lounge and/or restaraunt (which they were in the process of remedying, I believe), I thought it was fine. So unless you guys wanna move the Fest to Columbia, Atlanta, Charlotte..... :D , might as well leave it be. - Mark

[Aage]

Well its looking like it just may.

A few ( but not to many) complained about the hotel we have used in the past. Yeah its dumpy. Yeah it does not fit in with "high end" audio, Yeah the neighborhood could be better.

Grumpy

You make the neighbourhood sound scarey. Is personal safety an issue? Can't think of too many SOs that would enjoy attending it if it is, and while they might not want to "rock the boat" by complaining, they may just never make the trip a second time...

[Negotiableterms]

How about a completely different idea:

The Fest stays where it is, and we work out an arrangement with a van that shuttles to a nearby upscale hotel with a spa, etc (like the Townsend?). I get dropped off at the Fest, and the wife gets dropped off at the mall, then the van picks both up and we head out to dinner. If an S.O. stays at the Fest, she can still use the van to go to the mall and back.

Everyone's happy, and all it costs is whatever the upscale hotel will charge for the special use of one of their vans, which can be built into that hotel's group room rate. We could even use three hotels, priced low, medium and high.

[Fisherdude]

Well, this may be a little far-fetched, but here goes...

How about we hold it at the same place next year, and invite, in advance, several other hotels, a notch or two nicer, to send their event manager to drop by while the fest is going on. We'd all be on our best behavior, of course!

As you escort them around the music rooms and the vendor rooms, you could ask them what, if anything, they could do for us. You could explain that we would really like to move to a nicer place, but we certainly do understand that we don't want to surprise them with something unexpected. You know, the same stuff you're saying now, except they'd actually be able to see it.

They might say that they would like to have us, but they just don't see how they could work it out without inconveniencing other guests. They might be willing to do it, but the cost might be too high.

Otoh, somebody might come up with an offer that you feel is doable.

[Fisher-Dave]

You make the neighbourhood sound scarey. Is personal safety an issue? Can't think of too many SOs that would enjoy attending it if it is, and while they might not want to "rock the boat" by complaining, they may just never make the trip a second time...
I allways heard that it was a rough place to be but after my wife and I got there,we saw that is was really better than some places that are just a few miles from home.Right here in middle TN there is a place called upton hights that the law dont allow anyone to enter unless you live there,and for good reason cause shootings,fights,stabbings,you name it,and it happens there in a place known to many as gods country right here in the wonderfull hills of TN.A while back 9 guys went to jail for the torture and murder of 2 boys over something stupid,and after being tied up in the back of the truck nearly dead already,they even drive though a drive up window to get dinner letting the resteraunt folks ask what they were doing to do with those guys in the truck.They dumped them off a bridge [ after killing them slowly ] up the road into the water,and nobody even cared enough to go to the police to tell what they witnessed.This took a long time to get a conviction for those 9 guys that done it.And to meet these guys,you wouldnt see them any different than any other folks.Anything can happen,it dont matter where you live,it can happen. I done mechanic work for two of the guys that were involved in that before they done it and thought they were pretty good ole boys.That just goes to show that nobody is safe as you can never be to sure of folks. :scratch2:

[Andyman]

How about a completely different idea:

The Fest stays where it is, and we work out an arrangement with a van that shuttles to a nearby upscale hotel with a spa, etc (like the Townsend?).

The Townsend??????????
I believe that's where the Stones and the NBA stays when they're in town.

If you're staying there, you can afford a cab down to the Fest. :yes:

Honestly, I've been looking around a bit and there's nicer hotels close by if someone's willing to drive or pay for a cab. But you do lose that next floor closeness and ability to just walk to your room for a snooze or what.

[Negotiableterms]

The Townsend??????????
I believe that's where the Stones and the NBA stays when they're in town. If you're staying there, you can afford a cab down to the Fest.

I'm prepared to believe both are true, but when I was looking around I found I could get great weekend rates at the Townsend if I booked far enough out. It wound up being only a few $ more than some of the nicer places nearer the Fest, and I thought I'd have a better chance of getting my wife to come. Turned out, we had to go a wedding instead. :no:

Anyway, the importance of the van is that the other-halves get to do stuff together, in a pre-organized thing. They don't have to start off alone and try to connect and coordinate with other folks they haven't met yet. Only the folk staying at the hotel pay for it, so it doesn't cost the Fest anything, and if the van starts off going to the Fest, other folk (with a Fest ID) can hop on. If we can get 10 rooms together at any of the bigger hotels, I bet it will only add $20/rm for 4 round trips to Fest, mall and hotel.

Of course, I'm makin' this up as I go along...

[gonzp]

I had no real problems with the place, sure it was a little run down but who here isnt? If they had a resaurant in house we would have never seen my future ex wife at that breakfast place up the road, forget the name of the place but her ass was outa this world. Not that it is possible but if we did it during the summer would a school be willing to rent us an auditorium and some classrooms. This would give us bigger listening rooms, tables, chairs and a place to put some featured systems in areas for everybody to listen to and gawk at. And 10 hours drive time closer would be a great benifit to me, not that I didnt love listening to 20 hours of " I gotta get that Sota TT" .

I think that I will echo the voices of the majority, The breakfasts and the female wait staff :smsex: at above mentioned eatery was top notch :yes: The hotel was not dumpy, it was definately not 4 stars but, I would not describe it as dumpy. I know that the object is to make it better every year, and, I too think that some workshops would be awesome but, I too am aware of other peoples time. If I had something to offer a class I would be more than willing to, but, I can't. I guess the bottom line is, I feel that those doing all of the work should have the final decision. By the way I did get the Sota :thmbsp:

[shelby1420]

I'm thinkin if you opt for a more " upscale" hotel along with that upscale hotel will come more rules, less flexabilty, more snobery etc......all of which I could do without!!!! For me its the folks I get together with and the gear I get to listen to!!!

[Fisher-Dave]

I'm thinkin if you opt for a more " upscale" hotel along with that upscale hotel will come more rules, less flexabilty, more snobery etc......all of which I could do without!!!! For me its the folks I get together with and the gear I get to listen to!!!
Well said. In all,we are lucky to have the privelage of being able to do the things we were able to do,and its not likely we could find a place else where that would allow us do those things.Other places would surely post a few rules that would make the fest less enjoyable. Everything was just fine really.If folks are looking for a place to take vacation then wait till mid summer and take a tripp to the beach and stay in a nice room,as the fest was not meant to be a vacation.Please correct me guys if I am wrong :smoke:

[vintage-yungin]

I vote a california ak fest!!! chea like that will ever happen!

[theodoric]

Caveat: I haven't been to an AK Fest yet.

I hosted computer technology events for several years, and have been going to audio meets for 20 years now, and I can tell you that the freedom you guys seem to get is very rare in the hospitality industry. If you moved very far upscale, your costs would go up almost exponentially, and you'd have the hotel events manager and security breathing down your neck. And the "Engineering" department would make you pay for extra power, probably make you pay extra to move furniture around (and of course, you'd have to hire their in-house labor to do it), etcetera.

One of the only audio meets where we didn't have any "issues" I was aware of we had at the Dunfey Hotel (now remodeled and a Hilton property, I believe) in San Mateo, CA. They just let everyone do their thing and stayed out of the way, which is incredibly rare. I told my wife, and they even let her dog breed club hold their national meet there the next year! Not a four-star property, by any means, but the hassle-free nature of it all made any other inconveniences worthwhile.

[ARguy]

As one who suggested that a nicer place would be better I've since changed my mind and vote to keep it were it is...It'll cost enough in gas to get there next year so anyway I can save money will help me return! Thanks for checking things out Grumpy!

[Strawman]

I think it will be difficult to beat the present location. #1 is of course, the freedom that we all enjoyed. The proximity to major freeways has to be important. I like Andy's idea about some ideas for alternate recreation, and as local hosts, we should have thought about it before. There really is a lot to do in the area. I'll volunteer to assist in compiling these ideas and trying to implement them into next years festival. Since it's in my back yard, I took it for granted. :yes:

[Billfort]

If folks are looking for a place to take vacation then wait till mid summer and take a tripp to the beach and stay in a nice room,as the fest was not meant to be a vacation.Thats nice Dave but I do a 6 hour drive to get to the Fest, deal with crossing the border and carve 4 days out for the experience - I like involving my family and may just continue to do so. Lets just say not everyone shares your attitude on this.

Keeping it where it is would be great if you local guys could point us in the right directions to make the weekend more entertaining for us sorry family types. I'm sure we can get together to plan some stuff that gets wives and such out of the rooms occasionally to better enjoy the weekend.

[Jim Eck]

I think it would be a great idea to have a listing of shopping, places to eat and other entertainment that is availible in the area as well as directions to them. I also have a pretty long drive and hope my wife joins me next year. For us it is a little vacation, we leave the kids at home and get away together for a large change, with great people and great music.

Not knowing the area it is a little intimidating to just head out looking for somewhere to go.

As far as the motel, there where no creatures to fend off, the rooms were reasonably clean. A bar would have been nice as well as pool and resturant, but it looked as if they were renovating them, so thry should be there for next year. There was only one floor between the listening rooms and the staying rooms, the stairs worked very well.

I have worked several food shows around the country, they can be a pain when in a very "nice" place, imagine needing to hire an electrician to set up your system for you, or a carpenter to assemble your rack for you. In a lot of the "nicer" places this is required, granted usually it is a convention center with these requirements, but not always.

Jim

[Andyman]

Sorry, I have to ask, but what the heck is that place we use for lunch? It sure looks like a bar or club to me. Do they not operate it? I wondered about that both years.

As far as next year, I'll get w/ Strawman and compile a list of places for the out of towners. Heck, I'll even do Mapquests for them and look into "nicer" accomodations if someone wants to upgrade and doesn't mind a short drive.

Like I said earlier, there's plenty to do around here, and shame on us for not doing a better job of letting folks know.

[Fisher-Dave]

Thats nice Dave but I do a 6 hour drive to get to the Fest, deal with crossing the border and carve 4 days out for the experience - I like involving my family and may just continue to do so. Lets just say not everyone shares your attitude on this.

Keeping it where it is would be great if you local guys could point us in the right directions to make the weekend more entertaining for us sorry family types. I'm sure we can get together to plan some stuff that gets wives and such out of the rooms occasionally to better enjoy the weekend.
Sorry if it sounded like attitude,but really it wasnt. The fest was a 12 hr drive [ ONE WAY ] for my wife and I as well,and that was balls to the wall stopping for gas and [ and I done all the driving feelling very weak from a prolonged illness ]that was it.Stay where yall wish to stay,no problem here,but my wife and I will stay in the same place next time if the fest is held at the same spot.Sorry if I offended anyone. I almost let the kids come with us and am sorry now that I did not bring them with us as that place turned out to be better than some places that we have right here in TN, and to say the least,it seemed to be safer where we stayed at than right here on our own farm. :thmbsp:

[grumpy]

As of right now the where abouts of next years fest is still up in the air. Please keep your comments ( good or bad ) coming.

Andy

The lunch area is a bar/lounge. However the hotel does not have a liquor license so they cannot serve or allow us to drink in there.

[Negotiableterms]

The mischeivous, evil person in me compels me to suggest that we have a separate "high end" fest in an upscale hotel, with really expensive cables and some pebbles in a jar on each speaker.

I have to go hide now... :naughty:

[grumpy]

Sure so when will you have that show ready for us ? :)

[Strawman]

As far as next year, I'll get w/ Strawman and compile a list of places for the out of towners. Heck, I'll even do Mapquests for them and look into "nicer" accomodations if someone wants to upgrade and doesn't mind a short drive.
Like I said earlier, there's plenty to do around here, and shame on us for not doing a better job of letting folks know.

That's what I was thinking Andy. I can spare some time and help out with this once we know. We could make up booklets or something with the different attractions with the maps and directions, and our own comments.
We could even e-mail the files to interested parties to try and generate some enthusiasm form the S.O.'s.
Steve

[moondog]

Many here have spoke of what looked like positive rennovations possibly taking place at the old hotel. This is just a thought, but since you're already checking around at other places Grumpy, maybe you could try contacting the old hotel to find out a little more about what rennovations might actually be taking place there and which ones might be done by the time the Fest takes place next year. It might help save you some time looking elsewhere if the changes look promising.

I unfortunately have yet to be able to attend, but hopefully next year!

Just my 2 cents...
Moondog

[grumpy]

Judging by the responses by the members and the hotels Ive contacted it looks like we will not be changing venues.

[Retro Stereo]

Thanks for opening this up for debate Grumpy, and I certainly have no issues with the outcome, see you next year!



Retro

[Sandy G]

I don't either, looked like they were "working" on the hotel, maybe next year they'll have an in-house beanery. Yeah, havin' a mall or something close by would be nice, but we came to see each other, you can go to a mall when you're home, & I enjoyed meetin' the spouses about as much as I did meeting the members...Lauriann had a wonderful time, too, I think the wives are really missing out if they DON'T come. Even the few children I saw were well-behaved...But then, I would expect no less from AKers.

[Justen]

Plus I intend to show up at next year's fest and most of the major upscale hotels have permanently banned me...

[PakProtector]

Hey-!!!,
I thought the original place treated us fine. The single and small complaint was the line voltage issue, and a variac cured that w/o trouble. The rooms sounded good, and there was lots ov good stuff to see and hear.

See you in about 10 months.
cheers,
Douglas

[tubino]

I thought the original place treated us fine. The single and small complaint was the line voltage issue, and a variac cured that w/o trouble.
Last year I didn't know to bring a variac, and I suffered. This year I brought a metered 10 amp variac feeding a 2KV Plitron toroid with balanced output (60-0-60), designed to produce 1:1 under full load, and thus boosting the voltage a few volts at my 5-6A load. I had the variac pegged at nominal 130 vac in order to get 120 VAC under load at the equipment, but got what I needed, and with the common mode noise rejection of balanced power, it was clean!

If the event is held again in the same venue, I'd suggest a hard-to-miss reminder to people with rooms about the low voltage problem.

[Billfort]

Ahhhhh, so you guys where cheating! :)

[Zinker]

Move the whole thing to Chicago!!!!!!! :thmbsp:

Ahhhhh come on!!!!!! :yes:

You know you want to....

thinking about it..... :scratch2:

Well love to all anyway.... :banana: :banana: :banana:

[grumpy]

Much as i love my home town of Chicago AK could never in a million years afford to host the fest there. Sorry. Look at it this way if your a south sider you can get to the fest in about 5 hours. Lots closer then most.

In a week or two i will talk to the hotel here to see if we can set up 07 again

[PakProtector]

Ahhhhh, so you guys where cheating! :)

If that is the case, one could make the same one to everybody who didn't walk there and carry their gear with a pack( or at least a pack mule ). Or maybe only those of us who have gear with Thoriated Tungsten filaments need to be so careful of voltage.

Since that is a bit on the silly side.....:)
cheers,
Douglas

[digtubeess]

wish it was a 2 event a year thing one hosted out here in the west. I just feel to old to go that far by myself anymore. ask me about route 66.

Is anyone from california going? from la? maybe I could get a man to go with me? did I say that? ahh.. open for getting flamed.

But if i was going I'd lug the heil pro 15 with the elect. crossover setup.. which menas someone has to help me calibrate for the room anyway..and
it must be the heat, day dreaming. :yes:

[speedle]

It looks like I'm about a month late on this debate, but what's new. FWIW, I thought the freedom afforded by a venue that was a little "down on it's luck" was great. Also, isn't Northland technically still a mall? Besides, my wife digs audio, to a point, and when she wasn't with me, she was talking to...other wives! Lastly, we stayed at the Atrium Suites (sp?) just a little bit up the road. I finagled almost the same rate for the room as at HoJo's, and we had a great time. If anything, I felt a little bad because we DIDN"T stay at hojo's, sorta like we couldn't stay and party as late as we wanted to. So, who knows, we may stay there next year instead. Anyway, if I were us :scratch2: I would be really thankful for what we've got, and just hope they continue to both work with us, and slowly improve the place.

[BrianB]

Hi Grumpy,

As many others have already said, I'll support your decision either way. But I would like to add that I rather like the HoJo now. Why?

1) The fact that this particular venue may act as a "snob filter" is a big plus, IMO. As a dealer, I happen to have more than a few regular customers who probably wouldn't want to attend the event due to its (past) location - and believe me when I say that while I do like seeing their money, I do NOT enjoy hanging out with them.

2) As has been pointed out above more than once, I really did feel like there were no constraints imposed upon our listening rooms this year.

3) I wish I could remember the fellow's name, but there was one hotel employee who REALLY made sure that everything worked out perfectly for me. In particular, he (1) managed some deliveries of bulky and expensive audio gear from overseas, making sure that they were properly signed for, carefully unloaded, and securely stored until I arrived; and (2) personally took care of Yoshi Muramatsu of Almarro - who flew in from Japan and arrived well before most of the rest of us - until the Fest began. Some AKers remember this guy: He was in his mid-twenties, had an earring and wore sparkly vest, and looked like the kind of fellow who NEVER has any trouble getting dates. I'd probably worry a bit if I had a daughter who was going out with him, but I'd LOVE to have him around again at AK-Fest 2007!

Cheers,
Brian

[Mark W.]

I know this is a long ways off But since I am almost certin to be laid off or just returned to work at the time of Next years Fest. It would help me out if I could find the dates if they are known. That way I can maybe hang on to my Vacation pay (they cash us out in Mar.) Or if I'm really luck my driver bonus could come early next year. Becuase buying an airplane ticket and a Motel room while barely paying bills on Unemployment checks ain't gonna fly with the wife.

[grumpy]

Mark,

I was unsure if I wanted to tackle another fest. 4 years in a row is hard on me. To be honest I did not really want to do another one. Recently I had a change of heart. 07 festival will be but the date has not been set. Soon as it is everyone will know. Should be an announcement in the next couple of weeks. Thanks

Grumpy

[Mark W.]

Thanks Grumpy I just wanted to see if some long range planning could figure out a way there.

[Teron]

Well, this may be a little far-fetched, but here goes...

How about we hold it at the same place next year, and invite, in advance, several other hotels, a notch or two nicer, to send their event manager to drop by while the fest is going on. We'd all be on our best behavior, of course!

As you escort them around the music rooms and the vendor rooms, you could ask them what, if anything, they could do for us. You could explain that we would really like to move to a nicer place, but we certainly do understand that we don't want to surprise them with something unexpected. You know, the same stuff you're saying now, except they'd actually be able to see it.

They might say that they would like to have us, but they just don't see how they could work it out without inconveniencing other guests. They might be willing to do it, but the cost might be too high.

Otoh, somebody might come up with an offer that you feel is doable.

I think this suggestion of inviting other "nicer" establishment directors to peruse the fest and see if they'd be willing to provide accomodations is a great idea and it seems it fell through the cracks with no replies.

I see AK fest 07 is, as it appears, set in stone where it were before.

This is all fine and good, but why not have some other hotels peruse and see if they'd be willing to be the place where this shindig goes down for 08?

Teron

[Mark W.]

WOW did a bunch of fare checking and option thinking and from Oregon the best I could do was $425.00 airfare + room fare (even if split) $40.00 + food for two days say $60.00 + the FEST $20.00 + Taxi from the airport $$$$ (unless there is a shuttle or someone picking up people etc.) Add in a few bucks to spend and I'm looking at a min of a $600.00 weekend in the middle of winter while laid off. Man I wish I could do that but for that kind of money I would rather buy something I think.

I'll keep working on the idea of making it BUT!!!!