Midwest Audiofest 2014 - Any interest?

http://www.midwestaudiofest.com/index.php

I will be attending this event and am seriously considering getting a space to sell some receivers (I accumulated too many in a short period of time and need to thin the herd already).

Questions:

Is this meet good, bad, indifferent?

Is it worth driving 3+ hours to try and sell some surplus gear?

Does anyone here plan on attending?

Thanks.

I'll be there in some capacity, but I probably won't get a booth.

I attended this swap meet several times when it was graciously held in an audiophile's driveway in Mason. It was always a good time.

My impression is that the few deeper-pocketed buyers would swoop in on anything that was truly both really good and underpriced, but that the attendees as a whole were gear-rich and money-poor. It was hard to get rid of much bulk unless you were giving it away.

I didn't go last year, so I don't know whether the swap meet hitching its star to PE's Midwest Audiofest went. I'd imagine that it gets more interested eyes on the merchandise and attracts more vendors, but it also brings the event into direct competition with PE's Tent Sale (which, for an audio-lover, is worth driving three hours for by itself).

Thanks for the info. I sort of figured that the PE Tent Sale alone was worth the trip...

I'm still undecided as to whether to get a booth or not...

winters860 said:

PE's Tent Sale (which, for an audio-lover, is worth driving three hours for by itself).

Click to expand...

True dat! Helpful hint: get a cart and scoop up anything you think you might want on the first pass. You can always put it back later but chances are if you leave it on the shelf to think about it, you won't find it when you go back.

A DIY speaker contest?!!!! That's very tempting. I may have to do this GTG as well. I certainly used enough PE parts.

i may have to go see the contest !!!:thmbsp:

i bet that's really cool...

Just back home from a long Ohio weekend which included Midwest Audiofest.

I did end up getting a booth in the audio swap meet. Didn't sell anything, but had fun. I exercised some restraint and only bought a few parts I needed from P-E, plus a couple sets of speaker stands from one swap meet vendor, and a pair of small bookshelf Realistic/Optimus speakers from another swap meet vendor.

Show was great. Parts Express is a class act. :thmbsp: I was amazed at how quickly they can fill an order (less than five minutes!).

I was in the area over that weekend due to my daughter having a softball tournament nearby and went by the PE tent sale and vintage audio swap meet in the morning. I was somewhat disappointed with the lack of sellers at the swap meet, as there were only a handful of folks selling gear. Most of the stuff was not all that appealing to me, but there was a nice Forte amp/preamp set (way too expensive for me) and a Pioneer SX-939 receiver that was gorgeous that I had to talk myself out of, as I just could not justify buying yet another 70 wpc vintage receiver.

Ron,
I'm glad to hear you were there attempting to sell some gear. Out of curiosity, what items did you have for sale?

Brad (in Brownsburg, IN)

Hi Brad,

I had never been to this event before. As a veteran of many antique radio swap meets, I too was surprised and disappointed at the lack of sellers in the swap section.

Our table was the one that had the big banner which read "THE FISHER". I brought eight receivers (some working, some not) - a Pioneer SX-535 with box, Harman Kardon SR900B, Harman Kardon SR600, Sherwood S-7800, Sherwood S-7600A, Toshiba SA-735, an old Philco P-1002 and a 1990s Sony STR-D911. I guess no one had any interest in any of my receivers, because my wife and I tried to make it clear to anyone who stopped by that our prices were negotiable.

I'll probably keep and restore the H-K SR900B. As for the others, I may, or may not, do some fine-tuning to some, get one or two of the non-working ones playing, and try again on craigslist or that auction site (ugh). Someone at the show suggested that I try setting up at a hamfest or two. I might just do that. Plus, there are people who attend antique radio swaps that have some interest in stereo gear.

You should have stopped by and said hello. (Maybe you did?) The guys who set up on either side of me were all great fellows - Alex, Jeff, and another who was with Jeff whose name I do not recall, sorry. I did not run into any bad folks - all of the people we talked to were very nice and friendly. I appreciate that. It isn't always that way at swap meets.

Ron,

I do remember stopping by your "booth" and I do remember the Pioneer SX-535 that was for sale, as it looked to be in nice condition. The Pioneer SX-939 was in the booth next to yours if I recall. I must have spent at least ten minutes looking at and was eventually able to talk myself out of buying it. After trading some emails in the past with the coordinator of the Mason vintage audio swap meet, I was hopeful that some of the same type of gear would be there this time, but just not enough sellers. Thanks to you from all of us potential buyers for making the long trip to Springboro, as it appears you had a farther drive than I did.

Brad

Hey Brad,

The SX-535 is a nice one, thanks. And, yes, I saw the SX-939 also, next to our space - it also had the original box. A lot of people looked at the 939, and someone bought it as it was gone by mid-morning. It's funny, but my only purchases in the swap meet came from my neighbor sellers on either side of me. I did look over the other booths a couple times, but I just didn't see anything else I felt that I really needed. My wife and I really enjoyed the jazz music which one of the vendors across from us was playing through one of his systems that was for sale.

And thanks for the kind words, we're a little over 200 miles from Springboro. From the part of Indiana in which we live, it is closer for us to go to Nashville, TN or Cincinnati, OH than to go to Indianapolis.

the speaker building contest was just awesome... i have to get an entry for next year. Those guys are having too much fun!