Audio Meet-Ups - are they successful?

Freds.Bands

Live Music Listener
I see none around here. Likely attendees would want to see/hear working systems, but audio talk could still be interesting.

Do you think starting one would be a successful venture?
 
We have a lot of fun at our SMAC meets. Usually not much focused listening, but a LOT of talk about many things audio.

I'd strongly encourage it. :yes:
 
These type of gatherings can be great fun. Besides all the audio talk, you get to meet some great people. I say go for it.
 
We had a great HiOnFi meet near you a couple years ago. I couldn't make the last one. Love to do another.
 
I have been to a couple near Chicago at member Robie's house. I always have a great time and it's worth the 2+ hour drive to get there.
 
The ones I've been to have been far more chitchat than demonstration. Its sort of difficult to really do a demo in a public spot with multiple systems, and you're limited to what you can really do in a single person's home. I go more for the social aspect than the gear. I tend to be into gear thats considerably older than most people own anyway. The times I've gone to people's places for gear demos its been a much smaller group of people, say a half dozen-ish.
 
I'm typically too mobile to make any. Tried making one in Utah while there on business but missed it by 24 hours due to airline difficulties.

I think there is or was one in Florida but I missed that as well, I think. Maybe it did not materialize.

Syracuse is in a pretty good spot for an Upstate NY meeting. You should consider organizing one. I'd love to attend one. ANY one. I am constantly searching the site to see when and where and if I'm coincidentally going to be near there at the right time.
 
It's certainly worth doing but as others have said the ones where I listen to the gear more intently are the ones with less than 10 people.
 
They are a complete blast! The Pacific Northwest guys would all meet up in Kelso for a few years there. Chit chat about gear, see interesting pieces, listen to home built speakers, or guess which source an album was being played from. Don't expect people to show up in droves for the first year, but organize it well and you'll have word of mouth on your side.
 
They are a complete blast! The Pacific Northwest guys would all meet up in Kelso for a few years there. Chit chat about gear, see interesting pieces, listen to home built speakers, or guess which source an album was being played from. Don't expect people to show up in droves for the first year, but organize it well and you'll have word of mouth on your side.
The annual PNW audio meets in Kelso were a lot of fun.

There was a big get together in Forest Grove Oregon (in 2008?). I believe that it was sponsored by Affordable$$Audio (a now defunct?) ezine. Quite a few AK'ers attended.
 
Much like Gadget73 said, the meet-ups we have down here have grown to the point there's more socializing than demoing. But still, it is great to get get together with the crowd. It's always a great time, awesome group of guys.
 
Much like Gadget73 said, the meet-ups we have down here have grown to the point there's more socializing than demoing. But still, it is great to get get together with the crowd. It's always a great time, awesome group of guys.

+1 ...and then there is the famous Merrylander 7 layer chocolate cake...I am willing to bet there isn't an audio get together anywhere that can top that.
 
It does always steal the show! I have immensely enjoyed each of these!
Great folks,
Jim
 
We usually get together in Mass 3 times a year, give or take. Lots of fun, talk and so on. Dedicated listening areas can be hard to come by, but we manage. Usually a couple of areas and some systems set up. Speakers swap outs, and sometimes amps etc. Good times
 
I attended an event in Syracuse area at 'Hi on Fi' a few months ago and greatly enjoyed it (missed the first one two yrs ago). Good place to see lots of old gear too. In the area we have some 40-50 meet-up groups but none on topics close to this.

Though similar, I was thinking of, say, monthly or bi-monthly events. I suppose they would be mostly for talking about experiences with gear more than about music. It also could be an opportunity for personal invites to hear a members' systems, or even for organizing short trips to audio dealers (none local) or touring the McIntosh factory about 1.5 hours away from here. What would be hard to do, I think, is to set up a system in an enclosed space for demos; logistics and proper speaker placement would be major problems.
 
We've hosted two AK event and would do another, if someone wants to step up and put another together we would host again.
 
We've hosted two AK event and would do another, if someone wants to step up and put another together we would host again.

Yes, and they are very accommodating too. Maybe I can help some with that after mid September.

I was thinking of something more frequent and with less preparation.
 
I think it comes down to whether you know people locally who would want to do that. In other words, if AK was not here, where would you go to get an answer to that question? If there are some locals who want to get together once a month to shoot the breeze, then try it out. If it keeps going or even grows, then the answer was yes. :D

I was thinking about having something here in mid-MO, maybe just to test the waters. There are several AKers around here, and at least one I've met personally, but none of us are in touch very much outside of random interactions on AK. I'm thinking I need to talk to some of these guys in person, as opposed to posting that I'm having a get together and hope they show up. Just something I was thinking, so take it with a grain of salt.
 
A few years back a number of us got together to listen... brought some nice listening material (CDs and vinyl), had BBQ, beer, swapped equipment, swapped stories and just had fun!

Very few folks in the Orlando area are into hi end audio (oddly the guy hosting the party and I worked at the same large organization and we never physically met until the party).

Give it a shot and have fun!
 
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