Iowa DIY Event

jackman · « **on:** 3 Nov 2003, 03:18 pm »

Hi,
I attended the Iowa DIY event over the weekend. Lots of really good sounding designs, and lots of really cool people. It was my first DIY speaker event. All of the speakers sounded pretty good, although the room was rather large. Kai, the organizer, is a totally cool guy who put together a format that seemed to work very well for all of the speakers. He had a reference recording that was a mixture of several types of music. Every speaker used the same recording and the designers had an option of playing a track of their choosing after the standard CD was played.

Standouts? You bet! Listed in no particular order:
* Veracity by Jim Sauk (Designed by Mr. Murphy) The Veracity and Veracity "Bob" designs were as good as many people have stated in the past, and Jim Sauk is a true artist and a gentleman. His woodworking skills were (are!) nothing short of amazing. The Veracity Bob speakers belong in a museum, not my listening room, although I'd gladly take them! Jim will be doing a listening session/demonstration of his speakers in my home some time in December. I'll make sure to invite any Audiocircle folks who care to attend. Warning, if you like transparency and beautiful, open detail, be ready to fall in love with the sound of his speakers!

* Criterions by GR Research: Although they didn't have the bass output of some of the larger designs, I can't say that ANY speakers sounded better than Danny's design. Several people came up to me afterwards and commented on how much they loved these speakers. The room was way too big for them but they performed wonderfully. The sound was open, and transparent with much better (and articulate) bass than anyone is used to hearing from such a small speaker. Without reservation or exception, IMO, these are the best sounding small speakers I have ever heard. Anyone in the market for a world-class speaker at under $1,500 should look no further. Jim Sauk commented that these sounded much better than the ones he had tried (built) in the past. Could be the new crossover? Anyway, a real stand-out among some tough competition.

* Ellis 1801's: Ellisaudio.com It was a pleasure meeting Dave Ellis in person. Dave is one of the most honest, decent people I have ever met (in or out of Audio). He is also a guy who has his priorities in order. These speakers are mine so I will not comment on their sound, however Jim Holtz provides his comments on the 1801's in the following link:

http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/discuss.cgi?read=276545

JH3 By Rick Craig: Jim Holtz brought these. Jim was not only a good woodworker, he was a true gentleman. His speakers sounded very good and played very at a high level without any signs of strain. For the money, I don't know of a better sounding three way design.

www.audiodiycentral.com/sd300_jh3.shtml

I'll attach links of all of the measurements and comments as they filter in. It was a great time and one that I hope to repeat in the future. I'll also post some pictures and measurements as soon as Kai has them completed. There were some very innovative designs that may be of interest to all of you.

Cheers!
Jack

neilr11 · « **Reply #1 on:** 3 Nov 2003, 06:07 pm »

Jack,
Thanks for the info on the DIY Iowa event. Count me in at your place when Jim brings the Veracitys. I'm sure Walker would come also. I have the little Dodd preamp coming in a week or so, care to see how it stacks up to the AVA and the GG?

jackman · « **Reply #2 on:** 3 Nov 2003, 07:39 pm »

Neil,
You are always welcome in my house (as are your friends). I'll keep you posted on the timing of the event. That Dodd stuff looks pretty cool. I'd be happy to do a comparison. My AVA gear is at the "doctor" for upgrades to the power supply. Just for yucks, we could also compare the new Sharp 1 bit player I just ordered and some other stuff.

I think Kevin W. from Solar is going to come over and bring his new (Cool looking!) digital amp. It would be fun to compare it to the newly upgraded AVA gear. You should bring that Coda amp also if you can. Maybe we can get someone to bring over some other amps from manufacturers on this forum (Odyssey, Carver Pro, etc.). I want to keep the amount of gear we evaluate to a reasonable level, however I'm really looking forward to seeing how the AVA stacks up to these newer designs like the modded Carver and Kevin's digital amp. Should be fun!

Jack

audiojerry · « **Reply #3 on:** 3 Nov 2003, 08:37 pm »

just when I was wondering, 'geez, where's Jackman been lately...'

You sure do get around...

jackman · « **Reply #4 on:** 3 Nov 2003, 09:05 pm »

Hi Jerry,
I was on vacation in Ireland last week and pretty tied up with work over the last few months. The Winter months are here and, hopefully, I'll be able to devote more time to my audio hobby. I just received my 1 Bit Sharp system (the $129 special!), and it really looks cool. Very solid and much better looking (from a quality standpoint) than anything I have ever purchased for this kind of money. Plus, the amp is separate from the CDP/minidisc/preamp unit so I may be able to use it with another preamp like my foreplay. I will test the amp with the AVA preamp as soon as it gets back from Frank and Co. Also, since it is so inexpensive, this may be a good candidate for tweeks like upgraded caps, etc. If I screw it up, I'm only out a little over a hundred bucks.

I'll call you when we all get together. Hopefully you can make it this time. Take care.

Jackman

neilr11 · « **Reply #5 on:** 3 Nov 2003, 10:48 pm »

Jerry- I was wondering the same thing, where has Jack been?? Hopefully you can make it to Jacks.

Jack- Sounds like a cool trip, you will have to fill me in when we get together. Thanks for the invite, you are always a gracious host and I like listening to your ever evolving system. Neil Walker was kind enough to bring his VTL Tiny Triods over to hook up with the Maggies. They drove them with no problem with 25 watts and surpisingly sounded real good with them. We thought the Coda sounded better with the Maggies though.

I will bring the Coda, no problem. Will be interesting to compare with the digital amp.

jackman · « **Reply #6 on:** 3 Nov 2003, 10:54 pm »

Neil,

Very cool. By the way, I just hooked up the Sharp 1 bit system I picked up very cheap and it sounds very good. Also looks very cool. I have Lucinda Williams on and she is sounding too good for what I paid for this thing. If you need a system for a spare room or bedroom,, this thing is worth a look. It's pretty solidly constructed out of stainless steel and drives the inefficient Ellis speakers very well. Smooth with no break-in. I'll keep it running to see if things get better. Even if it doesn't, I'm keeping it. Bass isn't as athoratative as the AVA but it cost less than my IC's. Also, the screen is pretty cool looking. I don't have it very loud yet but I'll test it out on other tracks at louder volumes as soon as I'm done with my work (my job-type work).

Jack

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #7 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 03:25 am »

Where'd you buy your Sharp from, JMan? I've been thinking of getting one, too, even though I don't need it! I'm just a gear junkie...

jackman · « **Reply #8 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 01:40 pm »

Rob,
I got mine from minidisco.com for $129, however they just raised the price to 149. They had two day shipping for ten bucks and no handling charges like the 26 bucks the assholes at buy.com wanted to charge me. This thing (the Sharp) is pretty slick. It has a separate digital amp that also holds the power supply for the tuner/cdp/minidisc/preamp and a remote that controls everything. It's made of high quality plastic with a thick brushed aluminum front on the amp and the control unit. The amp has a fan that is totally silent in my room. I've had it playing for fifteen hours at moderate to high volume and it has remained cool, although the fan has come on a couple times.

If you have second system that's being powered by a receiver, dump the receiver and pick this one up. We really missed the boat because, I believe, they were selling for $109 last week. Still a bargain at $149 but you can get them new on Ebay for $119, new in box with full one year warrantee. It's a no brainer. Very decent bass and smooth, articulate highs. My Ellis are a bit inefficient and the 1 bit amp drives them without running out of steam. Can't achieve the spl's of my 550ex Fetvalve, but the 25 watts sounds better than the 100 wpc my receiver pumps out. Get one before they are all gone. If it isn't exactly as I described, feel free to call me on it. If this is a cheap version of a digital amp, I can't wait to hear the higher end versions. I may try to change the caps on the amp one of these days, but it sounds pretty darn good as-is.

J

audiojerry · « **Reply #9 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 03:10 pm »

Hey Jack,
Lookout, you are putting yourself out there for some abuse like the carnival clown sitting on the trap door over the barrel of water, inviting the audience to take shots at him with the baseballs. I did the same thing with my $129 Yamaha subs.

Your high praise and enjoyment of the cheap mini Sharp system is an interesting phenomenon. It shows how musical satisfaction can be achieved with much less fuss than we all guilty of. I am theorizing that the time you spent away from your high-end system has starved you for pleasurable listening, and also allowed you to have less concern for all the anal type high-end details that we seem to focus on when we listen to music on our main systems.

When I listen to music on my main rig, I too often focus on system performance and critically anal(ize) things like how it is handling bass or treble, soundstage and imaging, or whether the cymbals sparkling are enough. This kind of obsessive behavior too often detracts our attention from the glorious music that our systems can produce, and has caused many of us discontent and wasted time and money pursuing audio's Holy Grail.

I'm definitely guilty of this, and it's one reason why I'm seriously considering downgrading to the new all-in-one Sony AVD-C700ES, which is now 20+ days since I ordered one, btw. We have a $300 receiver and cd player in our living room, and while it is immensely inferior to my main rig, I get a great deal of enjoyment just listening to music and not concerning myself with anything else. Maybe this is similar to the satisfaction you are enjoying with the Sharp.

BikeWNC · « **Reply #10 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 06:22 pm »

Jerry,

Why don't you release that mega system from its hole in the basement and bring it up to the living room where you can enjoy it in a more relaxed fashon?

To me it seems what you are saying is that the life cycle of an audiophile is no different than the rest of the human race. We start in diapers and we end in diapers. In between we sometimes get to play with a few cool toys.

I haven't heard these new digital amps, but I find it hard to imagine selling off what must be a killer rig just because you've gotten into the habit of analyzing instead of just listening. I feel the need for an intervention before you go and do something crazy.

Andy

audiojerry · « **Reply #11 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 08:06 pm »

Quote from: Tsunami

Jerry,

Why don't you release that mega system from its hole in the basement and bring it up to the living room where you can enjoy it in a more relaxed fashon?

The problem with that is that it's hard to relax with the wife having a hissy-fit about all the equipment and wires trashing her lovely living room.

Besides, the basement is nicely decorated to looks like a log cabin, and it's my space to escape.

Quote

To me it seems what you are saying is that the life cycle of an audiophile is no different than the rest of the human race. We start in diapers and we end in diapers. In between we sometimes get to play with a few cool toys. I haven't heard these new digital amps, but I find it hard to imagine selling off what must be a killer r ...

No doubt that it will be hard...but I have to find out if I can do it. Did you ever tie a string around an aching tooth at one end of the string and a door knob at the other, and wait for someone to open the door? (That's what they used to do to get rid of a toothache. I tried it once but the door opened in instead of out.) Anyways, I figure it will likely be just as hard to get rid of my system.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #12 on:** 4 Nov 2003, 08:34 pm »

I agree with you, Jerry. It's a lot of fun to shelf audiophool expectations and just fucking rock out sometimes!

Gear should be a means to that end, not the end in itself.