Michigan Get Together

[Kenscollick]

Done,
Sunday June 3, afternoon we can get started around 3:00pm. Please do bring some of your favorite discs. and your favorite libation. I will provide a comfortable listening area along with snacks and something savory off the grill. email me for my address.
you can mapquest for directions. My house is very easy to find.
[email protected] or give me a call 248 245 1104.

Looking forward to meeting all of you.

 

[theWB]

Done,
Sunday June 3, afternoon we can get started around 3:00pm. Please do bring some of your favorite discs. and your favorite libation. I will provide a comfortable listening area along with snacks and something savory off the grill.

Don't forget the cameras.
We want pics!
We love audio porn.:drool: :drool:

 

[Kruppy]

Done,
Sunday June 3, afternoon we can get started around 3:00pm. Please do bring some of your favorite discs. and your favorite libation. I will provide a comfortable listening area along with snacks and something savory off the grill. email me for my address.
you can mapquest for directions. My house is very easy to find.
[email protected] or give me a call 248 245 1104.

Looking forward to meeting all of you.

I may be able to make 3 but I'm not positive until that Sunday comes. I should be there by 4. I'll try to remember my wife's digital camera.

Any particular music picked out yet? Any requests?

I'm planning on selections from the following:

Luka Bloom - Turf
Luka Bloom - Innocence
Pepe Romero - Flamenco Flamenco! (Thanks Roberto!)
Cowboy Junkies - The Trinity Session

Ken, is there anything beyond "libations" I can bring?

 

[J Lustig]

I'm in also. I have a few selections already picked and ready to spin. I look forward to meeting everyone. Please let me know if you want me to bring something other than beverages.
See ya in a few weeks!:music:

 

[Kenscollick]

Good to hear from all of you If there is something other than your drinks by all means bring it. I am planning a few light snacks, and something great on the Grill.

Bring your favorite discs. Shaping up to be a good unday afternoon.

 

[Kenscollick]

With less than 2 weeks to go I would like to keep this on the front page just in case someone missed it.

See you all Sunday the 3rd.

 

[Kruppy]

Gentlemen (ahem, used very loosely),
It was a pleasure to meet you all today. I enjoyed finally be able to spend some time yapping about equipment with people who understand and care about our "audio issues" and listening to Ken's very nice system.

Ken, thanks again for inviting us into your home.

I'll post a little more when I'm able tomorrow. Gotta go...

 

[Joey_V]

Gentlemen (ahem, used very loosely),
It was a pleasure to meet you all today. I enjoyed finally be able to spend some time yapping about equipment with people who understand and care our "audio issues" and listening to Ken's very nice system.

Ken, thanks again for inviting us into your home.

I'll post a little more when I'm able tomorrow. Gotta go...

Coool!

You guys got pics!?

Joey

 

[Kenscollick]

Yes a good time was had by all, We got started about 3:00 and a little after 10:00 the last guest left. In addition to ML's the other commonallity between us was the knowledge and consumption of fine beers. Lots of interesting music and conversation. We all agreed that we need to do it again.

It is always good to put faces with names, From left to right

Ken Chris George Jim Bob

 

[C.A.P]

I would like to thank KEN and his extremely warm welcome he provided. I must say listening to his outstanding system moved me. The room set up was fantastic with a very large room that had vaulted ceilings allowing the big Prodigy Logan's plenty of room to breath. The equipment running the system was as good as I have heard . The Krell fbp400cx and the Wadia 861 with the Great Northern Sounds mod, rendered me speechless a few times. I actually caught all of us at one time with some remastered Pink Floyd playing with our eyes shut and just pulling the beautiful image in :music: . As if the great system and the ancillaries were not enough , Ken had a surprise for us in the form of Shrimp skewers on the barbie. There was enough shrimp to feed Shamu and the HOT sauce was fantastic. It was Ken's secret sauce that he was kind enough to let us in on.

It was a great to meet Jim , George and Bob . They are as serious as audiophiles as I have ran across and all have the same goals in HI FI .The perfect image and sound stage that is 20 feet wide and 20 feet deep
We had some wine and some great Micro brews to get the night going. We all discussed our systems and their downfalls as we see them and what we would like to do to help that out. This I can tell you ! There was some audiophile IQ sitting in that room. These great guys knew audio equipment and good music.

We listened to some of our own music we brought and some of Ken's extensive collection of great mix. I was extremely pleased with a recording of Ken's that he so graciously gave me. It was Eva Cassidy " Songbird", Her angelic voice through Kens outstanding system was a treat. George Brought some classic demo pieces, Dave Brubeck "Take 5" and we enjoyed a few of his own special discs, The Finn Brothers. Bob had a great pull out of Ken's collection with some amazing Cowboy Junkies . We turned it up a few decibels with some Blues by Chris Thomas King " Red Mud". Jim had a few great disc's in Ben Harper ,IIRC . All in all there was a flurry of changing tunes and each of us moving to the sweet spot for some perfect listening.

I hope we can do this again in the near future as it was a blast. I would be more than willing to do the next one if interested. Again thanks to Ken and all the guys for the good time :rocker:

The picture is as fallows. Me on the floor in the near,(C.A.P) Ken on the chair on the left , George on the couch to the left,(Kach22i) Jim center(J Lustig) and Bob on the right on the floor.(Kruppy)

 

[kach22i]

Someone otta airbrush out Chris's hacky sac.

Ken's system was very interesting.

1. Volume
It did not come alive until the volume was turned up, way way up. Ken said that he has half the hearing he was born with (little joke), so for him it's perfect. We joked that the sound had to climb over the carpet - like getting over "hump speed" on a boat so that the hull can be "on plane". Knowing it was solid state and loud I thought for sure my ears would be ringing or bleeding over time with fatigue, this never happened. It just kept sounding better and better although I was aware it was "loud". One reviewer I read once wrote that the largest "distortion" in play back is that the volume is not as loud as "live music", and that one must match the appropriate volume of the live performance. That reviewer should swing by Ken's house someday with a recorded live LP (stadium Rock).

2. Phase distortion and sweet spot
It was strange to hear a M/L system that had no up and down, no side-to-side sudden shifts in sound stage. When moving one's head and whole body in this case the presentation remained solid and unruffled. We theorized that the stable current the amps provide, the rooms acoustics and that the speakers were six feet out into the room may of added all up to this sonic effect. I think that small rooms make you more aware of the room in general; maybe phase shifting is a large part of this. Ken's large room had certain advantages, but for the sound to bloom and become full a great distance to the ears must be traveled. This great distance just might of avoided the pitfalls of normal room phase distortion.

EDIT:
The Cd's I brought and played tracks from.

1. Street Dreams; New York, on Clay Dog Records (recorded in NYC Subway).
2. Finn Brothers; Finn
3. Holly Cole; Temptation
4. Blue Tofu; Blue Tofu, on Dubious Recordings
5. This is Jazz Sampler (Time Out- Brubeck); on Columbia/Legacy records
6. David Torn; Door X (Voodoo Chile was played) on Windham Hills records

I also brought some Diana Krall and Patricia Barber but did not play them.

EDIT: The sound on the side of the speakers standing right next to them was full. There was no sudden shift in character as you moved around them to the front or in between the two speakers.

I know when I'm standing on the side of my own speakers (not very "full"), and I can only hear one at a time until I'm far enough away to them and entering the central sweet spot.

 

[Kruppy]

Everyone,
We had a great day to spend inside listening to music (pretty much rained all Sunday). It was nice to meet everyone and finally put faces to the names/avatars. Ken’s system is by far the most high end set up I’ve had the pleasure of listening to. As I’ve stated before my experience is pretty limited, so any time I can sit down and listen and learn from more seasoned audionuts I’m going to take advantage of it.

Ken’s system (Prodigies, Krell and Wadia, number 3 on the club list) was set with the speakers six feet from the rear wall, width wise I didn’t get a measurement, but it’s quite a distance. I would guess 12 to 14 feet. What was incredible to me was how even the soundstage was across the whole front. George and I both commented to each other about this. Every instrument’s sound appeared where it was supposed to be and was not over exaggerated or undersized (which I tend to get with my system at times and I have not solved this problem). I think his seating position is roughly 15 or more feet back from the speakers (yes, he has a large room).

Can the Prodigies play loud? Duh…yes. C.A.P. put in DSOM and the clock bells overwhelmed me (well beyond my normal listening levels).

With all the talk about Class A amps and heat, I was expecting Ken’s Krell to be a furnace. I’m not familiar with typically how hot Class A amps get, but at one time we measured 175 deg F and I don’t think we were pushing it that hard. Hot to the touch, oh yeah, but not noticeable unless you were right there, although Ken’s room is quite a big one to heat up.

I was quite happy that George (Kach22i) made it from Ann Arbor. Knowing that he’s a toob guy, I was anxious to hear his thoughts on the Krell SS power house that Ken has. I’m hoping he’ll post some of additional observations (oops just noticed he posted before me).

As we swapped out disks I was repeatedly kicking myself for not bringing this or not bringing that. I know we had a lot to sample and disk swaps occurred frequently, next time I’ll be more prepared.

One thing I learned yesterday was that as much as I lust for Prodigies (or for that matter Summits), I think I would need a larger home to appreciate what these speakers are capable to doing.

Thanks Ken (and a double thanks for not posting the picture with the flash bouncing off the back of my head).

George, the Flamenco music that I played was a recommendation from Roberto: Pepe Romero – Flamenco Flamenco!

Jim, sorry again for making you wait for me to move my car out of the way. Here’s a link to the Room EQ Wizard we briefly talked about: http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/ I’m still in the process of setting things up.

C.A.P. The disk you were interested in was Jack Johnson - In Between Dreams

 

[J Lustig]

Hey MI boys,
Sorry it has taken me so long to get around to posting this. I too had a great time meeting everyone. You never know what you are going to get when you get 5 people who never met before all in the same room but honestly it was awesome. I had a blast talking music, systems and various other topics with you guys. Thanks to Ken for having this event at his house and for making the grub. It was cool to hear all the different new music. Ken, thanks for bringing out the Eva Cassidy. What an amazing voice! I really look forward to our next get together. Just like Kruppy, I have a number of discs that I wish I would have brought but I guess that's what next time is for. Until then, Cheers Boys! :food12: :cheers:

 

[kach22i]

UPDATE: 11/19/2007

What's up?

Will there be a between Thanksgiving and Christmas get together?

 

[C.A.P]

I'm up if you fellas are. Music , Food, Beer , Friends , What more could one ask for ! If you all would like to head out to my place , I would do it. I am not that far from Ken's place. Unless someone else wants to do it I'm all for driving too. Lets see what we can get together for the Holidays

 

[Kruppy]

I'd be up for something too, depending on when. I know my schedule is getting pretty booked up....I need to check with my wife who is the social planner and keeper of the family schedule.

 

[Kenscollick]

there has been a cableing change in my system, and it is really singing. I am currently waiting for new PC's. My place is always available.

 

[J Lustig]

I'd be down for another session. The schedule is pretty crazy right up through x-mas but if someone wants to plan something, I will do everything I can to make it. Hope to see you guys soon.

 

[kach22i]

I think C.A.P. wanted to do the next one.

A Saturday or a Sunday?

The weekend of and before Christmas I assume is out, as well as the weekend of this Thanksgiving just a few days away.

This leaves December 8th (Sat) or 9th (Sun).

We did it on a Sunday last time, right?

Sunday December 9th at C.A.P.'s?

I'm in.

 

[Kruppy]

I think C.A.P. wanted to do the next one.

A Saturday or a Sunday?

The weekend of and before Christmas I assume is out, as well as the weekend of this Thanksgiving just a few days away.

This leaves December 8th (Sat) or 9th (Sun).

We did it on a Sunday last time, right?

Sunday December 9th at C.A.P.'s?

I'm in.

First week of December is out for me, I'm out of town.

December 8th, 9th, and 16th are the only days I have available. I'd prefer Sunday the 9th.

I'd offer up my place, but my system/room is in a state of change right now. I'd rather not be embarrased.

If the host would like, I can lug my lap top, RS meter, etc out to do some quick room response measurements with Room Eq Wizard. Now that I have a better understanding of the software, it's actually a pretty quick process. I would bet it would take less than a half hour to set up, check the levels and run some sweeps.