Where is all the inDIYana stuff? (Critiques & pics)

[kenny_k]

Did anyone attend? There should be a ton of great info. How did you like it? Did you meet new and old friends? Did you see new designs and which one impressed you the most?
I want it all! (cause I didn't go) and I want to feel like I did. 😉

[Wolf]

It'll likely be a day or so before John collects his thoughts and posts them. I have to do the same. I might be able to get it done tonight. Suffice to say, I counted 62 in attendance, 23 stand mounts, and 13 pairs of towers; if I'm remembering correctly. It was packed in there! Rasmus' little slate-tile/MDF 1138/waveguide jobbies took the gloating rights for the Bare Minimum challenge. Typically, I guess right what will win for these. This year I did not, but congrats to Rasmus!

More later,
Wolf

Edit: 15 tower pairs, 26 stand mounts, and a large DIY Bluetooth boombox.

[kenny_k]

Thx Ben.

[Drjay]

Hi Guys and Gals,

I'm heading off the grid to Belize tomorrow and will not be back on the forum 'till late May, so I will miss the initial give and take about the event, but my reaction is that it was terrific. I really liked last years InDIYana, but got even more out of this years. I attend because it lets me meet the forum residents in the flesh, learn from them and share interests (both audio and personal) in a truly congenial, free flowing atmosphere. This year I had a theme entry which helped me, as a beginner, feel even more a "part of the action". I was able to listen to and compare lots of fascinating designs that have to be heard in person to be appreciated. I feel the event is well organized, love the idea of the friendly theme competetion and will definitely be at the 2020 event if at all possible. As a result of InDIYana 2019 I'm bursting at the seams with ideas for future "must build" projects. A big salute to Wolf and the other folks who give so freely of their time to make this such a great event!

Best,
Jay

[Paul K.]

I was also wondering when a thread would get started. I had a really great time yakking with many other DIYers and listening to a bunch of good-sounding builds. It's not easy to pull off a successful event like this; Wolf, Chuck and John deserve a lot of praise and appreciation.
Paul

[scottvalentin]

Wow what an impressive turnout for entries - great job organizing to Wolf and Chuck and John, even though I didn't attend. One year I will attend and bring an entry! Looking forward to seeing some pics and some of the designs.

[jhollander]

I'll put together some pictures and comments close to the end of this week. I know Bill S was focused (pun) on pics and making sure there were tents so I expect his record will be the best documentation of what was there. JR had a good write up over at MAC.

I'll second that it was very tight competition. I bailed on Ben and Chuck and listened to the entries. 5 components was still enough parts where there was almost no separation between entries. I think this was a great example of where personal preferences and bias drove the voting (detailed, laid back, voicing, etc.). There were excellent designs that did not make it past the first round, (check your ego at the door). Best comment was "so the secret ingredient is Slate?"

It was packed with people. It felt like more than last year. Everyone was courteous during the competition. I really want to hear more designs.

[Wolf]

First off, I want to lay out the head to head hierarchy about how these were stacked.

Round 1:
Group one, 3 entries: Ed Perkins/DaveFred/DanP; All of these were towers, and utilized waveguides. DanP won with 16 votes.
Group two, 3 entries: jshadzi/jhollander/4thtry; All of these were ell matched. John and Javad had Rival woofers, and all had flat faced dome tweeters. Bill won with 20 votes.
Group three, 3 entries: ketheredge/ugly woofer/wogg; All stand mount 7" 2-ways. 2 had same tweeter, 2 had same woofer. Nick (ugly woofer) with 24 votes.
Group four, 3 entries: Wolf/Billet/CurtBagley; All stout 8" stand mount speakers. Curt with 19 votes.
Group five, 5 entries: Rasmus/DrJay/Funk/duanebro/confyousus(Brad); All of these used 5" or smaller woofers. Rasmus with 12 votes.

We had a couple ties, but revoted for the 2 that did as they were higher than the 3rd.

Round 2:
Rasmus took all in the final round against the other 4 with 18 votes.

Synopsis, sorry if I forget info or names of projects;
Ed had a short-stand mount tower with a Silver Flute W20 and a waveguided tweeter. Sounded very good, and the wood work was also very well done.
DaveFred had a set of solid wood towers with a Monacor woofer and a waveguided XT25. Sweet and engaging.
DanP had a TMM tower with a waveguided DA25TX and a pair of Dynavox 6.5" woofers that utilized only 2 parts!! It actually was stunning what they were able to resolve and do. He definitely picked the right drivers.
Javad had his Rivalries with the SB25STAC and Rival R176P8 woofers in a trans-lap tower. I feel Javad voices with a treble lift more often than not, but that is what he likes.
John's build also had a Rival R176P-8 and DA25TX in a single-side chamfered linear-phase stand mount. Sitting down was the preferred position for these, and they really sounded well refined.
Bill had his 'Sidetowers' that we all know of. F6/DA25TX. The bass out of the rear end of these things was amazing. Sitting down also strongly preferred here.
Keith had the Defiants. Dense bent enclosures, and WG-RST28F/RS180P combo. These had quite a bit of detail.
Nick's lightweight torsion-walled CA180/RST28A combo was smoother than most and definitely non-fatiguing.
Wogg's Supernova Minimus RS180P/DX25BG60 combo was a touch leaner in the bass compared to others, but detail was good.
My 'Zingers' used the SD215A-88/DA25BG08-06 combo. I feel they can go lower than quite a few others in the contest, but still resolve good detail without being fatiguing. I do prefer the 6 part xover, more on that later in the build writeup when I get it done.
Billet's Old Skool II were quite a bit different than his previous 3-ways, and used the Visaton 8" and a Visaton 5/8" polymer dome tweeter. These sounded very benign, if not just a bit congested, but pleasing nonetheless.
Curt Bagley brought an RS225/DA32TX combo using just 4 parts. I know they took the round, and the tweeters sounded great, but I felt these were really forward and the mids barked a bit when the lady sang. They did however look very nice in their curved-wall veneered cabs.
Rasmus' little hernia-inducing creations did bass very well. W5-1138 as we know does this, and the waveguided tweeter almost met it in the middle. Non-fatiguing, detailed, with great bass.
DrJay's F5/RT1.3WE sounded very nice! This is how my RT1.3 sound. I liked them a lot! The white cabinet paint was also well done.
Andrew Funk brought a 'Rat-Rod' tower with an Alpair Pluvia 4.5" and a Wavecor tweeter. They were a little light on the BSC, but resolved rather well. He also drove 1800 mi to be here from Alberta, Canada.
Duanebro's little 2-ways were one of the surprises for me. 4 parts in an SXO with the $12 Dayton 4" you see everywhere and the ND16 atop of it. These held their own, and sounded absolutely fantastic!
Brad's RS150/(tweeter?) MTMs were a bit forward compared to the others. I think if he dials these in, he'll have something really nice.

More about the others in a bit...
Wolf

[Paul K.]

I didn't compete in the Theme contest but I did bring a new pair of speakers for "show and tell", the Cornetta, which I plan to enter into the over-$200 category at MWAF in July. I've attached a 1-page highlights description.
Paul
Cornetta highlights.pdf

[DaveFred]

Wolf, The general consensus I received was that my speakers were "dark", is that similar to dull?

I had pulled down the high end some as I found it annoying when listening to the speakers for extended periods of time.

Any other criticism from yourself or anyone else to help me improve my crossover responses?

Also, Thanks for putting the show on and nice to meet you!

David.

[Billet]

I had pulled down the high end some as I found it annoying when listening to the speakers for extended periods of time.

I also like to target a more relaxed sound for extended listening sessions. I think that your speakers sounded fine!

[Unbiasedsound]

I would like to know the definition of words used to describe a particular sound.....like dark, forward, relaxed etc.

[craigk]

I would like to know the definition of words used to describe a particular sound.....like dark, forward, relaxed etc.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/sounds-audio-glossary-glossary

[Unbiasedsound]

Thanks craigk appreciate it.

[jhollander]

I would like to know the definition of words used to describe a particular sound.....like dark, forward, relaxed etc.

Probably not going to get a consensus on definitions without context. Dark can be lack of highs (above 8-10 KHz) or depressed (below flat line response) mid range above 1,000 Hz. Relaxed could mean the highs do not sound screechy, scratchy, annoying, or grating on most tracks. The term Fatiguing also is used to describe annoying high frequencies.

Listening with a bunch of people together describing a single speaker you can reach usually reach consensus.