Official MWAF 2017 Thread - RESULTS ARE POSTED

[4thtry]

This one was William W. Category: Under $200. Project Name "Hi-Lines" Not sure if he is a forum member.

[Kevin K.]

I guess I missed it. Who were the judges this year???

Jerry McNutt, Tom Perazella and Matt Phillips.

[4thtry]

These two were: Tony H. Category: Over $200. Project Name: "Tivoli"
Tony H. Category: Under $200. Project Name "Realton"

[4thtry]

Keith (KEtheredge87) brought his partially completed Jedi Mind Tricks Sub for display. Here we see
Keith explaining how he routed the top with a specially constructed fixture as John H. inspects the cabinet.

[Kevin K.]

Javad I really enjoyed the informal get together. lots of good speakers and music. next year I will have the source covered, I am giving myself a very nice integrated stereo. so just bring your laptop and we will be good to go. I am also still amazed at the quality of your cab. easily in the top 5 best of all times I have seen at a DIY event. hope we can do this every year.

the ATC drivers did not come from Dan's find.

+1 on the informal get together, great time! Javad dropped $150 for the room for the night. If we split that up between the number of guys that attended, it would have been chump change. Your speakers were great Craig. I wish we would have got a video of the curtains getting tossed around by your rear ports. It was surprising how much bass you achieved with the small focal woofers. Not sure what you built those cabs out of but my back's still hurting, they were freakin heavy.

[Kevin K.]

Keith (KEtheredge87) brought his partially completed Jedi Mind Tricks Sub for display. Here we see
Keith explaining how he routed the top with a specially constructed fixture as John H. inspects the cabinet.

Thanks for all the updates Bill. I'll go back and fix all my stuff once you're finished.

[4thtry]

Thanks for all the updates Bill. I'll go back and fix all my stuff once you're finished.

Your welcome! That is pretty much all that I can find for the ones that have been listed so far. There are a couple
more that have not been listed at all, so far. Will double check & post these in the next few days.

[tomzarbo]

These two were: Tony H. Category: Over $200. Project Name: "Tivoli"
Tony H. Category: Under $200. Project Name "Realton"

Well, according to Kole, the Realton speaker should actually be named "Wall-E"





I do see the resemblance!

"Waaalllllllleeeeee" Very cool.

TomZ

[scottmc]

Yep- that's Scott Quick.

If Scott McMeans has a screen name, It eludes me at the moment.
Wolf

Hey, Scott McMeans here. Screen name is ScottMc.

I had the Esoterics 2nd place in the unlimited. If anyone has some specific questions, please ask (I do have a write up).

Thanks everyone for another great show. I think this year was the best yet also. I believe the volume was enough, as the judges can't have it too loud all day. It was quieter in the back, and the bass sounded worse back there. Yes, some were louder than others even trying to match. My setup was a little limited due to amplifier power (75W x 4), so I was happy it was around 80dB (I was measured 76dB actually, a little low, and was a little into clipping at that). I could have brought 150lbs. of amplifiers to get more volume, but luckily my small amps were enough for this year.

I had talked to the crew earlier week about being able to have a "test" period, prior to Friday meet and greet. No. I had wanted to perform some room correction. I may have planted a seed though. I am also mixed on moving to the Springboro school auditorium.

I think the judges did amazingly well. I think they were close to what I thought. Happily won a new Subwoofer DSP amp for a door prize.

I wish I could have stayed longer at the Hampton and not left the subwoofer in the car, but it was a long day already.

[Kevin K.]

Ok fellas, I've updated all I could based on the clarifications from members and photos from Bill. Also updated the "Fan Favorite" post to include a picture of the contents of the gift basket. Lots of cool stuff in it. Wish I could remember how to add a link directly to the post but the closest I've been able to come is the page. It's post #77

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/forum/tech-talk-forum/1338941-official-mwaf-2017-thread-results-are-posted/page4

[mattp]

Got back Monday night and just getting my wits about me! Definitely another great year and thanks for PE for putting it on!

The bigger room was much less "man musky" than last year with double the breathing room, but people were much farther from the speakers and I feel like the middle of the room had a very big bass boost in it (no preventing that obv).

The volume setting was an issue and some speakers played much louder than others, and consequently usually the louder speakers sounded better assuming they didn't give up the bass ghost. I'd be tempted to try near field on axis full range pink noise to set volumes which greatly reduces room interactions.

Hauling my 80lb (135 crated) Strafi around Indiana and Ohio was quite the chore, but well worth it. They made it w/o a scratch but the shipping containers took a beating, thanks to friend Julian Franke for letting me repair and reinforce them at his house, that was a life saver!

Got a lot of great feedback on the Strafi, but alas I didn't place in the very competitive over $200 class, every speaker sounded amazing! Paul K's Briosos took the cake and very much deserved the win. You go to these events for the speakers, but it's always the people that make it truly special!

Brian always an audio adventure traveling with you, Ben, Tom, Nick, Paul, Rory, Steve, Perry, Kevin K, Kole, Chris, Ani, Craig K, Matt P, Ben, Keith, John H and so many others made this an awesome trip, it's been so good getting to know you guys over the past year or two!

Some pics from the event

Thanks for the pic of my tighty whiteys there Javad! I guess it's better than plumbers crack...

Thanks for the invite to the after party as well. Sorry I couldn't make it, work sort of interfered with that a bit. We didn't get done packing up everything until after 6 and by then I was done for.

Also, comments about the seating - The reason I laid the room out this way was to get the judges farther back from the speakers so there was a larger "sweet spot". Unfortunately this meant moving everything back and spreading the speakers out quite a bit. This might be something we experiment with next year, possibly bringing the seats up in line with the judges table. I'm happy with the "on deck" feedback too, that was something else I came up with when I was doing the floor plan layout for the show. It just seemed like an obvious thing to do. I think it played a big roll in the show going smoothly.

[jhollander]

In terms of layout you might consider no middle aisle next time so we can get more sweet spots.

[mattp]

In terms of layout you might consider no middle aisle next time so we can get more sweet spots.

This was something else we discussed as we were placing chairs. Feedback regarding center chairs vs walking room would be great, although we had the chairs spread apart pretty far so the aisle may not have been needed in reality.

Keep the ideas coming fellas.

[Paul K.]

I would prefer the speakers not be spread so far apart, or at least give a third spread that places speakers closer together and allow presenters to use it if desired. While all the peer attendees want to hear the speakers as best as possible in order to cast their votes, the layout should be catered to the judges' location. I also still have reservations about the limited frequency range used to set the SPL this year.
Paul

Thanks for the pic of my tighty whiteys there Javad! I guess it's better than plumbers crack...

Thanks for the invite to the after party as well. Sorry I couldn't make it, work sort of interfered with that a bit. We didn't get done packing up everything until after 6 and by then I was done for.

Also, comments about the seating - The reason I laid the room out this way was to get the judges farther back from the speakers so there was a larger "sweet spot". Unfortunately this meant moving everything back and spreading the speakers out quite a bit. This might be something we experiment with next year, possibly bringing the seats up in line with the judges table. I'm happy with the "on deck" feedback too, that was something else I came up with when I was doing the floor plan layout for the show. It just seemed like an obvious thing to do. I think it played a big roll in the show going smoothly.

[Jim Holtz]

This was something else we discussed as we were placing chairs. Feedback regarding center chairs vs walking room would be great, although we had the chairs spread apart pretty far so the aisle may not have been needed in reality.

Keep the ideas coming fellas.

Matt, you are a glutton for punishment. But since you asked here are my $0.02 worth.

1st of all, thank you and PE for the new DSP plate amp drawing, the T-shirt and two caps that I went home with.

The event was extremely well organized and well run. The on deck spot really speeds up the transitions and moves things along. The room setup was excellent, IMHO. I'm a back of the room standing listener and there were no problems from there forward hearing and evaluating speakers positioning wise.

OK, now for suggestions. FWIW, I've hosted Iowa DIY twice over the years when we had events that provided listener feedback and recognition for the best sounding speakers so I have an appreciation of the hard work it takes to do this with that many speakers and large crowds.

• Three minutes of music is simply not enough to make any kind of valued judgement on sound quality. Every other DIY event uses a five minute house track that "should" test soundstage/treble, midrange, bass, female vocals and male vocals. That's five one minute cuts that should also be from pristine recordings. GIGO applies to cut selection. I'm not talking about type of music, only recording quality. 30+ speakers is the norm at larger events and and they also allow five minutes of designer selection music to show off their speakers and end up on time at the end of day. So,10 minutes music and five minutes setup/presentation is the norm. Since you have a few more speakers at MWAF, a five minute house track and three minutes of personal tracks would move things along and greatly increase the ability to evaluate the speakers for all .

• I'd also suggest you balance input from the audience feedback with the judges panel and select winners based on 50% weighting for each one. You then have feedback and best sound selection from many ears instead of just three.

• Building great sounding speakers and beautiful cabinets are two different skill sets. Separate cabinet appreciation from the music evaluation and list cabinet recognition/awards separately from the music evaluation portion.

• I liked the wide spacing of the speakers. If you have speakers with excellent soundstage capability, it fills the room and allows the audience to better evaluate the speakers. Perhaps two different positioning options for wide or narrow spacing depending on the choice of the designer.

• OK, my final critique is a personal thing. Who voices their speakers or has their speakers playing in the middle of the room? A few DIY events position the equipment so speaker positioning can be closer to the wall to more closely mimic home placement which is what the speakers were designed for. It would be very easy for PE to set up "cube" walls that would be more representative of actual in home sound quality in that room. Just a thought guys...

Those are the things that come to mind.

You guys did a great job and I appreciate your hard work and DIY support by putting on the event and also for supporting so many other DIY events around the country!

Jim