SDC (not MWAF) 2022 fallout thread....

[charlielaub]

At this point in time it's been more than 2 weeks since the event. I thought there was going to be some kind of event recap or writeup or whatever done by the PE people - you know, to formally announce the winners, show all the professional pics taken of the speakers, and with some snippets from the ad hoc interviews that were conducted outside the Jam Room. I was really looking forward to seeing it. Was this already released somewhere?

[4thtry]

Nope. Those were all cell phone pics. The solitary Nikon DSLR photo was the 3rd picture posted of Paul K's Duetta speakers, showing the Bamboo rear support "tail". I forgot to take a picture of this tail during the SDC event, so I used the one that I had taken during the InDIYana event two months earlier, using my Nikon DSLR.

[4thtry]

Thanks, Marvin! It is amazing what these new cell phone cameras can do.

[charlielaub]

PE please invite Nelson Pass to MWAF...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K69_SGWPNw

Nelson is a very entertaining guy. If you want to see him up close and personal, I suggest you travel to his "home event", Burning Amp:

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/burning-amp-2022-october-15th-16th-fort-mason-san-francisco-and-online-to-the-world.385333/

https://burningampfestival.com/

Sorry to be a buzzkill, but IMHO there is little to no chance that he is going to accept an invitation to come here. He is happy as a clam out at Sea Ranch.

[dlneubec]

Thanks, Nick! My room is part of a pretty open floor plan, not all enclosed walls and has a partially vaulted ceiling. I have just one set of curtains over a sliding glass door, carpet and upholstered furniture. Of course, it is impossible to have the perfect room in an event like this and I certainly applaud the effort. Ideally I think it could stand to be both larger and have less absorption.

[jhollander]

PE please invite Nelson Pass to MWAF...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-K69_SGWPNw

[Geoff Millar]

At least it's not like the international piano competition when Artur Rubinstein gave each competitor either zero or ten on the basis that either they could play, or couldn't play, the piano!

Geoff

[ugly woofer]

Nice job Dan. I believe that Charlie is correct the room needs a little help, there is more absorption than a normal room. Does anyone listen in a room with curtains covering every wall?

[dlneubec]

Finally got my judging sheets today!

Over $300, SP 44 Waveguide Omni:

Category: Judge 1,2,3
Clarity: 9 , 10 , 9
Craftsmanship: 10 , 10 , 10
Dynamic Range: 10 , 9 , 8
Originality / Design: 10 , 10 , 10
Soundstage / Imaging: 9 , 10 , 7
Tonal Balance: 9 , 9 , 7

Total , Average: 166 , 9.22

Judge 1
T1: Good image - deep. Bass good
T2: Great vocal. Great dynamics. Overall, great. Back up singers clear
T3: Voice big
Overall: Really Nice!! Thanks!!

Judge 2
Low bass good. Sense of depth & image good. Transients good. Strings good. Dynamics good
Good detail on female voices. Male voice good. Good inflections (my guess, can't read for sure), Instruments very natural.

Judge 3
T1: --- Nice bass response, good soundstage
T2: --- Sound a little forward, tonal bal? Nice bass impact
T3: --- Good bass impact, texture - Open soundstage, but lacking center image
Overall: Really Fun, thx Dan!

My thoughts: I'm not sure the judging room shape/size and/or treatments worked the best for a speaker with a lot of off axis radiation that factors into the tonal balance. Perhaps the room size was about half what it needed to be. The speakers were setup quite close to the side walls and reflections were not likely delayed enough to separate from first arrival sound. I also wonder if Charlie is right about it being better to have a dead back wall but live front and first portion of side walls. I can say for sure there is no lack of center image in my home setup.

[marvin]

Luv' em. Excellent work, Nick!

As Billet quips, "Look how great they sound!"

[marvin]

Nice looking crossovers, Bill! Too nice to hide inside.

The pics look great, too!

[4thtry]

Using Keith's format:

Over $300, SP19, Diffractorama:

Category: Judge 1,2,3
Clarity: 8 , 9 , 10
Craftsmanship: 10 , 8 , 9
Dynamic Range: 8 , 8 , 9
Originality / Design: 8 , 9 , 9.5
Soundstage / Imaging: 10 , 8 , 10
Tonal Balance: 8 , 8 , 9.5

Total , Average: 159 , 8.83

Judge 1
T1: Space good. Lows good. Good image.
T2: Great vocal. Great image.
T3: Good spacing
Overall: Great (double exclamation point smiley face)

Judge 2
Very lowest bass absent but does not impact rest of range. Stage good but somewhat limited in depth. Voices and instruments very clear, transients good. Good separation. Transients good without being harsh. Very neutral sounding. Male voices good.

Judge 3
T1: --- Spacious sound stage --- Very clean & open, nice
T2: --- Great imaging, spacious --- Diffuse center image
T3: --- Really nice --- Wide soundstage
Overall: *Awesome Job!

-------------------------------
My Comments - All judges seemed to like my speakers; the scoring seems very consistent. Perhaps this has something to do with the huge 5.75" radius roundovers that I used. The big, bulbous donut creates very smooth and consistent on and off-axis response, so there would be very little variation in tonal balance or imaging from seat to seat. It is interesting that Judge 2 commented that the very lowest bass was absent, but from where I was sitting along the back wall, the low bass note came through loud and clear (somewhere in the 25-30Hz area). Perhaps this judge was sitting in a room null that wiped out the lowest bass frequencies. Small rooms tend to randomly kill off the deep bass unless you sit in just the right spot. Bill

[Billet]

I wonder if my speakers may have a phase issue in the center, it is somewhat possible. They are first order crossovers which are always a little out of phase somewhere. There also could have been some room interactions based on phase and/or placement angle. It is not easy to move a speaker from one environment to another and have it sound the same. This is always an issue at speaker shows, IMO.

[wogg]

I'm not entirely sure this is solvable, subjectivity is going to remain a huge factor in the categories of clarity, imaging, and tonal balance. My project's scores for imaging were even wider, with judge 1 not liking them at all and scoring me a 2 while judge 2 thought they were excellent and gave me a 10. Benefit of the doubt is a placement issue with the seat position for judge 1, but you'd figure that would reflect on many other projects as mine weren't anything odd regarding polar or power response and room interaction.

Ultimately I try to remember that this is a hobby and I'm doing this for fun, no matter how much I'd like the dopamine hit of a win (and the credit to buy stuff). No ill will to the judges or PE for hosting!

[charlielaub]

A tabulation error was discovered on the spreadsheet used to record the judge’s scores that affected the outcome in the Under $300 category at this year’s Speaker Design Competition.

The final placements in the Under $300 category should have been:
1^st Place Paul Kittinger/ Duetta
2^nd Place Nick Santorineos / Carl & Stuart
3^rd Place John Hollander/ LCR Mains
4^th Place Michael Hadjinian / Bella Sonus Model 1

We are so very sorry for this oversight and sincerely apologize to all the participants in the Under $300 category, particularly Nick Santorineos who was not appropriately recognized as the 2^nd place winner at the event. We also apologize to the other competitors, spectators, and judges for the error.

The final scores in all the other categories have been verified and no other placements were affected.

Again, we humbly apologize for this mistake, and thank you for your understanding as we make efforts to correct it with all those affected.

Well, mistakes do happen sometimes. It's commendable that you have clarified and rectified the situation. On the bright side, now there are EVEN MORE WINNERS!

Congratulations Paul, Nick, John, and Michael!