IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

[Paul K.]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

At almost every DIY event there is often way too much and too loud conversation going on while a presenter is talking about their speakers as well as when they're being played. These distractions at MWAF, however, aren't nearly as problematic due to the format and formal judging, I think. And the chosen demo music can cause serious problems in being able to determine how good, or not, a speaker design is.
Paul

The side conversations really bothered me. I was sitting toward the back of the hall and the conversations were very distracting and made it impossible to even hear what some of the presenters were saying. A brief comment to a neighbor would be fine but I'd like to think there is time between presentations for longer conversations.

I've always liked the feedback but find it's a distraction for me to try to document what I'm hearing throughout the day. I have on occasion complimented builders on the things I really liked.

One thing that influences my perception of a speaker's performance is demo music selection. There are some styles of music that just aren't my cup of tea. It's hard to like a speaker that's playing music that just doesn't sound good to me.

Ron

[Ron_E]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

Another positive side effect is filling out the forms tends to focus the audience on listening instead of side conversations that distract those that are trying to seriously listen.

Jim

The side conversations really bothered me. I was sitting toward the back of the hall and the conversations were very distracting and made it impossible to even hear what some of the presenters were saying. A brief comment to a neighbor would be fine but I'd like to think there is time between presentations for longer conversations.

I've always liked the feedback but find it's a distraction for me to try to document what I'm hearing throughout the day. I have on occasion complimented builders on the things I really liked.

One thing that influences my perception of a speaker's performance is demo music selection. There are some styles of music that just aren't my cup of tea. It's hard to like a speaker that's playing music that just doesn't sound good to me.

Ron

[kenny_k]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

A recent Iron Driver thread, http://techtalk.parts-express.com/sh...ht=Iron+Driver, yeah, it can cause a lot of heat.

[DougP]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

Something like this?

Jim

Oh how I grew to hate that piece of paper. As one of the former sole organizers of the event, the rating form can become a giant pain in the a$$. Some of the long time attendees will remember that we used to fill out the forms and post the results as part of a competition, that's how we ran the Iowa event. It was always a cluster and without fail someone took exception to the reviews that their speaker got. In short someones feelings always got hurt.

Feedback is great, but for the sake of the organizers sanity I would suggest that if you as a participant want feed back, you should do the leg work.
Print out the forms you want so you can catch the specific feedback you are looking for.
Fill in some information on the form so people know who it gets returned to after the show.
Be prepared for very honest comments. That's the polite way of saying Blunt.

Just my thoughts feel free to disagree;)

Doug

[martyh]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

Gentlemen,

I never meant this to use as a way to shred someones work, but instead as a way to enhance the experience. I remember stuff like 'Wow, Bob paired the GD73's with a TRF42 in an MTM and it sounded great!' That's what I liked reading, certainly not 'Gordons monster 4-way stunk up the joint'. We recapped designs and implementations, told stories about off-hour activities, swapped beer reviews and used it as a way to extend the party and retain the energy. It was beneficial and inspiring stuff.

And yes Mr. Holtz, your critique form is exactly what I was thinking too! (FWIW, it was Iowa 2010 where I filled a bunch of those forms in and mindlessly stuffed them in my backpack so they never got back to the designer - Doh!)

Marty

[bkeane1259]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

Sorry I've been absent, folks. Life gets in the way sometimes. I think most if not everyone knows my deal right now but I won't bore you with details here. I'm working on the videos.....they will eventually be posted and the archive page will be updated. For now I will leave y'all with this cute clip from Lowell (Arlis), featuring the always lovely Mrs. JR.

[S7910]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

I think this is a great idea Jason!

I agree. I find this type of feedback helpful on where I can improve as a designer.

[Jim Holtz]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

When we used to do the feedback forms it quickly became obvious that seating position and tastes impacted the feedback. However, they're still very useful. I'd suggest discounting the top and bottom 10% - 20% of the forms and then look for common trends in the feedback. If the majority are indicating an imbalance, then it's probably valid and worth a look.

Another positive side effect is filling out the forms tends to focus the audience on listening instead of side conversations that distract those that are trying to seriously listen.

The other thing to keep in mind, the room impacts the sound greatly so that has to be considered when looking at feedback.

My $0.02 worth....

Jim

[mattsk8]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

I think an anonymous feedback idea is a good one Jason. I take the feedback you guys give me very seriously, maybe even too seriously.

But it's a tricky thing too... For example, John H mentioned that I should pad my mid n tweet a tad cuz while he though the bass sounded good, to him it was a touch lean. But others said the bass was fantastic. The differences of opinion were based on seating position, so maybe include a seating position in the feedback? For example... if you had a feedback ballot, maybe have a drawing of the seating area and the person filling the ballot out could circle their seating position.

Either way, I had a lot of fun here and it was great seeing you guys again! I think the next event I'm going to where I'll get to hang out again will probably be Axpona or IN, depending on the date for IN. Already looking forward to it

[[email protected]]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

Something like this?

Jim

Yep

[Jim Holtz]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

I think this is a great idea Jason!

Something like this?

Jim

[[email protected]]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

I think this is a great idea Jason!

Me three.

[Derekj]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

Ultimately I'd like to see events where designers are given the option to have listening impression 'cards' on their speakers with the speaker name, that one could fill out and leave in a box. After the event closes that box would be sorted and cards returned to the designers with feedback, a simple anonymous system. Does anyone else feel this is worth the effort? I don't know.

My two cents.

I think this is a great idea Jason!

[[email protected]]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

Seems we did something like this long ago. I would have no objection.
I know some of my speakers are pleasing to some. I'm not sure what could take me to the next step if there is one. I suspect there is.
Perhaps I will never graduate to the next level. My brain will only let me understand so deep.
As long as I find enjoyment, I will continue to try.

[JasonP]

Re: IowaDIY 2015 - October 24th, Grinnell, Iowa

You know what I miss? The post-event reviews, that's what.

Some of you guys take terrific notes during the event and I'd love to hear your thoughts on the builds, the goals each designer had in mind and if they were achieved. That feedback can be entertaining, enlightening, and even useful to the designer too. It would be great to get that type of feedback going again.

I think the topic of critique is a very interesting topic and something that should be discussed. The thing I see is that people come to these events with very different goals. One can't simply assume that the person bringing a build wants hard critical feedback on their design. In fact for some people it can be unwelcome. On the other hand, people like me thirst for it. We love to get the good, bad, and indifferent opinions on a design. Ultimately there is no easy universal system that can accommodate everyone's wishes at any event. Encouraging critical feedback openly may even discourage some people from attending a event. When this happens I feel the event loses the positive impact of that person's presence. I suppose what I've driving at is that this is a very complex issue and not something to take half-measures in addressing.

What I find in these open, 'no official feedback', events is that the people that thrive on feedback seek it out. I relate my own story of critique at Iowa for example. I had the chance to get several comments on my Lucent speaker at Iowa for example. Did I have to solicit that commentary? Sure. Is that really a problem? I don't think so. I mention this too because I feel it is a perfect example of how these comments can be fruitful. I got comments from Nate (pknaz) that the bass was muddy on my build, and that something might be going on in the midrange from Scott (ScottS) when I asked for feedback. Later at home I was able to locate the issue after listening for what they heard (in this case the foam baffle insert in front of the woofer is resonating and adding what might be perceived as mud). Would I have discovered this issue myself? Most likely. As quickly? Very unlikely. (I'm still thinking about your sparkle comment CraigK!)

Ultimately I'd like to see events where designers are given the option to have listening impression 'cards' on their speakers with the speaker name, that one could fill out and leave in a box. After the event closes that box would be sorted and cards returned to the designers with feedback, a simple anonymous system. Does anyone else feel this is worth the effort? I don't know.

My two cents.