A big “Thank you” to the 40 or so members (so far) who wrote in with comments regarding our postponement of a scheduled event. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, scroll down to the bolded text to read what I wrote to members regarding postponement of our May “budget Audio” event.
A little background on what we were dealing with behind the scenes:
- Since Leslie’s beautiful home (which houses her great system) will be in renovation mode through the summer, we’ve been scrambling to find event space for our gatherings. The challenge with renting a space, however, is having to first source the equipment, then haul, assemble, test, warm up, present, and then disassemble an audio system worthy of our standards, for every meeting. Not very sustainable.
- The only venue that presented itself for May was at Laurent’s home in Berkeley, on Memorial Day weekend. The very fact that the leadership team was willing to include an SFAS event in their holiday plans shows me how dedicated our team is to serving our membership and community of audiophile friends.
- I’m once again putting out a request to any members who have room in their homes for a gathering of 30-40 guests and a good system to work with.
Feedback: The overwhelming majority of members who chimed in about this situation stated emphatically that it was only the holiday weekend that prevented them from signing up, but that they loved the idea and asked that we please reschedule it. That makes me feel that we were on the right track with the subject of the event, but not-so-much with the timing.
So that’s a relief. To me, it sounded like a fun, casual way to gather, swap out components from source to speakers and witness the results. The reason parameters were left open was to attract gear that the member who brought it in considered “budget…” Since everyones’ idea of budget gear is different… who am I to say the system cannot cost more than, what? $1000, $1500?, $2000? How do we choose a price point that you consider budget? Only you can do that.
Ultimately, we would be listening for the configuration that lights up the room. This interactive event was intended to be an exploration of the potential of low-cost, high-end audio, including DIY gear and used or vintage gear. The components individually matter less than matching them in a configuration that lets out some magic. I was anticipating that members would leave the event with a smile on their faces, having had fun and potentially having been surprised by some of what we discovered together when configuring a system that hangs together well.
We will take in your suggestions and reschedule this event as soon as we find an appropriate venue. Since it will be after THE SHOW in Newport, we may have some new potential Giant Slayers to share with you at our budget audio event!
Cheers,
Alón
Excerpt from the email that started this discussion:
Well, there’s a first time for everything… including, apparently, our postponement of the upcoming event on budget audio systems.
As a courtesy to the few members who have signed up, we’re giving ample notice so there’s still time for you to make holiday weekend plans. We will process refunds promptly.
This event had the slowest sign-up rate of any event of the last two years (all our previous events have sold out quickly). Now, we need your help to better understand this:
- Was it our scheduling the event on Memorial Day weekend the biggest hurdle (we could not find a venue for any other date in May)?
- Was it the event itself? Does the subject and format sound like fun?
- If it wasn’t for the timing, would you have come to this event?
Your input is greatly appreciated.