I did some old school and new pop and a little creative stuff in between and of course it ends with a torture track - apologies to the small woofer folks.
These demo tracks are more difficult each year because we exhaust all the good stuff in between and nobody wants a repeat....... I'm open to new ways to craft the demo tracks going forward.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with ideas.
My thought is to set up a drop box for specific cuts/ demo you want and ask people to contribute. You can pick and choose the tracks you want.
What I mean by specific cuts/ demo is to set up folders for Female vocal demo Male vocal demo Piano demo Hand clap, snaps, rim hits, stick hits percussion demo Bell, cymbals, triangle demo Kick drum demo Bass guitar stand up bass demo Imaging, depth, separation demo
This might help cut down on the submissions that, while is good music, doesn't have much demo value.
I should have my DIY Iowa 2019 speakers done this afternoon. ;-)
Ron
Hope you got yours done Ron. I still have to solder up the last few parts and make some kind of wiring harness. It shouldn't take long. They'll be ready for the show, but still in naked mdf.
Thanks again to MAC for hosting this years event and thank you to the sponsors for the door prizes and the pizza. This was another great event with some killer looking/sounding speakers !
P.S. Ive never seen Craig move so fast after his door prize number was drawn. The dude moves, and is as quick as a house cat after cat nip .... Didnt even knock anyone down on the way up... LOL
I want to thank JR, JP, and BK for putting on another great DIY event. I was great to hang out with everyone even though there were a few strange occurances (fire alarm and power outage). That didn't stop us from having a good time. And of course thanks to Madisound for providing the killer Morel tweeters I won. My cat like reflexes weren't going to let any of you other guys beat me to the prize table! I already have a couple of ideas how to use those tweeters so you will see them next fall in a project. I hope everyone has safe travels home.
I'll add to the many thanks to the MAC crew for another extremely well run and great Iowa DIY. I was lucky this year and won a door prize thanks to Meniscus which will be put to good use in a project.
It was really good to see everyone. I'm looking forward to next year already!
Hey everyone, just wanted to give a shout out for what will surely be an event remember for years to come. It is unlikely any other event will begin with a fire alarm and end with a power outage. We created some memories this time, for sure!
The credit for organizing and hosting this event is all Bryan and Jason. I have not been publicly involved in MAC for a few years now - for a lot of reasons. BK and JP are stand up guys, and the template Bryan and I created in 2013, while evolving just slightly, still serves the event well. My role these days is just making sure we have the funds to procure the right venue. So while it still warms my heart to hear your words of gratitude - give BK and JP a round of applause, instead.
I know it is verging on cliche now to mention the overall quality of DIY these days - but I believe it bears repeating. I cannot imagine a commercial designer/professional critic not being impressed at things in the DIY world. I know a lot of us have been to RMAF/Axpona/etc and have come away with a wide range of impressions, but DIY speakers are consistently very good to great. There was not a dog in the park yesterday, and I would like to offer special props to Matt for his bigass coffins - they were very surprising! Chris for his bigass TB/Vifa 3-ways, your skills have definitely evolved in the last several years - your self-doubt is evidence of that. Ani for his 8" 2-way, that was a very subtly great design - glad we found the right placement option in the room. Of course, all of you deserve props for coming together and sharing our hobby. My first one was 2010 Iowa, and I had no idea what to expect. Lowell put my mind at ease when he was describing it - and his words hold true today.
The room was ok, in fact as good as any other hotel conference room and considerably better than some. It is isolated, they were rocking until 2AM Friday and Saturday nights (my old fat ass just can't stay up late anymore). The hotel staff are very accommodating, and I asked the manager if she received any complaints about noise from either night - she confirmed in the negative. That is a great thing!
One thing that stood out to me was the shortage of SB Acoustics based designs. At the other two events I attended this season - they were fucking everywhere. No commentary other than just pointing that out.
Another thing that stood out was the sparsity of inexpensive drivers - hardly a stamped frame in sight! I'm not sure what this means, to be honest, other than a general trend towards designers being somewhat more confident in their abilities to get it "right" and therefore being less afraid to use the more expensive drivers. My design used some cheap shit, though, so my analysis of said trend might be suspect. I just enjoy the challenge of making cheap speakers sound like expensive speakers. I usually cock that up, though. Also, cast frame drivers have been coming down in price the last several years.
Finally, to everyone - thank you for the camaraderie, friendship, and fellowship. There is a reason I use words like "community" to refer to us. Each of you always makes me feel welcome at every one of these events I attend. Whether it has been a year or just a few weeks, it is always like we last spoke yesterday. That is a wonderful feeling - knowing that no matter what our circumstances outside of this thing of ours, we can meet and bond over a common interest.
Just a note, I am planning on moving DakotaDIY to May rather than June, for weather purposes. Also just a note, MAC will likely reveal something pretty exciting in the next several months - stay tuned!
I had a great time again this year - even with the power failure. You guys do such an awesome job making things run smoothly. It was so nice to see everybody in person again. I came away with a little more knowledge thanks to folks who are more than willing to share & help others design better speakers. Every speaker we heard sounded good - good enough to be on the floor in most dedicated audio retailers. I know it's been said nearly every year, but I think it's true once again - the bar goes up another notch for overall sound quality as a group.
Comments
We are not doing covers
What I mean by specific cuts/ demo is to set up folders for
Female vocal demo
Male vocal demo
Piano demo
Hand clap, snaps, rim hits, stick hits percussion demo
Bell, cymbals, triangle demo
Kick drum demo
Bass guitar stand up bass demo
Imaging, depth, separation demo
This might help cut down on the submissions that, while is good music, doesn't have much demo value.
So, I am bringing these:
https://diy.midwestaudio.club/discussion/567/up-next-dayton-waveguide-generic-kevlar-driver/p1
They are not all that good either, but should be the only one of its kind there.
I should have my DIY Iowa 2019 speakers done this afternoon. ;-)
Ron
Iowa DIY 2019 – House Track (4:41)
1. Pinball Wizard – The Who
2. Lover – Taylor Swift
3. Scherzo for X-Wings – John Williams (Star Wars – The Force Awakens)
4. Play the Game – Queen
5. Edgar the Barber – Dr. Chesky
6. Angst – Nero
Anyway.... all good after a couple drinks and a couple hours.
Cheers from Mrs JR and I. We arrived early. See you all soon!
Finally, to everyone - thank you for the camaraderie, friendship, and fellowship. There is a reason I use words like "community" to refer to us. Each of you always makes me feel welcome at every one of these events I attend. Whether it has been a year or just a few weeks, it is always like we last spoke yesterday. That is a wonderful feeling - knowing that no matter what our circumstances outside of this thing of ours, we can meet and bond over a common interest.
Just a note, I am planning on moving DakotaDIY to May rather than June, for weather purposes. Also just a note, MAC will likely reveal something pretty exciting in the next several months - stay tuned!