Socal Meetup Sunday Nov 12

It's been a while since there has been a Socal meetup and a few of us have decided to organize a casual meetup.


When/Where:
The event will be on Sunday Nov 12th from 10AM - 5PM. The location has been finalized - it is going to be in a ~900-1000 sq ft hotel conference room by the 5 freeway and Disneyland. I will PM the venue and address to those of you who are attending. You can stay for as little or as long as you'd like and can come and go freely.

Cost:
It will be $28/person to attend - this is to cover the cost of the room, taxes, and other associated fees (I have already paid for the venue). There will be no charge for parking and you can exit/enter anytime with no extra parking or other costs. To book your spot, please PM me and I will provide you with a paypal address for payment. For now, no refunds after Wednesday 11:59PM Nov 8th as it's too much to shuffle people around with less than 2 days before the event. If you need an alternate way to pay OR are not comfortable sending money to me individually, we can discuss via PM and work something out through SBAF as well.

Per the venue, we are limited to 30 attendees. [[For now, this will be limited to known SBAF members and 1-2 of their friends, SO, etc. who can be vouched for, including any out of town SBAF members who may be in the area that day.]]

EDIT: 11/6 - This event is not at capacity yet. Given that we have the space, we are going to be a little more lenient about attendees, but this is still primarily for known members and trusted guests.

Gear, equipment, and food + drink:
The venue will provide us with several 5 or 6' round tables for up to 30 people and chairs. There are also about 10-15 power sockets in the room (so 20-30 plugs), maybe more. As long as everyone brings a reasonable amount of equipment, we should have enough space and power outlets.

Aside from audio gear, we will also need surge protectors, extension cables, and sources (including laptops, ipad, etc.). The venue will provide wi-fi as well and it did work when I visited last week.

Water will be provided but the onsite restaurant is closed during the day on the 12th. We can bring our own food, snacks, and drinks but we are NOT ALLOWED TO BRING OUTSIDE ALCOHOL into the event. There are restaurants, a few breweries, and a Karl Strauss nearby for those who want to eat and drink responsibly though.

Instructions:
PM me and I will provide my PayPal address. Include:
1. Your own PP address or number (so I can cross reference easier).:
2. Name (please provide this even if I know you already, I am only keeping this when/if the venue wants to confirm that the event was actually limited to 30 people):
3. What equipment do you want to bring:
4. If you want to bring any food or non-alcoholic drinks:

 

Also, while this is not a sponsored or sanctioned event, I did reach out to a few MOT and companies to see if they would like to attend or send any gear to the event.

This post is a reference for anyone who may want to hear something in particular.

Also feel free to post any requests for particular gear below as well.

1. @schiit - Update 11/2: MJO3 (!!!!), Vali 2++, and Modi 2 MB were received today. Yggdrasil+ MIB once / if a unit can be located. Update 11/7: MIB unavailable, a Yggdrasil LIM will be sent to be paired with the Mjo3. Thanks again to Schiit!
2. ETA - gear pending and most likely a prototype headphone
3. DNA amps - gear pending
4. ZMF - edit: Bokeh, Atrium Closed, Caldera
5. Zampotech - 1-2 SW51 amps and it's unlikely, but there is a slim chance of a prototype amp
6.
...

 

Attendees and gear (limit 30):
1. @penguins 2x extension cables, 2x surge protectors, 2 sources (1 ipad and 1 old macbook as a source), 1 pair XLR interconnect, 1 pair RCA interconnect, extra USB cables - every meet always seems to be short on these things. Other gear such as amps/dacs/headphones, food, or drinks will depend on what people are already bringing or not.
2. @Clemmaster - Gear below
3. @JK47 - No gear, most likely drinks or snacks
4. @insidious meme - see below
5. @ChaChaRealSmooth - gear pending
6. @netforce - gear pending
7. @Gazny - gear pending
8. @Donald North - gear pending
9. @tommytakis - gear pending
10. @tommytakis +1 - pending
11. @Jh4db536 - pending
12. @theveterans - see below
13.
14.
15.
...

 

I'm in!

Here's what I planned on bringing:

For sure:

• Vinnie Rossi LIO (Tube + AVC, L2 DAC) - this will be the DAC powering the 2 or 3 setups
• Vinnie Rossi VR120 - if someone brings harder to drive planar headphones
• Bakoon HPA-21 - must hear with Atrium on current output
• Woo Tube Mini
• ZMF Atrium Open
• JAR660S
• 6~8 outlets power strip (either CMX-6 or Audioquest Niagara 1200)
• Laptop to drive everything (Roon + Qobuz)
• Android Tablet (with UAPP) for the Woo

Maybe:

• CorePower Equi=Core 1000 - balanced power conditioner (because hotels' power sucks )
• Linear Tube Audio Z10 Integrated - not heavy, but fairly big so TBD
• Audial S5 - for a different flavor DAC (TDA1541A)

I think that's enough

 

I won't be able to be there, but I expect they'll be able to get you gear. Contact [email protected] for specifics.

Edit: if they say they don't have a Mjolnir 3 or something, press them. I'm sure they have one hidden somewhere. And it should be coming back into stock soon.

Edit to edit: and no you don't get mine!

 

Will be going! Undecided yet what gear I am bringing but can look through what I have right now.

 

I'll be there can't wait to see everyone again.

Thanks for organizing this event @penguins

 

Gear: Laptop (NO STREAMING! Only tracks on laptop), Schiit Eitr, Schiit Gugnir A2, EC Black Widow, ZMF Auteur Classic, power strip, 6ft extention cord. May append depending on others listings.

 

Thanks @penguins

Will be bringing these: Schiit Yggdrasil+ MIB, Schiit Saga, ampsandsound Forge 32/300 ohm version JJKT88/JJ6SL7, Hifiman Susvara and IEMs, A&K SP2000 DAP Toslink as source (local playback), a USB A to USB-B cable, lightning camera USB kit for phone streaming and an extra RCA cable

 

wait wait wait

 

Gear list updated as of 11/6
updated as of 5:32PM 11/7

thanks to whichever mod added ai picture lol.

 

I want to say this has been my favorite meet, the people, drinks and great time we had with each other. Wow, seriously thank you @penguins for the meet. And thank you SBAF for cultivating a great community.

 

What a great time, a lot of truly amazing people, and gear for a small meet. A nice mix of conversation, and listening in a relaxed, comfortable environment. One combo that really grabbed my attention was the over ear ETA headphone powered by the amp Donald brought, fed by his Sonic Frontiers CD player, the music flowed so effortlessly.

I don't know what else to say, I'll leave that to the more articulate folks that attended. There was so much jaw dropping gear it would have taken days to properly get a handle on it all...

 

Is that the Kallyste Amethyste in the first photo?

 

It is, paired with utopia 2022 and Dangerous Convert 2

 

First things first, big shout out to @penguins for setting this up! It was long overdue for an SBAF meet in LA and it was great seeing all the familiar faces again since last meet pre-COVID

TBH, I didn't do much listening, I just walked around and caught up with friends.

Here's a photo dump from the meet today:

 

Thanks @penguins for organizing the event!

I had a really great time and learned lots of things from many you guys.

What a way to first hear a DNA and even better it's the soon to be released DNA Supernaut. I finally understand Donald's vision on the sound when designing his amps. I immediately notice the delicate nuances of the notes, a sense of wetness that's amazingly well done, a wide sense of openness and air that easily reveals the room reverberations of the recording and finally a hint of calmness yet incredibly imposing and addicting! Best of all, he's able to pull this off on a tetrode triode strapped tube that doesn't impart its own tube signature to Donald's envision. Awesomesauce

 

Would love to hear some impressions of that amp from SBAF folks. It costs some 15 or 20k if I am not wrong?

 

uh.... dafuq?

 

Pure luxury, it was the most comfortable I felt the Utopia sound.
The feet are too much, it slides around because of it.

For some reason I thought it might sound hard, but actually it is a bit liquid.
Netforce brought a great pairing here.