Shoot Out In Navi Mumbai !!!(Mumbai Meet 2013)

[denom]

where do we start ?

Firstly a big thank you to santy, denom and hemant for getting us together and organizing a meet like this. There were many good things in the meet and a few things to improve upon the next time ( whenever it is ).

Thanks for appreciating. As for next time, what next time??? I can't see me being part of organising the next one if things are the same. Will gladly hand over the baton to you or anyone else who is keen to take over :indifferent14:

Denom - The Teac DAC was smooth would love to have it home for a mini session sometine..

Any time, after your amp is home & ready to be showcased Charges for the Teac will apply :beer:

We need to learn a few things from every event and every day and this is in no way a rant or sour grapes but here goes..

a. More FM's could have been persuaded to get their gear.. just in case as a backup against dealers who dont show up .

Hahahah, easier said than done, we had the google spreadsheet exactly for that purpose & what did that result in??? Nothing, Nada!!!
A dealer gave us the slip by pulling out @ the eleventh hour, leaving us high 'n dry w r t a good CD player & a High End one + the other promised high end speakers. We were handicapped by this no doubt

b. Someone to do the MC duties please.... in a professional manner..many times members incl yours truly were floating around.. we need to be shepherded properly.

Yes, but remember we are not professional MC's, niether can we afford one with such poor turn out. As for shepherding, we cannot 'push' people to remain in the halls, what with many of our friends being addicted to cancer sticks & looking for ways to consume them in 'other' areas of the venue

c. Experienced gurus could have a panel discussion or QA session for newer guys who frequently ask.. kya leneka.. kitme mein.. mere liya kya suitable hai ??

Hahahah, what a laugh! Here we are unmasking many so called 'gurus' & you of all people are asking for them. I suggest you to become one & share the gyaan to all of us, the venue you can provide

d. To HFV ( Supermod ) itself.. while this event could not have happened under your flag and w/o your support.. maybe you need to come and add value personally to these meets it you GENUINELY support it.
This was in Mumbai and last time you had kindly sent a message which was read out and i thought this time you could make it.

No comment, its best he speaks for himself

e. I had offered to get my gear but there was no encouraging response.. I was surprised to see no worth this while CDP.. this was a major one..

Our mistake, accept full responsibility for this. Here I must mention to all reading this post, that mpw did offer to get his Passive Pre & CDP, once he came & saw the 'situation' but I did not have the heart to make him go back home & get it. He also did not have his own transport to do the back & forth, hence all the more asked him not to take the trouble of doing so.

f. Fiddling with players and DAC's and stuff never gave a chance to compare apple-apple with a worth its bread CDP. This was a disappointment for a few up the ladder as there was not much to take home.

Our misfortune that the Laptop jugglery here took a lot of time - not expected to happen but then the Weiss DAC had 'handshake' issues with 3 on the trot, further wasting time. Lesson learned by us & the DAC owner for sure :sad: Unforseen glitch none the less.

g. The organizers ( in future ) should ask atleast 10 to 12 members who we know have gears to come with them..

Yes, that you & the others interested in organising future big events will have to keep in mind & deal with

yea.. i know what you are thinking.. next time mpw karega na sab kuchh !! :yahoo::yahoo:

You my friend are a MIND READER!!! :lol:

I volunteer to actively helpout in the next meet.. not because of nitpicking .. or to prove a point but it will be my effort to bring enjoyment, participation and structured involvement to the table. I think the organizers need more support and i volunteer and this is on record now..

My only caveat is that whatever we do we do in a planned timebound way so that my schedule can be fixed accordingly.

Karo BOSS, karo!!! Hum tumare peeche hai

To those guys who did not show up after indicating they would.... come on guys.. if you think the show was of no value you should have indicated so and dropped out long time ago.

Have heard the Queen Track, 'another one bites the dust' quite a lot recently. Hope to avoid listening to it in the near future. Hope you as 1 of the 'future meet organisers' do not have to listen to it too often when you are organising the next meet(s)

To the Chennai folks who are organizing - good luck !! I see many equipment contributed by FM's.. i think this is the way to go.

regards,
mpw
======================================================

Yes, GOOD LUCK & Best Wishes

 

[avidyarthy]

Au revoir .... or auf wiedersehen Denom?

 

[just4kix]

I have a theory for the poor response:

- the Pune meet happened in Dec and this came quite soon / possibly there was not much enthusiasm because of this (maybe we could have it six months apart)
- venue at Navi Mumbai makes very good sense - in terms of cost and accessibility to Pune people - but maybe it was considered too far by Mumbai people, especially those on the Western lines (I have no suggestion here)
- there was nothing much for video enthusiasts (I know that this 3rd point is very difficult but ... can we have HT and Video demos as well next time?)

 

[mpw]

forget it.. doesnt matter anymore..

 

[spirovious]

Hi again,

a Time to write about some good findings.
As you know there were 2 rooms & so we divided into group.I joined the DIY setups(partial) in 1st half.Now why its DIY,we started setup from SSP preamp & Hypex 400w(4ohm)amp.

We connected Beresford DAC to SSP,then to Hypex amp.Speakers were TL design from Mr.Sandeep Devasthali.They were small Bookshelfs less than 1ft.
Played some Demo tracks & we were surprised with sound.It had balance tone without favoring any spectrum.good separation & enough Bass for the size.There was little sharpness,but I thing due to other devices in the chain.Speakers were not closed to the wall.Vocals were prominent & for the price it was a good find for us.

Then we connected another but bigger BS from same company & due to size of cabinate & Drivers,sound was much refined & detailed.Seperation & soundstage was perfect.Again some sharpness was present.Bass got a bit bigger & better.

We played some more time before we tried huge towers from them which had 7 drivers in each cabinate with 3way cross over.Well they were sounding big & a bit boomy.May need some better amp to control them.Will adding some damping below the feet,Bass improved some what.

I personally felt that the Bigger BS is good choice for music & smaller can be HT choice.
Mr.Sandeep Devasthali has done a very good job for making such speakers with low price.

Next we changed to Weiss DAC & yes it sounded better than Beresford caimon.The sharpness reduced but still present.Vocals got some good definition.With some gain,amp could drive speakers well.We enjoyed further & then changed to Asus DAC.

Now for the first time I felt the warmth much needed for long listening sessions.With other combo,we couldn't increase the volume after certain levels.Asus has good Bass,but felt details were better in other DACs.Male vocals were better & not thin.I wished here to have another pre-power setup to judge it.

After lunch I went to another room.Time for some Mid & hi end setups.
ADM9T & SW was first to go & yes we got a better experience.Over all sound was balanced,still I felt without SW,vocals were sounding thin.I was expecting near perfection for the price,but not very great.Again speakers were away from the wall & this could be the reason.Sub was very good,powerful enough so that the Asus person from another room confirmed the Bass feel there.No boom at all,fast & accurate Bass.

Then came the time to listen the great PMC setup.
Bel Canto with PMC was a huge setup.A CD Transport + DAC + dedicated power supply + 2 monoblocks. Speakers were Huge Bookshelfs.
We started with mixed tracked & soon realized that this is a great experience.A music sounded very close to perfection.Treble not Harsh but rounded.Bass was enough not overpowering.It was sounding pure & not boomy at all.Vocals rounded & well oriented.
A track from Dark night was a treat to listen.The thunder sound was a good experience.
Thanks to Khusrau & team for giving detailed Demo.

In last session I went back to 1st room & had chance to listen Audioengine speakers.
A5 was playing with Asus DAC & sound again was good but not well balanced.I couldn't enjoy it & so requested to play A2 and I cant believe the scale small speakers were outputting.Hard to get a balanced & weighty sound from small drivers.Male vocal were not lean like the big one.Enjoyed it will every type of music.With Teac DAC sound was musical.Good Bass with rounded & natural vocals.Treble not harsh at all & seperation was good enough.

Finally Denon 1500AE amp with SD speakers were played.Again a sharp sound noticed.Finally connected Asus DAC directly with poweramp of denon to get better sound.We also connected Quad 12L to get fuller sound & it did justice.Bass could be felt boomy on higher volumes.Still good one.

I thank to Organizers (Denom,Hemant & Santy)for making our Sunday wonderful.Another good experience & fun.Thaks to Pune FM who drove long & joined us.

Cheers.

 

[shaiju_o_thomas]

My first impression was... wow! someone left a "tiffin box" full of wires. Later was embarrassed at the thought. Shows my complete lack of audio components, so such meets really help me.

 

[spirovious]

My first impression was... wow! someone left a "tiffin box" full of wires. Later was embarrassed at the thought. Shows my complete lack of audio components, so such meets really help me.

I will thank to Sachin & Omishra to help me out & make SSP work perfectly.

 

[srinisundar]

I have planned initially to visit for Mumbai meet with another fellow member who is also ready to join with me... Till last week there is no much response is there and less line up of equipment made me to back off + chennai meet work piled up to finalize the venue.

Now that 2 meet has gone in a different path, +1 to the comments made by "Santy".

+++ To lure more members for chennai meet and to recover the cost they spent, i am thinking of keeping an bin of DVD's which i want to dispose and they can take whatever they want.. + AV giveaways may happen and also planning to have an raffles...:lol:

 

[srinisundar]

Posting the comments/advise how this could have been done on the organizers after the meet should be avoided at any cost.. Appreciated if all the things could have been shared by you earlier in the thread and not followed... At-least if anybody is not able to contribute, please do not throw flames..

 

[just4kix]

Posting the comments/advise how this could have been done on the organizers after the meet should be avoided at any cost.. Appreciated if all the things could have been shared by you earlier in the thread and not followed... At-least if anybody is not able to contribute, please do not throw flames..

If the comment was directed at me, then let me state that I did not mean any disrespect. My comments were pure introspection and suggestions for the future.

 

[srinisundar]

If the comment was directed at me, then let me state that I did not mean any disrespect. My comments were pure introspection and suggestions for the future.

hehe,,, I have not read your post yet if anything you have voiced against the organizers,,, now i will read it..

 

[srinisundar]

I have a theory for the poor response:

- the Pune meet happened in Dec and this came quite soon / possibly there was not much enthusiasm because of this (maybe we could have it six months apart)
- venue at Navi Mumbai makes very good sense - in terms of cost and accessibility to Pune people - but maybe it was considered too far by Mumbai people, especially those on the Western lines (I have no suggestion here)
- there was nothing much for video enthusiasts (I know that this 3rd point is very difficult but ... can we have HT and Video demos as well next time?)

Oh,,, i read this earlier,,, Ok... This is not the thread which is reflecting my views..

 

[Amp_Nut]

A Big THANK YOU to the Organisers, who have toiled to make this happen.

The enthusiasm of all who attended was fantastic.

The Bel Canto - PMC demo by Khusrau & Jignesh was Simply awesome. It was a Great set up even by standards of Sound quality at International shows.... They clearly took a LOT of pains in setting it up. More enquiring minds in the audience could have better taped into their Wealth of audio knowledge with more questions..... ;-)

Rajdeep your active system ( including the built in DAC) made quite an Impact, in such a large room..

There have been suggestions by FMs to bring in More of their equipment, for listning by others.

IMHO it would be better if instead, using 1 or 2 good setups ( as were present at this show) the audience in informed of various aspects like:

1. What is 'Soundstage"

2. Properly poitioning speakers in your existing system for good Sound.

3. Demo of Good bass, Boomy bass, Distorted sound at high volume levels

4. Room interaction at High Volume levels.

etc.... ;-)

Most imnportantly, the 3 Key Organisers : Denom, Sipro and Santy who have put in much effort and probably even money to make this meet happen. Your friendly and welcoming attitude was Really, REALLY Very nice.

Thanks also to all the others that chipped in ...

A HUGE THANKS to all !

 

[stejas]

stejas - Thanks for coming, hope you enjoyed

yes denom,no doubt it was some real experience to hear n see yourself so many enthusiasts at one place n meeting them all,and some real system playing real sound with variety of range.Please notify such upcoming events,would really like to be a part of it.
thanks n 3 cheers for u, santy n hemant for arranging it so well.

 

[hemantwaghe]

First I want to start with a positive note

Thank you all who visited ,helped us and made this meet happen . Special thank to all who came from faraway places , made travel arrangements for each other , and our dear Dr Spirovious for actively doing the volunteering.

Santy & Denom may not like it but super special thanks to them BTW both worked hard ,I was the least working one , due to some issues or other. And they never made me feel that. It is difficult to get friends like these especially in older age.

Special thanks to dealers , who from far flung places got their stuff , take time to arrange , painstakingly explained and demoed. Kudoes to you and all the best wishes from us arrangers.

Again the people this time was fantastic .yes there may be some back talks , but mostly everyone was disciplined I do not think anyone has complaints , and yes there is no molestation or misbehaving complaint ))..

Of course low turnout hurt me a lot ,because it is the motivation .. forget the argument of quality crowd , here we required some minimum turnout there MUST some minimum turnout . Next time ( I do not know who will arrange the meet) it will be difficult to convince dealers NO HARD FEELINGS but we think a lot of guys like to become armchair experts without experiencing the real thing , or take the opportunity to experience the thing

Yes like Dave said I frankly do not want to arrange the meet next time. again it is not we know how to arrange ,and let us see how others can.. in fact we request to take the baton ( or bamboo) and continue the thing.

@ Srini ,I feel that THE GUYS WHO ATTENDED has right to say what should be done as everyone comes with some expectation- and they will EXPECT SOMETHING IN FUTUREwhoever will be arranging will get a some idea of expectation.

So what MPW , justforkicks of vktarun expected was good concepts and there will someone who can execute. Like vktaruns idea of secondhand meet is good one ( and beneficial for dealer like me :clapping:hyeah: ) and I am eagerly waiting someone will arrange this.
Justforkicks, MPW,Spiro and many others in fact most of the forum members are people at senior , respectable places in jobs or business and they are suggesting out of their management expertise. In fact srini we had a healthy chat before meet , and it too helped some way or other to conduct the meet . thank for that.

 

[corElement]

Congrats on the meet guys! Hope to see more reviews soon! =)

 

[SatMumbai]

Thanks Denom, Hemant & Santy for organising the event! I enjoyed meeting the fellow enthusiasts and hopefully made some friends!!

I am not too sure what is the issue here about why there is some disappointment among the organisers.

Is there a target number of participants expected to be there? If Yes, what was the target number and by how much did we miss that number??

And is this target number for financial break even? Or Simply put did organisers have to put money from their pockets?

I think we had a very spirited event and there is definitely good enthusiasm among members. May be the organisers are occupied in the operational chores and could not observe this as much as I did. So it is a very big PLUS.

Regarding the next event, please don't give up so easily.
And if you need a breather for just the next event, I am sure there are others including me who can share the load on operational aspects (with you guys on the board of directors giving valuable advice!)

I will write my views later on the actual gear.

 

[keith_correa]

Lot of T shirts are lying so we have to find a way to dispose them off.

I'll be happy to buy one so that all your out of pocket expenses are reduced by a small drop.

 

[Santy]

@ keith
Yes, await a T shirt sale thread shortly. I hope you are not size 40, because they are used up

@Sat
Good that you enjoyed the meet.

Money is not a major issue. But this time, turnout was less than last year. I am into business development, so if I don't see growth I get upset, no matter what. :lol: Of course, the participants were very enthusiastic and we enjoyed being together, but we always thought more the merrier. Also, the distributors should be kept happy if we want them for the next meet. Finally, if even 40-50 people do not turn up, then I humbly feel its not worth the effort put in, in planning and organizing on a large scale with two big halls, full buffet, and then persuading people on the thread and reminding them to pay up

Actually, its not disappointment, rather surprising. I am sure everyone will agree to the following.

1) Very few can afford the PMC+Bell Canto but it can help us to tune our ears towards better sound which is not possible by reading reviews or ratings. In other words, you just cannot read good sound, you have to hear it.

2) MUMBAI!!! Such a big city, I am sure there must be thousands of audio enthusiasts here. May be the time given for registration was too short.

Yes, we must have got more gears but one distributor backed off in the last min otherwise the time would have been too short and we did not want to disappoint anyone who brings the gear which cannot be played.

 

[keith_correa]

@ keith
Yes, await a T shirt sale thread shortly. I hope you are not size 40, because they are used up

Actually, I'm a 39 which I'm sure would not be available, so the next best would be a 40 which is not available too. Story of my life!!!