This weekend, a small get-together of several AHers happened. There were actually five AH members involved, myself, Alex (Alex2507), Kurt (KEW), Dennis Murphy, and Dan. Kurt drove from Georgia near Atlanta, Alex drove from Rhode Island near Providence, and they meet at my house in Maryland near Washington, DC. Kurt arrived Friday evening, and Alex arrived Saturday morning. Later on Saturday, we went to Dennis Murphy’s house, about 15 miles away, for some very important business and thereo met up with Dan, my brother and fellow audioholic.
This all began because I wanted to get rid of the parts for a pair of DIY bookshelf speakers, yet to be built, that had been sitting in a closet for too long. I had originally bought them as a wedding present for a nephew, but I eventually understood he wasn’t really interested in owning an audio system. I thought he would change his mind, but I was wrong. I eventually found a buyer in Alex. At first I thought I could send him all the parts and be rid of them. It gradually morphed from send all the parts, to assemble the crossover boards and send all the parts, to assemble the crossover boards and cut the holes for the drivers, to what the hell, just build them. See the MB27 build thread:
http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/diy-corner-tips-techniques/81354-building-your-first-diy-speaker-mb27.html.
Last September, I was ready to FedEx them to Alex, when he said “Wait, something is in the works.” A bit earlier, Kurt had put his SongTowers up for sale, because he had ordered a pair of Philharmonic 3s from Dennis Murphy. Of course, Alex jumped on them. Kurt no longer had boxes for the STs, so to save on packing & shipping, Kurt and Alex decided to meet in Maryland, where Kurt would take possession of the new Phil 3s and deliver the STs to Alex.
As I learned about all this, I wondered how they could drive all that distance in one day. I also felt morally obliged to prevent the possibility of an interstate version of twister taking place in some sordid Motel 6 in Maryland. So I invited them to stay at my house for what became the Great January Audio Exchange.
But wait – there’s more!
In addition to the 3 pairs of speakers already mentioned, the SongTowers, MB27s, and Phil 3s, other audio gear got added. Kurt also owned a pair of Infinity 360s. Alex had plans for them that involved comparing them to his old 360s with cabinet modifications and eventual resale. So Kurt brought them along. Kurt also had a 7-channel big-iron Aragon amplifier gathering dust. Guess who wanted that?
There’s still more. Kurt had found someone not too far from me in Maryland selling a Yamaha A-S700 integrated amplifier. So, the weekend before Christmas, I picked it up and kept it until the Philharmonics were done.
So with all this going on, I had to prepare some worthy food for the weary travelers. I hadn’t smoked a brisket in about 2 years, so that became my contribution. I took Friday off as I did the 7-8 hour long smoking ritual. I had just finished that late Friday afternoon, when Kurt showed up, tired from 2 days of driving. He had left home Thursday morning and spent that night at a friend’s home in western North Carolina. I immediately found Kurt friendly and easy to get along with – very good start to the weekend. We kept it relaxing and low key that evening as bigger things were soon to happen.
Saturday morning, a bit after 11 am, Alex showed up. He had left Rhode Island about 7 hours earlier. This was my first meeting with him too. To say that it was fun is a giant understatement. He was sufficiently awed by seeing his new STs standing in the family room.
By early afternoon, we set off to Dennis Murphy’s house for the big event – the Phil 3s. I’ve been to Dennis’s enough so that it’s old hat to me, so I’ll let Kurt and Alex comment on what they saw there. My brother Dan also met us there. He had no direct role to play but didn’t want to miss out on any fun. It was while we were there, that I dared Alex to be the ultimate audio groupie for an audio rock star and ask for Dennis’s autograph. In the one photo I have, see what Alex is holding.
By roughly 4 pm we had packed up the Phil 3s in Kurts car and returned to my house. Then it was time to listen to music on the new speakers and pig out on smoked brisket and homemade bbq sauce. We left the Phils in Kurt’s car because we heard them plenty at Dennis’s and it was just too much to unload them only to reload them on Sunday. We spent a good part of the evening listening to my STs (with dome tweeters), Alex’s ribbon tweeter STs, and Alex’s new MB27s. Alex was a bit like a kid at his own birthday party. He had quite a haul.
Now, it’s Sunday afternoon, and I’m pretty tired. Alex and Kurt took off with their precious cargos carefully packed up, and I’m really glad I don’t have to face the long drives they have. Drive carefully and arrive safely.
I want to single out and thank my wife, Bonnie, for putting up with all this audio nonsense and graciously helping me welcome these friendly strangers and getting plenty of good food on the table for them.
Despite the goofy-looking serious expressions in the photo, we had a real fine time
!
