2009 Chicago-Area AK Get Together - February 28
- Thread starter Robie
- Start date
Bob and Collette...thank you for another great party. And thanks to all for the incredible gear...including Brian Walsh who outdid himself with some ridiculously exotic gear!
Clay....I love that old Fisher receiver....
It was great seeing everyone again...as well as meeting some new people.
I'm already looking forward to the next event.....hopefully this summer sometime.
Cheers!
Clay....I love that old Fisher receiver....
It was great seeing everyone again...as well as meeting some new people.
I'm already looking forward to the next event.....hopefully this summer sometime.
Cheers!
ekmanning5
Time has told me...
Wow! I so look forward to this event each year. Chicago area AKers (and their spouses) are the greatest. Was a lot of fun seeing everyone again. Brian, that Art Blakey was pretty sweet huh? Bob and Collette, thanks for opening your home to us again. :thmbsp:
clydeselsor
Lunatic Member
I just got home. What a great time! Thanks again to Bob and Colette, our fantastic hosts! Brian's setup with the Atma-Sphere pre-amp and huge OTL mono amps was terrific, especially with the Kusma Stabi S turntable. Got to here some great stuff downstairs as well. Clay brought a beautiful Fisher 1800 tube receiver that sounded great. JohnVF brought some amazing sounding Sony SS/N7 speakers. Bob (Robie) showed us how fantastic his AK Indignia's sound. There was also a nice set of Dynaco Mark IIIs that drove John's Sony speakers quite well. RayW brought his single driver Fostex ML TQWT that sounded fantastic. Zekeman's Sansui 880 was a crowd pleaser as well. Lots of other great equipment was played along with some fantastic music. I had a great time! Thanks everyone!
Thanks!
Bob, thanks for a great time.
If anyone wants more info on the R2R tapes I brought, it's at www.tapeproject.com
Bob, thanks for a great time.
If anyone wants more info on the R2R tapes I brought, it's at www.tapeproject.com
What a great time! Double thanks to Bob and Collette, again, for hosting such a great bash. And, amazingly, for somehow finding time to stop and chat with everybody while simultaneously refilling pots of chili!
I'm trying to remember some of the great music so I can go find it for myself. JohnVF's Sony speakers were amazing. First time I've ever heard the legendary Revox B-77 rtr tape player. Mike's refrigerator-sized JBL's put out some astonishing sound! Too bad they aren't half that size!
We had a mini-speaker shootout, with my Minimus 7W's, Bob's ADS 200C's, and Ray's homebrew boombox. Too cool!
Thanks again for hosting this, Bob.
I'm trying to remember some of the great music so I can go find it for myself. JohnVF's Sony speakers were amazing. First time I've ever heard the legendary Revox B-77 rtr tape player. Mike's refrigerator-sized JBL's put out some astonishing sound! Too bad they aren't half that size!
We had a mini-speaker shootout, with my Minimus 7W's, Bob's ADS 200C's, and Ray's homebrew boombox. Too cool!
Thanks again for hosting this, Bob.
Snade
humble AK member
Great time, Bob, excellent job hosting this event.
This was the third party at Bob's place and I think when I'm there I'm visiting some great friends and I'm always learning something new about gear and the music.
One of the many highlights for me was listening to some jazz on Ray's speakers with the small fostex drivers connected to Clay's fisher tube receiver. That was a very sweet sounding setup. :thmbsp:
Well done Bob and Collette.
Cheers, Mark (aka Snade)
This was the third party at Bob's place and I think when I'm there I'm visiting some great friends and I'm always learning something new about gear and the music.
One of the many highlights for me was listening to some jazz on Ray's speakers with the small fostex drivers connected to Clay's fisher tube receiver. That was a very sweet sounding setup. :thmbsp:
Well done Bob and Collette.
Cheers, Mark (aka Snade)
Sabah and I had a great time. Thank you Bob and Collette for lettings us take over your house with sounds again. It's always nice to see you guys in person.
My highlight was Ray's single driver transmission line speakers. Amazing. And Clay, if you ever get tired of that rare and immaculate Fisher receiver, I'll trade you my dusty 500t thrift store find for it! C'mon, back then I'm sure plenty of people traded in those old tube things in for 500ts! Next we should have a shootout between last-gen tube and first gen solid state.
Speaking of tubes, I need to find a pair of Dynaco MkIIIs now. My speakers have rarely sounded so good, if ever.
So much cool gear for one day. Thanks everybody for hauling that stuff around. I was bitchin' when loading the Sonys in the car to bring 'em, but felt a lot better after seeing the JBLs when I walked in. Holy cow. And that Kuzma TT....no words to describe that. Fantastic. And the most beautiful Sansui 881.....classic.
It was wonderful to get to know you guys better this year. Let's not wait till next spring to get together again.
-john
My highlight was Ray's single driver transmission line speakers. Amazing. And Clay, if you ever get tired of that rare and immaculate Fisher receiver, I'll trade you my dusty 500t thrift store find for it! C'mon, back then I'm sure plenty of people traded in those old tube things in for 500ts! Next we should have a shootout between last-gen tube and first gen solid state.
Speaking of tubes, I need to find a pair of Dynaco MkIIIs now. My speakers have rarely sounded so good, if ever.
So much cool gear for one day. Thanks everybody for hauling that stuff around. I was bitchin' when loading the Sonys in the car to bring 'em, but felt a lot better after seeing the JBLs when I walked in. Holy cow. And that Kuzma TT....no words to describe that. Fantastic. And the most beautiful Sansui 881.....classic.
It was wonderful to get to know you guys better this year. Let's not wait till next spring to get together again.
-john
blzatrl123
Member
Just wanted to thank Bob and Collette for hosting a great party,Had a great time talking to all,learned allot,heard allot. As clay said I need to find the music we where listening to.
Loved the sony speakers and the Atma-Sphere equiptment on my JBL's.Couldnt believe the sound out of rays little speakers,amazing. Also got a kick out of the DYI BOOM BOX.
Love the revox real to real,beautiful sound.
Can't wait for next year BOB.
Loved the sony speakers and the Atma-Sphere equiptment on my JBL's.Couldnt believe the sound out of rays little speakers,amazing. Also got a kick out of the DYI BOOM BOX.
Love the revox real to real,beautiful sound.
Can't wait for next year BOB.
Thanks to all who attended, brought stuff and made it happen. I had the easy part not to mention the shortest drive home.
I'll post a longer list of highlights later along with pics but here is a list of some of the best stuff I've ever heard. Special thanks to Brian Walsh and Blzatrl123 for bringing some spectacular (and heavy) equipment.
Brian brought the following spectacular equipment:
Kuzma Stabi S turntable, Stogi S tonearm, and Shelter 501 Mk II cartridge
Atma-Sphere MP-1 Mk III preamplifier
Two Atma-Sphere MA-1 Mk II.3 amplifiers
Creative Cable Concepts interconnects
Isoclean Focus power cord
TG Audio 688 power cords
Creative Cable Concepts line filter
Sounded fantastic on Blzatrl's 180 lb. JBL 4341s.
More later.
I'll post a longer list of highlights later along with pics but here is a list of some of the best stuff I've ever heard. Special thanks to Brian Walsh and Blzatrl123 for bringing some spectacular (and heavy) equipment.
Brian brought the following spectacular equipment:
Kuzma Stabi S turntable, Stogi S tonearm, and Shelter 501 Mk II cartridge
Atma-Sphere MP-1 Mk III preamplifier
Two Atma-Sphere MA-1 Mk II.3 amplifiers
Creative Cable Concepts interconnects
Isoclean Focus power cord
TG Audio 688 power cords
Creative Cable Concepts line filter
Sounded fantastic on Blzatrl's 180 lb. JBL 4341s.
More later.
Brian Walsh
Active Member
Thanks, Bob! :thmbsp: It was a pleasure to see everyone including meeting quite a few new friendly faces. The get together was well organized, and the food was great. I'd like to thank all who helped with the unloading and loading of what I brought. And if you thought that sounded good, just wait till next Saturday.
Tapehead47
Addicted Member
Wow, what a great time that sounds like! I wish we'd have a session like that in Tampa!
Very much looking forward to the resulting photos!
Chicago is a fabulous city. We had a family vacation there last summer and loved every minute, every second of it.:yes:
Very much looking forward to the resulting photos!
Chicago is a fabulous city. We had a family vacation there last summer and loved every minute, every second of it.:yes:
Brian Walsh
Active Member
Analog open house at my place. PM me for details.
Ok, I'm finally catching back up. I wanted to send a public "thank you" to Bob and Colette. They not only hosted the event but they took in a poor, homeless (for the night) waif and gave him a place to sleep and a wonderful breakfast on Sunday.
The shinding was a great time for me. The big (in more ways than one) system upstairs sounded really good. I didn't get to listen all that much as I spent the majority of my time downstairs playing around with a half dozen or so different speaker. However, while walking through, someone put on Stevie Ray's "Tin Pan Alley" and I froze. It was fantastic.
Downstairs I enjoyed the camraderie and swapping all the components around. Zekeman's receiver was a treat as I hadn't heard vintage Sansui since it wasn't vintage. The combo of Blzatrl's Dynaco amps and John's Sony speakers was amazing and was the audio high point for me.
On the social side, it was great to see some old friends again and meet some new ones. A finer bunch of folks, you'll never meet.
A great experience overall, I just wish someone would have one closer to my place.
Ray
The shinding was a great time for me. The big (in more ways than one) system upstairs sounded really good. I didn't get to listen all that much as I spent the majority of my time downstairs playing around with a half dozen or so different speaker. However, while walking through, someone put on Stevie Ray's "Tin Pan Alley" and I froze. It was fantastic.
Downstairs I enjoyed the camraderie and swapping all the components around. Zekeman's receiver was a treat as I hadn't heard vintage Sansui since it wasn't vintage. The combo of Blzatrl's Dynaco amps and John's Sony speakers was amazing and was the audio high point for me.
On the social side, it was great to see some old friends again and meet some new ones. A finer bunch of folks, you'll never meet.
A great experience overall, I just wish someone would have one closer to my place.
Ray
Pics and Comments
While hosting reduces the trip length, it tends to interfere with hearing it all. I tried to delegate and did so with the pics. My dear friend Gary took pics and focused (no pun intended) on the upstairs as well as some of the attendees. Sorry if there is no pic of everyone.
We ended up with some great pics of the killer upstairs system and some member pics but no pics of the cool more vintage stuff downstairs.
The upstairs system was much bigger than it looks in the pictures and was too big and complex to move once it was set up. The very live room was also too small for this system but it sounded incredible nonetheless.
Below are some pics, mostly of the Main System. Click on the thumbnails and they should enlarge a bit.
The Atma-Sphere MA-1 Mk II.3 amplifiers. They are 140W OTL monoblocks. Thanks again Brian.
Another shot of one of the mighty Atma-Spere monoblocks. This is the left Channel as they are mirror imaged. Pure Class A. I don't think my boiler ran all day.
Brian's Creative Cable Concepts interconnects which were roughly an inch in diameter and actually manufactured in Wheeling, IL, about a mile or three away.
Blzatrl123's huge JBL 4341s. 180lbs each so it was a labor of love to load and schlepp these beauties almost 100 miles. Huge, dynamic sound that really excelled with the wonderful Atma-Spere equipment.
Brian's Kuzma Stabi S. This is executed in solid brass and was surprisingly heavy. Jaw dropping design and beautiful analog sound with the Shelter med. output MC cartridge. This combo exhibited almost no record surface noise and fewer pops and clicks on most of my 30+ year old college albums. Fantastic combo.
The Kuzma and Brian's fantastic, very heavy DIY rack. Did I say heavy? Surprisingly, the TT didn't skip all day, even with lots of people walking around all day.
A couple more shots of the Kuzma. It has an outboard motor.
Another shot of the Kuzma TT.
Another view of the Kuzma.
A view of the main system which was capable of concert volume while preserving incredible detail and resolution, with all of the musical benefits of tubes. Check out my previous post for more system details.
Another view of the main, living room system.
"Bad Ronald" (confirming the "stupid loud volumes" this system was capable of while still sounding exquisite), posing with the beautiful Jane. While capable of hamming it up with the best of them, Bad Ronald is a great guy all around and audiophile. He had a great time listening to the different systems. I'm proud to call him my brother.
I somehow don't have any close up pics highlighting the beautiful Atma-Sphere MP-1 MkIII Preamp. However, it is evident in this picture (it's the light grey faced component (second from bottom), with outboard power supply (on bottom)).
More pics to follow in a new post.
While hosting reduces the trip length, it tends to interfere with hearing it all. I tried to delegate and did so with the pics. My dear friend Gary took pics and focused (no pun intended) on the upstairs as well as some of the attendees. Sorry if there is no pic of everyone.
We ended up with some great pics of the killer upstairs system and some member pics but no pics of the cool more vintage stuff downstairs.
The upstairs system was much bigger than it looks in the pictures and was too big and complex to move once it was set up. The very live room was also too small for this system but it sounded incredible nonetheless.
Below are some pics, mostly of the Main System. Click on the thumbnails and they should enlarge a bit.
The Atma-Sphere MA-1 Mk II.3 amplifiers. They are 140W OTL monoblocks. Thanks again Brian. Another shot of one of the mighty Atma-Spere monoblocks. This is the left Channel as they are mirror imaged. Pure Class A. I don't think my boiler ran all day. Brian's Creative Cable Concepts interconnects which were roughly an inch in diameter and actually manufactured in Wheeling, IL, about a mile or three away. Blzatrl123's huge JBL 4341s. 180lbs each so it was a labor of love to load and schlepp these beauties almost 100 miles. Huge, dynamic sound that really excelled with the wonderful Atma-Spere equipment. Brian's Kuzma Stabi S. This is executed in solid brass and was surprisingly heavy. Jaw dropping design and beautiful analog sound with the Shelter med. output MC cartridge. This combo exhibited almost no record surface noise and fewer pops and clicks on most of my 30+ year old college albums. Fantastic combo. The Kuzma and Brian's fantastic, very heavy DIY rack. Did I say heavy? Surprisingly, the TT didn't skip all day, even with lots of people walking around all day. A couple more shots of the Kuzma. It has an outboard motor. Another shot of the Kuzma TT. Another view of the Kuzma. A view of the main system which was capable of concert volume while preserving incredible detail and resolution, with all of the musical benefits of tubes. Check out my previous post for more system details. Another view of the main, living room system. "Bad Ronald" (confirming the "stupid loud volumes" this system was capable of while still sounding exquisite), posing with the beautiful Jane. While capable of hamming it up with the best of them, Bad Ronald is a great guy all around and audiophile. He had a great time listening to the different systems. I'm proud to call him my brother. I somehow don't have any close up pics highlighting the beautiful Atma-Sphere MP-1 MkIII Preamp. However, it is evident in this picture (it's the light grey faced component (second from bottom), with outboard power supply (on bottom)). More pics to follow in a new post.
Last edited:
More Pics
Member bobschneider loading his Revox B-77 with one of his incredible R2R master tapes from the Tape Project. (more information in his post above).
Brian with Blzatrl123. They collaborated to provide an incredible main living room system.
Mr. Bear always seems to be surrounded with beautiful ladies (Monica and Sabah). I think the ladies enjoyed the music and equipment almost as much as the men. Almost.
ekmanning5, clydeslesor, markthefixer, Brian Walsh, SWL3600 and bobschneider enjoying the main system.
ekmanning5, and Zekeman inspecting one of Ed's Bogen Monoblocks.
ekmanning 5, Zekeman, Snade and Mr. Bear socializing in the basement. While events like this are all about the equipment, they end up with more time spent socializing than serious listening. It's all about audio regardless.
Robie (host) with Blzatrl123. I had just been promised that the camera would make me look heavier than I actually am.
ejmanning5, and Fisherdude, focused entirely on the music and not the photographer. Robie, Zekeman, blzatrl123 and bobschneider in the back.
JohnVF and Sabah enjoying the utility room system.
The lovely Kris, ekmanning, Zekeman and Brian Walsh, rocking out to the Beatles on the main system.
While formal recognition is scheduled for AK Fest in May, we tried to recognize markthefixer's selection as Member of the Year. Since I couldn't locate a crown in such a short time, we managed to recognize Mark's award in a small way (reserved VIP parking).
AK Member of the Year markthefixer. BTW, you'll never meet a nicer guy.
Music on such fine equipment put everyone in a great mood and builds camaraderie. Bad Ronald, Monica, Sabah and Dave.
RayW, kwingylee, SWL3600, JohnVF and Sabah in the basement. Thanks so much John for bringing those fantastic Sony SS-M7 speakers, vintage Sony preamp and RGR Model 5 power amp. Everyone attending was really impressed with those Sony's, particularly when powered by Blzatrl's Dynaco MkIIIs. I entirely missed hearing the MkIIIs running around doing what hosts do. BTW, RayW won the "Traveled the Farthest to Attend" award.
RayW's "Garden Tumors" and "Initials" in the queue waiting to be played. While the Garden Tumors sounded much better than they should have (and double as both step stools and toad stools) the TL design Initials with Fostex full range drivers had a stunning immediacy.
Some beautiful ladies hiding, er enjoying the sound in the kitchen. (Kim, Monica and Colette).
The "new and improved" clydeselsor enjoys some tunes. Mr. Bear and Monica listen to Bob L. in the background.
Mr. Bear manages to find the lovely ladies again, this time in the utility room/mancave (Kris, Monica, Kim and Jane).
The mancave McIntosh. It fell off a car trunk onto an asphalt parking lot. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.
The mancave system powering the Indignias. I have no pics of the Indignias in the basement system but they impressed greatly all who heard them early on. I think many there were interested in another AK group buy.
Zekeman, Robie, Sabah and JohnVF in the basement.
I believe that is the last decent pic I have.
I ask that anyone else attending post their pics as soon as soon as you can, particularly if you have any pics of basement systems.
Member bobschneider loading his Revox B-77 with one of his incredible R2R master tapes from the Tape Project. (more information in his post above). Brian with Blzatrl123. They collaborated to provide an incredible main living room system. Mr. Bear always seems to be surrounded with beautiful ladies (Monica and Sabah). I think the ladies enjoyed the music and equipment almost as much as the men. Almost. ekmanning5, clydeslesor, markthefixer, Brian Walsh, SWL3600 and bobschneider enjoying the main system. ekmanning5, and Zekeman inspecting one of Ed's Bogen Monoblocks. ekmanning 5, Zekeman, Snade and Mr. Bear socializing in the basement. While events like this are all about the equipment, they end up with more time spent socializing than serious listening. It's all about audio regardless. Robie (host) with Blzatrl123. I had just been promised that the camera would make me look heavier than I actually am. ejmanning5, and Fisherdude, focused entirely on the music and not the photographer. Robie, Zekeman, blzatrl123 and bobschneider in the back. JohnVF and Sabah enjoying the utility room system. The lovely Kris, ekmanning, Zekeman and Brian Walsh, rocking out to the Beatles on the main system. While formal recognition is scheduled for AK Fest in May, we tried to recognize markthefixer's selection as Member of the Year. Since I couldn't locate a crown in such a short time, we managed to recognize Mark's award in a small way (reserved VIP parking). AK Member of the Year markthefixer. BTW, you'll never meet a nicer guy. Music on such fine equipment put everyone in a great mood and builds camaraderie. Bad Ronald, Monica, Sabah and Dave. RayW, kwingylee, SWL3600, JohnVF and Sabah in the basement. Thanks so much John for bringing those fantastic Sony SS-M7 speakers, vintage Sony preamp and RGR Model 5 power amp. Everyone attending was really impressed with those Sony's, particularly when powered by Blzatrl's Dynaco MkIIIs. I entirely missed hearing the MkIIIs running around doing what hosts do. BTW, RayW won the "Traveled the Farthest to Attend" award. RayW's "Garden Tumors" and "Initials" in the queue waiting to be played. While the Garden Tumors sounded much better than they should have (and double as both step stools and toad stools) the TL design Initials with Fostex full range drivers had a stunning immediacy. Some beautiful ladies hiding, er enjoying the sound in the kitchen. (Kim, Monica and Colette). The "new and improved" clydeselsor enjoys some tunes. Mr. Bear and Monica listen to Bob L. in the background. Mr. Bear manages to find the lovely ladies again, this time in the utility room/mancave (Kris, Monica, Kim and Jane). The mancave McIntosh. It fell off a car trunk onto an asphalt parking lot. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking. The mancave system powering the Indignias. I have no pics of the Indignias in the basement system but they impressed greatly all who heard them early on. I think many there were interested in another AK group buy. Zekeman, Robie, Sabah and JohnVF in the basement. I believe that is the last decent pic I have.
I ask that anyone else attending post their pics as soon as soon as you can, particularly if you have any pics of basement systems.
Last edited:
