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My AK Fest Experience; First and Probably My Last.

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When I went to the 2006 Fest, the gear was actually about the last thing on my mind, 'cause as most of y'all know, I'm really more into old radios & TVs than I am hi-falutin' audio gear. I REALLY came to put faces w/names, for the fun & fellowship. But after I got there, the tremendous variety of gear kinda bowled me over-& I realised why so many of you guys are so PASSIONATE about it. I mean, I knew already, but...It just ain't the same thing as being there & seeing-and HEARING-all of it. And the best thing was to get to put faces & shake hands w/quite a few, but not nearly as many as I would have liked... Maybe one year, I can bring a Boatanchor, or an old TV or 2, & try to share MY passion w/youse audiophools...(grin)
 
I didn't go to this year's Fest, but I went to last year's and I was very new to AK at the time. I didn't really know anyone when I first arrived at the Fest.

I overheard some people talking about audio during breakfast in the hotel's restaurant and jumped right into the conversations. By the time breakfast was over, I had friends at the Fest. :)

When I used to go to some of my local audio dealers, a closed door on a listening room meant keep out. Somebody was in there getting a listen to some gear. I don't know that any of these places kicked anyone out for barging in, but people just didn't walk in.

So I did find that the closed doors at the Fest were a bit forbidding at first. But then I went into a couple of rooms anyway and nobody seemed to mind. In fact, I was made to feel welcome in almost all cases. (I feel there were a couple of dealers who were a bit snooty, but they were the rare exception. I also acknowledge that my perception could have been at fault there.)

Was there a lot of expensive gear there? Yes, there was a fair bit. But it's to be expected since everyone wants to bring their best. In fact, it was interesting to see some of this stuff in the flesh.

There was also a lot of stuff that wasn't expensive, and some of that was really neat too.

I didn't go with the idea of buying a bunch of stuff, so I can't say much about the swap room last year other than that the people there were really friendly.

I really enjoyed listening to some of the people who were having conversations in the various rooms. There was a lot of expert knowledge circulating around.

I'm sure that there are things that could be improved about the AK Fests. However, somebody has to volunteer to do the improving. It's not like one of the big shows that are run for profit by promoters.

I would like to go to another Fest. Fun and friends, and lots of music. :)
 
Snade said:
I think I would still enjoy the AKFest and hope to make it some time and meet many of the great members of this group, but this a good discussion to educate the members that the majority of the activity at the Fest is about more modern gear.

I never really knew that until I read this thread.

Cheers, Snade
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At the 2007 Fest, there were people interested in older gear, and there was older gear to look at and listen to.

I think you'd find plenty of things to like at an AK Fest.
 
Snade said:
...a good discussion to educate the members that the majority of the activity at the Fest is about more modern gear.
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There is no pattern or design to the mix of new and vintage.

In today's down economy, maybe less vintage stuff shows up because people are strapped for cash and have better things to spend on than the Fest. The high-end exhibitors have to keep showing up anyway, or they're out of business.

Next year, there could be tons of vintage stuff (I may bring some) and hopefully more exhibitors, too. If we can expand enough, there can be a whole area for vintage, and elsewhere there's talk about restoration demos and eductional talks.

Expecting the Fest to be any one thing is a sure way to miss a lot of the fun.
 
I think that many of you miss the point. If this is going to be a reunion event for members only, then I would agree that it falls on the shoulders of the members who choose to attend to make an effort to reach out and try to get involved. Some are better at it than others.

The fact that the event has equipment/gear sponsors tells me that they are contributing financially to the event. As non AK members will be coming to the event I am sure that they (the vendors) would appreciate the AK members making an effort to welcome the newbies - be they AK members or not. The more people spend time in the rooms and viewing the gear it is more likely that they, the vendors will see this event as a success and will want to continue to participate and/or expand their involvement and contribution to the success of the event.

It's just good business. I think that some of you take this too personally and see any suggestions as pure criticism and fail to see the benefit that could be obtained. I applaud the OP for having the cajones to make the original post and his followups.

I doubt that he was the only one who experienced this. I wonder how many non-AK members felt the same way and because they are not on the forum we will never know...

:music:
 
No we don't miss the point! We see it just fine! Your assuming we don't care
to make the fest better every year and try to do so. We do try an make it a
better fest every year with suggestions from everywhere but we also like it a
great bit the way it is and don't want to change it to much.

We also look at how much stock is put into each suggestion and where it comes
from, I don't put all that much stock into a feeling/suggestion from a "point" that
did not truly give it a try and put in some effort or wasn't even there to start with.

Every year the Vendors tell us it was a great success and WILL be back next year,
"Loved it better then any other event we attend" So AKFEST is on the right track.
 
I have been unable to make it to the fest yet. Next year I will be there. I am glad that everyone puts such an effort into putting on the fest. Sounds like a lot of people had a good time.:thmbsp:
 
Army said:
To the OP...
Sorry you missed us, Retro and I setup a vintage room and did our best to make people feel at home.
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And you guys did a damn fine job. That was one of my favorite rooms. Heck, they even went so far as to give a listen to my little boombox as I was walking by with it. I heard quite a few "come on in!" calls when the door opened up a crack. The first question from the hosts was always "what do you want to listen to?" I heard stuff from jazz to "Stranglehold" come out of that room. Good on ya, guys.

Ray
 
BajaGringo said:
I understand your point - I am just saying take a moment and look at it from his point of view. This group is full of your friends, people you have established a relationship with. He came in knowing not a single soul. I already suggested that he should have reached out to meet some of the folks and make a connection. It also sounds like maybe some of the members could have recognized they were in their own little groups and perhaps made an effort to reach out to the newbies.

Not picking on anybody, just trying to give a neutral point of view. To be honest, the more I read I get the feeling that I probably won't go to one of these events either anytime in the future. Sounds more and more like a gathering of old friends who already know each other and not designed to attract new blood. Maybe I'm wrong. I am just going to sit back and read the followup and see how it plays out...

:music:
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This was my first fest too and I have a bit of a social anxiety problem but I never felt like I was interrupting anybody. Quite the contrary actually. I was always welcomed into the member rooms and asked to sit and listen with them and join in the conversation. Same goes for the vendor rooms. Nobody there knew either myself or my father who went with me but they acted like we were all old friends. We had a lot of fun and will definately attend next year. It was a great time for most I guess, and should have been a great time for all, that is if you wanted to make it a great time.
 
centralflori said:
I have been unable to make it to the fest yet. Next year I will be there. I am glad that everyone puts such an effort into putting on the fest. Sounds like a lot of people had a good time.:thmbsp:
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Fantastic! I really think the majority of attendees had a super mega awesome time. I think there have only been 2 or 3 negative type posts about it. If you think about it's a festival environment, not a swap meet with garage sale/thrift store prices. It does cost money to secure a room/table to sell your wares. I have a crapload of old stuff I could of brought to try and sell, but I would have had to be there constantly and dicker over prices with potential buyers and drag stuff home if I didn't get my price.
My hat is off and my beer is tipped to Andy, Pete, & Mario for their swap room. I had fun with them & got a some great deals. As stated, you get out of it, what you put into it.
 
RayW said:
And you guys did a damn fine job. That was one of my favorite rooms. Heck, they even went so far as to give a listen to my little boombox as I was walking by with it. I heard quite a few "come on in!" calls when the door opened up a crack. The first question from the hosts was always "what do you want to listen to?" I heard stuff from jazz to "Stranglehold" come out of that room. Good on ya, guys.

Ray
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Thanks Ray, I really enjoyed your boombox, it was very cool :thmbsp:
 
BajaGringo said:
I think that many of you miss the point. If this is going to be a reunion event for members only, then I would agree that it falls on the shoulders of the members who choose to attend to make an effort to reach out and try to get involved. ..... I wonder how many non-AK members felt the same way and because they are not on the forum we will never know...
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I respect the OP's opinion, and wish he had spent more time there to get a better feel for the event. I respect his opinion because he actually spoke about his personal experience. You sir, are speaking about an event you have no fecking idea about, only heresay, and that is a damn slippery slope on which to dwell.

Out of the 600-800 people there I doubt that 25% were active members. And while I spoke to everyone who had a username on their nametag, I also enjoyed talking to 20-30 more who had no username....hardly a members only club.
 
As one of the youngest members (maybe youngest ever?) to fly to the fest last year I think I'd have a decent experience to judge how welcoming the fest is. I found it to be the exact opposite of yours. AK members went out of their way to pick me up and drop me off at the airport. These are people I never met or talked to other then PMs on this site. I even had one room host offer to hold onto my lugage until my hotel room was ready. Ever vendor gave me the time of day regardless how much their equipment cost. Yes, it felt odd having to open doors but you get over it. My only regret at this point is I could not make it this year.

I think you really need to give it a fair shot. The only thing I didn't get at the fest was a big welcoming hug from tentoze.
 
I had breakfast last year with StuartK, this year with Ballylongford. they both just asked politely if they could join my son & I, and the converations pretty much started themselves. maybe they are type A personalities or something, but they both left a lasting impression with me. :thmbsp:
 
Geeez! I have read this thread "cover to cover" and I can tell you, if I can find my way over the border I will most certainly be there! I think though, I will wear one of those bristol board signs that say "?"...should be a conversation piece at the very least. (I ask alot of questions:)
 
SubWolfer said:
But still, I certainly thought there would be something for everyone at the Fest. That was not to be. They had one tiny room with some older used stuff, which in my opinion wasn’t even worth putting on eBay, let alone on display and for sale at an audio show.
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You certainly attended a different Fest than I did. Let's see without looking at the list - there's was DGWojo's and Punkers's room with vintage gear that was tricked out including a couple pair of Altec speakers. Kegger's room with vintage Denon DP62L TT, diy amp, vintage Polk 10's and he probably woulda' hooked up his cool Dynaco ST70 if you had asked. Ed and Dnewman had some tricked up Cornwalls being played by a coupla' different diy amps and preamps. Loved their new loktal Cornet phono amp being driven by the Denon 59L. Retro Stereo and Army had a roomful of 70's Pioneer Spec gear driving some vintage Infinity speakers. Sorry I'm sure that I've forgotten someone but that's just off the topa' my head. I loved it.
 
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