Dave R
Active Member
Hi All, posted on behalf of TerryO,
I’m pleased to announce that the “Sound DIY Club” will be sponsoring “The Puget Sound DIY Speaker contest” this year. It will be hosted by the Pacific Northwest Audio Society (PNWAS), at its current meeting location in the lower level of the
Kirkland Congregational Church
106 5th Ave,
Kirkland, WA 98033
The Contest is scheduled for Saturday, September 26th, with the doors opening for registration at 9:00 AM and the general public at approximately 10:00. Doors will be open until 5:00 PM.
More details follow:
What Will Happen?
The Contest will be held at the Kirkland Congregational Church, 106 5th Ave, Kirkland, WA 98033.
Doors open at 9:00 a.m., and judging will begin around 10:00. We may be flexible on start time if a contestant is traveling some distance and may be arriving later than the start time; please let us know in advance so we can schedule accordingly.
Entries
There will be two "classes" of entries: original DIY designs and Kits. We realize that a lot of effort, experience, skill and sometimes luck are needed to come up with a successful design. Many accomplished designers learned their craft by starting with kits of one sort or another and subsequently progressed toward original designs. For others, the lack of time or experience makes a kit a means towards better, affordable sound.
Also, if you can bring speaker stands, that would be helpful.
A Kit is defined as...
...Any pre-designed or published design (publication includes the Internet) that is the product of another person. This may be plans, parts, kit, or both plus cabinets, etc. Any major deviation from the plans may at some point constitute an original design -- however, a club appointed technical committee will have the final determination if this problem presents itself. All kits must have been offered to and available to the general public at some time. We rely on the integrity of the contestant!
The kit class is broken down by cost per pair and excludes the cost of the cabinet and finish. The breakdown for kits is as follows:
$0-$175/pair
$176-$325/pair
$326+/pair
Original Designs:
The breakdown is as follows:
One way ----under $75/over $75
Two way ----under $200/over $200
Three way -- under $300/over $300
Unlimited ---- no limit
NOTE: This is for drivers and crossover parts only; cabinet material and finish are not included. We again rely on the contestants' integrity. Your uncle who owns the HiFi Emporium cannot give you a special deal that isn't or hasn't been available to the general public. Nuff Said!
The speakers will be driven by the system supplied by the club. Don't bring your own Megawatt Hyper Triode Amp -- we're not going to use it. To keep it simple, we are not going to allow biamping or plate amps for a bass module.
The entry fee is $15 to register at the door. If you have any questions please post on one of the forums with an official thread on the contest, like this one. Also, it would help us a great deal if you'd let us know or think you're coming.
Judging
The judging will be by a panel of judges in a special room set aside for this. We will have three judges, which in turn plays his personal pre-selected musical selections (2-3 minutes max.) while sitting in the "sweet spot." Each contestant is allowed to specify general guidelines to set-up, that is, distance apart, toe-in, although corner loaded speakers will need to provide their own artificial corners. Remember that the judges will be sitting side by side so that should be taken into consideration.
We intend that judging will be totally blind -- this means that a curtain is utilized to ensure that sound, and not appearance, will be the sole criteria. All speakers will have the loudness adjusted to the same level before judging begins. Set-up of speakers will be by a club crew using notes taken at time of entry. Each judge will be issued a standard evaluation form prior to each session, and will rate each entry by assigning points, after which the form is collected by the Technical Committee member assigned to monitoring the judging (and setting SPL levels prior to each evaluation of an entry, etc). The forms are then scored by the Contest Director, or his designee for total points. After the final entry is judged, the points earned are assigned within each category to determine ranking within that class. The total overall points regardless of category or class will determine Best Sound of Show.
Other Stuff:
General admission of the public is free. We hope to have a garage sale/swap meet type offering for those who wish to sell or buy audio gear for free. However, the owners are responsible for their gear, etc. Don't expect to drop off stuff and return at the end of the day to pick up the money. (Please advise in advance if you wish to sell items).
While the entries are being judged, another system will be playing in the main meeting area. Attendees will have a chance to listen to contest entries in that area.
Awards:
Each entry will receive a certificate of participation. Additional certificates will be awarded to 1st and 2nd place winners of each class.
An award will be given for “Best Bang for the Buck”. All entries are eligible, and will be awarded to the entry that has the biggest ratio of Points scored divided by total cost of the entry. (Points/$$).
Finally, a "Best Sound of Show" certificate will be presented to the overall winner. All winners of their respective DIY class are eligible for this. Please note that "kit" speakers aren't eligible for the Best Sound of Show.
Unless overruled by the Technical Committee for violation of the rules, the decision (total points) of the judges is final.
Best Regards,
TerryO
I’m pleased to announce that the “Sound DIY Club” will be sponsoring “The Puget Sound DIY Speaker contest” this year. It will be hosted by the Pacific Northwest Audio Society (PNWAS), at its current meeting location in the lower level of the
Kirkland Congregational Church
106 5th Ave,
Kirkland, WA 98033
The Contest is scheduled for Saturday, September 26th, with the doors opening for registration at 9:00 AM and the general public at approximately 10:00. Doors will be open until 5:00 PM.
More details follow:
What Will Happen?
The Contest will be held at the Kirkland Congregational Church, 106 5th Ave, Kirkland, WA 98033.
Doors open at 9:00 a.m., and judging will begin around 10:00. We may be flexible on start time if a contestant is traveling some distance and may be arriving later than the start time; please let us know in advance so we can schedule accordingly.
Entries
There will be two "classes" of entries: original DIY designs and Kits. We realize that a lot of effort, experience, skill and sometimes luck are needed to come up with a successful design. Many accomplished designers learned their craft by starting with kits of one sort or another and subsequently progressed toward original designs. For others, the lack of time or experience makes a kit a means towards better, affordable sound.
Also, if you can bring speaker stands, that would be helpful.
A Kit is defined as...
...Any pre-designed or published design (publication includes the Internet) that is the product of another person. This may be plans, parts, kit, or both plus cabinets, etc. Any major deviation from the plans may at some point constitute an original design -- however, a club appointed technical committee will have the final determination if this problem presents itself. All kits must have been offered to and available to the general public at some time. We rely on the integrity of the contestant!
The kit class is broken down by cost per pair and excludes the cost of the cabinet and finish. The breakdown for kits is as follows:
$0-$175/pair
$176-$325/pair
$326+/pair
Original Designs:
The breakdown is as follows:
One way ----under $75/over $75
Two way ----under $200/over $200
Three way -- under $300/over $300
Unlimited ---- no limit
NOTE: This is for drivers and crossover parts only; cabinet material and finish are not included. We again rely on the contestants' integrity. Your uncle who owns the HiFi Emporium cannot give you a special deal that isn't or hasn't been available to the general public. Nuff Said!
The speakers will be driven by the system supplied by the club. Don't bring your own Megawatt Hyper Triode Amp -- we're not going to use it. To keep it simple, we are not going to allow biamping or plate amps for a bass module.
The entry fee is $15 to register at the door. If you have any questions please post on one of the forums with an official thread on the contest, like this one. Also, it would help us a great deal if you'd let us know or think you're coming.
Judging
The judging will be by a panel of judges in a special room set aside for this. We will have three judges, which in turn plays his personal pre-selected musical selections (2-3 minutes max.) while sitting in the "sweet spot." Each contestant is allowed to specify general guidelines to set-up, that is, distance apart, toe-in, although corner loaded speakers will need to provide their own artificial corners. Remember that the judges will be sitting side by side so that should be taken into consideration.
We intend that judging will be totally blind -- this means that a curtain is utilized to ensure that sound, and not appearance, will be the sole criteria. All speakers will have the loudness adjusted to the same level before judging begins. Set-up of speakers will be by a club crew using notes taken at time of entry. Each judge will be issued a standard evaluation form prior to each session, and will rate each entry by assigning points, after which the form is collected by the Technical Committee member assigned to monitoring the judging (and setting SPL levels prior to each evaluation of an entry, etc). The forms are then scored by the Contest Director, or his designee for total points. After the final entry is judged, the points earned are assigned within each category to determine ranking within that class. The total overall points regardless of category or class will determine Best Sound of Show.
Other Stuff:
General admission of the public is free. We hope to have a garage sale/swap meet type offering for those who wish to sell or buy audio gear for free. However, the owners are responsible for their gear, etc. Don't expect to drop off stuff and return at the end of the day to pick up the money. (Please advise in advance if you wish to sell items).
While the entries are being judged, another system will be playing in the main meeting area. Attendees will have a chance to listen to contest entries in that area.
Awards:
Each entry will receive a certificate of participation. Additional certificates will be awarded to 1st and 2nd place winners of each class.
An award will be given for “Best Bang for the Buck”. All entries are eligible, and will be awarded to the entry that has the biggest ratio of Points scored divided by total cost of the entry. (Points/$$).
Finally, a "Best Sound of Show" certificate will be presented to the overall winner. All winners of their respective DIY class are eligible for this. Please note that "kit" speakers aren't eligible for the Best Sound of Show.
Unless overruled by the Technical Committee for violation of the rules, the decision (total points) of the judges is final.
Best Regards,
TerryO
