Houston Head-Fi Meet #1 on October 25

[swt61]

Originally Posted by Than

I wouldn't even know where to begin, to tell the truth. I really appreciate the effort on your part. It'll probably be a long drive no matter where it is anyway.

Long drive?

Uhmm I'll be coming from the Corpus Christi area, and I consider that a short drive since I usually have to drive to Dallas for a meet.

[Than]

It's all relative... Just forget I mentioned it. Sorry.

[luvdunhill]

ya, I got the PM.. dunno if I can make it or not. Perhaps send another PM out a week or two before?

[kydsid]

Well I move to Laredo on Sept 2nd. So this could be interesting.

I will bring the following:

iMod 5.5G
MiniBox E+
MapleTree Ear+HD
Sony CD/SACD 595 Player
AKG 701
SR 225
HP laptop
APC 350 Power Supply

[Orcin]

Laredo? Speaking of long drives...

[kydsid]

Originally Posted by Orcin

Laredo? Speaking of long drives...

Well after driving Anchorage to Laredo - Laredo to Houston will be nothing

[Orcin]

Small update: I am working on securing the clubhouse location. I should know by Tuesday, and will provide more info then. There will be a limited number of tables, so I am working on a list of people to get reserved table space. I've got a pretty good idea from the thread of who will require that much space. Feel free to PM me if you for sure do or don't want to be on this list, but the people with the most gear and most interest are getting priority.

I'll also be posting about the cover charge. I'll probably ask for $15 in advance and $20 at the door. The reason for this is I have to come out of pocket for the space rental in advance.

More details later, but I just wanted to give y'all something to consider (and bump the thread).

[shellylh]

I would love to try the Mapletree Ear. Laredo... that is far! What dedication you have.

Originally Posted by kydsid

Well I move to Laredo on Sept 2nd. So this could be interesting.

I will bring the following:

iMod 5.5G
MiniBox E+
MapleTree Ear+HD
Sony CD/SACD 595 Player
AKG 701
SR 225
HP laptop
APC 350 Power Supply

[Orcin]

Big update

Location is confirmed! I have reserved the clubhouse that was mentioned earlier in this thread. The address is 2410 Brightwater Drive, Missouri City, TX 77459. It is about five minutes from Sugar Land Town Center, and about twenty minutes southwest of downtown Houston.

The clubhouse is a free-standing building with a great view and comfortable furniture. There are 3 round tables, 2 rectangular tables, and 32 chairs (some upholstered and some straight-back). It has a routine number of electrical outlets, which means not enough, but we will have to make do with outlet strips. It has a covered loading/unloading area at the front door and plenty of parking. It should support about 25-30 of us with gear. It is probably more event-friendly than any of our houses would be.

I think everyone will like this location better than a hotel, and we won’t have to worry about uninvited guests wandering in from the lobby. It might be a little more hassle to find, but I am confident that you will really enjoy it once you get there. If you are coming from out of town, please PM me for a list of nearby hotels that are reasonably priced and convenient to the site.

I am going to schedule the event for 10AM-6PM. I will not be able to pick up the key before the morning of the event, so don’t plan to arrive early. However, the end time is very flexible to allow time to clean up and pack.

I am asking for a cover charge of $15 in advance or $20 at the door to help defray the expense for the site. I would especially appreciate if those who wish to have one of the 6-8 reserved table spaces could confirm and pay in advance, either by mail or paypal. I have already paid the rental fee plus a $500 security deposit, so I am definitely “confirmed”. If you wish to pay in advance and can do so, please contact me via PM for details.

We could use volunteers to bring snacks or a cooler of water and soft drinks. No alcohol or red beverages are allowed per the clubhouse rules, and it would be smart to avoid snacks that will result in greasy hands and carpet drips (no hot wings please!). A card table or two would help also.

I could also use a few volunteers to stay after the festivities to help me clean up. This is a community clubhouse, so there is no hotel staff to handle the dirty work. All we need to do is to leave it in the same condition as we found it, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

It would be nice if these clean-up volunteers were not the same people bringing massive amounts of gear, as those folks will have enough to do with packing and loading their equipment after the event. If you are coming without much gear and want to contribute, the cleanup and/or snack patrols would be a great way to do so and will be very much appreciated.

If you can do any of these, please let me know via PM and I will make note of it. I hope I haven’t scared everyone off with all of these rules and requests, but I think we will be able to have a great event with a little coordination and planning, and a very minor effort and expense. I’m eagerly looking forward to this day, and I hope you are too!

Please PM me with any questions or concerns, and I will try to address them. I plan to edit the first post in this thread with some of these details, and keep it up to date as the event gets closer. Please check there for the latest information.

[s1rrah]

Great to hear it's coming together.

I'll be in touch in the next few days with payment.

NOTE:

The language is a bit unclear so thought I'd re state here that the cover is an "either/or" type thing. You can either pay 15 dollars in advance or wait and pay 20 dollars at the event.

(This is the case, yes?)

In other locations in the thread, it almost reads as though the cover charge is a full 35 dollars, which I'm sure is not the case.

Just wanted to qualify a bit as an implied 35 dollar cover charge might turn folks off.

Can't wait to listen...

[shellylh]

Hi Orcin,

Thanks for all the hard work. I will definitely be there and I am looking forward to my first meet! I have tickets to a play that night but hopefully I can exchange them for another night so I can stay the whole time (otherwise, I may have to leave around 5pm). I will be bringing a "bunch" of gear so hopefully I can get some sort of table to put it on. I will PM you about sending a payment. I can bring some drinks + chips if we don't have enough volunteers.

You don't have to worry about me being early! I will probably have to set my alarm to make it there at 10am.

Originally Posted by Orcin

Big update

Location is confirmed! I have reserved the clubhouse that was mentioned earlier in this thread. The address is 2410 Brightwater Drive, Missouri City, TX 77459. It is about five minutes from Sugar Land Town Center, and about twenty minutes southwest of downtown Houston.

The clubhouse is a free-standing building with a great view and comfortable furniture. There are 3 round tables, 2 rectangular tables, and 32 chairs (some upholstered and some straight-back). It has a routine number of electrical outlets, which means not enough, but we will have to make do with outlet strips. It has a covered loading/unloading area at the front door and plenty of parking. It should support about 25-30 of us with gear. It is probably more event-friendly than any of our houses would be.

I think everyone will like this location better than a hotel, and we won’t have to worry about uninvited guests wandering in from the lobby. It might be a little more hassle to find, but I am confident that you will really enjoy it once you get there. If you are coming from out of town, please PM me for a list of nearby hotels that are reasonably priced and convenient to the site.

I am going to schedule the event for 10AM-6PM. I will not be able to pick up the key before the morning of the event, so don’t plan to arrive early. However, the end time is very flexible to allow time to clean up and pack.

I am asking for a cover charge of $15 in advance or $20 at the door to help defray the expense for the site. I would especially appreciate if those who wish to have one of the 6-8 reserved table spaces could confirm and pay in advance, either by mail or paypal. I have already paid the rental fee plus a $500 security deposit, so I am definitely “confirmed”. If you wish to pay in advance and can do so, please contact me via PM for details.

We could use volunteers to bring snacks or a cooler of water and soft drinks. No alcohol or red beverages are allowed per the clubhouse rules, and it would be smart to avoid snacks that will result in greasy hands and carpet drips (no hot wings please!). A card table or two would help also.

I could also use a few volunteers to stay after the festivities to help me clean up. This is a community clubhouse, so there is no hotel staff to handle the dirty work. All we need to do is to leave it in the same condition as we found it, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

It would be nice if these clean-up volunteers were not the same people bringing massive amounts of gear, as those folks will have enough to do with packing and loading their equipment after the event. If you are coming without much gear and want to contribute, the cleanup and/or snack patrols would be a great way to do so and will be very much appreciated.

If you can do any of these, please let me know via PM and I will make note of it. I hope I haven’t scared everyone off with all of these rules and requests, but I think we will be able to have a great event with a little coordination and planning, and a very minor effort and expense. I’m eagerly looking forward to this day, and I hope you are too!

Please PM me with any questions or concerns, and I will try to address them. I plan to edit the first post in this thread with some of these details, and keep it up to date as the event gets closer. Please check there for the latest information.

[Orcin]

Yes, s1rrah. It is EITHER $15 in advance OR $20 at the door. I'll try to correct that wherever I find it. Thanks for pointing that out.

[swt61]

Originally Posted by kydsid

Well after driving Anchorage to Laredo - Laredo to Houston will be nothing

Been there, done that, and I agree.

This should be a really fun meet! I'm pretty sure I'll have my custom turntable finished in time. That will give some of you who've never really experienced vinyl a nice chance to directly compare to my or your digital rigs.

[shellylh]

Originally Posted by swt61

Been there, done that, and I agree.

This should be a really fun meet! I'm pretty sure I'll have my custom turntable finished in time. That will give some of you who've never really experienced vinyl a nice chance to directly compare to my or your digital rigs.

Excellent! I have never heard a nice vinyl setup.

[Orcin]

Originally Posted by swt61

This should be a really fun meet! I'm pretty sure I'll have my custom turntable finished in time. That will give some of you who've never really experienced vinyl a nice chance to directly compare to my or your digital rigs.

I'll bring my Mobile Fidelity Labs pressing of Dark Side of the Moon for you to demo on it. It's in pristine condition, even though I bought it new when it was originally released. They don't call us Team OAF (Old Audio Fart) for nothing! I believe it still has the lined "Cactus Records" sleeve for those who are old enough to remember the heyday of that great store.


Update on the meet planning:
We have several people who have already paid their admission and reserved table space, so thanks much for that! I am trying to determine exactly how much table space and outlets are available in the clubhouse, so I can provide an accurate count of what remains. But there is for sure still room, so don't be shy about making your reservation now.

Also, there are some PM's going around, and it *could be* that we will have some nice, no... make that VERY NICE, door prizes! More about that later.

It could be a busy weekend of watching the weather forecasts here on the Gulf Coast, so everyone please be safe.