Meeting suggestions

An excellent road map, Tuberoller. Thanks.

We were fortunate IMHO to carry of an excellent meet in Detroit, and we seem to have stumbled into many of these. I second the notion of planning it as early as possible...VERY important if you want to bring a manufacturer or other industry folks into the fold.

Excellant Roadmap Tuberoller.
Alot of effort goes into setting up a meet.
And it is best if only A couple of people handle it,otherwize too many chiefs and no Indians and then it never happens.
Every Headfier should experiance a meet whether small or Large They are just plain fun.

Thanks for the tips tuberoller..

Now we just need to find someone willing to organize the Seattle meet

Why not you? Someone has to step up to the plate,if you want it to happen.

Here are some additional comments from Tyll Hertsens, which he posted to this thread: The Headroom Tours Head-Fi Meets Tour soon after attending 12 Head-fi meets in the summer of 2005:

Quoting Tyll:

"Problems and Suggestions:

Badges. I’m not very good remembering names. Sure, I have the disadvantage of attending a dozen meets and not living in the area to learn names over time, but it’s bothersome none the less. At meets where the organizers pushed nametags, not only was it easier to refresh my memory during the meet, but I could sometimes read the names in the photos afterwards so that I could be a bit more personal in my meet impression posts. I heard a significant number of others comment similarly. I think we should consider badges very important in improving our relationship building at meets, and I suggest strongly that meet organizers include nametags on their to-do lists. I’m very interested in helping along these lines and I plan to purchase some sort of laminated name tag making equipment and develop a Head-Fi branded badge graphic for the April National Meet that immtbiker is organizing. I would like to subsequently donate this equipment to a Head-Fi member who is willing to undertake an effort to make cool permanent badges for members attending meets.

Sweat: Hi. My name is Tyll and I’m a sweathog. After the flurry of activity at the beginning of a meet I find I’ve worked up a significant sweat, and it’s hard to cool off and dry my head well enough to feel good about putting on someone else’s headphones. I’ve noticed that a moderate minority of others are likewise burdened with this problem. My suggestion is that we try to have an ample supply of paper towels readily available at meets---especially in the South! (How do you guys stand it!)

Gear Care: Following on with the above topic, please be sensitive to the fact that many of the headphones at meets are VERY expensive! I remember well seeing someone hand another person a pair of Sony R-10 headphones on a folded towel, indicating to me that the owner wished them to be very well cared for, the receiver simply picked the cans off the towel and set them in with the pile of gear at the table as he readied his listening trial. I could see the cringe in the owner’s eyes. Now, I’m a beast with my gear and treat it like a tire iron, but that’s with my gear; I try to be very sensitive of others cherished equipment. While at a meet I think it is very important to try to respect and replicate the level of care the gears owner employs. Please wash your hair before the meets; do your best to clean out your ears if you plan to try to audition someone else’s in-ear-monitors (I think we all realize this measure will only be marginally effective, but still…try, ehh.) Please be sensitive not to scratch and ding during set up and break down; much of the equipment runs into the thousands and some into the tens of thousands of dollars. And from the other end, if your equipment and its cosmetic condition is very important to you, just don’t bring it. Atrophy is an immutable law; meets will increase the risks of degrading the cosmetic condition of your gear. Maybe a mini-meet in your home with a limited number of attendees is the appropriate way to share.

Gear Labels: Not so important with the big gear, but I know of numerous times that cables and adapters inadvertently wound up going home in the wrong box. This is mostly an issue of helping keep honest people honest; it’s just so much easier to identify whose cable is whose when they are somehow labeled. I’d also suggest that folks may want to burn test discs and leave their originals at home; CDs seem to be the most common stowaway item inside anothers player. (BTW, I haven’t forgotten that many of you have asked for track names on my test CD and I will be catching up with my back PMs soon.) I’ll add here that there were a VERY few things that went missing that oughtn’t have. Labels may have made a difference here. ‘Nuf said.

Power: The most common technical problem at a meet is not having enough power outlets. I suggest that when you go to a meet you should remember to bring at least enough plug strip for yourself and a 20’ extension cord just in case you get stranded on a table in the middle of a room.

Time management: How many times have we read the post, “Damn, I wish I had taken the time to listen to XXXXX.” A couple of times I did see people who had prepared a little list of things they wanted to be sure to hear prior to the meet; this seemed to work very well for them. But remember, half of what we’re doing here is getting to know each other and forming a sense of community. I suggest we all take the attitude going into these things that we’re not going to hear everything . . . and we don’t have to if we are simply ready to organize another meet.

Meet Post: Some meet organizers do a really great job keeping their first meet post in the meet thread up to date with lots of great info. I found it particularly helpful when a maps.google.com direction click was available, but there are lots of other things that are very useful to have on the first post: Start time, stop time, contact phone number that will work just prior to and during the beginning of meet, map, directions, gear list, attendee list, ride requests, food plans, money obligations, other planned activities (swap/for sale table, charitable donation opportunity, silent auction). I suggest that those of you organizing your first meet have a good hard look at the first posts of guys who are old hands, you’ll find some great tips and ideas to run a successful meet.

Remembering Jude: I think it’s critically important to remember we are all the beneficiaries of Jude’s generosity here at Head-Fi. This activity rests fully on his willingness to continue to provide the servers and bandwidth, and on his faith that we will figure out how to come up with enough money to cover his costs. One of the prime opportunities we have to share the burden is at the meets. Donating part of the take at the door; holding a silent auction; or just plain passing the hat are just a few ways to raise an itty-bit of dough for the mega-bytes of traffic he provides. And if you are not a contributing member, become one."

clean ears yes

Quoting Tyll:

[B]"Problems and Suggestions:

... do your best to clean out your ears if you plan to try to audition someone else’s in-ear-monitors (I think we all realize this measure will only be marginally effective, but still…try, ehh.)

Tyll:

My thoughts exactly. In fact, I'm thinking of exhibiting a rig with (in-ear) Etymotic ER-4s, and I plan to order a bag of new white plastic ear pieces. That way I can offer each user his/her own brand new ear pieces.

PS Keep up the great work at Headroom. And I will wear a name badge too -- got a pack of 'em for the NJ meet and still have some left over.

George Witterschein, aka grbwitt

Time frame

Are there any learnings concerning the optimal time frame for a meet?

E.G. 10 am to 17 pm or 15 pm with open end?

How & why to set up a gear list

Here's a template to use for your gear list. Official NY Metro Area Meet December 13, 2008--Gear List

It's the gear list we used for the NYC Bi-Annual Meet. This is the fourth or sixth time doing the gear list. I think it started the year we were expecting 80-90 members. Here's a few things I learned.

The NYC meet thread runs 41 pages. That's too much to read and keep track of, so I copy a lot of stuff from the thread onto the page. This way people can just read the one page and get most of the important highlights. Not every meet needs this much stuff. Also, you might want to save the first or second post for the member & gear list. When you create the meet thread, think about adding a second post for the gear/member list, or just make the first post really, really long. The only problem is then you're the one stuck maintaining it, which is why I have a separate web page for it.

You want to be very clear about the rules for your meet. Say up front where & when it will be held, who's invited, what the cost is, any special requirements for members and sponsors, etc. This should really be on the first post of the meet thread. If you do keep a separate web page for the gear list, you should also include all that information on the page.

You need to think about whether to keep the list sorted by member (with each member in a separate section) or by equipment (sections for amps, sources, dacs, cans, etc.) or both. One focuses on a setup, the other on pieces of equipment. It makes more sense in NYC to do it by setup, but mostly I gave up doing it by equipment because it's too much work. The members list is much easier to do. Just copy directly off a post or message and make a new section for the member.

If you're keeping the list, don't wait for people to contact you or ask to be put on the list. Watch the thread regularly and put things on the list. If you're not sure what someone intends, put it on the list first, then message them and ask if it's right. The easiest way to keep a list for a small meet is to use the first or second post and just update it. If your list is elsewhere, create a text file with a very short paragraph containing a link to the list and a link to to this Meeting suggestions thread. Paste it at the end of all of your posts in the meet thread and in every message you respond to about the list. This way people don't need to go hunting for it, you end up answering fewer questions, and don't have to remind people that you're the one keeping the list. Respond promptly to any requests by message, and tell them when to expect their update to appear on the list. You can do the update later, but respond to them quickly or they'll double post and get agida.

We like to start the list 6-8 weeks before a meet. I start updating the list once a week and slowly step up to 3-4 times for the last 2-3 weeks, mostly around weekends, e.g. Friday night, Sunday morning, Monday, and Thursday. Starting with the last weekend before the meet, it's more like every day. If you volunteer to do this, keep in mind that people may be depending on you to plan their gear. About 6 weeks before the meet we knew we had a space issue. People responded by coordinating and deciding what to bring and what to leave home so we wouldn't end up with a lot of duplicate equipment. I got a spurt of private messages and a few emails based on this planning. With people planning so much, I started updating the list 3 or more times a week.

I don't know if the wanted and carpool sections are useful, since I didn't get much feedback. One or two people noticed something on there, but mostly it was done in the thread. Hey, if one person gets to come to the meet or hear something new based on the list, it's worth doing.

The first time, I had a separate section for sponsors, but gave up and now treat them like any other member. I do single out special things they do in the a noteworthy section. I also add a link to their web page, but I do all that for any member.

Print a few copies of the list and put it near the door, or if you have it online, put up a sign telling people where the computer is. Otherwise you'll have people wandering around hoping to hear an e500, and two people go home wondering why they brought it when no one bothered to listen.

There's a few tweaks in the html on my list. The page is pretty easy to edit by hand. (If you're masochist enough to do that.) It sticks to very simple, standard html (I validate it on every upload), both of which are important to have it display properly on the largest variety of web browsers. It's also formatted in a way that allows a bit of flexibility. It took three passes to get here. If you're thinking of doing a page by hand, take a look at the format. (Okay, I cheated a bit. The javascript to switch style sheets every time you load the page isn't strictly conforming, but the bean counters at W3 let me slide.)

Meet FAQ Template

This is a bunch of stuff I shamelessly ripped from previous NYC meet threads, from this suggestions thread, from comments, and a few things I just made up. It's part of the NYC meet page, so it might be specific to the NYC meet. You'll need to modify it for your meet.

Feel free to use anything here for your own meets.

If you haven't been to a meet, you'll find some good tips here, but some of this might be wrong. Each meet is different, and the members make the rules. If in doubt, ask in the thread for the meet you're planning to attend.

--------------------------

What's a meet?

What should I expect at a meet? (courtesy of upstateguy)

<<< Cartoon picture of a meet inserted here >>>

As I was reminded before my first meet: this is a "meet," not a trade show and the members make the meet (lol, that sounds funny to me). So you are encouraged to bring some gear. The range will run the gamut, which is what makes it so cool--from budget to top-of-the-range; from portable to massive. And make sure to bring some of your own cans so you can try out different sources, amps, etc. Of course there will be many different headphones there, but it's great to be able to plug your own into some of the rigs to really hear the difference a component can make.

Tips for Newbies
Personal Hygene is important.
* Wash your hair and your ears--and behind your ears.
* Clean out your ears so you can hear better.
* If you clean the canal with peroxide, do it a few of days before the meet--give those stray waxed klingons time to leave.
* Don't forget the deodorant (THIS goes for Oldtimers as well). Baby powder & cologne are not adequate substitutes.
* With all the gear & other members, it gets warm in the room. Dress accordingly.

The most important thing of all is to have fun.
* Meets are Great, so be prepared to have a great day with fellow Head-fi members.
* Bring whatever gear you want. If you don't have any, thats OK. Just bring your ears.
* You can try whatever gear you want.
* If you have any questions about gear, look for the owner and ask. Or just ask whoever's listening (after they're done).
* Everyone is very friendly and will be glad to answer you.
* Most of us know each other for some time now so dont think that people are ignoring you... unless you didnt take a shower before the meet and smell.
* Do not be shy.
* Mingle.
* You will find everyone to be very friendly & helpful.
* Most of all enjoy yourself & take the opportunity to hear gear you normally wouldn't get a chance to, or are thinking of buying.

Get organized.
* Take a mental (or written) list of what you want to hear. If do this before the meet, leave some time to look around and listen to some surprises.
* You'll be overwhelmed with the amount of gear that will be at the meet.
* Read the impressions thread afterwards. You'll realize you missed listening to something you wanted to hear.
* Time Flies at these meets.

Remember that you're trying out another member's gear.
* Treat all gear with the utmost respect.
* Ask if you're not sure how to operate any gear, or you're just curious about the system setup.
* Some gear is really, really, really, really expensive.
* Other gear... the owner only thinks it's precious. Respect the owner's wishes.
* Give it all the velvet cushion treatment.
* If you have any doubt or questions, ask.
* Do not place headphones on top of other gear--if you're not sure where to put it, ask the owner.
* Do not remove any gear from a setup without the owner's permission.
* Do not remove any cables or make any other changes to the setup without the owner's permission.
* If you do take gear away from a table, or borrow cables, adapters, or power strips, try to remember where you got it from, and bring it back when you're done. In all the excietement, it's easy to forget where you got that 1/8" to 3.5mm headphone adapter. I know. I managed to misplace 3 at my first meet.
* If you listen loud remember to lower the volume for the next person.
* If you don't know or are just curious about something, ask someone. Anyone. Someone knows, or knows someone who knows.

If you're bringing gear

The more equipment we have, the more everyone gets exposed to, that otherwise wouldn't be available to them.

At a minimum, everyone needs to bring their own power strip, and probably an extension cord. Extras are also needed, so if you have any extra, please bring them. Don't forget to pack them and bring them with you.

You might want to set up a card or something by your gear with your name on it so people know whose gear is on the table. For portable gear especially, you might want to label every piece of gear. People will walk around with your portable equipment (hopefully after asking permission), especially to test it out in combination with other gear. Not that we've had any serious problems, but there's usually someone with an extra or missing cable when we're busy trying to break down.

Packing & transporting your gear can be a challenge. Good luck with that. If you have tips, please share them [here], or post in the meet thread or the Meeting suggestions thread.

Misc. Tips
* Look for the name badges and stick one on. If you don't see them, ask. Or bring your own. It's nice to know who's who. You can write you head-fi name, your real name, or both.

Keep it quiet

Here's one additional etiquette request, which will probably go unheeded, but I'll throw it out anyway. Some people go to meets to hear the gear; some go to schmooze with friends old and new; some go to do both. It's all good. However, in the past, I've found it hard to hear what I was listening to because there was so much yak in the room. Obviously, some talk revolves aroung a particular piece of gear and needs to take place there. But would it be possible for pure meeting, greeting, old times and chit-chat to move to an adjacent space? In other words, can we try to keep it kinda quiet so those who are auditioning gear can hear the subtle nuances that differentiate the Tung Sol with the green getter from the pinched-waist Amperex?

For additional tips, see the Meeting suggestions thread.


Frequently Asked Questions

I'd like to attend. Do I need to register or do anything else to attend?
No, Just show up. We like to keep the "official" NYC meets open to all members. We do recommend you post to the Main meet thread to let us know you're coming. We're getting pretty big, and might need to organize shifts or impose some rules just to fit in the space we rent.

Is registration required for other meets?
Meets are organized by the members who host them. The rules are whatever the members decide upon. Some meets require an invitation, if only because space is limited. Mini-meets are usually small and organized over a few days, usually hosted in a cafe or someone's home, so you can't just show up for those.

Can I bring a friend?
Sure, within limits. We're always happy to attract others to our addiction. Please make sure they understand the basic tips, especially about treating equipment with respect. If you have controllable, quiet kids, they're always a welcome addition. But, please, leave the pack at home. We don't even have space for the regular members. One solution is to plan to stay for a short while, and be flexible and willing to wait if the room is crowded. I personally will clear out for a good long few smokes to make room.

Who pays for the meet?
We'll be passing the hat to pay for the room. Any money left over will go to support the head-fi web site. Donations are welcome (at the door) to cover the cost of hall, but are not necessary to attend.

Can I buy gear at the meets?
Generally not. The meets are primarily for members to share their gear and ideas: to give other members a chance to audition gear they wouldn't otherwise be able to hear. Manufacturers are encouraged to bring their gear to show off, and while they're welcome to bring product for sale, meets aren't a sales forum, they're a listening forum. The National meet is an exception. We purposely encourage large vendors to attend and offer products for sale there.

I make gear. Can I attend and bring gear for sale?
You're welcome to come and show off your gear. If you have product for sale, you're welcome to bring it. There are no restrictions. Just remember this is primarily a listening forum. Focus on letting people audition your gear, and keep the marketing to the side. Don't expect too many or even any sales at a meet.

Do I have to bring gear?
No. If you have no gear or just can't bring it for whatever reason, just bring your ears. Don't leave your headphones at home just because they're crappy and think noone else wants to hear them. It might be helpful for you to use them to compare with something familiar.

Is my gear safe? Do I need to watch it all the time?
Maybe we've been lucky, but most head-fi members would agree that the head-fi community is trustworthy and you can leave your gear unguarded at a meet. So far noone's lost any gear at a meet except little things like cables, adaptors, and CDs. These inevitable get mixed up by accident. You might want to clearly label your cables and adapters so people don't forget and pack it by accident when they break down. If you're concerned, watch your gear, or ask someone you trust to watch it. If you do lose something, just post in the meet impression thread. There's a good chance you'll get it back.

Here is my idea! I have now attended the last two headfests in both San Jose and in Ft Lauderdale. Truthfully, the turnout of people leaves a lot to be desired and we as headfiers should do something more to try and have more people attend.
While surfing through a number of audio websites I discovered THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN AUDIO FESTIVAL which is held in Denver in early October. This event is in its 7th or 8th year of operation and boasts 165 rooms of audio companies and groups. Truly this is the largest audio festival in the nation and probably the world. It takes place within two large hotels and offers both headphone representation and what I would call regular high end audio representation.
We as headfiers SHOULD PIGGYBACK OR ATTACH OURSELVES to the ROCKY MOUNTAIN AUDIO FESTIVAL RMAF. We should join in or become part of it. This would offer the Headfiers a far larger stage in which to sample audio equipment of all kinds. In checking last years representations, Singlepower and Headroom were already present. Additionally, there seem to be many lectures and demonstations which were not present in the past canjam. That;s all I have to say. I would definitely be willing to attend probably with headfi attached or even without our attachment. It is completely interesting to me. Scottsmrnyc