Official Head-Fi Houston Fourth-of-July Weekend Meet: Saturday - July 2nd, 2016 @ Looscan Library
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May 28, 2016 at 1:09 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 98

pbui44

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Hey everyone,

I have enough interest to make a thread out of it, so let's get things started! :)



Event: Head-Fi Houston Fourth-of-July Weekend Meet
Where: Houston Public Library - Looscan Branch
Address: 2510 Willowick Rd; Houston, TX 77027
When: Saturday, July 2nd, 2016 from 10 am (meet begins at 11 am after setup)-4 pm (power-down/unhooking and cleanup starts at around 3:45 pm)
Cost: Free for those not bringing table-top equipment or family and friends, but you must PM me for your info and who else is coming with you. If you do not PM me your info, you cannot come into the meeting room. Those bringing equipment will pitch in a small amount of money ($3) for prepared food fees, as they will use the library's tables and property for their equipment.
Questions regarding attendance or anything else: Feel free to personal message me (pbui44) to attend or any questions you may have. You will have until Thursday, June 30th, 2016 @ 11:59 pm CST to PM me with your full name, member name, phone number, e-mail address, and what equipment/food and drink you will bring and whoever you intend to bring with you. Also, a table spot for your equipment at this deadline may not guaranteed.

Since the room is not very large, there will be a maximum of those bringing table-top equipment to 16 people to ensure electricity for the rest of the day. There is guest library wi-fi, though it may slow down with a lot of people on it, so you are highly encouraged to bring media. Media includes, but is not limited to, laptop, tablet, phone, USB drives, memory cards with their USB readers, vinyl and their vinyl player, CDs, and SACDs and their disc players. If you are bringing table-top equipment, you are limited to one source space taking up to one 20" laptop, 3 full-sized headphones, 2 full-sized amplifiers, and 1 full sized digital-to-analog converter with amplifiers and DAC stacked on top of one another. Anything smaller than full-sized to be your own personal responsibility to carry, store, and allow for demonstration.

There will be a maximum of 40 people in the meeting room, so you can bring family or friends, though it will be limited to this point, as the room is not that large. Please PM about this as well, as I need to keep the total head count and have their unique ID ready. I noticed that the meeting room has only five wall outlets with 2 plugs on each one, so remember to bring power extension cords and power strips. See posts 2 and 3 below for more information on other things.


Rules and Regulations for the event:

1.) You will be required to put on your unique ID tag and they will have a pin on the back of the holder. If you do not like the pin-style holder, then I suggest bringing a LAN yard with card holder for yourself and for others that you may bring to the meet.

2.) Your entire head must be clean and without any skin products, like makeup, or hair styling products in it, like gel, hair spray, or hair wax. If anything, I highly suggest washing your hair, face, and ears within 12 hours before the event. Medication can be an exception, but you must notify me of this immediately, as people may be potentially allergic to something.

3.) Since this meeting room has a limited capacity, every attendee must have their ID tag visible at all times. If you see anyone without the unique ID tag visible, you must greet them and ask why they are there. If they are there for the event, direct them to me immediately and I will clear it up. We are a community, and we must welcome others by talking to them and addressing their needs, even if they might possibly not be allowed into the meeting room from space constraints.

4.) All bottled drinks must have their cap screwed on tight during all times when not in use. Cups are not allowed. If you spill or drop something, you must clean it up immediately.

5.) If you are eating any kind of food, it must be consumed within seven feet of the serving area, between the doors. If you spill or drop sometihng, you must clean it up immediately.

6.) Please throw away all food and drink containers when you are finished with them.

7.) There is no running or jogging inside the library, even during times of emergency. Be considerate of others.

8.) Whenever you leave the meeting room, please close the door before leaving, as the noise from the event may be audible to the rest of the library.

9.) If you want to change a software/hardware setting or detach/unplug something on any piece of audio equipment please ask the equipment owner to do so. If the equipment owner detaches or unplugs something, they must turn off the attached piece of equipment and leave it off for at least ten seconds (count one Mississippi, two, Mississippi...etc, if you have to) before detaching or unplugging something. This does not include any software or hardware volume settings, but only the volume settings are not included to this rule.

10.) If you are bringing equipment, you must bring a power strip and at least a 10' power extension cord, as the number of wall outlets is limited.

11.) You are not allowed to make excessive noise anywhere in the building, as there are library patrons, library staff, and library security around the building and event attendees auditioning audio equipment.

12.) Do not disturb other event attendees, library patrons, library staff, and library security. If you do, you may be subjected to local, state, and/or Federal jurisdiction at that point, as the library is City of Houston property.

Sorry, for these rules and regulations, as the event, building, and area requires all of this and everyone in attendance of the meet will all be subject to these rules and regulations. This event will go on for about 6 hours, hence everything above. Anything noted above can and will be subject to change and other information can be added at any time, so keep checking the first three posts of this thread. PM me for attendance or questions. Of course, you can post on this thread as well. :)
 
May 28, 2016 at 1:09 PM Post #2 of 98
About the event, the holiday weekend, and surrounding areas:

There will be bottled drinks, pre-packaged snacks, and prepared food in the meeting room. If you can provide prepared food, prepared desserts, or bottled drinks, let me know and I can put you on the list. The more and different prepared food, prepared dessert, or bottled drinks there are, the better.

Also, since this is a public library, I cannot allow alcohol inside the library. However, you can keep a cooler with your alcohol beverages in the trunk of your car. Whatever you do with them is strictly your business, so I will stop there. I will highly recommend that a designated driver come with you, so that everyone is safe and worry-free about that. There will be plenty of food and drinks for those designated drivers. :)

The library parking lot is known to get full and one of the library staff said that people will get towed parking at any business or shopping center for library patrons, so our overflow parking will be on a residential street across from the library called "Wickersham Lane". If the parking on Wickersham Lane gets too deep, there is another residential street called "Overbrook Lane".

Here is a picture of the Weslayan/Willowick and Westheimer intersection:



Here is the picture of residential street Wickersham Lane and the median where you would U-Turn to get to the library:



Both pictures were taken right next to the library entrance, so look them over before leaving for the meet. The street is not that busy, but there are a lot of people coming to the library, as it is Summer and the area itself is busy. If anyone has a dolly or some caddy to move your gear, bring it! :)

If you want to do some sight-seeing before or after the event, there are plenty of stores and restaurants around within walking distance, along with an Edward's Movie Theater literally down the street from the library. The main shopping center website is here: http://www.shophighlandvillage.com/

There are plenty of hotels around the library, though their price ranges and room/facility qualities vary greatly, so do some thorough shopping for good prices. Also, book your hotel room as early as possible, as this is the Fourth-of-July weekend and many people come to our city, which is the fourth-largest city in the U.S., to visit and celebrate.

Here is one good website for hotel prices: http://www.trivago.com/
Here is one good website for hotel, flight, car rental, events, and more: https://www.kayak.com/

There will be many Fourth-of-July Weekend events going on throughout the City of Houston and other surrounding cities, so check up on those. I will provide the following links for events, but do check them often, as those events are subject to change:

http://www.visithoustontexas.com/events/july-fourth/
http://www.houstontx.gov/july4/faq.html
https://www.vacationsmadeeasy.com/HoustonTX/eventCalendar/4thofJulyinHoustonTX.html
 
May 28, 2016 at 2:12 PM Post #3 of 98
List of audio equipment setups that will be available for audition:
Update 6/26: Everyone is encouraged to bring a portable set or tub of wet wipes. I did not require this because of all the different wet wipes out there. Do not bring industrial/medical grade wet wipes (wipes with bleach, wipes that kill hospital-grade bacteria/viruses, etc.), as they have excess liquids on them and the solution can and will be harsh to skin, clothing, and electronics. If you bring these, I will ask that you keep them somewhere outside of the meeting room, like the library front desk.
----------------------------------------------------
Stax SR-404 Over-Ear Electrostatic
Stax SRM-006t ear speaker driver tube amplifier
Woo Audio WDS-1 DAC
All hooked up to a laptop!
----------------------------------------------------
Stax SR-007A Over-Ear Electrostatic
headinclouds KGST ear speaker driver tube amplifier
iPad mini or Mac Air
Schiit Yggdrasil DAC
----------------------------------------------------
Apex Teton headphone Amplifier
McIntosh MHP-1000 Dynamic Over-Ear
----------------------------------------------------
MrSpeakers Ether C Planar-Magnetic Over-Ear
Questyle QP1R DAP
Krell KSA 5 clone amplifer (cheapest of the three versions)
Gustard H10 DAC with full Burson V4 op-amps
----------------------------------------------------
Audeze LCD-3F Planar-Magnetic Over-Ear
Schiit Gungnir DS DAC
Schiit Mjolnir 2 tube headphone Amplifier
PS Audio Power Plant Premier power conditioner
All hooked up to a laptop!
----------------------------------------------------
ZMF Omni Planar-Magnetic Over-Ear
Vibro Labs Arias in-Ear (Fresh ear-tips are provided, but you are also encouraged to bring your own ear-tips for tip-rolling.)
Schiit Mjolnir 2 tube headphone Amplifier
Schiit Gungnir MultiBit DAC
----------------------------------------------------
Audez'e LCD-X Planar-Magnetic Over-Ear
Chord Hugo DAC/Amp
Sim Moon Neo 430ha DAC/Amp
All hooked up to a laptop!
----------------------------------------------------
Sennheiser HD250 Linear II Over-Ear Dynamic
Fostex TH500RP Planar-Magnetic Over-Ear with Lawton Audio angled leather ear pads
Koss ESP950 Over-Ear Electrostatic with cut IV tubing in the ear pads
Headroom Desktop Amp
Koss E90 Energizer
Schiit Gungnir Multi-Bit DAC
All hooked up to a laptop!
----------------------------------------------------
balance-modded Beyerdynamic T1 1st Gen
Grado RS-1 Dynamic On-Ear
Superlux HD668B Dynamic Over-Ear
Samsung BD-E5300 CD player
Bryston BHA-1 balanced amplifier
Schiit Yggdrasil DAC
All hooked up to a laptop!
----------------------------------------------------
Stax SR-L300 Over-Ear Electrostatic
Mayflower Electronics Fostex T50RP V.1 Planar-Magnetic Over-Ear with Shure Pads
Sennheiser HD598 SE Dynamic Over-Ear
Stax SRM-252S ear speaker driver amplifier
Mayflower Electronics Objective2 with ODAC Revision B Amplifier
SMSL Sanskrit 6th 32bit/192kHz DAC
----------------------------------------------------
modified Denon AH-D2000 Dynamic Over-Ear
modified Philips SHP9500 Dynamic Over-Ear
Samsung Galaxy TAB S2 tablet with FLAC
Yamaha DVD-S1800 SACD player
AudioQuest Dragonfly Red DAC with OTG cable
Meier Audio Corda JAZZ-ff headphone Amplifier
----------------------------------------------------
Mr. Speakers Alpha Prime Planar-Magnetic Over-Ear
Audio-Technica M70x Over-Ear Dynamic
Hifiman HE560i Planar-Magnetic Over-Ear
Ibasso DX80 DAP
Astell & Kern AK jr DAP
Schiit Asgard 1 Amplifier
Burson HA-160 Amplifier
----------------------------------------------------
Hifiman HE400i Planar-Magnetic Over-Ear
Sennheiser HD600 Dynamic Over-Ear
AKG K7xx Dynamic Over-Ear
Schiit Modi 2 DAC
Schiit Vali Hybrid Amplifier
Magni 2 Amplifier
All hooked up to a laptop!
----------------------------------------------------
Koss PRODJ100 Dynamic Over-Ear
JVC SZ1000 Dynamic Over-Ear
Sony MDR-V6 Dynamic Over-Ear
iBasso d7 portable DAC/Amplifier
FiiO e12a portable Amplifer
All hooked up to a laptop!
----------------------------------------------------
Sennheiser HD800 Dynamic Over-Ear with Anax mod
Yulong D100 mk1 DAC/Amplifier
Lake People G103 Amplifier
All hooked up to a laptop!
Venture Electronics Monk 1 In-Ear
Venture Electronics Monk 2 In-Ear
Venture Electronics Asura Beta In-Ear
Venture Electronics Zen 1 In-Ear
Venture Electronics Zen 2 In-Ear
Sennheiser OMX980 In-Ear
Shozy Cygnus In-Ear
----------------------------------------------------
*portable setup*
Hifiman HE400S Planar-Magnetic Over-Ear
SR60e Dynamic On-Ear
Schiit Fulla Portable DAC/amp
----------------------------------------------------
*portable setup*
Grado SR325is Dynamic On-Ear
SE 215 In-Ear
B&O H3 In-Ear
FiiOE12 DIY Portable Amplifer
FiiOE11K(K 2) Portable DAC/amp
FiiO X5 v.1 DAP
----------------------------------------------------
*portable setup*
Ultimate Ears Reference Remasted Custom In-Ear (comply tips will fit)
Chord Mojo Portable DAC/amp
Sony NW-ZX1 DAP
----------------------------------------------------
*portable setup*
Oppo PM-2
----------------------------------------------------
MrSpeakers Ether Electrostatic Prototype
This will be available for 4-5 30-minute listening sessions on anyone else's rig, then will be on the Stax SRM-006t for the rest of the day.

There will be plenty more equipment to follow, so stay posted! :cool:


Food and Drink list:

-Pizzas (2 large: 1 pepperoni and 1 supreme/the works so far)
-Cajun-Seasoning-and-Water-Boiled and Pan-sauteed St. Arnold's Amber Ale Beer Bratwurst (Served with 2 BBQ sauces, Whataburger Honey Mustard, ketchup, and dill chip pickles. Remember to put sauce on only once side, unless you are good on cleaning after yourself. Otherwise, veggie condiments on one side and sauce on the other side, not both! :wink: )
-Pan-sauteed BallPark Cheese Franks
-Mesquite-Smoked and Seasoned Beef Brisket (Same exact thing with the beer brats applies with the brisket. Otherwise, bring your own bib and napkins. :wink: )
-Smoked Chicken Thighs
-Broccoli and Mixed Vegetables sides with Butter Sauce
-3 lbs. Homestyle Potato Salad
-3 lb. Cole Slaw
-Bread in bun and sliced forms
-Tortilla Chip Strips, Medium Queso, and Mild-Flavored Salsa
-20 oz. Bottled Water
-20 oz. Bottled Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper products
-Individual Famous Amos chocolate-chip cookie bags
-Plates, Utensils, and Napkins, of course

Everyone is welcome to bring their own bottle of BBQ sauce or other condiments. If you want to bring any other prepared foods, prepared desserts, or bottled drinks, please PM me about it. Diversity is welcome, so make whatever you want, just as long as it is tasty. Philly cheesesteak bites? Kolaches? Empanadas? Make any tasty suggestion and don't be shy to wow us on it. :wink:


Pre-Meet and Post-Meet Event Arrangements:
Anyone with any plans before or after the meet and would not mind other head-fiers be there? It is the Fourth-of-July weekend, so PM me or post about it and I will post it here!
*Hint: There is an Edward's Movie Theater officially called "EDWARDS GREENWAY GRAND PALACE STADIUM 24 & RPX" literally down the street from where I took the first picture on the second post, which is next to HWY 59 on Weslayan.*
 
May 28, 2016 at 7:29 PM Post #4 of 98
I am interested in attending. I do not however have much in the way of high end equipment. I have some modded HE-400's and V moda M-100's. I would be happy to contribute to the prepared food fund and can assist with set up if needed.
 
May 28, 2016 at 7:39 PM Post #5 of 98
I am interested in attending. I do not however have much in the way of high end equipment. I have some modded HE-400's and V moda M-100's. I would be happy to contribute to the prepared food fund and can assist with set up if needed.


Those two headphones are perfectly fine. Even with the M-100s being available for demo at Magnolia inside BestBuys, Brookstone, and other retail stores, everyone is willing to hear the descriptions of sound signatures, fit, and other things from owners. Is it true that M-100s suck the mids out, leaving an only v-shaped signature?

Those HE-400s are heavy though, so you will need a table. PM me with your full name, member name, e-mail address, telephone number, and what you are bringing and I will get back to you.
 
May 28, 2016 at 9:09 PM Post #6 of 98
I'm so sad to inform that I can't make it, forgot about a company retreat! Doh! Have a great time!
 
May 29, 2016 at 8:54 PM Post #8 of 98
Okay, we can now have finger foods and bottled drinks with bottled water, grab-bag sized chips, and small packs of cookies. Since there will already be pizza, burger sliders, sandwich sliders, sample-sized cakes, bottled sodas, and other finger foods, finger desserts, and bottled drinks are welcome. Diversity is welcome, so wow us. :wink:

Edit: Also, since this is a public library, I cannot allow alcohol inside the library. However, you can keep a cooler with your alcohol beverages in the trunk of your car. Whatever you do with them is your business, so I will stop there. I will recommend that a designated driver come with you, so that everyone is safe and worry-free about that. There will be food and drink for those designated drivers. :)
 
May 30, 2016 at 11:50 AM Post #9 of 98
Count me in for the the food/bevies fund regardless of attendance.  I'll ask the better half if she has plans for us that day as I'd like to make this.  She's more of a last minute gal, but she's pretty cool about my hobbies.  I may not have 6.5 hours, though.  Any concern with setting up and hanging out for X hours and then bouncing?
 
Assuming I can attend I will shoot for one rig on hand given space limitations.  I'm hoping I'll have the e-stat setup back up and running.  If that doesn't work out I can bring a Fostex TH900 powered by a Woo WA7 or a Senn HD650 powered by a GS-1 Dynalo+.  I prefer the Fostex with the Woo, and the Senn's with the Dynalo+.  If there is a preference due to duplicate equipment, just let me know.
 
I need to think through a source as I normally stream 44/16 files using my WiFi setup.  I'll see if I can get my iPad mini or Mac Air to play with the Ygg via a USB.  Haven't tried that yet. 
 
H-town HiFi FTW!!!
 
 
biggrin.gif

 
HS
 
May 30, 2016 at 3:27 PM Post #10 of 98
Count me in for the the food/bevies fund regardless of attendance.  I'll ask the better half if she has plans for us that day as I'd like to make this.  She's more of a last minute gal, but she's pretty cool about my hobbies.  I may not have 6.5 hours, though.  Any concern with setting up and hanging out for X hours and then bouncing?

Assuming I can attend I will shoot for one rig on hand given space limitations.  I'm hoping I'll have the e-stat setup back up and running.  If that doesn't work out I can bring a Fostex TH900 powered by a Woo WA7 or a Senn HD650 powered by a GS-1 Dynalo+.  I prefer the Fostex with the Woo, and the Senn's with the Dynalo+.  If there is a preference due to duplicate equipment, just let me know.

I need to think through a source as I normally stream 44/16 files using my WiFi setup.  I'll see if I can get my iPad mini or Mac Air to play with the Ygg via a USB.  Haven't tried that yet. 

H-town HiFi FTW!!!


:D

HS


I sent you a PM for your info. If you want to bring prepared food, but have no time to make it, you can pick up sliders from a list of locations here:

https://www.zagat.com/l/houston/best-sliders-in-houston

You could get burger sliders from Bernie's Burger Bus, but please see if you could get the Pulled Pork Sliders form Brooklyn Athletic Club. Oh yeah! :tongue_smile:

Edit: If you can only make time for part of the event, PM me from when you arrive and when you leave, so that I can give others a heads up during setting up and taking down.
 
May 30, 2016 at 3:45 PM Post #11 of 98
Would love to make it but visitors from out of town on that week-end do not permit it.  I was thinking about bringing a vinyl set up.  Maybe next time.
 
Have loads of fun, as I know you will.
gs1000.gif

 
May 30, 2016 at 7:11 PM Post #12 of 98
Would love to make it but visitors from out of town on that week-end do not permit it.  I was thinking about bringing a vinyl set up.  Maybe next time.

Have loads of fun, as I know you will.:gs1000smile:


Sure thing. Let us know if plans change. :)

There will be burger, chicken, or pulled pork sliders, depending on how many people show up.
 
May 30, 2016 at 7:36 PM Post #13 of 98
This is really cool!

I live in San Antonio, so Houston isn't too far away. I'm a bit concerned about bringing all my equipment to a meet-up because I don't want it to get stolen or damaged, but knowing that the event is in a library with security makes me feel much safer.

I just sold my HDVA 600 Amplifier and Schiit Gungnir Multibit DAC. But I currently have the Sim Moon Neo 430ha. However I am looking to sell that too. Lol. I know I will have audio equipment to demo, but it changes so often that at this time I can't commit to bring anything. Haha... I think I get more of a kick out of testing equipment than anything else... which is exactly why I am excited to finally go to a Meet-Up!!

I should definitely have a Chord Hugo and LCD-3 with me though.

Who knows what i'll have in a month. But i'll let you know closer to the June 30th deadline!

Can't wait to hang out with some head-fi peeps!

Cheers
 
May 30, 2016 at 7:45 PM Post #14 of 98
This is really cool!

I live in San Antonio, so Houston isn't too far away. I'm a bit concerned about bringing all my equipment to a meet-up because I don't want it to get stolen or damaged, but knowing that the event is in a library with security makes me feel much safer.

I just sold my HDVA 600 Amplifier and Schiit Gungnir Multibit DAC. But I currently have the Sim Moon Neo 430ha. However I am looking to sell that too. Lol. I know I will have audio equipment to demo, but it changes so often that at this time I can't commit to bring anything. Haha... I think I get more of a kick out of testing equipment than anything else... which is exactly why I am excited to finally go to a Meet-Up!!

I should definitely have a Chord Hugo and LCD-3 with me though.

Who knows what i'll have in a month. But i'll let you know closer to the June 30th deadline!

Can't wait to hang out with some head-fi peeps!

Cheers


Okay, just let us know if you can attend or not and don't be shy! Oh yeah, don't forget the trivago.com link in the first post, as there are great deals for great hotels!
 
Jun 2, 2016 at 10:25 PM Post #15 of 98
Im interested in attending! I'm from Austin, so Houston isn't that far of a drive. I'll have to wait and make sure there are no plans for the weekend. I think I should be able to make it. If anyone is interested I could bring a Burson Conducter V2+ with my Edition X and TH900MK2. I'll bring along a Mojo too. I'll pm pbui44 in the next couple days when i'm certain if I can attend. 
 
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