I posted this as part of a
post in the 2008 canjam forum, I think that it merits alteration and repetition in this topic.
Last years UK meet was good fun but there's certainly room to scale it larger even within the UK. A great many UK head-fiers didn't go who might have and 30 people should be easily doable. The problem is partly one of socially relative scaling. In America 100 years is a long time and in Britain 100 miles is a long way.
Everyone wants these sort of events to be their back garden but it simply isn't possible, and so you have to hold one in a population centre. Manchester was an excellent pick because its a population centre in itself but isn't as far south as the major centre which is London. Those from other English cities could relatively easily journey to Manchester (and lets remember that in the UK, England is the bulk of the population) which left IIRC, three of us coming down from Scotland, in Milkpowder's case, on the day itself via the train. London though probably is the best destination for the greatest number of people, even if it does cause headaches for those up us up here in the windy north.
A two-day event would also be an idea that I would embrace. 9-5 is 8 hours but that vanishes quickly indeed once you factor in set up times, pack up times and banter with everyone else. Especially if you've driven a long distance to be there. I want a meet length that's longer than my travel time if possible.
There are vendors based in Europe, and I'm sure that there are non-headphone companies who would be interested in having their products at an event of any significant size (We had a G08 from Meridian last year, but the whole company employee bringing it helped out no small amount).
But there's Sugden Audio, Precide, Sennhieser, AKG, Rega, NWA, Naim, Meier Audio and Goldring, all of whom are Europe based and make products for the headphone market. I've probably missed some too, probably 50 cable companies for a start.
And yes, regarding a Europe meet, if an event is in another country, you want it to be of a certain size before you'll take the time and trouble and expense to attend yourself. krmathis might want 30 people before he will go, but if another 15 head-fiers say the same thing, and then only 15 turn up, then what would be a 30 person meet has dissolved because of everyone interested operating on a you first-me after attendance philosophy. This is a tough nut to crack and getting vendors on board is a way of solving it, trouble is vendors don't want to turn up unless they know that there's going to be a certain attendance level for them to show their stuff off to. Didn't anyone order fries with that Catch-22?
People who have said the same thing in this thread are all quite correct when they say that there needs to be a proven enthusiasm and momentum behind this sort of thing before you can step it up to the next level. You can't just start the car in 5th, you'll stall and lurch and have to start again where you're supposed to. I'd like to be involved in getting the car up to speed but my geographical position fundamentally eliminates me from much of the planning process that would be necessary for any event. At least until the end of next academic year. I've no idea where I'll be after graduation, although Edinburgh is looking most likely at the minute.
I hugely support the idea of an annual UK meet, and hopefully we can get more behind it each time it takes place and as it grows, others from mainland Europe (and Ireland and Iceland) might deem it of enough significance to come too. I know that I've wanted to go down to a few of the meets that have taken place on the continent though for me its not a lack of enthusiasm, its a lack of money. I'd like to see another UK meet this year and I'd like to see it longer (two days, or a more extended 1 day) and I'd like to see it larger (more members bringing more gear of their own, more rigs, even without vendors, or with only a few, and ill bet you could get at least a few interested. Indeed, I'll bet a few mainland head-fiers would be interested too.
So yeah, the problems boil down to:
Geography (everyone wants the big meet near them). Well sorry, it doesn't work that way. IF you want a big meet, then the bulk of people are going to have to travel.
Organisation (some key person, who has to be in the area where the meet takes place, being the ringleader for putting it all together). I'd certainly try doing it myself, including trying to get vendors on board, but the fact is that a chunk of lets say 30 head-fiers do not want to travel all the way into scotland when the say 5 of us in Scotland can come down to England instead. Annual UK meets are going to have to start off in English cities, if they establish a good footholding in enthusiasm and attendance, then maybe we can rotate one to Glasgow or Edinburgh.
The right person with enthusiasm in the right place is the factor. Everything else after that starts to slot into place. I think that the first half of November is a good time, its mid-semester for the uni students, far enough from exams and end of term deadlines and its between the October and December holiday periods.
