2011 2nd Annual - Capital Audiofest - July 8-10 - Washington, DC(Rockville, MD)

Jstas

dorokusai wrote: »

We continued to have problems with the NAD and long story short ended up going with speaker level inputs between it and the DSW550wi, at which point it worked out perfectly. I believe it was mainly due to the NAD setup functions and the inability to do so via remote, in lieu of a monitor output option onsite. .

A real thanks to those that actually came down to not only help but simply attend and support....TNrabbit, Carl Schwartz, Son and Dipole Dan, Wwaldecker, F1nut and Greybeard. You guys rule and we won't forget you on the back end. Although, we will forget about who didn't and could have, should have attended.

If your issue with a monitor was not having one, a small, inexpensive suggestion that has bailed my **** out several times.

One of these: http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4038992&filterName=Screen+size&filterValue=Under+10%26quot%3B



I have an older, small RCA 5.5 inch CRT TV that has a switch to run it as a straight up monitor. It has a composite input and I used to use it for car shows. We had a DVD player in one of the competition cars that did DVD-A but wanted to use the output screen that we didn't install for aesthetics. So I left a composite video cable twisty-tied up under the dash and when it came time to set up for the competition run, I'd grab my tv and run the video feed out so there was no question about setup. That Coby is $100 when they have it in stock and honestly totally worth it for just such an occasion as you mentioned above.

And sorry I didn't make it down. I ended up working late on Friday because the HVAC for the server room went down in the storm and I was the only one in the office. Saturday was B-Day proceedings with my grandma and they didn't get done until around 6:30pm. I wanted to be there and support it all but I like being employed and honestly, family comes first. Especially my 91 year old grandmother. I don't know how many more B-Days she's going to have.

Next year, don't schedule it on my birthday (it should be a national holiday) and I'll have less of an issue getting there.

W WALDECKER

the LSiM towers were sounding much better than they had a right to for thier price point.My friend Rich who drove up from NC for the Capitol Show said he hung out after show hours in the Polk room with the Polk Rep from Texas/AKA Russman spinning some really good tracks and he came away really impressed with the new Polk reference towers. his tastes are similar to mine and he can be pretty dam picky but all he had was praise for the LSiM. this is my 1st Audio show and i really liked visiting all of the rooms.the MacIntosh room was very Snobby and highbrow and looked very pretty and sounded like **** :eek: the Living Voice loudspeaker/Border Patrol tube amplifier room sounded really Good. the Joseph Audio loudspeakers were excellent.the Sonist loudspeakers in the Mapleshade room Sounded very good. the Salk/AVA/Philharmonic Audio room was very nice. the MBL room looked like a collection of very expensive Audio Jewelry that someone of great wealth would collect for bragging rights. the speakers sounded mediocre and the huge White monoblocks really creeped me out because they reminded me of a childrens casket :eek:

rromeo923

I did the swap meet which was fun. Sold some cd's, dvd-a, and sacd's and got to listen to some Theramins!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theremin
I didnt make the show because of some personal things that came up (ughhhh). However I was on my cell phone trying to take care of some personal things and I wandered into the MacIntosh room. I was just looking but the guy waved me in so I checked it out for a bit. Looked great and sounded great BUT, my simple inexpensive tube amp and SDA 1C's (as I listened to this eve) sound pretty good in comparison and at moments somewhat better. I was happy to imagine the amount of money I am saving...... Anyway wished I could have stayed and ck'd out the rest including the Polk room. I will definitely plan things better next year.

hoosier21

RuSsMaN wrote: »

The Keb Mo was for Abernathy, great track!

Thanks for the shout out.

Nice right up on Ken's company also, and the Tape **** picture gives us a shot of Mark's ****, nice!

Russ

dorokusai

I have some tshirts and eco-friendly grocery style bags from MIT to give away on the forum as well as an auction for charity(The Githens Center) on a pair of VM20 loudspeakers coming up....and perhaps a sign from the recent Capital Audiofest. Stay tuned.

Topper

big bunch of 2011 Capital Audiofest pix posted here - https://picasaweb.google.com/ctbarker32/CapitalAudiofest2011?authuser=0&feat=directlink

F1nut

I've been sitting around listening to tunes, looking at the pictures and reflecting on what I saw, who I saw and especially what I heard at the show. All in all, it was great and I look forward to next year. I also hope to see better support from the members here. Polk supports you/us like no other, the least you can do give some back. Even if you can't stay long, just stop by and say hi. It would mean more than you might realize.

I also noticed that something has been overlooked in this thread, so I'm going to address it. It takes a lot of effort to organize, coordinate, set up and run a demo room at a show like this. It's hard, stressful work and Mark deserves a huge thanks from everyone here for stepping up to the plate for the Polk family once again. Kudos, you did us proud.

TNRabbit

A short phone video of the new Polk monitors in action:

george daniel

Jesse, you make a good point.I've set up a few rigs(for friends to listen/critique)I can only imagine the preparation and planning of that magnitude.Having friends listen is one thing,,setting one up for the big dawgs that make their living in audio (such as JA,etc) is a whole 'nother level.So,while I sit back,waiting and reading the show reports,,a huge round of applause is due to ya'll for making all of the Polk family proud of your accomplishments and the positive reviews and compliments that are popping up in other audio circles.You fellas' put your "signature" on this rig/event,so a mere thank you,just does not seem enough.Hopefully the members here will understand and appreciate the "level" at which you guys were performing at now and during the show.

Ya' done good fella's

A sincere Thank You. Mark,Russ,Jesse,Ken,, and to all who played a part.

George

mdaudioguy

I also noticed that something has been overlooked in this thread, so I'm going to address it. It takes a lot of effort to organize, coordinate, set up and run a demo room at a show like this. It's hard, stressful work and Mark deserves a huge thanks from everyone here for stepping up to the plate for the Polk family once again. Kudos, you did us proud.

Yes, +1 to that! Dude was working hard, no doubt! The room was very nice, and quite a bit more inviting than many other rooms. Mark did a wonderful job, as it's obvious there's a lot of behind-the-scenes work that most of us don't even consider or even think about... Mark did Polk proud, for sure!

dorokusai

Breakdown Day: The word is pretty fitting as by Sunday I was exhausted. Thanks for the kind words guys but I do this because I enjoy it and love the fact Polk stands beside us on pretty much everything. It's my way of giving back. A huge thank you to the gang at Polk, who always step out of the comfort zone to help us lowly Polkies do shows. Shelia, Al, Mark, Al, Kim, Patrick, Stu and more including my main homeboy Len Shufelt. He's a big man behind the scenes for me personally and I can't thank him enough for all that he does to help me.

On the flip side, you folks that helped on Sunday also deserve a round of applause, with the addition of MDaudiguy(Ed) to our team of experts. I can't pull these events off without reliable, solid, motivated help from friends like you guys. That's the fastest I've ever gotten back to "normal" after a big event....with Polkfest 2005 and the 1st Annual CAF event under my belt personally. We had everything wrapped up within 45 minutes. Paul brought some humor and smiles, Jesse is just over the top awesome and Ed was the backbone and our main audio grunt

I wish I was able to have more one on one time with you guys that helped and came out but its the nature of a show, that you don't get much time to really chill out until after the show is over that day. Keep that in mind for next time as its the best time to catch even better demos, more facetime with industry folks and hey, get some swag.

Albert Shippits, regional sales manager for Manley, came down and really got his listen on as well as bringing some GREAT tracks. I think we may end up with a nice relationship with him and Manley going down the road. His comments had to have filtered over to Jeff Joseph, of Joseph Audio as he also came down and let me play some tracks for him. He was a head bobber and I believe his positive comments were very genuine. They're both super nice, down to earth audio nuts so make it a point to always check them out at the next show. Let them know the Polk guy sent you.

Overall, Sunday was much like Friday with a bit more foot traffic at different times of the day. I was able to get some more ear time on some other rooms but really didn't get any amazing demos after Cathedral, Salk and Joseph Audio.

Well, it's over guys and time to bring back all the stuff and close out another successful event.

Thank you.

Regards,
Mark

engtaz

Great job guy.
Awesome work to get Polk up and running and put away. Mark great job.

Vette C6.r

Another great time this year. We heard some wicked expensive gear. Some good, some not so good.

Thanks to Miller Lite Scott and MDAudioGuy - ED, for hanging out. Sorry we missed you Jesse.

Thanks to all the Polk folks that allowed us to see and hear the new LSiM's. I continue to like that fact that Polk is represented at these events. I know I am not alone in saying that I can't afford $25 K for a set of speakers. Great that you guys have a line of speakers that most of use can afford. Great Job.

Tony

schwarcw

I really enjoyed this event. Hearing the new Polk LSiM speakers was a real treat! Mark put on some Patricia Barber for me. I know her music very well and the sound was stunning. The vocals were very smooth, the instruments sounded perfect. My son who is a recording engineer was also very impressed with the new Polks. I think Polk has a real winner! I can't say enough good things about the new product line.

I visited most of the rooms during Saturday. The Wilson Audio speakers (Shastas, I believe) coupled with Di'Augistino's new monoblocks was an awesome sound. It should be. The monoblocks cost $35,000/pair. I don't know what the Wilson's cost but I am sure it was a lot. Although they sounded fantastic, they were ugly as hell. No denying the high end sound of that combo.

I also enjoyed the Audio Note rooms, the Mac room was fun. I thought the speakers sounded very nice with some music but not as good with some other music. I don't think I would own those speakers. Their amps however are another story. I have heard some great sound from their big solid state amps. I think their amp tube sound is over rated for the price. Overall, their electronics are impressive.

The Joseph Audio speakers also sounded pretty good with the Manley equipment. But their speakers were $11,000!

The Polk line was easily the best bang for the buck. I should also mention the Audio Research CD player, tube preamp and tube amplifier sounded great. I have an old Audio Research phono preamp PH3SE that sounds fantastic. I have seen some of their later model equipment, but never heard it. They have begun to incorporate a lot of chips into their equipment. While I am not a fan of chips in tube gear they make it work really well. Great build quality.

I enjoyed meeting Ken Swauger and his lovely wife. I gave Ken my Teac X-2000 for a full check out. His workmanship is legendary.

Kudos to the people that help pull this together. I know an event like this is a lot of work. Great job Mark! It was great to see Russ. These gentlemen are passionate about Polk products and it shows. Thanks for your hard work at the Fest and your contributions to the Forum and to the Polk community. Well done!

I missed Jesse. I hope to see you in a couple of weeks.

You folks who didn't or couldn't attend, you don't know what a great time that you missed. It was a really nice event. I hope to see many more people from the Polk Audio community there next year.

Great fun!

dorokusai

Who let me borrow the soft Polk sign? No sigs but I'll repay your help in freebies. TY!

Millerlitescott - I have some extra stuff for you since I pretty much stole your demo cd's for our room minutes after your arrival. Thanks very much!

To the first two confirmed LSiM Polkie buyers/owners, I'm putting together a really signed copy of all the people responsible for that series using the "signed" lithograph that comes inside each speaker. This will be as rare as it gets since only yours will exist. Contact me offline when you get settled and have a proof of purchase.

For some others, signed copies of the show literature from everyone involved. I produced these packets using the official press release list and they're hard bound. I have one for an LSiM owner and two for Blackstone owners.

I'm going to charity raffle a one off, Polk Audio sign from the show and HQ for The Githens Center this week. It's big, made of wood and would be a great addition to any hardcore Polkie room. Polk doesn't know I'm doing this so we will have to hurry before they say no.

I also have a pair of VM20 for free Karma that are fully authorized for next week.

And lastly, a handful of Polk Audio swag bags and MIT cables tshirts and bags will be Karma'd for a limited time.

See, I still never forget those that can't come or just didn't. Stay tuned.

Mark

Fred D

I just wanted to thank everyone for coming out and having a great time with us this past weekend! I am new to the forums and fairly new to Polk Audio as an employee, but had a blast at this event getting to meet everyone and see all these vendors in action!

Here is a photo of the RTi A3 winner and her new set of speakers!


Thanks again Mark, Russ, Ken, Royce, Al and Al!

RuSsMaN

Fred, you rock. You held it down up there like a pro.

Man I look creepy these days.

Cheers
Russ

Fred D

Thanks Russ! I am hoping we can do this more often in the future. You guys were a HUGE help for me, more than I can say!

Cheers
Fred

dorokusai

Fred fred bo bread banana nanna bo bread.

Fred D

Markkkkk!!! Did you get my text message on Sunday?!?!

Jstas

RuSsMaN wrote: »

Fred, you rock. You held it down up there like a pro.

Man, I've always looked creepy.

Cheers
Russ

There, I fixed it for you.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for posting the raffle winner photo, I'm sure the Polks are already rocking out!
Fred made the day by bringing the LSiM cut-away, that was what attracted the Stereophile's attention.
Anybody ever been to a Polk factory sales presentation where the sales guy (dressed as a lumberjack) cuts a Polk in half with a chainsaw? Now that's a piece of audio history!

dorokusai

Fred D wrote: »

Markkkkk!!! Did you get my text message on Sunday?!?!

Yeah, you need to call me man.

MillerLiteScott

Kudos to Mark, Russ, Jesse, Ken, Fred, Paul and who ever else for setting up the room. It looked awesome, sounded awesome and worked very well as a demo room. Sorry I could not be of much this year, real life is getting in the way, hopefully I can be of more help the next time.

I really liked the new LSiM 703's. I thought they sounded great and Hopefully one day I could afford them.

Scott

nadams

Kenneth Swauger wrote: »

Anybody ever been to a Polk factory sales presentation where the sales guy (dressed as a lumberjack) cuts a Polk in half with a chainsaw? Now that's a piece of audio history!

Pics, or it didn't happen. :eek:

[Deleted User]

dorokusai wrote: »

Fred fred bo bread banana nanna bo bread.

Hate to flag you on The Name Game but you left out fanna between banana and nanna. Cheers. :cool:

dorokusai

nap wrote: »

Hate to flag you on The Name Game but you left out fanna between banana and nanna. Cheers. :cool:

Stickler for my rhymes huh? I know where you work man.

[Deleted User]

Sorry couldn't resist. :cool:

Jstas

nap wrote: »

Sorry couldn't resist. :cool:

Don't worry, I know where he lives. I got your back, nap!

George Grand

Good showing gentlemen. You know who you are.