Anybody up for a meat....I mean meet in Southern NJ, again?

tonyb

What...no food pics ? Slackers....

polrbehr

I didn't take any pics of the food; I saw enough of it during prep/cooking stage.

But the LSiM705s are the ones Mark brought over, we also got to sample the Klipshs'
too. Even the RTi10s that John has sounded pretty good driven by Phils D-Sonic amps, especially once a MIcroPro 1000 was added.
Good stuff here.

pearsall001

Another fantastic Polkie Day at John's place. Again John was the ultimate host!!! Let's talk food first...John's brisket was off the charts, Harry's ribs were to die for, and both John & Harry's pulled pork sandmiches were too good for words. Even Harry's baked beans were screaming good. All the homemade salads were also a highlight. Nobody but nobody left there hungry!!!. Even John's adult beverage selection would have made anyone grin ear to ear.

Mark from Polk is a super guy, he got in late Friday night from the west coast but still made it. He brought his personal pair of LSiM 705's that really, really rocked the house. They were exceptional to say the least. I've heard the 703's before but never the 705's or 7's. As spooky good as the 705's are I dare to wonder how the 707's can top them except maybe in the bass department but let me tell you the 705's were exceptional in that department. The 705's loved the power & fineness from the D-Sonic mono's, Mark was impressed in the mono's performance & how well the 705's sounded sucking up all that power. I can certainly attest to that.

John also had a pair of Klipsch Heresy speakers that he had hooked up to his kit built 8 watt tube amp. They sounded fantastic!!! A few tunes on the turn table really had the Totem Rainmakers strutting their stuff. John also had a pair of the 703's downstairs hooked with an old Polk car passive sub...talk about cracking some wall board!! I'll let John give more details on that performance. Also has a nice session with his 2B's, another Polk classic that sounded super.

And Nadams brought a pair of his EPI bookshelves that certainly wouldn't win any awards in the eye candy department (not trying to be mean here) but I must say they sounded so sweet & wonderful being driven by John's kit 8 watt tube amp. So sweet in fact that there just might be a winter project building the same amp kit as John's for the EPI's.

All in all a day well spent!!! We also took turns giving out candy to the trick or treater's.

mantis

I wish I could have gone, I had to work all weekend long

Jstas

I don't have many pictures. I was real busy with cooking again but not like last time, though. I know Phil was snapping pictures and Noah has a bunch he took with his camera so hopefully they will post stuff. Mark was snapping pictures like crazy too. If anyone wants to email them to me, I can put them up for you if you don't feel like messing with it.

Mr. Grand was quite ill on Saturday so he stopped by and dropped some stuff off. He was real bummed he couldn't stay but he did not sound good at all. He should have said something sooner, I could have made Harry stop by on the way down so he wouldn't have to leave home.

Overall, even though we had 7 people from the forum/Polk including Mark, I still had about 14-15 more people stop by to grab food and mingle. So we were just shy of 2 dozen people between Friday and Saturday night. One person is interested in a new set of towers after hearing the RTi10's on Phil's amps. Two other people were looking at headphones online after seeing the first run UltraFocus ear buds I have. The Nue Voe Tortoise Shell was popular with the ladies again when they saw the pictures online. One person that was there actually got embarrassed 'cause he's had a Bose system for years now. It's getting long in the tooth, though and old enough that it doesn't have any kind of digital audio connection so he's wanting to upgrade but wants a small footprint. So I showed him the TL1600 HTiB set that would work great with an entry level Onkyo or something so he wants me to head to a Best Buy with him to put some ears on a set.

Lots of positive reactions from people and we, literally, had nothing new from Polk Audio but every one there that had their interest piqued was on their phones looking at new Polk product. I thought that was pretty awesome 'cause it was just a bunch of us nerds getting together with our piles of junk to geek out and pig out and all these people who don't know us from spit were catching the vibe. I don't think many of you really understand how much of an impact your enthusiasm and attitudes have on people. They see "high end audio" as intimidating and a place to be mocked and ridiculed. But stuff like these Polkfests make our hobby accessible in a non-threatening environment. Everybody said they were amazed at how much they learned. Some were even amazed that some of my stuff that looks real rough produced sounds they never imagined were possible. Hell, they were floored by Noah's EPI's and they weren't even in the room. They were in the basement and turned up the LSiM703/C4 rig to compensate for all the noise we were making in the living room.

It's a huge deal and it's good to see that Polk Audio still supports it and Mark is working hard to foster this grassroots approach because of that impact that you people have. He's talked extensively, several times, about how it helps drive their business and give them the capital stream necessary to be able to have the products we enjoy while making their bread and butter from the "average consumer" stuff. And I really don't want to hear about how you feel slighted or whatever 'cause Mark did nothing but apologize for the first hour he was there because they did not have enough time to get things together the way THEY wanted to do for us. Being so close to CEDIA kinda hurt that but, hey, sometimes that's how it goes.

So, while that was quite a few people it's disappointing that only a 3rd of them were from the forum. For all the talk you guys have about communities and so on and so forth you sure don't put your money where your mouth is. Especially since a quarter of the membership here is so close. But whatever.

Harry made BBQ. He had a variety of ribs and even though he bailed around 7 to make it home for work the next day, more people showed up after he left and wrecked his ribs. I have none left. Half of his pulled pork is gone and I think people liked it better than mine. There's 2.5 slices of about 4 pounds of brisket left and that's only 'cause I hid it. Phil brought some flatbreads which garnered praise from everyone as well. I think I have 4 slices of that left too 'cause they got wrecked as well when a few more friends showed up around 9pm. There's actually not much leftover at all. Which is good.

Mark brought his LSiM 705's and Harry totally slacked on his door holding duties. They were rigging those up to Phil's D-sonics which really are impressive little amps. Especially on the GFP-750. Everything sounded sweet.

In the basement, we jammed the LSiM703s on a NAD C370. They kicked **** there too. But we started talking about subs because of Noah's Micro Pro 1000 and since the Micro Pro 4000 I have is still down for the count, I was going to dig out the massive wireless Polk sub I have but thought I should do something different. So I climbed in the attic and dug out the Polk Audio C4 sub I have. This is the tear drop deal from many, many years ago. It uses Mobile Monitor 6x9 drivers in an iso-baric configuration. So you get all the kick of a band-pass but the range of a sealed enclosure. I strapped it up to the B channels on the NAD C370 and promptly began to shake the foundation of the house with "Sleigh Ride" from "Have A Very Bass Christmas".

We actually pulled the Heresys out to act as amp stands for Phil's D-sonics. But somebody asked to hear them so we messed with those too.

We had a great time and sometimes, I think y'all should get over yourselves, put your petty differences aside and make these things better attended. Ever since 2010 at Lou's, the fests have been smashing but the attendance has been dismal and it's not like it's being held in Helena, Montana or something.

Anyway, this was like the 15th Polkfest we put together. They didn't even start out as "Polkfests". They were just a bunch of forum people getting together to hang out. It became a regular thing and Polk Audio has had little to do with it except for the HQ fests. They are always invited and they step up but all of the planning and facilitation is done by us, the forum. We usually start planning the next one the week after the last one. I got in on it late 'cause I was tight on time and money and was hoping someone else would pick it up but nobody did and I didn't want to see it die. I'm glad I did. I owe Harry big time for helping out. Phil and Noah were awesome to bring stuff with them too, just wish we had messed with Noah's beastly cinder block of an amp. And Devin, we should honestly just expect him to be there 'cause he just shows up even if he hasn't been on the forum in a while, he seems to always be there and that's just awesome. Wish more people were like that. The dude is always happy and always a pleasure to have around. George was sick but he felt obliged to come down and fulfill his promises and just say hi. Polkfest is good friends, good food, good tunes, good times. Why wouldn't you want to be a part of that?

Anyway, it was a great weekend. My girlfriend Jackie said she got an earful about Polkfests and how special they have been. Especially since pretty much no other manufacturer supports a user base like this. She told me the talk was trying to have it again next year in September instead and was "concerned" that everyone said they liked having it at my house. So we'll see. I'm not going to steal anyone's thunder and will gladly defer to someone else. But like Harry said, I'm starting to look forward to these and will probably do it again next year whether it's the "official Polkfest" or not.

So who wants to claim it for next year?

Jstas

Also, the amp kit.

It's a bit over $200 now but still a bargain.

https://www.tubesandmore.com/products/K-502

Jstas

Ummm...guys, I can't find my ADCOM remote for my pre-amp.

Do any of y'all know what you did with it?

devani

I will let the pictures speak.....Thanks to all those for making it feel like home again....
I've taken quite a pictures of food this time...

Hope you can find the Adcom remote John.

Jstas

Found the remote.

It's in Lawn Guy Land.

Ask Harry how it got there.

tonyb

MMMMM.....Brisket and baked beans, food of the gods.

Looks like you didn't hold back John, everything from audio to food looks fantastic. Did you guys let those Carvers rip up the joint at all ?

Jstas

Carvers are down for the count due to two blown woofers on the right channel, a severe lack of suitable replacements and an even more severe lack of funding for the replacements.

But everybody heard them last time except Noah but Noah has experienced "The Truth" at Casa de No Concerno and mine pale in comparison so he's not missing much.

Besides, we were moving drop ceiling tiles in the basement with 20+ year old subwoofers.

Also, Harry did the ribs. Mine are still raw and frozen in the freezer in the basement. I made a brisket at Harry's request hence the reason it was only 4 pounds and between Harry and I there was like 15 pounds of pulled pork. I only made a shoulder 'cause I had more than a few "Hey, we might stop by" people and was worried we'd run out of food.

Jstas

Oh, also, thanks Devin for catching me in the middle of doing stuff like standing up or turning around so I look like a complete doofus instead of the partial doofus I normally am.

cnh

Food, drink, gear, Polkies! What more could one ask for? Congrats on another great hosting, John. Still kicking myself, especially looking at that pork! I was eating at a McDonalds late Saturday while waiting for my wife to return from Tonyland to the Bangor airport. Obviously no comparison.

Nice job with the basement! And, yeah, those Carvers are AMAZING, for anyone who doubts that! Hopefully I'll have the chance to see you sooner rather than later. And thanks again for stepping up!

devani

John, I promise to take better pictures next year!!

polrbehr

Jstas wrote: »

Found the remote.

It's in Lawn Guy Land.

Ask Harry how it got there.

Knowing people can't wait for the details of how this happened -
Long story short, Mr. Grand dropped off a GCD600 at Johns' for me. Someone left the remote to Johns GFP750 sitting right next to it. Not wanting it to get lost or damaged, I promptly put them in the back of my car. Just one of those things, I had no idea that remote wasn't for the CDP. Maybe if I had bought one of Georges Sonys instead...

Polkie2009

Looks like ya'll had a good time up there John. Being in Houston, I know I'll probably never be able to make it to a Polkfest, but I was very happy to be able to donate a few bucks to help make it a little merrier. Thanks for making all of this happen John, hopefully next year someone else will hold it and a lot more Club Polk Forum members will attend.

Jstas

Why don't you hold it down there in Houston?

nadams

Guess I need to get busy looking through and uploading my pics from Saturday. Haven't had a chance until riiight about... now.

nadams

Okay, here's what I've got:


This is what greeted me as I walked in the door. The amazings, while sadly quiet, stood watching over the scene, as they tend to do.


The SDA 2b's were one of the last things that we listened to, but they were not the least impressive (I'd give that award to my ugly EPI's)


The vinyl rig with Totem Rainmakers driven by a Peachtree Nova was probably one of the most impressive things I heard. Would love to have something like this in my office.


John's got a pretty sweet basement!


The basement rig had humble beginnings, but quickly got morphed into something different.


I really wanted to hear the console stereo, but John said, no dice. I brought my Lawrence Welk LP's and everything


Basement had a bar with various libations and beer on tab. Devani covered the contents of the fridge quite nicely.


Meat cooking began as it should... with the lighting of not one, but two smokers.


Harry's ribs were quite fantastic


This pulled pork was so good, John didn't even add any sauce. Wish I'd put some in my pockets for the drive home.


Then, the LSiM705's arrived, and were quickly set up with the D Sonic amps (on convenient Klipsch Heresey amp stands). Oh, and Mark showed up too! This also qualifies as the only picture I took of John.


Once John broke out the C4 sub, Mark quickly went to work tweaking the system. It sounded sweet...


John's 8wpc tube amp. Might have to get me one of these.


Screwdrivers have many practical uses outside of the driving of screws. The Micropro 2000 snuck into the picture here, although it wasn't on at any point while the tube amp was sitting on top of it


Don't worry, boys and girls, those are audiophile grade wire nuts.


The EPI M50's are excellent nearfield bookshelf speakers, which turned some heads at Lou's 'fest while hooked up to this same amp. I think the size of the room was a bit overwhelming for them, though. It's okay, I still love the ugly things.
That pretty much sums is up! Thank you again, John, for opening up your home and providing everyone with food and drinks!

George Grand - Sorry we missed you. Hope you're on the mend and feeling better.

txcoastal1

Polkie2009 wrote: »

Looks like ya'll had a good time up there John. Being in Houston, I know I'll probably never be able to make it to a Polkfest, but I was very happy to be able to donate a few bucks to help make it a little merrier. Thanks for making all of this happen John, hopefully next year someone else will hold it and a lot more Club Polk Forum members will attend.

2015: I've attended 2-Dallas gatherings, 1-San Antonio gathering, and LSAF
...common on down brotha'

George Grand

John, as soon as I read that your preamp remote was missing I started thinking. I convinced myself that what I was thinking wasn't possible. Well, wrong again. I actually laughed my zorch off when I learned. Best laugh I had in days.

Thanks Noah!