Iowa DIY 2023

**Jim Holtz** · 04 August 2023, 12:02 Friday

The info I sent is Iowa rather than Indiana. The Indiana DIY event is earlier in the year and is already past.

Jim

**theSven** · 04 August 2023, 15:52 Friday

Originally posted by Jim Holtz

The info I sent is Iowa rather than Indiana. The Indiana DIY event is earlier in the year and is already past.

Jim

Thank you for the correction!

**technodanvan** · 05 October 2023, 11:23 Thursday

Anyone know where to register for this? I don't see a link in the original post on MAC.

**theSven** · 09 October 2023, 16:40 Monday

Originally posted by technodanvan

Anyone know where to register for this? I don't see a link in the original post on MAC.

Did you ping Jim Holtz? Maybe he knows or other midewest members here?

With ticket prices being super high I'm probably not going to be able to attend 😢, and I get back from Europe that Thursday evening. I hope to see lots of photos and chatter about how awesome the event was!

**Jim Holtz** · 10 October 2023, 13:38 Tuesday

Hi Danny,

Here's a paste with the link that Bryan posted for the event. I hope you can make it.

Hi gang. To ensure we have an accurate headcount and in order to plan the presentations for Saturday we are requiring attendee registration. To be clear; whether you are presenting or just hanging out, registration is required.
Please follow this link to the registration form. Many thanks for your understanding.

https://midwestaudio.club/?nf_public_link=2ljx6

Jim

**technodanvan** · 12 October 2023, 14:31 Thursday

Thank you!

**DaveFred** · 12 October 2023, 21:24 Thursday

Two cross boarder speaker events is all I think my wife will put up with in one year...

**technodanvan** · 23 October 2023, 18:50 Monday

I am sitting in a hotel room in Silverthorne, CO as it is the (rough) halfway point between Ankeny, IA and Las Vegas, NV. It's a nice little town up in the mountains and big enough for several hotel choices and, importantly in this case, gasoline. I believe I have less than half a gallon remaining as I pushed it to my destination. In any case, I have some free time so I thought I'd share my thoughts of Iowa DIY 2023.

First off, everyone was very welcoming and inviting, especially JR and Bryan from the MAC forums. I didn't know anyone of course, though I recognized Curt (Curt C) and Jim (Jim Holtz) from previous photos of them. I spoke with Curt for a while about his work for the event and a little of his design philosophy. I think we could have talked for quite some time had we more than the 5-10 minutes during a session break! I of course had not been to one of these events before, so some of my intended goals were just seeing how people interacted and how these things are organized. I'm naturally pretty introverted but several people came up to speak with me.

So, what's my impression of Iowa DIY 2023? Well, I'm definitely bringing something with me for Iowa DIY 2024! Maybe three somethings. Need to talk with JonMarsh about that.

I'm going to try to make it an annual trip. It is, after all, the nearest DIY get-together (that I'm aware of). Plus I have lots of friends and family in the area.

Anyway, I'm uploading photos now so will add those when they're ready. Hopefully this evening.

Edit (teaser):

**Jim Holtz** · 23 October 2023, 23:42 Monday

Danny,

I'm sorry we didn't connect. I'd love to put a face to a name.

The good news is, Curt is the guy that can tell you all about our projects in detail.

Next time I hope!

Jim

**JonMarsh** · 24 October 2023, 09:05 Tuesday

Hmmm. Interesting, very interesting. I haven't done any longer road trips in a while, but maybe this is something to consider next year...

**theSven** · 24 October 2023, 10:19 Tuesday

Originally posted by technodanvan

Anyway, I'm uploading photos now so will add those when they're ready. Hopefully this evening.

Looking forward to seeing some photos!!!!

**technodanvan** · 24 October 2023, 17:14 Tuesday

Alright, so I'm back home now and everything seems good to go.

Speakers are shown in no particular order (I'll add my thoughts once all photos are added)

These featured a pair of RS225s in isobaric configuration and use a Dayton Designer Series PR on the back. These sounded really good, but I believe David mentioned they couldn't be pushed too far due to excursion limitations on the PR. Makes me wonder if a Dayton Reference Series PR would make a difference. Really nice set of speakers though!

Another set by David, these use a 3D printed waveguide designed by Augerpro. Another really nice set!

A freakin' third set by David! This one used a Visaton waveguide and, while I really liked the other two, I think these were his best effort pound for pound.

Craig going back to the well with the little SB woofer, but this time with a Viawave ribbon tweeter (as opposed to a HiVi ribbon in the Keramiskas). I thought something didn't sound quite right in the bass section, but admittedly I was rarely in the sweet spot and often off axis at the back of the room. Part of the discussion I had with Curt revolved around the problematic bass in the listening room (he felt there was a boost around 400 Hz, which was generally pretty audible) so maybe it was particularly problematic on some of the test tracks chosen by Craig. I choose to believe the speakers are fine, as ignoring the bass they sounded quite good.

**technodanvan** · 24 October 2023, 17:16 Tuesday

Continued:

Andy put together an interesting little set that featured a pair of socks in the ports to tame port resonances. I had hoped more people would bring Epique designs but this was the only one.

I really liked these big coax speakers by Scott and may have stirred the pot that is my mind for another build...

I don't know if it's because these were the first speakers I heard Friday afternoon, or if it's just because I heard from these the most (both Friday and Saturday) but I really think these were the best two-ways at the show. I'm sure other speakers did a couple things better, but these were the whole package and quite compact to boot. JR really hit something special with these, IMO.

This set of three-ways by JR was quite good, which is important because of the drivers used. The MAC forum will be selling these through JuleFidelity (a startup components company by a member of MAC forums) to help fund future events. The tweeter was something cheap from AliExpress (IIRC), but the 4" and 6" drivers (there is a 5" as well) are pretty solid. They have an introductory price going on right now that is hard to turn down.

**technodanvan** · 24 October 2023, 17:17 Tuesday

Continued some more:

These were interesting as they were designed for a specific space in mind, in this case on a shallow shelf next to a TV for Scott's son at college. This necessitated a front port, but I neglected to ask about BSC given the location. In any case, they sounded far and away better than whatever horrible TV speakers he had previously.

These mini towers were stunning in person, I hope my pictures do them justice. The selected drivers were modest but used to great effect.

The only thing I remember about these was they rattled the ceiling a bit during some bass hits. The combo sounded great, though of course the RS28A is generally NLA at this point.

**technodanvan** · 24 October 2023, 17:20 Tuesday

I took several pics of the below for obvious reasons. Brad was very modest in saying these were constructed with scraps, as if it isn't clear how much effort must have gone into these. Superb work, and while the little Satori might be small, these still sounded quite big.

**technodanvan** · 24 October 2023, 17:21 Tuesday

Someone (I don't recall their name) had purchased a set of BMRs for himself back in...April, I think and wanted to give us a chance to hear them. We had an extended listening session later with a couple different amplifiers. The finish was impeccable, with several people marveling at how the seam in the veneer was extremely difficult to spot. They sounded marvelous, of course.

These little black and purple speakers were presented by Curt Campbell. Someone had shipped him the set for evaluation and crossover tweaking, but he said he didn't need to do anything to them. The cabinets were completely 3D printed. My understanding is they are also well braced, but if you pick one up they feel quite light. That said, I did not pick up any boxiness in the sound, so whatever was done inside was done well.

I spent quite a bit of time speaking with Clay and his wife about several things, but one thing was clear: his day job is a cabinetmaker. Lots of work went into these and they include a transmission line curled around the 'egg' and exiting at the side. I think the baffle was partly made of stone as well. Perhaps the best feature was the handle he included on the back, making one-handed carrying simple. His wife has been experimenting with a laser etcher of some variety and made the symbols on the bottom. Pretty great stuff, I might need to contact them about making a nameplate or two for my speakers sometime.

Unfortunately, I was not in the room for the presentation of these speakers and I did not hear them. I would have liked to, simply due to the use of the GRS tweeter that I intend to use in one of Jon's designs. I do know some parts (including the ports) were 3D printed though.

**technodanvan** · 24 October 2023, 17:24 Tuesday

Unfortunately, I was not in the room for the presentation of these speakers and I did not hear them.

Unfortunately, I was not in the room for the presentation of these speakers and I did not hear them.

I think it may have been Ron that made these little guys for a friend, I think. I guess there was some sentimental value associated with some speakers that no longer worked. These fullrangers had the input wires connected directly to the drivers - no filter included whatsoever. Despite that, these really surprised me with the sound they put out.

I don't recall anything about these...but I'm pretty sure I was there? Maybe I zoned out at some point, it was quite warm in the room as they were having issues with the a/c. In any case, I like the driver choices and how they looked!

**technodanvan** · 24 October 2023, 17:27 Tuesday

Last set of pics for individual speakers.

**technodanvan** · 24 October 2023, 17:28 Tuesday

Couple pics of the setup.

**DeanP** · 24 October 2023, 18:46 Tuesday

Thanks for the photos!

**theSven** · 25 October 2023, 08:48 Wednesday

I second DeanP post! Thank you for the photos technodanvan!!!! The notes you had for these were great to read, I was focused on just taking photos when I was at the PE event. This must have been a fantastic meet up and I'm sorry to have missed it. Thanks for posting to share and letting us see the excitement from the event.

**JonMarsh** · 25 October 2023, 14:09 Wednesday

Thanks a lot for the photos and comments about systems you heard! There's a fascinating variety of system designs and construction efforts- quite interesting!

I noticed a number of CD's on the table in one picture- was there a set program group for each speaker like we used to do for the CA DIY? Or did people bring their own favorite material?

Do you have any idea about the number of attendees, and how wide a geographical area the Midwest Audio Club covers?

**technodanvan** · 25 October 2023, 14:20 Wednesday

So everyone had 12 minutes per set of speakers: four minutes for setup/teardown/and presenting the speaker, four minutes for the 'house' tracks that all speakers played, and four minutes for the designers tracks, hence the number of CDs on that table. Each track was shortened to the interesting bits given the time constraints.

37 speakers in all, and at one point I counted about 30 attendees (include my friends and myself). I'm pretty sure we had folks as far away as Colorado and Indiana present, but it was mostly confined to Midwest states (excepting myself, of course!).

Bryan posted the house tracks on the MAC forum and are shown here as well. I only recognized a couple of them.

Originally posted by Bryan at MAC Forums

2023 IOWA DIY house track:

Run Away to Mars – TALK
What a Wonderful World – Eva Cassidy
Moondance – Van Morrison
Pink Panther Theme (feat. Wynn Osborne) - Pickin' On the Movies: A Bluegrass Tribute to Classic Film Recordings
Uninvited – Alanis Morrisette
Marathon - Rush

To listen, check out this link: https://app.box.com/s/74rmx99odejyh7y51skxq1z78799pq4s

I'll post the other tracks as I find them. It was really great hearing what people chose; personally I got tired of hearing the house tracks after the 20th time or so but I understand there was really no other way to compare speakers fairly.

Originally posted by JR from MAC Forums

My demo:

The Beast In Me - Nick Lowe
Everyday - Buddy Holly
Helen O'Hara - The Mason's Apron
Waltzing Mathilda - Deadwood OST
Just Like Heaven - Katie Melua
Da Som Nu Fur Alltid - Kent

Link:

IowaDIY2023.flac

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AlHuPRQmBiX2h9R05sqtmK4oel3nPA?e=L4mTDZ

FLAC File

**technodanvan** · 25 October 2023, 14:27 Wednesday

Also, I should provide a link to the MAC forum as there are many more photos and insights of the event.

IOWA DIY 2023

https://diy.midwestaudio.club/discussion/2275/iowa-diy-2023

Hello fellow DIY brethren. It's time to start the planning for IOWA DIY 2023.

**JonMarsh** · 25 October 2023, 15:57 Wednesday

Found them already, but thanks- and thanks for the update on the music tracks- all appreciated.

Iowa DIY 2023

Iowa DIY 2023

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment