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Details
Speaker Contest: "The Puget Sound" DIY Speaker Contest
August 28th, 2004 @ Mercer Island Congregational Church, 4545 Island Crest Way, Mercer Island, WA
Doors open at 9:00 AM, judging begins at approximately 9:30 AM. We may be flexible on start time if a contestant is traveling some distance and may be arriving later than start time; please let us know in advance so we can schedule accordingly.
Entries
This year there will be two "classes" of entries: original DIY designs and kits. We realize that a lot of effort, experience, skill and sometimes luck are needed to come up with a successful design. Many accomplished designers learned their craft by starting with kits of one sort or another and subsequently progressed toward original designs. For others, the lack of time or experience makes a kit a means towards better, affordable sound.
A kit is defined as...
...Any predesigned or published design (publication includes the internet) that is the product of another person. This may be plans, parts, kit, or both plus cabinets, etc. Any major deviation from the plans may at some point constitute an original design -- however, a club appointed technical committee will have the final determination if this problem presents itself. All kits must have been offered to and available to the general public at some time. We rely on the integrity of the contestant!
The kit class is broken by cost per pair, and excludes the cost of the cabinet and finish. The breakdown for kits is as follows:
Original design breakdown is as follows:
NOTE: This is for drivers and crossover parts only,; cabinet material and finish are not included. We rely on the contestants' integrity. Your uncle who owns the HiFi Emporium cannot give you a special deal that isn't or hasn't been available to the general public. Nuff Said!
The speakers will be driven by the system the club supplies. Don't bring your own MegaWatt Hyper Triode Amp -- we're not going to use it. To keep it simple, we are not going to allow biamping and at this time plate amps for the bass module are not going to be allowed.
Tthe entry fee is $5 if you pre-register by Wednesday, August 14, or $10 if you register at the door. If you have any questions or would like to let us know you're coming (it would help us plan ahead, so please do), you can contact Terry Olson at CornyGuy@aol.com.
Judging
The judging will be by a panel of judges in a special room set aside for this. We will try to have three judges in which each play a preselected musical selections (2-3 minutes max.) while sitting in the "sweet spot." Each contestant is allowed to specify general guidelines to set-up, that is, distance apart, toe-in, etc. Remember that the judges will be sitting side by side so that should be taken into consideration.
We intend that judging will be totally blind -- this means that a curtain or blindfold will be utilized to ensure that sound and not appearance will be the sole criteria. All speakers will have the loudness adjusted to the same level before judging begins. Set-up of speakers will be by a club crew using notes taken at time of entry.
Other Stuff
Admission is free. We hope to have a "tweek table" and a garage sale/swap meet type offering for those who wish to sell or buy audio gear -- FREE (Owners are responsible for gear, etc. Don't expect to drop off stuff and return at the end of the day to pick up the money. Please advise in advance if you wish to sell items).
We are going to let the attendees help out by voting for the Best Craftsmanship, Most Unusual, Most Creative Use of Material (Bondo, duct tape, silly putty, etc.).
Awards
Each entry will receive a certificate of participation and a print out of his entry's frequency response measured by club member Dan Wiggins of Adire Audio. Additional certificates will be awarded to class winners and 2nd and 3rd place. Finally a "Best Sound of Show" certificate for the overall winner. All winners of their respective class are eligible for this. Decision of the judges is final -- sorry.
NOTE: Judges may also be entrants, however, they MAY NOT judge the category of their entry.