Highlights of our 2007-2008 Season
Apr: We host our 2008 Loudspeaker Design Challenge. Seven sets of speakers, all using the same drivers but made unique by the individual members' construction and crossover choices, are evaluated for sound quality and aesthetics by the membership. Wally Malewicz, of WAM Engineering, performed technical measurements on each set. Founder Cliff Digre and President Dan Digre from Misco Speakers, a local loudspeaker driver manufacturer, introduced themselves and brought some designers from their company. New member Don M. unveiled a set of handcrafted trophies he made for the event.
Mar: Ron Ennenga gives a presentation on Audio compression methods and we listen to Vorbis (AoTuv), MP3 (LAME) and *.wav files from a PC with an external USB soundcard and also a small <$50 hardware player. Compression artifacts were quite evident on the club system, even at very high bitrates.
Feb: Bill Fraser and Eric Zetterwal delight us with a restored E.H Scott Radio from the 1930's in the main room and afterward we have our annual Bring 'n Brag music fest in the Minnesota room.
Jan: Jerry Zelesnikar from Audition Audio (612-379-8024) brings three sets of speakers from Shahinian Acoustics (Models: Compass, Arc and Obelisk) and we gave all of them a workout with our favorite tunes.
Nov: Paul Lawless of Sjöfn HiFI demonstrates a Xindak C06 CD Player and A06 Integrated Amplifier, and the GURU QM10 Loudspeakers!
Oct: Brian Walsh of Essential Audio brings the Abbingdon Research CD-77 CD player and AM-77 Amplifier.
Sept: Dale Pitcher of Intuitive Design demonstrates his Summit Loudspeaker with local dealer James DaRosa of Choice Audio.
Highlights of our 2006-2007 Season
May: We listen to Richard Jones' prototype passive preamp and break in our new subs.
April: Vinh Vu of Gingko Audio and Anthony Scillia Of Merrill-Scillia introduce the MS Turntable.
March: Larry Hitch of Madisound and John Stone from SEAS demo some great DIY speakers.
Feb. Brian Heller introduces us to the world of studio engineering and tests our Golden Ears. We passed!
Jan: Our annual Bring & Brag music concert. Very eclectic this year with music ranging from symphonic through jazz to bagpipes!
Nov: Steve Winey of Magnepan visits and donates a pair of 3.6 Maggies to the ASM. Fabulous!
Oct: Format Wars! We listen to four different formats - CD, SACD, LP, and 2-track tape - with the same recording . VERY revealing!
Sept: Surprise! The ASM has a new LP source, and quite a piece it is!
Highlights of our 2005-2006 Season
May: Another trip to Wally World. Wally Malewicz and the Science of Measurement.
April: Our occasional Science Fair. Home brew exotica from our members.
March: Bel Canto with a new Class D amp and a high-end speaker from...Pioneer!
Feb: Bill Gudim with the Diffuse Wave and Side Wave room treatments.
Jan: Our annual Bring & Brag concert plus an update from CES and T.H.E show.
Nov: Slim Devices Squeezebox 2. Hard drive-sourced high end audio. The future is here.
Oct: "Let's Get Wired!" Does wire make a difference? We listen and decide.
Sept: Mark Schifter of AV123 returns! One of our all-time favorite guests. A grand time was had by all!
Highlights of our 2004-2005 Season
May: Tyll Herstens of HeadRoom, Inc. blows us away with headphones galore (and more)!
April: Tweaks! What works, what doesn't. Lots of interesting demonstrations from members.
March: Minnetonka Audio Software. Burn your own 24bit/192 KHz DVD-A's!
Feb: Bel Canto Design with a new killer amp, Cabasse speakers, and more!
Jan: Paul Bolin, Contributing Editor for Stereophile magazine. An insiders look at equipment reviewing.
Nov: An ASM field trip! Karl Eilers illustrates the components of sound using a church organ he built.
Oct: We visit Audio Research Corp. once again. Awesome!
Sept: Wally Malewicz on "Flex Speakers," room analysis, and speaker set-up. Fun and informative!
Highlights of our 2003-2004 Season
Oct: Richard Vandersteen and a jam-packed presentation on speakers, speaker design, optimization, multi-channel, home theater, and the " Vandersteen Way ." Wow!
Sept: Chuck Bottemiller brings us up to date on home theater A&V.
Highlights of our 2002-2003 Season
June: We're introduced to ripping and burning. Ouch! More details HERE.
May: Our Audio Science Fair. Pictures HERE.
April: Paul Madsen of Canton brings the mighty Karat Reference 2DC speakers. Pictures HERE.
March: We take a tour of Magnepan. Pictures HERE.
Jan:(Actually in Feb.) Wally Malewicz, maker of the award-winning Wally Phono Tools, takes us on a tour of sound recording. Pictures HERE.
Sept: A two-fer: Dunlavy Audio Labs followed two days later by Thiel Audio. Twice as much fun!
Oct: Bill Layer demos a prototype software optimized CD transport. Very interesting!
Nov: Our Annual Bring & Brag music fest. Fun, Fun, Fun!
Highlights of our 2001-2002 Season
May: Steve Huntley from Great Northern Sound talks high-end mods and his PASI. Pictures HERE.
April: Wally Malewicz and Wally's Analog Shop for Vinyl lovers. Pictures HERE.
March: Gayle Sanders of MartinLogan and Ken Kessler of HiFi News. Awesome!
Feb: John Stronzer (Bel Canto) and Jim Long (EVI) demo an impressive horn system. Pictures HERE
Jan: Chuck Bottemiller predicts the future of high-end video. Looking good.
Nov: Our Annual "Bring & Brag" Concert. LP's outnumber CD's for the first time.
Oct: Luke Manley of VTL at Hi Fi Sound. Very impressive! Photo HERE.
Sept: The Needle Dr . Can't make it so we tour the museum & gab.
Highlights of our 2000-2001 Season
May: (June, actually) Our Audio Science Fair. Report & pictures HERE.
April: Dung Tri Mai presents the Wheaton Triplanar tonearm. A work of art.
March: John Atkinson & Wes Philips of Stereophile discuss the future of two-channel and other relevant topics. Enlightening. Follow-up report HERE.
Feb: The 24/96 PC sound card from Digital Audio Labs. The future is here.
Jan: . John Stronczer of Bel Canto introduces their digital amp. Cool! (Literally)
Nov: Our annual B&B concert features "The Best of the Worst" recordings you could possibly imagine. More fun than you might think.
Oct: Tom Sherman presents a prototype of his "Perfec EQ" all-digital, phase linear equalizer for the pro and audiophile market. It works!
Sept: Mark Schifter does a super demo of Perpetual Technologies product and donates mucho gear for our raffle. What a guy!
Highlights of our 1999-2000 Season
June: Bruce Jacobs of TPTV and Chuck Bottemiller introduce us to the variations of digital television.
May: Paul McGowan of PS Audio takes us on a power trip.
March: Jerry Raskin, AKA "The Needle Doctor" regales us with great "insider" stories.
Feb: Chuck Bottemiller, Wally Malewicz, Chris Ossanna, and Don Neal demonstrate serious and not-so-serious tweaks.
Jan: Our annual "Bring & Brag" audiophile concert. Fun! Weird! Sonically pleasing! You name it!
Nov: We visit Audio Research and experience their ultimate system. Outstanding sound again.
Oct: Keith Herron of Herron Audio gives one of the best demos we've ever heard.
Sept: We're introduced to the new Bel Canto Upsampling Converter. We're impressed !
June: Tom Jung of DMP Records demonstrates Sony's Direct Stream Digital (DSD) and their SACD player.
May: Our annual "Audio Science Fair" featuring some exotic home-built gear.
April: Lloyd Walker of Walker Audio shows off his Proscenium Gold TT ($17K!), Valid Points, etc. Great show!
March: Mike Hobson of Classic Records demonstrates the 24bit/96kHz DAD.
Jan: Cliff Davidow & Chuck Bottemiller explain & demo MP3, including the Diamond " Rio ."
Dec: Our annual "Bring & Brag audiophile concert.
Nov: Cedric Harris of Melos Technologies brings macho tube gear and Pipedreams loudspeakers.
Oct: Dave Wilson of Wilson Audio meets with us at Audio Research. Fabulous sound!
Sept: Dealer Demo - Jerry Zelesnikar of Audition Audio demos his wares and we play lots of music .
Highlights of our 1997-98 Season
April: Audio Science Fair. Home-built and modified gear.
March: "From Mono to Many: An Exploration of Multi-Channel Audio," with Richard Severance.
Jan: Our Annual "Bring & Brag" Audiophile Concert.
Nov: Wally Malewicz introduces and demonstrates his "Wallyline" of cartridge & turntable tools & techniques.
Oct: Ralph Karsten of Atma-Sphere Music Systems talks design and demos his M-60 amps.
Sept: Wisdom Audio's Tom Boehlander demonstrated their new $25K "Adrenaline" ribbon speaker system.
Highlights of our 1996-97 Season
June: Geoff Poor of Balanced Audio Technology (B.A.T.) discusses & demos their tube and solid-state gear.
May: The single-ended shoot-out, including the Pass Aleph 3 and the Bel Canto Orfeo.
March/April: Albert Von Schweikert discusses his designs and demonstrates his VR-4.5 loudspeaker.
Feb: Leigh Kamman, host of American Public Radio's "The Jazz Image." Included some fabulous early recordings such as Duke Ellington in a 1932 STEREO recording!
Jan: Our Annual "Bring & Brag" Audiophile Concert. Playlist available in the February ASM Bulletin.
Nov/Dec: Chris Johnson and Maria Di Tomaso of Sonic Frontiers discuss and demo new products.
Oct: Mike Dzurko of Audio Concepts and Dzurko Acoustics discusses his speakers and demos the Jaguars w/subwoofer.
Sept: Tour and presentation at Audio Research Corp.
Highlights of our 1995-96 Season
May: Inside HDCD. An Analysis of the HDCD Patent by Cliff Davidow, Director of Research for ADC Telecommunications.
Apri: Visit to Minnesota Audio Labs.
March: Ken Kantor, President of NHT (Now Hear This) in California.
Feb: Annual "Bring and Brag" Audiophile Concert.
Jan: Tam Henderson, "Prof." Keith Johnson, Michael "Pflash" Pflaummer, and Rik Malone of Reference Recordings.
Nov: John Otvos of Waveform in Brighton , Ontario
Oct: Mark Schifter of Audio Alchemy
Sept: "Power Conditioning for HiFi: If You Don't Have a Headache, Don't Take Aspirin." Walenty Malewicz .