Austin TX. Meet? (1 Viewer)

[Frederick_Falk]

If we have the time, I have no objections to trying to sqeeze in another shop if they are close by. If we don't have the time, we could certainly try to incorporate that into our next meet.
Also, if you haven't been by A&B lately, don't be so quick to blow them off. They are carrying Parasound, Krell, Niles, Russound, NHT and other top-notch A/V gear that they haven't carried before (new lines and/or new models). They also carrying more of the top-line Sony ES equipment. They have four dedicated theater rooms that are closed off with doors from the rest of the building so you can go in, sit down, crank it up and do side-by-side comparisons of their equipment. Yeah, they don't have the ultra high end (although, I think Krell comes pretty close and is still in my budget range) with speakers that cost $20,000 each, etc. but they still have gear that you won't find at CC or BB.
I also appreciate the mention that I do in fact have a family and as much as I would like to do an all-nighter, that's not going to happen (read: spouse directive of being done by 10 PM) so we need to use our time together wisely. What we don't get accomplished this time can certainly be rolled into our next meet.
Since this is my first meet, how often do you all get together? I would like to see at least a meet quarterly or if we can get enough participation, even monthly or every other month. Let's discuss further over lunch Saturday.

 

[Mark Austin]

I have been there since they moved and I think A&B carries some nice brands. That's not where I have my issues. It's more in the policies and product knowledge of the sales staff. They don't have an upgrade policy, which I think is critical. They don't allow in-home demos, which is another biggie with me. When I was purchasing my first DD receiver a few years back, they were stuck on retail. I saved over two hundred bucks at A&A on Burnet. I also think they run bait and switch adds in the Sunday paper. Many of the products they list are never in stock. After requesting to be put on a waiting list for a product in their add, the salesman said they weren't getting anymore. They continued to run that product in their add for 6 months. There are a few good stores in town that do it right, IMO, A&B isn't one of them.

 

[Colin Dunn]

I think there's time to visit both stores. From past meets, we didn't usually spend two hours in a store. An hour each at A&B and Audio Systems would probably work out nicely.
The day would probably look like this:
12-2 - lunch
2-3 - A&B
3-4 - Audio Systems
5-9 - Frederick's place
Mark Austin - We visited Audio by Design at a previous meet. We'll probably return there later, but still have a few more places we haven't seen yet...
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Colin Dunn

 

[Frederick_Falk]

Colin,
Your proposed schedule looks great. I am very interested in trying out new places and we cannot hit all the stores in one day. I hope that we can do additional meets at the other stores mentioned in this thread.
The wife has given me the okay to convert a bedroom into a true home theater and the LR will remain as the main multimedia room. I am looking forward to getting input from all of you on how I can put this together.
If you have not done so already, please send me an email with a head-count and any food allergies.
Have a great week and I will see you all on Saturday.

 

[Jeff Blair]

double post

 

[Jeff Blair]

I was wondering something. Do any of y'all want me to bring my Pronto? I don't know how many of you have had a chance to play around with one. Just let me know. After Wednesday e-mail me at [email protected].
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Jeff Blair
It's not just a hobby, it's an obsession!
My DVD's

 

[Doug_H]

Jeff, I would really like to see the pronto. I have been on the fence about buying one.
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The Mischievous Rogue Strikes Again!

 

[Greg Risley]

Count me in. The schedule looks good to me. I got a pronto for x-mas and I haven't even took it out of the box yet. I don't know if anybody would be interested but I have a Pioneer 704 laserdisc and a meridian demodulator that are still in their boxes from the move. I could bring these and Star Wars Episode I japanese laserdisc. Let me know.
Later
Greg

 

[Jeff Blair]

Doug,
It is a nice little "toy" My girlfriend thinks I was nuts about spending that much on a remote. But I was tired of using 6 diffrent ones. I'll bring it along.
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Jeff Blair
It's not just a hobby, it's an obsession!
My DVD's

 

[Jeff Blair]

I have an easy question for y'all. Where is Waterloo? And one more, what kind of food do they have? Thanks guys, and see you on Sat.
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Jeff Blair
It's not just a hobby, it's an obsession!
My DVD's

 

[Michael Hudson]

Does anyone know if it supposed to ice over this weekend ?
Here is the link to Waterloo Ice House. It is mostly burgers and stuff.
http://austin.citysearch.com/profile?fid=2&id=10237888
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Michael
Sega.Net bigdaddymh
Wow look at all those DVD's
And those are cool CD's
Do not click me.

 

[Frederick_Falk]

Waterloos is on Burnett Rd just south of Hwy 183 and it is across the street from Dyer's Electronics. Crumps plumbing supply is behind it. If you are coming from 183 and driving south on Burnett Rd, it will be on your right at the first intersection with a traffic light that you come to.

 

[Erik Pontius]

So what is the final schedule?
Are we starting at Waterloo IceHouse on Burnett at noon? and then going from there?
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"It's cheaper than a movie and there's free coffee."

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Yep.
"Do you expect me to talk?"
"No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"

 

[Michael Hudson]

See you guys there.
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Michael
Sega.Net bigdaddymh
Wow look at all those DVD's
And those are cool CD's
Do not click me.

 

[Mark Austin]

It doesn't look like I will be able to make much of the meet if any at all. I might be able to make it to Frederick's house later. I hope you all have a great time.

 

[Doug_H]

I am bringing several DTS discs including JP/LW and the Haunting (a great sound track) and a special surprise to be announced later.
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The Mischievous Rogue Strikes Again!

 

[Robert Elrod]

damn

Looks like I totally missed this one... are there any plans for another meet? I was even at home all day.
Is it possible to be added to the mailing list for future Austin events?
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Robert Elrod
www.perfectfusion.com
Feel free to visit my DVD or Link Removed lists.

 

[Colin Dunn]

Robert -
I don't know how I missed all of your 250+ posts before. When we get ready for a meet, I'll usually scan through the message boards looking for people who put Austin (or nearby suburbs) in their profile. At any rate, I'll put you on the mailing list for the next meet. We'll probably have another one in 4-8 weeks, depending on how soon we can get a critical mass (6+ people).
Not to rub it in or anything, but I really enjoyed the meet yesterday. Frederick Falk graciously invited several of us HTF members into his home. He had a nice sprawling ranch home crammed full of HT goodies, and a rooftop deck with a lake view. We also had lunch at the Waterloo Icehouse, visited A&B TV and Audio Systems, tried out an SVS subwoofer, talked shop, and watched bits and pieces of movies. A good time was had by all...
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Colin Dunn

 

[Frederick_Falk]

I appreciate the kind words from Colin and I really enjoyed hosting the meet. I was able to meet fellow A/V enthusiasts and even a fellow scuba diver.
I hope everyone made it home okay as there was a very bad 2 car accident on 1431 that night. I was taking one of my guests home (thanks again to Fank Tang for allowing me to bring his SVS subwoofer over to my house) and we were diverted onto Nameless Road and ended up in Leander before we could make the turn onto 183.
I spoke with the Paramedics on duty at our fire station and they told me that there had been a fatality accident involving two vehicles. The driver of the car that caused the accident (apparently driving at a high rate of speed and lost control and skidded sideways into on-coming traffic) was pronounced dead at the scene. The other two patients were sent by Star-flight to Brackenridge hospital where the female patient underwent major surgery. All involved appeared to be teenagers. Like I have said in previous posts, 1431 is a tricky road to drive.
Well, I am looking forward to the next meet. Thanks again to Frank for the use of his subwoofer; Jeff for bringing along a Pronto remote and "wowing" the crowd; Hank for bringing the door prize; Colin for helping me to organize the meet and helping me to make it successful; my wife Melinda for all of the hard work she did in all of the help she provided (cleaning the house, buying and preparing the food and playing host to a bunch of A/V nuts she didn't know); and a great big thanks to all who attended and especially all of you who drove all of the way out to my house to enjoy some good food and fellowship.