Our meeting this month will be at Dave Sykes house in Foresthill. It will start at 1:00 PM and go to roughly 230 PM.  The Review Committee will have a meeting right after the main meeting, and there will be demo of the First Watt SIT2 amp in Dave’s system.
Directions: I-80 to Foresthill Exit,  take the road to get on Foresthill Rd., follow Foresthill Rd. 15 miles, turn Right on Todd Valley Rd., go 1 mile, turn Right on Green Ridge Rd., go about 1 mile, turn Right on Birchwood Dr., go 1 mile, and Dave’s is the second to last house at the end on the right (20617 Birchwood).  Walk past the main house to the little house in the back.
Hope to see you there.

Steve Lester of Linn, Tannoy, and Peachtree was here and gave a very informative overview of computer audio as it is now.  We also listened to the Linn Majik in a small networked system he set up using a NAS drive, an Ipad for a controller, and the Linn Majik connected to our main system.  The sound was quite analog, sweet, warm, large soundstage with none of the digital artifacts one normally hears with computer music.

Steve covered a lot of ground during his 1 hour talk.  I will just cover the highlights here.  One of the most important in using computer as a source is to rip the cd/download, etc. properly.  Most of the normal techniques introduce errors and jitter.  He recommended going to Chris Connaker’s website Computer Audiophile: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/Computer-Audiophile-Symposium-Performance-Playback for an in depth set of tips to ripping and storing music files properly.  He also covered UPNP players in some detail (Universal Plug and Play) and talked about Apple products such as Airport Express and Apple TV.  He talked about using USB (bad) vs. ethernet (good) for transfer of data.  USB has a bad way of introducing jitter into the signal, whereas ethernet there is very little or no jitter.  Network set up using ethernet is preferable.  Peachtree DAC’s and integrateds are one of the few units designed from the gate to deal with very high amounts of jitter in the signal (10,000 times that of other DAC’s).  He mentioned that Amora software as mentioned by Chris Connaker does a very good job of cleaning up Itunes and other signals.  if you need to contact Steve you can through his website at: http://www.stevenlester.net/

There will be a meeting of the Sierra Nevada Audiophile Society this weekend, Dec. 10, at 1:00 PM.  It will be held at Audio Experience, 1120 B Douglas Blvd., Roseville, CA.  Steve Lester, the Linn, Tannoy, and more representative will be giving an in depth talk on computer audio.  This talk will cover some of the basics but mostly be aimed at integration and use of servers and hard drives for music storage, with wireless/ wired networks and distribution systems.  Linn Majik and other systems will be demonstrated.  The main system will be the Cary 98P Preamp, the First Watt M2 or Soaring Audio A 600, Exemplar Audio 93, Bryston BDA 1, and Acoustic Zen Adagio speakers.
If you need any help please call me at 530-320-1576 or 916-742-5322.  See you there!

The Sierra Nevada Audiophile Society (SNAS) will have its monthly meeting at Audio Experience, the new store, on November 12 at 1 PM.  The address is 1120 Douglas Blvd., Suite B, Roseville, CA 95678-just look for the Audio Experience sign on the left at the intersection of Douglas and Harding.  Directions are: take the Douglas exit off I-80 and head N toward Harding Ave.  At Harding Ave. make a left onto Harding which will wind back toward the freeway.  Take the first right into the parking lot by Burger King and park near Audio Experience or in the lot near the Roseville Gourmet restaurant.  We are to the right of the restaurant near the State Farm office.  Hope to see you there!

We had 10 regular members and 4 new people at the Marihart Audio shop and home in Colfax, CA.  The society also gained 2 new members at this meeting.
The topic of Discussion was how we hear music.  We held a question and answer session and discussion on the fundamentals of how each of us hear music and what is important to each one of us.  Turn ons were as follows:  Presence, Overall Balance, Timbre, Lack of Fatigue, Resolution, The Amount of Emotional Involvement, and Dynamics.  Turn offs were:  Distortion, Upper Midrange Glare, Muddy Bass, Poor Value for the Money, Poor Stability, Lack of Durability and Dependability, and Absence of any Major Qualities.  The overall plan is to open this to more discussion in November meeting with the goal of a rating system so members can set up a review committee.  We will start by reviewing some of our own gear that is little known in different systems, and publish on this website and others including Audio Evo and maybe Dagogo.  We feel that by using a group review and a standard rating system it will help the reader come to a better understanding of how it will work in his/her system.
The next meeting is in Sparks Nv. at Jerry Cohn’s house at 12PM on Oct 8, 2011.  Directions are:
Address: 1046 Greenwing Drive, Spanish Springs, NV. 89441.   Take I 80 East to Pyramid Way, Exit and go North on Pyramid (about 10 miles) to Eagle Canyon Dr.  Left at Eagle Canyon, go about 1 mile to Golden Eye Parkway (next street after white church steeple), Right on Golden Eye Pkwy to Greenwing Dr., make Left onto Greenwing, and Right on 1st Cul De Sac.  1046 is last house on Cul De Sac with 2 large Christmas Trees in front.
Call Dave Marihart (530-320-1576) if you need a ride or have questions.

We will be having a meeting of the Audiophile Society on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1 PM.  The meeting will be held at Marihart Audio in Colfax, CA, at 222 Sierra View Dr.  My phone number is 530-320-1576.  Directions:  From Auburn take I-80  to the Canyon Way exit, make a right at Canyon Way;  follow that past Yankee Jims about 1.5 miles to Sierra View Dr., make a hard right and go up the hill.  Marihart Audio is the first house on the right.  Park in the driveway.  Meeting will be held in the main house, and a listening session will be in the guest house.  Bring CD’s, vinyl, SACD’s, etc.  This will be the last meeting at this location, since all equipment will be moved to Roseville in October.
The Oct. 8, 2011 meeting will be held in Sparks, NV at Jerry Cohn’s house.  I will be publishing directions 3 weeks in advance for that one.  Carpool is advised.
Remember, if you have questions or get lost, call 530-320-1576, and Dave will try to help.

We met at Dave Sykes’ house in Foresthill, Ca for our monthly meeting and listening session with his system.  He has a wonderful listening room detached from his house where his Pass Labs preamps and amps/ Exemplar Audio player/ Reference 3A speakers / and Technics 1250 turntable lives.  It is a wonderful system with a big soundstage and accurate natural detailing throughout the musical range.
Dave Sykes discussed different cd formats and some of their advantages and disadvantages.  He passed out a handout from Winston Ma’s website that covered some of the popular formats.  It turns out that DSD is the closest to the analog format of LP’s and tape.  Tape, as done by the Tape Project, is the best by far, with LP coming in second.  DSD is the closest to LP in the digital realm.
Dave Marihart discussed his trip to Washington and his visit to Winston Ma’s sound room in his home.  This room was the best he had ever heard in his 35 years of listening to systems.  It totally redefined what could be done in the home environment.  It also showcased how important room acoustics are in the room environment.  Many audiophiles don’t realise how much the room defines what they hear.  The discussion moved to room treatment and how to do it inexpensively.
The rest of the meeting was devoted to a listening session of Dave’s excellent system.

The next meeting is on Sept. 8 at 1 PM.  A meeting location will be announced here and by email.

Meeting was held at the Mountain Mikes in Meadowvista, CA and all enjoyed the beer and pizza.
We had 14 people show up, with four new members joining:  Mike Mudge, David Nickerson, Mike Jaynes, and Mark Strohl.
Jack Lawson gave a treasurer report:  The club has $180 in cash, with 12 paid members.  Guests are encourage to come and are not asked to join unless they wish to.

System:  Demoed was an Exemplar modified Oppo 93, Cary Xciter with KT88 tubes, MIT wire, and Acoustic Technology speakers.  Sounded decent despite the 250Hz bump and the lack of highs induced by the room acoustics.  Probably the last serious listening session in this room.

Next meeting on June 11 will be at Rich Jackson’s in Alameda, CA.  He is the rep for PS Audio, Totem, Bryston, and it will be a full day.  Contact Dave Marihart (530-320-1576) and Alan Fong (209-298-8861) for travel arrangements.  Rich’s address is 3531 Magnolia Dr., Alameda, CA.

If you want rooms at the Ca audio Show we can get them at discount pricing through the Audiophile society.  Email Constantine Soo at info@caaudioshow.com and give the following:  Full name, check in and check out dates, single or double beds, and mention the Sierra Nevada Audiophile Society.  Pay with CC upon arrival.  Rate is $115/night +tax vs. $155/night.  Please do this at least 3 weeks in advance of the show.  As a note Marihart Audio will not be doing the show this year, although I will attend it.

We had a Question and Answer Session and covered a lot of topics.  Handout included the Frequencies of Music provided by Dave Sykes.   Room treatment issues came up and Steve Holt of MIT mentioned Norm Varney of AV Room Service out of Ohio who does analysis and recommendations for room treatments.

Steve Holt of MIT also offered to get the group 2 pairs of interconnects and a pair of speaker cables from MIT so people can try them out in their systems.  A price range of $5000-$8000 was agreed upon by the group present.  Marihart Audio can also assist with this as well.

We also reviewed show dates:  June 2,3, and 4 is THE Show in Newport Beach at the Newport Beach Hilton.  July 14,15, and 16 is the CA Audio Show in Burlingame at the Crowne Plaza.

Meeting lasted 2 hours with two later  listening sessions at two different locations:  Marihart Audio (for the First Watt M2) and Dave Sykes house for his Pass Labs system.
System Notes:
Cary Xciter DAC and Integrated Amp, Acoustic Technology Speakers, Falcon Media Center.
1.  Passed out new member cards made by Gavin Fish-comments on how good they look and are at opening locked doors.
2.  Review committee:   Relayed info on email with Dr. Sean Olive of Harman and his research on perceptual listening.  Thoughts about a review committee using 4-6 members who use a scale to rate what they are hearing.  Read email by Dr. Olive explaining what they listen for and the use of trained listeners.  Would publish review on website, AudioEvo, and maybe Dagog0 ( Constantine Soo said he would read and decide).  Goal would be to have an informative review so people get a view of a number of ears and on only two reference systems. Present reviews are done by individuals on widely different systems.  Dave Marihart is contiuing the investigation and will report at the next meeting.
3.  Meeting Dates decided to be the 2nd Saturday of each month.
4.  Two new members joined:  Robert Spieth and Mark Strohl,  had 13 people present, of which were 9 members.  4 new people showed up with friends.
5.  Meeting Talk:  Computers and your Stereo System.  Integration of both and where the technology is now.  Have note on the talk on file if anyone wants them that couldn’t make it.
6.  We have a destination for the June society meeting:  Alameda , CA at the home of Rich Jackson, the PS Audio and Bryston rep.  We leave Auburn at 8 AM, plan to arrive there at 11AM.  this will be most of the day, Saturday, June 11, 2011.  Car Pool with location meetings TBA at the next meeting.
7.  Conclusion of meeting.  Thanks to Dave and Nelson for the Pizza.

The next meeting of the Sierra Nevada  Audiophile Society will be on May 14, 2011 at 1 PM at the Mountain Mike’s Pizza in Meadowvista.  Directions are in the previous announcement.  We don’t have an announced subject, but will most likely be a question and answer session.  So bring your pressing audio questions, and the rest of us will try to answer.  The June meeting will be a field trip.   Also we are looking for meeting places for the July, August, and September meetings-anyone want to volunteer their home?  Can have a fun listening session.
Any meeting questions please call 530-320-1576.