Hi Minnesota, This thread and the MN Audio Society are great examples of what is wrong with our hobby here. Minnesota has many high-end manufacturers, fantastic audio stores, great independent record stores, and a ton of knowledge. In the winter, we gather with our few friends and share our joy for music and the hobby, but in the summer, we're outside, and our systems tend to sit.
The MN Audio Society lost its home over a year ago, so it seems time for our community to re-invent itself and discover who is interested in sharing our hobby.
I had an idea a while back of having some "library" of gear that we could try out. I don't think that concept would ever take off, but it might be something that we could loosely develop. Most of us seem to have old gear that we moved on from and would either like to sell or keep it because we're audiophiles. What if we developed a group that first met? It could just be on one at first, but maybe grow. If we gained trust with each other, we could loan out our unused equipment and maybe start learning together. I know we have some highly knowledgeable audiophiles who would love to help others. Topics might include system set-up, room issues, and acoustics. Of course, the equipment and interface would be essential. We could argue about cables, and we could share new music discoveries.
Back in the day, that was basically how Audiogon started and what the hope was for the site. When it was sold, the site changed its focus to making money. That's cool; we all have our goals. My desire for Minnesota would be to share this wonderful hobby with others.
Is anyone interested?