The GReat DIY Get Together!

General
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I’m Happy to anounce that there will be a Michigan get together this year!!!

Sept, 18-19th. Byron Center MI (just south of Grand Rapids). 5-12pm, 9-5pm.

This event will be hosted at Rush Creek Bible Church ( I attend and have paid the fee’s to rent the rooms).

There is no cost to attend but if you would like to make a donation to the church it is appreciated (without their generosity I would need sponsors).

This is a simple laid back get together. We will have a front end available to hook up your speakers I will make sure that we have a few sets of speaker stands and a microphone for setting levels. I will have banana, raw wire and speak-on connections available for speaker hook ups.

I will try to get us a reservation at Pete’s bar and grill for lunch on Saturday.

A few ground rules, If you need a smoke break please do it in your vehicle. Feel free to have a drink at the restaurant as there is no alcohol/tobbaco allowed in the church. The church is an active church and we may not be the only people in the church, it is expected that we will be respectful to any other activities that might be going on. It is a fairly large church and the wing we will be in is secluded from the rest of the church so I don’t think we will have any issues.

There is a nice room for the speakers/listening and another room to sit and chat.

Things are 90% done and scheduled but there might need to be a few tweeks or changes.

Any questions please feel free to ask.

If you can please let me know if you are planning to attend so I have an idea on how many to plan on.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

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Im planning on it!

Would you want me to bring the Crown? I can bring extra cabling if needed.

I’ll have the Inq’ with me.

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I’ll post this on the various forums tomorrow…

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I am in!

I can bring cinnamon rolls. I can also bring audio-related things if needed.

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Is this in lieu of the annual CSS event?

Hi there, I'm Juan Macchiavelli
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Michigan has had a get together for many years, I had the opportunity to host so I took it.

I hope that anyone that would have gone to the CSS event will come to the GR event. That being said I am not trying to be Meniscus, CSS, SDC, or InDIYana. Its is going to be a laid back event with no objective other than to have a good time.

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Yes, if you see the 2025 CSS event thread most recent posts, this is why this is happening.

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Thanks Ken for putting this together. I need a few days to figure out if I can make it, still a drive for me! But fall(ish) in MI is always great!

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There is no CSS DIY event planned for 2026.

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Correct! Wolf was pointing out the conversation in the thread for the 2025 event that there will NOT be a CSS 2026. Thus, Ken is organizing an event in Grand Rapids near the time that Meniscus/CSS usually had their events.

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Posted at DIYaudio, ASR, and HTguide. Ken beat me to PETT.

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I’ll plan to attend, unless anything very unforeseen happens.

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Please make sure that your firends that are not “online” know about the event. I have had a few people reach out that have heard through the “grapevine”.

Byron Center is only a couple miles from downtown Grand Rapids but also has some very nice shopping and resturaunts available for those that might want to make a full weekend of it.

I’m excited!

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Ken, in the absence of a suitable far fetched excuse, Jack and I will be there. Cheers and thanks for organizing this get together.

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And, just in case anyone is wondering. I’m bringing a door prize of a packet of genuine UK mushy peas which includes personal phone, text and email support. Absolutely the dogs conkers. I know you can hardly wait.

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So my beer got contaminated by oxygen while cold crashing in the fridge the airlock dried out. I thought it was not good enough to share. But its probably still better than those peas. So maybe we can just go to Founders and grab a pint or two.

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Dang Clay, I saw what you did there. Excellent idea about grabbing a pint at Founders…:smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

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10 days away!!!

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A Few Things to Know About the Event

I wanted to give everyone a little more information about the room, parking, food, and getting in and out of the building.

The Room:

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Here is the room I rented for the event. I’ll be setting it up with the chairs facing toward the right side of the room. That should give us a much more normal listening-room layout and make it easier for everyone to see what’s going on.

I’ve also rented another room that has a small café area. I’m going to try to get a coffee machine set up, so there should be coffee available for those of us who need a little extra help getting through the day. :hot_beverage:

I’ll also have snacks and sodas available.

One of the nice things about this wing is that it has its own exterior doors, so bringing in speakers, amplifiers, gear, tools, and all the other stuff we tend to drag to these events should be pretty easy.

Getting In & Unloading

The easiest way to get to the event is to enter off 76th Street.

The arrow on the map shows the doors. The area is labeled Rush Students Courtyard.

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You can pull up along the sidewalk to load and unload your equipment. Once you’re unloaded, please move your vehicle to either the north or south parking lot so we can keep the area around the doors available for everyone.

Hopefully this will make bringing the big stuff in and out about as painless as possible. We all know that getting a pair of 100-pound speakers through a doorway can sometimes be the hardest part of the hobby!

Food

There are quite a few good options nearby if you want to grab lunch or dinner.

Pete’s is always a popular choice. Good food, a full bar, and reasonable prices make it a pretty safe bet for a group of audio people.

Pete’s

76th Street Diner is a well-known local truck-stop-style diner and another good option for a casual meal.

76th Street Diner

I can also highly recommend Little Mexico, which is only about a five-minute drive north of the church.

Little Mexico

And if you’re just looking for something quick, there are also Little Caesars, McDonald’s, and Culver’s nearby.

If You Need a Break From Audio…

For anyone bringing along a spouse, family member, or anyone else who doesn’t want to spend the entire day talking about crossover slopes and tweeter distortion, the Tanger Outlet Mall is nearby and makes for a good shopping option.

Tanger Outlet Mall

I’m really looking forward to getting everyone together. The goal is pretty simple: bring some gear, listen to some music, talk audio, learn something, and have a good time with other people who are just as crazy about this stuff as we are.

See you there!

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I don’t see an actual address, Ken.

Thanks,