San Francisco Bay Area Audio Society

There are several events hosted by SF BAAS. Dennis & the gang have been doing a great job pulling in manufacturers and local audio retailers in demoing products. There have also been several member-led discussion/learing forums on specific topics. We also host "system-hop" about twice a year where voluteered members open their door to allow other members to audition their systems and exchange ideas. This is a great resource for audiophiles in the Bay Area to exchange ideas, solicit help, and socialize with other Audiophiles. We are always looking for new ideas for events and volunteers to help organize new events! Please contact Dennis for more info.

For the past two years, I have been involved with a group called BAAA (Bay Area Audio Asylum). The group all started in March 2002 when 5 inmates from the Audio Asylum discussion forum decided to get together one Friday evening. Although all five of us have very different music taste, we had a great time and decided we would like to get together more often. We then invited our other audiophile friends, and other people we've met along the way. Our group has grown to about 45 members scattered around the Bay Area. Some have moved away, but still keep in touch with daily discussions via Yahoo!Group e-mails. The group is very active, we have get-togethers of various sizes every few weeks or so. People have formed very strong friendships. The get-togethers are always enjoyable. There's always food, wine, and music. The atmosphere is very informal. Our spouses and significant others join us at these get-togethers often as well. There's even a Christmas party! We've just had two shoot-outs focusing on several brands of factory and modified SACD players this past few weeks. Somebody's hosting a BBQ over the Memorial weekend. Other past activites included tour of KCSM 91.1FM and Fantasy Records. The group demographics is very diversified. Some people are more technical savvy than others, but we all help each other out from setting up new cartridges to tuning listening rooms to helping someone pick up an LP from Amoebas, etc.

We are not organized like most Audiophile groups in that We don't have dues and a leadership group. Most of the time, somebody just volunteers to host a big party, and announces it via the Yahoo!Group e-mails, or just call somebody. The group is fairly small, so everybody knows everyone else on first name basis. What makes this group successful, in my opinion, is the strong friendships that people have formed with one another, and the relaxed atmosphere of the gatherings. (Less focus on equipment, but more on music) I'm always learning about new music from somebody in the group that I find interesting.

FrankC