About the Carolina Audio Society
If you are an audiophile you know the difficulty in finding like-minded enthusiasts who also enjoy our hobby. The Carolina Audio Society is dedicated to enabling enthusiasts of finely reproduced music to have a place to meet and discuss music, gear and the intricacies of the audiophile hobby. While our primary membership are audio enthusiasts in North and South Carolina, any audiophile is welcome. Our mission statement listed below outlines how we are organized, how we operate, and further defines our goals. We invite any interested audiophile to contact us about becoming a member.
Rules and Mission Statement
Mission Statement
It is the expressed purpose of the Carolina Audio Society (CAS) to be a place, format, and community where audiophiles may gather to freely discuss equipment, music, and the high-performance audio hobby in general. The society is intended to be a place where all audiophiles, regardless of age, gender, race, musical interest or level and quality of system may be treated equally, respectfully and without prejudice. At no time should any one member be ridiculed or disparaged for their system, system sonics, choice of music, and home in which the system is housed. Our stated purpose is to find a group of like-minded audiophiles who desire to gather together to enjoy and further the high-performance audio hobby.
Organization
The Carolina Audio Society will be established as a uniform charter encompassing all of North Carolina and South Carolina. Within this geographic territory, local chapters may be established in any particular city or local geographic location. Main areas will include Charlotte, Greensboro, Raleigh / Durham, Asheville, Wilmington, Greenville / Spartanburg, Columbia, Charleston and any location in the two Carolinas with sufficient interest for having periodic gatherings or meetings on the audiophile hobby.
Meetings
Each chapter may set up and establish a time and place to hold meetings and arrange listening sessions. Typically, these sessions shall rotate between the local members houses. Other gathering places may be in a hotel, commercial building or other suitable location. Each chapter is responsible for setting up and establishing a minimum of four to six meetings per year, regardless of the location. There will not be a limit to how many meetings are held each year although it is understood that a maximum of twelve meetings in one twelve-month period will be sufficient.
Cost
Unless the need arises, there will not be a monthly membership fee to be a society member. The Society would ask for a payment of $20.00 per year from each member to cover any necessary expenses for the Society as a whole. If a local chapter has a meeting in a location where there is a fee, such as a hotel or similar meeting space, it is understood that the cost of that individual meeting will be funded by all those in attendance. The cost of an individual local chapter’s activities will not be spread or distributed throughout the entire Audio Society. Any member hosting a meeting at their home may elect to provide refreshments to the visiting members. If so, it is understood that such refreshments are provided without expectation of reimbursement. However, all attending members are encouraged to provide sufficient monetary donations on a local basis, and at the time of the meeting to help defray refreshment costs. These payments should be in cash and provided before the close of the individual local meeting.
Meeting Attendance
Any member may attend a meeting held in any local chapter they choose. If a member in one city wishes to travel to a different city at their own expense to participate in a meeting, there will not be any restrictions imposed. It will be understood that if there is a cost for a particular meeting, such as a meeting held in a hotel meeting space, the out of town member will be charged in the same manner, and at the same cost as the members in the local chapter. Out of town members are expected to provide funds to cover any applicable costs before the meeting ends. These costs need to be rendered in cash.
Meeting Times and Place
All meetings will be held at the time and place as best suited to the local chapter. It is understood that most meetings will take place on the weekends but they are not limited to a Saturday or Sunday. The local chapter will be responsible for establishing meeting times, places and how long a meeting may last. For most meetings, one to two hours will be sufficient.
Meeting Notifications
It will be the responsibility of the CAS Organizers to notify all Society members about the activities of all established local chapters. This notification will, at a minimum, be an email notification sent to all members. The notifications will include information such as meeting time and place, meeting purpose and if applicable, cost. Each local chapter will be required to submit meeting times, locations and the itinerary of the meeting to the CAS Organizers to be placed on the CAS website or email notification to be distributed to all Society members. These notifications should be submitted no less than thirty days before the meeting is held. If a manufacturer or industry professional will be in attendance, minimum advanced notice will be sixty days. It will be the responsibility of each local chapter to provide the CAS Organizers this information.
All Society members are encouraged to invite their friends and acquaintances who are or may be interested to join a local chapter and attend a meeting. Word of mouth is an important path to growth and an important recipe for success. If there are further questions, please feel free to contact either of the CAS Organizers below:
Mike Twomey- Big Kids Toys, Greensboro, NC
Paul Wilson- Future Audiophile, Charlotte, NC
Happy Listening!