Burning Amp Festival 2024!

Burning Amp returns to the Wine Country for 2024!  Please continue to look for updates below as we finalize details.

Dates

October 19-20, 2024

Location

Petaluma Community Center – Petaluma California

The Petaluma Community Center is 40 miles North of San Francisco.  There is plenty of parking.  (Google Map Link)

Lodging / Transportation

The Best Western Petaluma Inn is 4 tenths of a mile from the Community Center and was a popular hotel for BAF 2023.

The three most common airports used for those flying in are:

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) – 52 miles with a shuttle service (see below)

San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport (OAK) – 53 miles with a shuttle service (see below)

Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport (STS) – 24 miles

The Sonoma County Airport Express runs every hour from SFO and every two hours from Oakland airport. Tickets are $42 each way. It drops off at the Fairgrounds 6 tenths of a mile from the hotel.

Dining

We will have food trucks at the event.  Continue to watch this page for updates.  We have some exciting options.

For morning and evening meals, the Best Western has a breakfast available.  

There is a large shopping center across the street from the Community Center with plenty of dining options.

Events

Amp Camp

DiyAudio and Burning Amp festival’s patron saint, Nelson Pass, together with Uncle Mike (Mike Rothacher) have come up with a new amplifier.  It is easy to build and easy on your ears. Zenductor II is major upgrade on last year’s design. You will want to be in on this one. Approximately 25-30 seats will be available for the Saturday build. Expert help will be on hand to guide attendees through the build. Stay tuned for more information on how to register, purchase tickets, etc.

Speaker Camp

DIYRM’s Scott Hinson has come up with a nifty design called NC-434, or Noob Cube for short. It’s a killer design in a small package. Scott and other experts will be at the event to help builders put a pair of speakers together. Don’t miss this one. Details in this post on the BAF 2024 thread.

Presentations and Speakers

The Burning Amp festival has been fortunate to have had audio luminaries such as Nelson Pass and Siegfried Linkwitz speak at past events. This year there are a few names you might recognize:

NameTopicDescription
Jim TiemannNuts and bolts amp buildingJim has built many amps and written build guides for several of them. Here he will tell you how to get started, avoid common pitfalls, and share tips and tricks of amp building.
Tom Christiansen♫ Rolling, rolling, rolling … ♬ The trials and tribulations of opamp rollingTom will talk about opamp basics (loop analysis, phase margin, gain margin), compare a few discrete opamps and some IC opamps wrt stability, show measurements, and answer questions on opamp rolling.
Mark JohnsonTransistor matching for woodworkers, record collectors, and musiciansRecognizing that many DIYers consider themselves to be “loudspeaker builders” or “keyboard players” or “record collectors”
rather than “hardcore electronics hobbyists”, the talk will avoid engineering and mathematics and theory. Instead an informal and pragmatic “anyone can match their own transistors at home” approach will be taken.
Scott HinsonEverything There is to Know About Crossover DesignScott will walk us through the different methods of crossover design and the types of issues you can run into.
Nelson PassZenductor II and the Latest ScoopNelson will describe the Amp Camp amp, Zenductor II, and share other goodies.

Event Tickets

Buy tickets here.

Volunteer Sign-Up

Sign-up to volunteer and help the team out at BAF. We need people to monitor listening rooms, help during presentations, and orient newcomers.

Schedule

Subject to change.

TimeEventRoom
Friday, Oct 18
6 pm – 8 pmSetup for amp camp and speaker campCraft 1
Day 1: Saturday, Oct 19
8:30 am – 4 pmRegistrationCraft 1
8:30 am – noonAmp CampCraft 1
Speaker CampPreschool
System setupConf2, Club Room
Noon – 1:30 pmLunchFood trucks
1:30 pm – 5 pmListening sessionConf2, Preschool, Club Room
5 pm – 6:30 pmDinnerOff-site
6:30 pm – 9 pmReception (TBD)Conf2, Preschool, Club Room
Day 2: Sunday, Oct 20
8:30 am – 6 pmSystem setup and listeningConf 2, Preschool, Club Room
10 am – 11:30 amPresentations:
Jim Tiemann
Mark Johnson
Tom Christiansen
Meeting Room
Noon – 1:00 pmLunchFood trucks
1 pm – 3 pmPresentations:
Scott Hinson
Nelson Pass
Meeting Room
3 pm – 4 pmAuctionMeeting Room
4 pm – 5 pmRaffleMeeting Room
5 pm – 7 pmPack-upAll rooms

Map

Map of Petaluma Conference Center