I"m like one of those crazy speed freaks that starts takeing appart everything I can find just to see what is inside , Minus the speed of course ....
I guess it is a form of tinkering insanity , and when you actualy create something that works ,sounds great and is unique you sort of redeam your self and think " Im not that crazy after all " , then go an take appart the TV while the wife is watching it .....
I guess it is a form of tinkering insanity , and when you actualy create something that works ,sounds great and is unique you sort of redeam your self and think " Im not that crazy after all " , then go an take appart the TV while the wife is watching it .....
That's how I started.... I wasn't even in school yet so young, get a Christmas present, played with it for five minutes, get dad's tools and take it apart
Carries through today.... listen to something for an hour... then pull it apart
Cheers!
It's my fix, man! It's about doing something great that no-one around me can, or even understands.
Mostly it's about controlling the whole process, start-to-end and being responsible for the ultimate performance. BTW, how the final product looks is of secondary importance to me, except when I'm building it for someone else.
But more than that, I know about how products are designed, what compromises are made, and the actual cost of parts in relation to retail cost and performance (there is no hard and fast rule). So, I reckon, if I'm going to reward myself with good sound, I'd better be there to ensure that I can squeeze the best out of my resources.
Good Grief! How many more of me is there on the internet??!!
Being part of an international community and learning about new things all the time is another aspect of DIY that satisfies me.
It is a creative outlet and a welcome distraction. I am a conservation biology / vet-med major and DIY gives me something completely different to focus on when I want to take a break. I grew up around electronics, learned to solder and build simple circuits when I was old enough to stand at the bench with my dad. After high school I took a different path because it was where my heart was. DIY audio has given me a way to reconnect with my dad, with that part of my youth, and maybe with something I forgot about. I enjoy the challenge and more so, I enjoy the end result.
I would say that right now the number one reason is that I am poor, but...
I love music and I love the tinkering. My allegiance lies with tubes and high efficiency speakers, lately I have been tinkering with simple Nelson Pass inspired circuits. I like the challenge of making something as simple as possible, but no more. I love that feeling you get when you hear all your favorite music for the first time through a new build, and it is really like your first time. I love when you are playing something in the background and all of a sudden it just grabs you and sucks you in. I love the 3:00AM listening sessions under the glow of the tubes, THAT is the best. Eyes closed, just out there in the ether, you get those little chills down your back. I love switching on a new creation for the first time and it works! I am sure every DIYAudio person has felt it before. It is almost like I am 10 again on Christmas morning, I run and grab my girlfriend all giddy and excited. Especially when you switch it on and wonderful music pours forth, that is when your significant other walks in and asks you why you are drooling and not blinking.
I would have to say that there is one reason though that tops them all, and that is the community. I am by no means seasoned, but I try to offer the best and most knowledgeable advice I can. The reason I do this, and the reason I keep learning more so I can do this, is because that is what the people here did when I started. Everyone here is so helpful and friendly, I have always gotten help and encouragement. If for no other reason, one should try DIY just to meet all the great people.
Good luck on the paper and as always, happy listening!
James
what and why
1. DIYA is about understanding your own audio needs and then getting theory and practice enough aligned to yield a satisfying result.
2. I do it because it represents the intersection of engineering (technology) and passion/emotion (music)
I'd like to see your assembled report out when its ready.
JiminRichmond
1. DIYA is about understanding your own audio needs and then getting theory and practice enough aligned to yield a satisfying result.
2. I do it because it represents the intersection of engineering (technology) and passion/emotion (music)
I'd like to see your assembled report out when its ready.
JiminRichmond
I can't play any insruments and I wanted to be part of the process. I design/repair/mod a lot of studio gear so the home gear just came with the territory.
The same reason guys build street rods, RC planes or anything else. I have a need to make something that's cool and gives me bragging rights to other guys.
The same reason guys build street rods, RC planes or anything else. I have a need to make something that's cool and gives me bragging rights to other guys.
It seems that many of the reasons given so far are one's that I can agree with, however I think at a deeper level it boils down to a quest for knowledge and accomplishment. I believe that, to me at least, it is a deep-rooted desire to be self sufficient in every respect. I simply can't stand to pay someone else to do that which I feel that I should be able to do for myself. Growing up in the 50's around logging communities, it wasn't uncommon for people to do just about everything for themselves, from hunting and fishing, splitting their own firewood, repairing or remodeling their homes, fixing their cars and a few even had stills!
Being around relatives and people that were used to fending for themselves, not afraid to work and having a strong sense of self worth and independence probably influenced me a great deal in my formative years. Evidently this close correlation between nature and nurture sealed my fate and to fight the urge to create, understand and master the various aspects of the physical world would be a struggle against a preordained destiny.
Even today, I still admire the youngster that builds the worst looking tree fort far more than one that has mastered a video game.
I like doing diy stuff and I enjoy being around diy people, as I find them to be more open minded and alive to new ideas and techniques. In short, just a lot more interesting group of people.
(An afterthought: Am I the only one here that that thinks that The World's Fastest Indian was a great movie?)
Best Regards,
TerryO
Being around relatives and people that were used to fending for themselves, not afraid to work and having a strong sense of self worth and independence probably influenced me a great deal in my formative years. Evidently this close correlation between nature and nurture sealed my fate and to fight the urge to create, understand and master the various aspects of the physical world would be a struggle against a preordained destiny.
Even today, I still admire the youngster that builds the worst looking tree fort far more than one that has mastered a video game.
I like doing diy stuff and I enjoy being around diy people, as I find them to be more open minded and alive to new ideas and techniques. In short, just a lot more interesting group of people.
(An afterthought: Am I the only one here that that thinks that The World's Fastest Indian was a great movie?)
Best Regards,
TerryO
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No, The "Worlds Fastest Indian" was indeed a splendid movie!
If'n you happen to like a great plot, absence of jellied gasoline generated explosions, no gratuitous violence, and a paucity of car wrecks!!
If you've not seen it, you're missing a good one!
(should indeed appeal to all DIY'ers)
Best, Don
If'n you happen to like a great plot, absence of jellied gasoline generated explosions, no gratuitous violence, and a paucity of car wrecks!!
If you've not seen it, you're missing a good one!
(should indeed appeal to all DIY'ers)
Best, Don
Why?
I dont know
I started building various horns when I was 14, 40years ago
Aint that something
All the right reasons have been mentioned in all previous posts
Im not sure why I continue, because I dont really need any more stuff
And I have achieved all I wanted
And every time I have finished a project I say, last one, never again, too demanding, and costly
But I still do it, over and over again
I cant help it
I just need it like a drug
Its probably mostly the excitement, I guess
I dont know why really
Maybe I just love doing it, its fun, its a challenge, maybe no other special reason
Oh yeah, the joy of having built something that beats all the commercial stuff
Strange to imagine that it takes lot more years to learn than to learn to build a house or repair a car or whatever
I suppose its because the possibilities are endless
Lots of space fore creativity
I dont know
I started building various horns when I was 14, 40years ago
Aint that something
All the right reasons have been mentioned in all previous posts
Im not sure why I continue, because I dont really need any more stuff
And I have achieved all I wanted
And every time I have finished a project I say, last one, never again, too demanding, and costly
But I still do it, over and over again
I cant help it
I just need it like a drug
Its probably mostly the excitement, I guess
I dont know why really
Maybe I just love doing it, its fun, its a challenge, maybe no other special reason
Oh yeah, the joy of having built something that beats all the commercial stuff
Strange to imagine that it takes lot more years to learn than to learn to build a house or repair a car or whatever
I suppose its because the possibilities are endless
Lots of space fore creativity
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Don,
I actually would be surprised if any diy'ers didn't like it!
A friend of many years once opined that I never asked a question that I didn't already know the answer to. That's nonsense of course, but I'm fairly certain on this one.
How's everything going up your way? How many feet of snow has fallen so far?
Down here in Sunny Seattle, it usually stays in the upper 70's and lower 80's until late April, when it starts to warm up.
(OK, maybe it gets a "little" cooler than that during Seattle's Winter)
Best regards,
TerryO
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1. What is DIY Audio to you?
I read somewhere (I think it's from a Buddhist philosophy) that: Creation is happiness.
2. Why do you do it?
I feel a deep sense of accomplishment when doing it. Also I like the challenge of a new project having to learn and then "do". Also, I find quite irritating that some individuals try to sell insignificant products at ridiculous prices. DIY enables me to partially circumnavigate this fact. I am also find a kind of "brotherhood" through all of these threads, it may be summarized as "helpful and respectful". Above all It shows how international this "brotherhood" is.
Hope it helps
Regards,
Eric
I read somewhere (I think it's from a Buddhist philosophy) that: Creation is happiness.
2. Why do you do it?
I feel a deep sense of accomplishment when doing it. Also I like the challenge of a new project having to learn and then "do". Also, I find quite irritating that some individuals try to sell insignificant products at ridiculous prices. DIY enables me to partially circumnavigate this fact. I am also find a kind of "brotherhood" through all of these threads, it may be summarized as "helpful and respectful". Above all It shows how international this "brotherhood" is.
Hope it helps
Regards,
Eric
This is probably an explanation of why I don't/cannot DIY.
It's my Hobby. I sort of always wanted to do some DIY. Now my knowledge(half) of components has risen due to DIYAUDIO. Here, I can never buy the components of audio quality(simply, not available). I cannot buy any seconds/used audio gear at my place as it is not available. I am very much unsure(terrified) of Indian customs too. So, I am keeping my DIY pending till I buy some good quality speakers(better than Sony). Best for me would be to buy some Fostex drivers and build the boxes. Carpentry or any other hand work is very easy for me.
Why?
It's the only way I can end up having quality audio nobody around has. My DIY will be cheap by International stds but will be too costly for ours.
By the way, a little better is also enough for people here. I had this ESP 3 way active crossover and some 6 crappy amps(ETI480 and TDAs) driving the cheap self made speakers using Phillips drivers. Later, reading here, I found that I used a very audiophile material unknowingly i.e. cement bonded particle board. Their sound also stunned many who entered my house. But my self demands are high now and I don't have any DIY audio at present.
I DIYed my new furniture and it was soooo cheap.
Gajanan Phadte
It's my Hobby. I sort of always wanted to do some DIY. Now my knowledge(half) of components has risen due to DIYAUDIO. Here, I can never buy the components of audio quality(simply, not available). I cannot buy any seconds/used audio gear at my place as it is not available. I am very much unsure(terrified) of Indian customs too. So, I am keeping my DIY pending till I buy some good quality speakers(better than Sony). Best for me would be to buy some Fostex drivers and build the boxes. Carpentry or any other hand work is very easy for me.
Why?
It's the only way I can end up having quality audio nobody around has. My DIY will be cheap by International stds but will be too costly for ours.
By the way, a little better is also enough for people here. I had this ESP 3 way active crossover and some 6 crappy amps(ETI480 and TDAs) driving the cheap self made speakers using Phillips drivers. Later, reading here, I found that I used a very audiophile material unknowingly i.e. cement bonded particle board. Their sound also stunned many who entered my house. But my self demands are high now and I don't have any DIY audio at present.
I DIYed my new furniture and it was soooo cheap.
Gajanan Phadte
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