Why do you diy?

[RogerG]

Just to get some feedback, I want to ask what got you all into audio/diy?

For me; music is just a passion of a sort. Since I was a kid it's been big in my life. Dad introduced me to the early metal of the '60's/70's and it just went from there. At 10 I started playing drums. Around that time I also got my first reciever.

Those two things put me on this path. Growing up we were broke so I got gear that people either gave me or threw out. I started learning about it because I would melt down something and didn't have the means to replace it.

Mom would sell her soul to buy me a book if she had to. All ways said reading was the most important thing a kid could do. And dad was a mechanic, so we had tool. I got books on audio repair and basic electronics and learned to fix my junk. It helped that back then you could order everything you needed from radioshack for about $30.00!

In school I played drums for a few jam bands and worked to learn more about it. I got into different kinds of music and learned a lot. Of course, couldn't leave a working thing be, tweeking the drum kits I played for new sounds came as nature.

Now I'm nearly thirty. Not old yet but haven't really come to far from those days. I don't play anymore but still stay active with local acts. Metal, mostly. I still can't buy what I want. I still want to do things myself. I did assemble this computer. Quite nice for less than 500 bucks. Build my own loudspeakers, though I use the specs from the driver makers. As a mechanic myself, fixing and modifying things is what I do. Diy audio gear is just the next step for me.

"If you want to become at something, surround yourself with greatness". So, here I am. Would love to hear what brought you all here.

Roger

[Fuling]

My interest for DIY started when I was 11 or 12 years old and just had started playing guitar in (some kinda) band.
The amp I had was way too small to match the drums, so I needed something bigger.
Big guitar amps are expensive, and I figured that it might be cheaper to build one.
I started reading books about electronics, later on I studied more seriously in school. At that time I also got interested in hifi, particulary DIY hifi.
Now, some 13-14 years later I´ve built lots of speakers and amps, both transistor and tube. I´m still waiting to build that big guitar amp, though

[Vivek]

Hello Roger,
Nothing can beat the thrill of listening to my favourtie CDs on equipment built with my own hands. An added bouns is that you can save tons of money by making stuff on your own.
I got interested in electronics seeing my uncle build stuff. He would never let anyone near his workbench. I used to creep into his room quite often because the sight of components and meters fascinated me. I first took apart an old Philips turntable, which I could never put back together. I started building small circuits when I was about 14 years old.

Vivek

[Cal Weldon]

My interest is strictly speakers. At about 10, I thought it was pretty neat that all a speaker could do is vibrate, yet in those vibrations were instruments and voices, all perfectly discernible, all happening at the same time. Pretty amazing for something that can only vibrate. Now thirty something years later, I still feel like that wide eyed kid of yesteryear and continue to build for no apparent reason other than it's my only real hobby.

Cal

[mwmkravchenko]

Because as the gentlemen above stated.

I love music.

Spent 6 years as an amateur musician playing french horn and trumpet. Can still read music and play at the trumpet. No where as good as I used to be but what the heck.

The music that I like includes Pipe Organ. Hardly anybody makes speakers that do the music justice. So I started building my own.
I built my first speakers when I was 13. They wern't half bad. I read all the audio mags and decided that the good stuff was just too much money. ( At the ripe old age of 13 mind you ) But when you listen to it your hooked. ( I have to thank my uncle for that great beginning ) So without the bucks to buy I went the pompas kid route. I'll build the stuff. After all someone else did it. Right! I mean how hard could it be?

Well we all find out how hard and how rewarding it can be.

I like pushing the envelope. So know I've done amps, preamps working on some EQ stuff for the low end. Done most types of speakers except ESL which is in the works sometime this year. ( Something called money )

MArk

[mpmarino]

Because it's more addictive than oxycontin and nicotine put together.