Is DIY worth it ?

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got to add a post here....2 years ago I had never even heard of a capacitor, I dont care what the cost is...I am struggling financially : its a superb educational hobby...I not heard anything in a shop that remotely compares to my set up....If it burns or smells :so what...what a boring thing to do: just go in a shop and buy!! Money is not the be all and end all. I cant deny money helps but its not everything
 
The answer yes, DIY is worth every penny.

I'm into DIY just because it is fun a lot better than sitting in front of television and wasting my life away.

You also get a lot of friends who have the same interest just great to then you share the experience is a given.

Anders
 
I'm just wondering wether or not to dip my feet into the DIY speaker World. I've got a pair of B&W DM683s which are beautiful but I would like to try a pair of 802D's. Second hand they can be got for about £5000 but is there anything DIY that can reliably outperform them ?

KatieandDad just to answer your question regarding DIY speakers, you might want to try this relatively inexpensive speaker build. Lots of information and the speaker gurus here at diyaudio are doing backflips over the sound that they are getting versus the dollar cost.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...k-building-cornu-spiral-horn-now-you-can.html

With a shopping list of a pair of 3" full range speaker (can be from a previous project or something you have lying around), foam core board from your local Pound store, glue (hot melt, latex caulking, or white school type), some wire, a grommet, a printout, and insulation (pillow stuffing or rock wool).

It is now on the top of the list for speaker projects for me. Total cost so far has been $10 Canadian in foam core boards. I have some leftover 3" satellite speakers from an in-law blown up home theatre system and plywood from repairing my bathroom floor. I need the caulking and I am promised something that will make me rethink my full sized speakers.
 
One guy said it's not the result so much as the journey. I like that. DIY is very good for the brain, which like muscles is a "use it or lose it" kind of organ. TV with all it's bullsh*t will turn any brain into cr*p, if that's all you do. If it perks your interest, and motivates you to go further I'd say it's worth it. If you have a bunch of knowledge on the subject, then it's a shame not to use that knowledge. Building a better future is great spiritually, and it spills over into the rest of your life spiritually. As expensive as it can be at times, it's way cheaper than a "shrink" (psychologist), and way more effective, from my experience.

The audio field (and perhaps most other fields these days) is highly corrupted by charlatans making all kinds of ridiculous claims, in order to get your money. You can spend $2 or $35 for a polyprop cap. You will NOT hear a difference unless you've convinced yourself that you will. Speaker wire is perhaps the biggest joke. 16AWG AC line cord from the hardware store is fine for up to 15 feet. It's the connectors that are the weak link, not the wire. Gold alloy doesn't corrode (oxidize) so that's worth it on connectors, and solder the wires to the banana connector; the set screw gets loose over time. Monoblocks is a joke too. AC line conditioning filters are VERY rarely going to make any difference. The 3886 chip amps are excellent, and will never be the weak link of any system, unless you just needed more power. Decent tone controls are a must. I prefer a 4 section Baxandall design (variable slope, not shelving).

The way I see it, I recognize that whatever I build, I'll be stuck with that for many years. I'll look at it and listen to it every day. So it's worth it to me to make things as good as I can, but with the money spent wisely. The Linkwitzlab.com website is a great source of education even if you don't want to go with open baffle (which are great if it's practical to position them at least 3 ft. away from any walls). My website would be a great education for most hobbyists. There are many other good sites, but many many many websites are full of bullsh*t. If you read enough you may develop the ability to tell the difference.

For speakers, I have found Peerless to be competitive with the worlds best, at some of the lowest prices out there. Dayton Audio is another very good and inexpensive brand. They aren't as pretty as Seas or ScanSpeak or other highend brands, but from a technical point of view they are for all practical purposes just as good (depending on the specific driver). Sometimes better.

Check out my hobby website. Check out my credentials there too. I'm not trying to sell anything to anybody. Just sharing my knowledge and passion for those who can appreciate it. I'm a 57 yr old semi-retired Engineering Tech who's been doing this since gradeschool (early 1960's). My system blows my mind when the source material is good.

Bob's Website
 
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yes, he did
but does it really need any reason at all
either you llike it, or you don't
like any other hobby or activity, it cost money
and in the end, its just another way of wasting money, and precious time
well...maybe I should have said spending and not wasting :D
its either this, or something else
 
My nephew asked me if I thought he should buy a bass guitar and amp, and get in a band (I've played guitar semi-pro since 1970). I thought about it and then told him; "If you have to ask that question, then probably not". But what got me started was the passion of others that were doing it in a way that clicked with me, and of coarse my love of music. It's like it was about chance. A series of events came together in a certain way at the right time (?) It seems like much of life happens that way.
 
One guy said it's not the result so much as the journey.
Yes, see the thread that overtheair linked.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...k-building-cornu-spiral-horn-now-you-can.html[/QUOTE]

Truly the most rewarding builds I can remember. Creative and confounding. Surely something so fast, easy, lightweight and cheap couldn't sound like that could it? Hey it's not gonna take over the world but I bet you call someone to come for over for a listen. ;)

KatieandDad doing backflips over the sound that they are getting versus the dollar cost.
The funnest build I can remember and I've been doing it long enough to have forgotten many of my builds. :)
If it don't cost money, then it is work and no hobby :)
Yup :)
 

Truly the most rewarding builds I can remember. Creative and confounding. Surely something so fast, easy, lightweight and cheap couldn't sound like that could it? Hey it's not gonna take over the world but I bet you call someone to come for over for a listen. ;)


The funnest build I can remember and I've been doing it long enough to have forgotten many of my builds. :)

Yup :)[/QUOTE]

Hi Cal,

I remember that speaker the young fella brought to Al Wooley's place years ago that used helical wound electrical wire for the internal horn. I believe you were there for that one. I've never shook free from the impression that speaker made!

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
I'd consider those Behringers a minimum for home stereo. If you just wanted to listen to music (instead of tweaking forever), my point is that you couldn't spend less and get more.

At the other end of the scale, it's easy, especially when you look at "HiFi" gear (studio gear appears to be more difficult to beat): that stuff is (so far as I've seen) always sold with a huge profit margin. The Neat Motive range, for example, uses Peerless midbasses at £16 a pop. The completed speakers cost circa £1000.
I could probably build something similar for a couple of hundred pounds, or spend £1000 and build something that would annihilate them.

Going further up the scale to the really expensive gear, and I expect bigger still profit margins, which again makes them easy to beat.

Part of DIY is the challenge. Getting better performance than commercial HiFi speakers at a similar price is fairly easy. Outdoing Behringer, with the massive economies of scale in their favour, that is where the challenges are.

Chris

never heard them but I would not be surprised that they pack a bang for dollar punch.

Unlike the majority of you, I guess I just want the destination and suffer the journey.

NOT that I knew where I'd end up (lots of luck I got to where I am, which is a good place) but now I am here I'm happy. Most of you guys love the builds and the challenge and move on to the next project eagerly.

So I guess that means diy can answer a lot of disparate reasons.
 
Unlike the majority of you, I guess I just want the destination and suffer the journey.

NOT that I knew where I'd end up (lots of luck I got to where I am, which is a good place) but now I am here I'm happy. Most of you guys love the builds and the challenge and move on to the next project eagerly.

So I guess that means diy can answer a lot of disparate reasons.

True

As much as I love listening... I just love the journey, building this stuff, thinking about building it, trying to understand how it works, getting better at doing it. THAT is what I really enjoy.
 
True

As much as I love listening... I just love the journey, building this stuff, thinking about building it, trying to understand how it works, getting better at doing it. THAT is what I really enjoy.

I like the idea of building excellent gear that I couldn't afford otherwise, being the supreme cheapskate that I am.

I dream of a genuine SOTA system costing in the hundreds of (pennies, quarters or, if I come into a lot of money...maybe dollars!
 
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DIY for me is significantly less expensive than what I'd have to spend, on the open market, for the things I build. This has taken years of learning to achieve mind you, but that's the other side of it, I love building things and pushing my capabilities, so that I end up increasing my skill set. The other main advantage is being able to build stuff that is bespoke and fits exactly to my needs, stuff you can't buy. Then there's the fun and sense of satisfaction, which is priceless.
 
DIY for me is significantly less expensive than what I'd have to spend, on the open market, for the things I build. This has taken years of learning to achieve mind you, but that's the other side of it, I love building things and pushing my capabilities, so that I end up increasing my skill set. The other main advantage is being able to build stuff that is bespoke and fits exactly to my needs, stuff you can't buy. Then there's the fun and sense of satisfaction, which is priceless.

Thank you! You've covered the reasons that I left out of my post.
 
Mixed answer

There are 3 types of of audio DIY , whether they are worth it is subjective.(depends on how much a fanatic you REALLY are :D )

1. A full build with new parts - depending on your sourcing (ebay -barter) and building skills you should exceed the quality of any OEM. An example would be
my "badger" amp that I will soon build . 300-350 USD ... new toriods,case ,caps
semi's. Looking at something comparable (powerwise) , I find the Alesis Ra-500 -250USD ,audiosource 310 - 550USD .... typical class AB amps.
Besides most likely having better semi's and passives , I would have the satisfaction of having built it myself - it seems to "even out" with the 550USD amp (my time is worth at least 200$).

2.Ebay or salvaged OEM - very rewarding to recap a classic amp , maybe upgrade other components. This can actually be profitable (also depending on skillful sourcing).

3. My favorite - the full "salvage job" . Find certain E-wastes ,throw them all together - have something for nearly free. (below sub/trafo , amp heatsinks , and output semi's). Sometimes you might have to buy a few dollars in assorted hardware , but in the end it is just labor intensive.

With experience and networking, DIY can be more cost effective than OEM and certainly more rewarding :) .

OS
 

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I finally fabricated the chassis for my pre/proc amp for my stereo holographic soundbar just now. Front and rear panels anyway. It's a 17 x 12 x 3 inch aluminum chassis (Hammond). It'll have about 13 circuit boards in it (most mounted vertically), a total of 33 dual opamps. Circuits I've been optimizing for months or years in some cases. It feels good to finally see the physical form taking shape. I'm having a "nerd thrill" :)
 

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