DIY audio, where to get started?

[MRC01]

You also have to remember that looking good matters. Performance aside, the aesthetics matter a lot. If it does not look good, parting out is likely the endgame. I've been there a few times.
...
The buyer has to be savvy enough to know they are getting a quality built product, that performs well for a comparable to commercial valued price. ...

True. The only reason I got top dollar for the passive attenuator that I built was because I used fancy heavy aluminum knobs & case, connectors, switches, etc. So it looked as good as it performed, a hand-crafted heavy chunk of audiophilia. And I found a savvy buyer. OTOH, the phono head amp that I built wasn't as fancy. I used an aluminum case & switches from Radio Shack, batteries from Tower Hobbies. This saved me money and didn't affect performance; it was at least as good as the best head amps that Amir has measured here. But it sold for less than the cost of the parts. That's fine with me, I got 15 years of use out of it and am glad another audiophile is enjoying it.

I still encourage DIY because it's educational and fun, with great satisfaction in listening to gear you built yourself. But for the majority of us who do this as a hobby rather than as a profession, don't expect what you build to have resale value - don't do it for the money.

 

[Plcamp]

Speaking of DIY audio, a major speaker driver manufacturer defines xmax for their drivers as below…

“(Xmax: Voice coil height minus top plate thickness, divided by 2). The Xmax figures on this website are expressed as the greater of the result of the formula above or the excursion point of the woofer where THD reahes 10%.”

So I think that the part in brackets tells me their xmax spec is one way and not pk-pk but that second part makes everything about the spec ambiguous.

They claim their xmax spec is very conservative.

I claim that when everyone has a different definition of what their spec says, the spec is not useful.

 

[Ricardus]

I think yours is a good suggestion about Akitika.

I've been eyeing the Akitika PR102 preamp: $500 in kit form -- or $700 assembled. But given my 50/50 success record assembling electronic kits I realize that the extra 200 bucks might be well-spent.

So did you build it?

Also, has Amir ever tested one of these? It didn't come up on a search so probably not.

 

[Gorgonzola]

So did you build it?

Also, has Amir ever tested one of these? It didn't come up on a search so probably not.

Nope, neither built it nor bought it, (Akitika PR102 preamp). It's still an attractive item, though.

 

[Ricardus]

Nope, neither built it nor bought it, (Akitika PR102 preamp). It's still an attractive item, though.

It's on my build list. I am inheriting some sort of vintage-ish Macintosh power amp and this will be the front end.

 

[badspeakerdesigner]

DIY will be rewarding, if you like to build things by yourself.
If you want to optimize financially, you have to go for the high end build or things which are not readily available on the market i.e:
- fully active 4 ways with DSP,
- 3 way speakers with 15 or 18 inches woofers and horn loaded compression driver (think PA stuff, but hifi).
- line arrays...etc
If you just aim for a KEF R3 clone, you will be better buying the real thing, from a financial perspective.

I think this is the best approach for diy, making something that you really can't otherwise afford/get.

I can't afford a big three way premade from any company, but I can build one for a fraction of a fraction of the cost.

 

[Steven Holt]

Oh, don't get started. Repair is one thing (I applaud that) but ground up is quite another. You will NEVER build a speaker as good as JBL, KEF, Neumann...ad infinitum. Like to work with your hands? Wonderful!! Make bookcases.

 

[badspeakerdesigner]

Oh, don't get started. Repair is one thing (I applaud that) but ground up is quite another. You will NEVER build a speaker as good as JBL, KEF, Neumann...ad infinitum. Like to work with your hands? Wonderful!! Make bookcases.

Huh?

DXT-MON | 5 ″ 1 ″ | Near field monitor | Compact speaker

Passive compact speaker with monitor qualities, equipped with Seas DXT 27TBCD / GB and Wavecor WF152BD06.

heissmann-acoustics.de

 

[Steven Holt]

Huh?

DXT-MON | 5 ″ 1 ″ | Near field monitor | Compact speaker

Passive compact speaker with monitor qualities, equipped with Seas DXT 27TBCD / GB and Wavecor WF152BD06.

heissmann-acoustics.de

my point still stands; this is not from the ground-up.

 

[badspeakerdesigner]

my point still stands; this is not from the ground-up.

It was from the ground up for the designer at one point.

"don't bother, you will never do anything as good as established companies" just isn't accurate. I've made some two waveguided two ways that definitely compete with products from JBL for instance. If I can do it, others can.

 

[somebodyelse]

Another ground-up build with respectable measurements - 2 if you count the redesign later in the thread:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/revel-m105-copy-diy-build.29465/

 

[ShadowFiend]

Oh, don't get started. Repair is one thing (I applaud that) but ground up is quite another. You will NEVER build a speaker as good as JBL, KEF, Neumann...ad infinitum. Like to work with your hands? Wonderful!! Make bookcases.

What a defeatist attitude. Have you ever heard about Dutch & Dutch 8C?

As with any profession out there, you need to study the theory, get familiar with tools (hardware, and especially software for simulation), know how to make measurement to get good result. But compete with JBL, KEF, Neumann is not impossible.

 

[Bach]

The (only) way to get good satisfaction from building a loudspeaker is as an employee of a loudspeaker manufacturer.

 

[montyliam]

The (only) way to get good satisfaction from building a loudspeaker is as an employee of a loudspeaker manufacturer.

Obviously you've never built a successful DIY speaker