Sorry for using excessive hyperbole.
I have no problem building from kits - I've built the bottlehead gear and the instructions are quite good. I'm most concerned with speakers, however, as the carpentry skills here are far more technical than soldering, and they require tools I don't have. I'd prefer to buy these pre-made.
In general, I'd prefer to buy used than make from scratch, but as many SET afficiando's have noticed, some of the best gear can't be purchased, but must be made. Luckily, some small companies build equipment to commonly known specificiations, like Voigt pipes. However, if I need to get my hands dirty for a few weekends doing soldering, etc., I haven't a problem with that. I've taken enormous pride in making my little Bottlehead Foreplay kit.
Just to set expectations, my estimate of $18,000 isn't cash sitting in the bank - I'm planning on selling $10-12,000 of equipment to move in this direction. I might keep my preamp, but my speakers and amplifier, plus some of my wiring simply isn't congruent with the SET philosophy. Hence, I'm suggesting that I'd invest another $6-8,000 if necessary to get a wonderful system.
I have no problem building from kits - I've built the bottlehead gear and the instructions are quite good. I'm most concerned with speakers, however, as the carpentry skills here are far more technical than soldering, and they require tools I don't have. I'd prefer to buy these pre-made.
In general, I'd prefer to buy used than make from scratch, but as many SET afficiando's have noticed, some of the best gear can't be purchased, but must be made. Luckily, some small companies build equipment to commonly known specificiations, like Voigt pipes. However, if I need to get my hands dirty for a few weekends doing soldering, etc., I haven't a problem with that. I've taken enormous pride in making my little Bottlehead Foreplay kit.
Just to set expectations, my estimate of $18,000 isn't cash sitting in the bank - I'm planning on selling $10-12,000 of equipment to move in this direction. I might keep my preamp, but my speakers and amplifier, plus some of my wiring simply isn't congruent with the SET philosophy. Hence, I'm suggesting that I'd invest another $6-8,000 if necessary to get a wonderful system.