Check out Falcon Acoustics. I’ve owned 2 kits, the IMF100 and the Q7!
For the love of...kits?
My foray into audio began with speakers, then amps, and other components. Subs and room acoustics came next. And so on.
Early on, trying to find good sound meant doing a lot of research about brands and, to the degree possible, about the designs and parts used by better components.
Upgrading my stuff came next -- improving capacitors, volume pots, and other aspects of my gear. I’m lucky to have an amazing tech and builder in town. He’s been a godsend.
I have largely shifted away from the new market. If I do make changes, it’s nearly always buying and selling used. I sold some stuff, bought other stuff, compared and contrasted.
The tech mentioned above has sold me one amazing preamp and has loaned me a number of great pieces he’s built, either from kits or DIY. These have included an autoformer preamp, solid state preamp (based around a Burson buffer) and a really impressive Hypex-based Class D amp. All these units look nice enough, but not fancy. But, they’re dead quiet and have all the inputs and outputs you could want or need. Recently, he also loaned me quite a sweet little headphone amp. Also, quite amazing.
Yesterday, I purchased an Akitika GT-102 amplifier for a mere $450 on USAM. It’s hugely upgraded and I’m beginning to listen to it -- comparing it to my Pass XA-25 (as Herb Reichert did a while back) and my Quicksilver Mono 60’s.
I’m not sure, but I’m starting to get the distinct feeling that if one knows which DIY stuff to buy, which kits, the path to really amazing sound is not necessarily that expensive. In other words, a little knowledge can save a lot of money.
I’ll be looking at speaker kits, next.
This is not to say that DIY or kits replaces most of the finely made and researched gear out there. Rather, that for someone looking for the best sound for the money, they could do a lot worse than (a) really smart used shopping and (b) used kits or DIY kits of higher quality (such as Pass’s Amp Camp stuff, or the Akitika kit I just got, assembled).
Over and out.
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To me, the measure of a true audiophile is a person who trusts their own ears over the price tag or brand. As soon as you shake off those mental shackles and decide only your own ears and enjoyment matters you not only enjoy the hobby a lot more but you spend a lot less. Tinkerers and experimenters built the entire industry and the more of them we have contributing in forums the better off our hobby is. |
*G* Seems like y'all got back some of that ol' time religion.... ;) I enjoy my jousting about my approach to our common enthusiasm, even more 'breaking in' one of my 'steam-punk' speakers....atypical, Yes. But having a high percentage not only work, but to my fractured ears, actually sound Good.... No warranty issues, either....*L* (Know the builder well....typ. nutcase...) @mahgister , there's just a Zen to soldering...'tinning' stranded wire so it doesn't 'fuzzball' at a 'serious moment' is one way to get back to a heart surgeons' 'tude when the going gets Serious (voice coil wires like hair make one Pause & Consider)... Good weekend, all....Time for this climber to attack Mt. Honeydo yet again.... |
As a budding audiophile, Dynakits and then Hafler kits were a great way to up the game with limited funds. @hilde45 Not long ago I was at the Akitika site looking at their offerings. I have no doubt this would be a fun build and am sure it would sound great. As pointed out above, there are some great tube amp kits from AN kits and Elekit. Also check out the amps from Analog Ethos--have to love the point to point wiring on this one and the unique casework he provides! |
My first kits were a Hafler DH500 amp and DH100 preamp....did the kit to save a few bucks, and learned a lot. Later on I modded the power supply of the amp by increasing the filter capacitance of a couple of amps. After I inherited my Dyna 70, I later added the VTA PCB mods from a kit...great mod, great instructions, great results. My first speaker mods were adding plumber’s putty around the steel frame of the woofers on my Energy Pro 22s. Later on I upgraded the caps and wires, then went on to build several complete speakers from scratch. DIY, kits, and mods are excellent learning experiences, and can result in much improved sound for the money. It also helps you see the equipment for what is is, and get past the bias and blind belief in brand names...they’re often just a marketing tool and logo. |
@corelli The Analog Ethos website and product line looks really great. There is real consideration for the newbie. I really like the comparison page and the approach to straightforward instructions. Have you built or heard these amps? At the moment, I don't have sensitive enough speakers to really tempt me -- but this would be the trigger that keeps me moving toward a second pair of very sensitive speakers. The AN and Falcon kits are expensive! The less expensive Falcon speaker is 83db and...15ohms! Interesting combo. Everyone has their definitions of what they consider "expensive." To my way of thinking, a speaker kit for $1.4k is not as tempting as one for $200 or even $600, given what one might buy used for $1.4k. I realize that part of the idea is the fun of building something, but as a strictly economic comparison, the falcon and AN kits miss the point, a bit, for me. Of course, AN stuff is inordinately expensive, but that seems only partly due to their quality and partly due to the economics of the U.K. |
@hilde45 I have not built any of the Analog Ethos kits but would not hesitate one moment to go with one of these kits. The el34b kit (upgraded version) would be my first pick. Very reasonable cost. Great customer support. I think this would pair beautifully with a full range driver kit. I know it would pair well with Omega speakers. Omega used to offer their drivers for sale before. You ought to contact Louis and see if he still offers these (if you are a good wood worker). Madisound offers good speaker kits as well. A couple of these have cabinets. Lastly, I have read good things about Lii audio. They make a very efficient fullrange 15 inch driver for an open baffle speaker. That would be a fun project to challenge your imagination and an easier build than a cabinet. Plus you could coordinate the design to match the Analog Ethos amp. Now that would be a doubly fun project and suspect it would sound just as great as it might look! |
@crustycoot and @corelli Thank you both for those additional ideas. I'm saving this thread! |
I never consider a heart surgery carreer and i am as much zen as a raging old bull... Too much defects to know what being zen is... but since my retitrement i learn a lot but not soldering yet ...😉 Anyway i trusted gear design , the thing i never trusted is putting them right in a corner and calling it done... I admired those who are crafty enough to use Kits but i prefer to modify ready made gear my way... It worked for me ... my best to you ...
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@curiousjim, Musical Concepts still designs sota driver boards for Haflers and Adcom. John recently developed a board for the B&K's as well.
And if you're still attached to your Dynaco gear, check out Erhard Audio for his kits... https://www.erhard-audio.com/index.html# Holger is the new US representative for Lundahl transformers. He has some cool (kit like) gear that he puts together for an amazing price.
As for speakers, no one has mentioned Danny from GR Research. His speaker kits are outstanding and you can get flat packs for perfect cabinet assembly. Really hard to beat. Also Madisound sells kits designed by Peter Noerbaek (PBN Audio). Super high end kits that would compete with anything out there. Madisound has a myriad of kits for every taste. And lastly, Parts Express is a great place to start without spending a lot of money. |
I love this topic. I repair and restore vintage stereo equipment and guitar amps as a small venture side gig. I have been tossing around the idea of modifying my Thiel CS2 2 with an external crossover using upgraded crossover parts. But the big change would be to modify the design of the crossover for Bi-amping. Then design and build a tube amp for the mids and tweeters. Solid state amp for the woofers. |
There are lots of variables, but bi-amping with tubes on the mids/tweeters, with SS amp on the woofers (@ 80hz) was one of the better moves I've made to my system in over 30 years. 😍😎 Let us know how you make out if you give it a go. |
40+ years "hacking" audio gear has revealed just how simple, easy, and cheap it is to make (almost) anything sound better. Sometimes with no more than a hand-held driver with flat/Philips/Torx bit installed -- and a couple of minutes to spare. "Good weekend, all....Time for this climber to attack Mt. Honeydo yet again...." I have many failed attempts at climbing this mountain. I usually run out of oxygen well below the summit. The slow task of repelling back down the mountain isn't much fun. With the thrill of victory well out of reach, the agony of da feet is a reoccurring phenomena.
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@waytoomuchstuff ... *wry L* Ah, my silly friend....Being repelled by repelling and the numbing 'tude involved, I choose to just jump.... It's like Groundhog Day. You wake up at where you began. Therefore, you get to try a different tack to attack the same old same odd... ;) Variations on a theme....'how musical'.... |
@hilde45 as an owner of a "kit" Speaker I cannot be more happy. Sure, I punted and had cabs built by Lee Taylor but they sound sublime for a 2W stand set up. Based on Scanspeak and top XO components. NADA kit from Madisound. Worth twice what I have in them. I've been looking, lusting, over kits by Troels Gravesen who designs for Scanspeak and others (Denmark). A couple European outfits make CAD cut flat packs for many of the popular builds. Some open baffles too. |
@akgwhiz The Troels Gravesen stuff has my eye, as does the Pi speakers. Thanks to the further poster's for their ideas -- I am learning a lot! |
@theflattire ... I just made sealed full range TangBand W8-1808 and has really made me rethink my need for multi- driver boxes. With full range it's mid-range and treble don't loose anything to separates. They are better. Backed up by dual subs and the sound is the best I've ever accomplished. Hands down. |
There are still kits to build preamps, amps, speakers except you have to build the chassis, order the parts and maybe get some old textbook outs. There are some great PCBs out on eBay and some do have the schematics and some you have to request them. If you go Madisound.com there are some great speaker projects there and some at GR Research, Parts Express has speakers and cabinets. Bob Cordell books and has great mods for Hafler amps and at www.lbaudiosystem.com has great preamp. There stuff to do and kit out there. Some of these kits with take many months to build and require skill you may not have and some of the speakers projects will require some woodworking skills. Projects are out there all you have to do is look . |
Do it if you can make it happen. Its fun. My prior project set I used for 5+ years and later re-sold low cost to a friend utilized same/similar drivers as the Thiel’s CS 2.2 had. Tried 2-way, 2.5 way setups, with various bi-amp combos with all SS amps, or Tube & SS amps, and then adding separate subwoofers later too. You’ll learn a lot. Buddy called me to today sharing how he is still enjoying those speakers with his tube amp and tube dac setup fwiw. |
The kits from diyAudio are excellent. Step by step illustrated instructions for many amps and preamps. Most are Pass/First Watt designs generously shared with the diy community. And if you have the online forums if you run into trouble. I did my first because I could only learn so much about circuits by reading. When you building it part by part, it starts to make sense. |
Love my Korg Triode B1 line stage (linked). Really amazing and you can dial in just the right amount of distortion for your tastes by adjusting the bias. I also built the F5 amp (kit no longer available but they do have circuit boards and parts packages). Very nice with relatively efficient speakers like the Pi Speaker model 4 I built. The least costly way to get true top of the line stereo performance. I could happily live with Weiss DAC204 > B1 Korg > F5 > Pi Model 4 (current setup for that stereo). The only thing lacking is remote control volume but an experienced hobbyist could easily add that option. As always, thanks to Nelson Pass for his incredible generosity of knowledge. |
