HiFi Kit Building- have you ever built any hifi gear?

Like several others here, I built a pair of Hafler DH - 200’s ( strapped them for mono) in 1981 & then Hafler Five Hundred power amp in the mid 80’s . All of them sounded really good for the $ vs what was available then. They powered my DCM Time Windows, then Snell A - II’s & then Proac EBS’s. 
 

Fun times! 

There is a satisfaction in listening on gear you built! 

Not audio. In the late 60s I built an Eico VOM.

Built a Dynaco Intergrated amp in college and a Bob Latino 2 channel tube amp about 10 years ago.  Both kits performed well.  Great learning experience.  Highly recommend giving it a try.  On a side note -- Sold both after a few yearsof use resulting in a very low cost / high performance / highly enjoyable experience. 

There is not one item that remains as the original factory spec being used in my audio system.

All audio devices in use are substantially modified audio devices that, under the hood, no longer represent what the original design brief set out to achieve.

Then there are the custom-designed, commission-built devices.

What can't be seen for being tangible as a result of the designs in use are the very long-term relationships developed between the designer/builder and the end user. 

Such long relationships are much more attractive than the music that is the result of the encounters are able to create.