So CJD got me thinking--Why do you DIY?

[paul_n_oneal]

Many people probably have different reasons for DIYing. Relieves stress, exercise, thinking, planning, etc. What really got me started was that after listening to a few high end speakers I came to the conclusion that I would never be able to buy them. Some how I ended up here. It's taken me over three years, but I've finally gotten what I couldn't buy from the store. DIY is great. So why did you get into DIY speaker building or amp building, etc. That's my story and I'm sticking with it :-)

Paul

[j_dunavin]

i got into building speakers at a young kid, actually. I went into our local sterio shop and heard my first subwoofer! I wanted one so bad, but my parents wouldn't buy me one.
My dad suggested that i could build one, and i was like ya right, how uncool is that. But he showed me i think it was an MCM catologe and what you could buy and then i got interested. I went back to the shop and asked what kind of woofers i could buy there, and tod them what i wanted to do, and the guy laughed at me saying something to the effect that i would never be able to figure our crossover slopes, ect, ect. Needless to say me dad and i built out first project that happend to be a sub. I still have the cab. too.
It's come a long, long way, but i love to see a project come together. It's so cool to have your friends come over and listen to the system and be like wow you can't buy something this cool!

[curt_c]

Honestly,
-My love of good music, first and foremost.

Also the relative complexity of some of the concepts appealed to my technical nature. I’m a guy who as a kid took mechanical clocks apart just to see how they worked. -And put them back together again so they ran backwards. That probably says something about my psychological profile, but I’m not sure what it would be…

C

[paul_n_oneal]

LOL, You know I was a electroncis junkie too at an early age. I was putting together those transistor radio kits and stuff. Guess later in life I got sidetracked into something else. But you were darn serious, making it go backwards.... Not only did you want to put it back together in working condition you wanted it to run backwards too. Maybe you thought it would take you back in time at that point in your life hehe.

> Honestly,
> -My love of good music, first and foremost.

> Also the relative complexity of some of the
> concepts appealed to my technical nature.
> I’m a guy who as a kid took mechanical
> clocks apart just to see how they worked.
> -And put them back together again so they
> ran backwards. That probably says something
> about my psychological profile, but I’m not
> sure what it would be…

> C

[paul_n_oneal]

> i got into building speakers at a young kid,
> actually. I went into our local sterio shop
> and heard my first subwoofer! I wanted one
> so bad, but my parents wouldn't buy me one.
> My dad suggested that i could build one, and
> i was like ya right, how uncool is that. But
> he showed me i think it was an MCM catologe
> and what you could buy and then i got
> interested. I went back to the shop and
> asked what kind of woofers i could buy
> there, and tod them what i wanted to do, and
> the guy laughed at me saying something to
> the effect that i would never be able to
> figure our crossover slopes, ect, ect.
> Needless to say me dad and i built out first
> project that happend to be a sub. I still
> have the cab. too.
> It's come a long, long way, but i love to
> see a project come together. It's so cool to
> have your friends come over and listen to
> the system and be like wow you can't buy
> something this cool!

Now that is so cool. Father and son bonding together building speakers. I can't even get my son to help me carry wood out to cut let alone tyring to plan a sub project. Thank you for sharing that with us. Really cool.

[tron]

> LOL, You know I was a electroncis junkie too
> at an early age. I was putting together
> those transistor radio kits and stuff. Guess
> later in life I got sidetracked into
> something else. But you were darn serious,
> making it go backwards.... Not only did you
> want to put it back together in working
> condition you wanted it to run backwards
> too. Maybe you thought it would take you
> back in time at that point in your life
> hehe.

This all sounds very familiar to me!! I built my first tube rx when I was 8. My Dad got an electronics degree with the local TV repair man when I was younger and I was hoovering over him the entire time! They took it by mail from DeVry(SP?)Dad is a Mech E and always had an interest in electronics. We built all kinds of stuff.....digital clocks(a big deal in 1977), tv's, and I still have the Heathkit tuner/amp that he/we built in 1978!!!! Yepper it still works and sounds great!

I started with junk speakers in cardboard enlosures.......Dads throw backs and car stereo take outs. My first real project was a set of Pyle Driver 8" in a ported cab driven with a Kenwood 80 wpc amp. This was in a VW Rabbit and man they got it! I was the only kid in town with subs....oh, pioneer 6x9's for the rest on deck power.

It got all out of hand from there.....

tron

[tomdaugherty]

I wanted the nice stuff but couldn't afford it so I built it. Now I have a really good sounding system and a really cool bass guitar. And it didn't cost alot. Tom Daugherty

[howard]

> I wanted the nice stuff but couldn't afford
> it so I built it. Now I have a really good
> sounding system and a really cool bass
> guitar. And it didn't cost alot. Tom
> Daugherty
My grandfather cut the boards for my first speaker cabinet when I was in high school about 35 years ago. I tried several things to get the music out of them that I wanted but nothing worked. When I went to college i wanted to study electrical engineering and that did not work for me. In the last couple of years I have learned more about speakers and all they entail than in the previous 30 years. I have built 5 or 6 pairs and was on my way until I ran into baffle step compensation. I am still having some trouble working that into simulations. I am grateful to Monte, Roman, and all the nice people on this Board. This whole process has changed my life and helped me find a sense of accomplishment. Each speaker is like a snow flake ... unique and special. Thanks to all. Howard

[envisionelec]

Eh, I have the cheapskate theory. Plus, my eternal entrepreneurial desire that won't leave me. I build or buy everything I can as a broken hunk of trash and nurse it back to health. I was faced with this quandry (and yes it's a quandry) when I was mentally tabulating my homeowner's insurance for replacement values. The figures below are what I paid (or didn't).

Living Room:
27" Panasonic Stereo TV - $20
HT receiver (ok, KLH, ugh) - $5
Panasonic DVD Changer - $10

Offices:
Dell 18" LCD monitor - $60
HP 15" LCD monitor - $20
Gateway 15" LCD monitor - $20

Cars:
Kenwood KDC-815X - $75
Kenwood KDS-P110 - Free
Aura 4200 and 2300 - Almost Free.
MTX 4320 - $20
Kenwood KDC-9000 - $5

Stuff sitting around, mostly mint or working:
2nd Gen Sony CD Player (CDP-101?) - $10
Sansui G-9700 - Free
HP 100Mhz Storage Scope - $40
HP RMS Meter - $5
Bruel and Kjaer Mic Calibrator, RMS Meter, mic capsules and other B+K stuff - $5 (not a misprint!)

And much...much more. Car amps, speakers...lots.

(Man, I only *appear* wealthy)

For me, DIY is a way of life, I think.

[bpodruzny]

DIY? Good question. I was always interested in music (mostly car audio), but never DIY. I got the “bug” just last summer.

The home I was raised in went up in smoke (more like 200 foot high flames) and after a lengthy “discussion” with insurance companies my family has just started to rebuild.

My father (knowing my love of music) asked if I’d tackle the home audio aspect of the build. Of course I said yes, unfortunately I had it in my head that a 7.1 home theater was the way to go.

For a first EVER project, this was too ambitious. No getting my feet wet, I just dove right in. I’ve since finished the project (just last week) and after about 12 crossover rebuilds I’m happy. All the speakers work well together and I’m bringing them to the folks in a week.

Long and the short of it is…I’ll never buy a manufactured speaker again, building one is just too much fun.

Cheers
-Brian

[curt_c]

> LOL, You know I was a electroncis junkie too
> at an early age. I was putting together
> those transistor radio kits and stuff. Guess
> later in life I got sidetracked into
> something else. But you were darn serious,
> making it go backwards.... Not only did you
> want to put it back together in working
> condition you wanted it to run backwards
> too. Maybe you thought it would take you
> back in time at that point in your life
> hehe.

Well, I wanted to be the first to invent the flux capacitor, but Dr. Emmett beat me to it.
-Story of my life...

C

[shawn_a]

Or am I missing something? Oh, the speakers and such!

I've been a tinkering fool since I had my first pedal car at the age of 3. It had a flat-spotted wheel and I was always jacking it up on blocks to change the tire. Hey I knew it was flat and that it needed to be fixed.

The tinkering bug goes hand in hand with the cheapass bug in that I can't stand to pay for something if I can make it myself. Add in a deep love and appreciation of music and here I am. A hopeless speakergeek who has branched into making his own furniture now. Thanks, Bill. I feel I should blame a bit of this furniture thing on you, Mr. One Nightstand.

shawn

[matg]

pretty munch, the same reason. I wanted sound that i could not afford to buy at the store. Little did i know, i would wind up spending MUCH more than the original pair of speakers that i couldn't afford, but it went to good use in tools, wire, various meters and what-not. scary thing is it evolved into my business, less speakers but wood working still. Now the speakers are a welcome distraction and more fun usage of my tools.

> Many people probably have different reasons
> for DIYing. Relieves stress, exercise,
> thinking, planning, etc. What really got me
> started was that after listening to a few
> high end speakers I came to the conclusion
> that I would never be able to buy them. Some
> how I ended up here. It's taken me over
> three years, but I've finally gotten what I
> couldn't buy from the store. DIY is great.
> So why did you get into DIY speaker building
> or amp building, etc. That's my story and
> I'm sticking with it :-)

> Paul

[AJ]

Hmmm... Where did it all start? Oh yeah a pair a no name 6.5" MT's from the early 70's that i "aquired" from my dad and a newer sony reciever that my uncle was replcing with a bigger and badder denon. Also a magnovox Wally-world 30$ special dvd/cd player. Hey for less than 40$ spent that system sounded pretty decent.

I heard my first real sub about 3 years ago, a rockford fosgate 10" sealed with a 150hd powering it. After that encounter i basically engulfed myself in car audio.

After that about a year ago i found Parts Express. And all you guys. My first set of diy speaks were a set of dbp's, which of course sounded awesome compared to my oldschool MT's. The only problem was i built those for a friend so they left my arms quickly.

The best part about DIY is i could never learn everything about it and thier will always be some new product or theory to test out!

[Jeff B.]

> Well, I wanted to be the first to invent the
> flux capacitor, but Dr. Emmett beat me to
> it.
> -Story of my life...

> C

How do you know he beat you to it? That's the thing about time travel - the last guy to use it comes out looking like the first ;- )

And while we're on the topic of time and bragging about silly things we did as kids, I wrote a paper on "Minkowski's theorem of 4th dimensional space as it related to general relativity" when I 13.

However, I never made any clocks run backwards.

Jeff

[DougP]

Why DIY? A coworker of mine turned me onto it talking about all the different speakers he has built over the years. The fact that the hobby is part art and part science appeals to me, along with scaring the hell out of the cat with the stereo 8" subs.
Doug

[bill]

...snicker, snicker...

I haven't built a lot of furniture, Shawn; that nightstand is my magnum opus. I wouldn't even have built it if we'd been able to find anything to fit the space that I could tolerate having in the house. It certainly was a learning experience; I learned that you can bury a lot of mistakes if you have enough sandpaper and a big enough sander!

As for me, I'm still learning on all fronts. I'm a so-so woodworker, a reasonable box builder and tolerable veneerer. I have no skills for designing crossovers, for all that I understand the theory. One of these days I'll build a measurement setup, then I'll have a chance.

Oh, yeah, I've gotten pretty good at winding coils.

I could probably do a lot more if I didn't have a family. On the other hand, I'm not about to trade them in.

Best regards,
Bill

> Or am I missing something? Oh, the speakers
> and such!

> I've been a tinkering fool since I had my
> first pedal car at the age of 3. It had a
> flat-spotted wheel and I was always jacking
> it up on blocks to change the tire. Hey I
> knew it was flat and that it needed to be
> fixed.

> The tinkering bug goes hand in hand with the
> cheapass bug in that I can't stand to pay
> for something if I can make it myself. Add

> in a deep love and appreciation of music and
> here I am. A hopeless speakergeek who has
> branched into making his own furniture now.
> Thanks, Bill. I feel I should blame a bit of
> this furniture thing on you, Mr. One
> Nightstand.

> shawn

[cjd]

I've always been into music and sound - grew up with it. Degree in fine art (i.e. I like workin with my hands) with almost as serious a background in music and no trouble with the math just kind-of made it a natural path to tread. I think I started tinkering with building speakers in middle school, so... had no idea what I was doing back then.

I enjoy the process, the making.

Listening to the result is pretty good too.

C

[curt_c]

> How do you know he beat you to it? That's
> the thing about time travel - the last guy
> to use it comes out looking like the first
> ;- )

Ha!
Every time I move on the event horizon, Dr. Emmett throws in a paradigm shift, and suddenly the hyperbolic-orthogonal events change the vector fields. -And I’m suddenly back at a zero vector. -And tomorrow is still Tuesday. Sigh…

> And while we're on the topic of time and
> bragging about silly things we did as kids,
> I wrote a paper on "Minkowski's theorem
> of 4th dimensional space as it related to
> general relativity" when I 13.

Dam! I'm impressed...

> However, I never made any clocks run
> backwards.

It's a gift, what can I say...

C

[hulan]

Why did I start DIYing?
I knew little of home theater (or speakers for that matter). When my wife and I first got married, we did that "run out and shop every night to fill up our first apartment thing". Among the things we bought were some Sony speakers. After our 4th year of marriage, I think I ran into Shavano Music Online first and who knows what led me here. While watching movies, I realized my center channel sounded muffled. I thought to myself, "I can build better speakers than these Sony pieces of crap". Long story short, I've planted roots here and fell in love with speakerbuilding while trying to find time to raise 3 loveable kids while not forgetting to be a husband. Even more than fixing things, I love to create things and speakerbuilding has the right combination of creativity and technicality that I crave. Also a great stress reliever **and the table saw in the garage is much quieter than my 4 and 6 year old girls**

Though my first love is pencil and ink drawing, I also love painting, writing, singing, MIDI tinkering, and now speakerbuilding (on a small budget).