How many of us look under the hood??

Chashmal: I laughed my ass off when I read your comment.
I knew you were kidding; that's why it was so funny-- no offense to MrJ.
I think it's fun looking underneath the hood. It gives me a sense of how much care a mfr. has for being neat:
a quality a lot of us admires.

Of course I look under the hood, I touch and caress under the hood, I play under the hood. I also do the same to my audio components :-)

But seriously, I've modified my own gear for many years now with spectacular results. Since I don't have to deal with manufacturer's price points I can put better components inside. Yes, there's been a lot of trial and error, but with time and help from others here and on other forums comes learning and experience.

Bob

I have Merlin Speakers and wouldn't dare open up the box and look inside. This is because everyone of the the bolts or screws holding the drivers in is torqued to a different level that is critical.

Chashmal, good humor is always welcome. ;)
I take back that extra 10%. Full price now. Because it is you.

Yes, Supratek's guts look like a micro jungle project but hey, it sounds good so who cares.

Speakers and iPods I stay away from. Also, some CDPs. TT on the other hand are taken apart then put together and taken apart some more. But you won't see them up for sell anytime soon. So , no worries. If you find a tinny screwdriver or hex key set please send it back for the reward.

From time to time I have open box special and yes it means it was open, touched and analized for potential mods. Clearence sale means - that there is clearly something missing but I don't know what and where is it.

It was a somewhat jumbled question, in terms of temporal or time frames /organizantion..
To be clear I used to look inside of everything I owned just for the fun of it when I first started out 33 years ago.
Then the big hiatus for me while persuing a career, kept all my stuff. All of it kept on working replaced a stylus added a cd player etc. but fundamentally the same. all is good right? No of course not! My amp dies and the my stero shop just "round the corner " left town a decade ago. Big Box was All I could find. I bought a Pioneeer reveiver still only 2 channel with an incredible- by my old standads-120 wpc only to find it clipped and threw a relay with every Freebird crescendo.
At forty one or two Enters a student of mine tells me you need current not just watts(he posts here as sufentil) And I get introduced to a guy name Joe Trelli. The hobby is now called high end and my peering under the hood stops. Except for speakers which I admit I still am as clueless as I was when I pointed that out in the first post.
The only time I look now to do the car thing. I look hoplessly, well not totally, into a box stuffed with electronic parts hoping to isolate the problem. Just feeling better knowinw what general area needs attention.
I still don't solder, I have the iron but no courage. I even have a voltmeter still in its Rat shack blister pack. I have not looked under any of my functioning units that were broken that I manmagede to get going again.
Go on- I am sure there are a few more true confessions sans porno references thank you.