Are you a D.I.Y?

I kinda wish I was DIY before I started buying expensive stuff. $500 in parts will build you a $2500 amp. $1,000 spent on speaker drivers and xover parts, and any commerical design would be going for at leat 4x times that. The only real downside is resale value can be a little tough to nonexistent.

Absolutely D.I.Y......I've had some very fine results building and bettering speakers.I also buy high quality cable and connectors in bulk and make my own speaker cables,interconnects and power cords.I really appreciate fine craftsmanship and after opening up many speakers, components and cables to notice the less than stellar handwork I decided that if you want the job done right D.I.Y....It's a great feeling to know that every connection and solder joint is solid.Take a look inside any Sonic Frontiers,ARC,Audible Illutions,Pass Labs equipment for superior workmanship,to give credit where credit is due.

i'm too green when it comes to tech stuff so i i'm a LDDI..LET the DESIGNER DO IT..heck he's got all the measurements on the drivers i choose..knows all the best xover parts..

Designing can be a tough road to go down, you need to know a lot.
There are LOTS of good designs out there.

I like to pick up bits of gear 10-20 yrs old and upgrade the parts to modern good stuff like multicaps and caddock. If you like the way it sounded stock, it will get better modified - like my VTL 100 monoblocks.

Despite what the press says, sonic progress is VERY slow and good gear has been around for many years. For instance, my Audio Alchemy DDE3/DTI pro 32 with Monolithic power supply has had Nihicon muse caps put through the power supply and lots of microsorb damping and TI sheild (absorbs stray radiation, magnetic and RF) every where - it now sounds AWESOME.
Wait till it gets the output op-amps and resistors upgraded, as well as all the dac caps changed to black gates!

As has been mentioned, the saving are just huge. I now have a very, very good sounding rig.
True, it has cost me many thousands as it is a bit excessive - good CD, LP and tape sources, plus it is 3-way active + 2 way passive and equivalent to about 700W/channel!

No way could I have EVER aforded this off the shelf. Home building is the only way to go and yes, I am proud of what I have achieved and yes, as mentioned, I like to help others do the same, so they can have as much pleasure from it as I have.