The return of the DIYer

If you’re happy with the stuff you hear in the stores and can afford to buy it, there’s likely no reason to explore other options. The prospect of 40% to 50% of my audio budget going into someone else’s pockets never sat well with me, and fostered the pursuit of alternative methods to acquiring what I wanted. Learning to tweak and modify existing equipment led to DIY and building stuff from scratch....for me it’s the ultimate puzzle, and ultimate learning experience.

With the availability of information on the web more prevalent than ever, there's little reason not to jump in with both feet if you have even half an inkling to get your DIY feet wet.  

Hi @mrklas ,

I have a much more interesting journey that most audiophiles buying a new stuff. I always tweaking my amplifier, phonostage, crossover. I change schematics and parts. I customize everything for MY TASTE.
And yes I have some background that helps me too, BSc in Electronics.
My DIY experience gave me much deeper understanding in audio compared to people that know nothing about electronics but brainwashed by sneaky audio dealers and reviewers.
Yes, I went to audio show and audio salons before the pandemic. A just a few of rooms I heard sounded good.
And the most interesting no correlation between the prices of the systems and sound quality. Actually most super expensive rooms on shows sound horrible!

And the most interesting no correlation between the prices of the systems and sound quality. Actually most super expensive rooms on shows sound horrible!

Electronic audio engineering has matured long ago...(50 years at least ? )

Very good gear with audiophile S.Q. potential exist for many decades at low cost...

But on the other hand ACOUSTIC of small room is underestimated by most and in my experience only passive material treatment is used and often not in the right way...

Acitive mechanical controls of small dedicated room cannot be an easy market because most system are in a living room not in a dedicated room ...Sellers of acoustic products dont have the time to fine tune a mechanical adapted grid of mechanical Helmholtz device controls...It is more financially interesting to sell ready made bass traps, diffusers surface, or reflecting surfaces...

Then the fact that highly costing system sound bad or horrible is often because the room where they are is uncontrolled, if minimally treated, and absolutely not prepared acoustically for the specific demands of the specific speaker...

It takes me many months to fine tune my room... an expert acoustican will make it in hours...But hours amount to many thousand of dollars + devices cost+ +material cost.... Then it is not surprizing that some sellers ask for 50,000 bucks to transform acoustically a room for dedicated audio room listening....




Acoustic is the sleeping princess and all the pieces of gear are the 7 working dwarves...




We listen WITH our system but THROUGH the controlled room/speakers...


Most people think the opposite:

They think they listen WITH their uncontrolled room/speakers ,THROUGH their system....

😁😊

In a word, the sound experience is in the ears/room not in the cables, dac, or amplifier....

They put the cart in front of the ox....

 The ultimates reason is simple: money... It is more financially interesting to sell new gear  for the living room  and more easy to  plug it on the wall and listening to it , than investigate acoustic and psycho-acoustic  science control in a dedicated room...

Acoustic is the sleeping princess and all the pieces of gear are the 7 working dwarves...
Good catch! :)
So who is the prince in this scenario who forced his affections on a ruffied unwilling victim. 
"your favorite snake oil dealer" goes here.

The "prince" is you when you realized the sleeping power of acoustic lying like a sleeping princess in your  unwatched and untreated and uncontrolled room...

😁😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

My best to you....