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The return of the DIYer

I’ve been thinking about several trends and forces that are affecting our hobby and how this will change things.

The global pandemic and supply issues, unemployment and how disposable income has dwindled in the middle class over the last 30-40 years. The brick and mortar showroom is vanishing, and audio shows have become scarce. About the only aspect of the audio industry which has not dwindled or hurt as much are bloggers/review sites and DIY suppliers.

Our hobby grew up out of tinkerers and experimenters, and then seemed to have been subsumed by the all powerful consumer. The arm chair speaker or amplifier designer who could talk tech without every doing a bit of math or soldering became what we call a "true audiophile" so long as they regularly bought and sold gear.

Now though, perhaps the tables are turning. The lack of funds in many an audiophile’s pocket, lack of ability to go listen for yourself, I’d like to believe the age of the mega speaker holding the cover of audio magazines is over. I honestly wouldn’t mind seeing most mega-speakers vanish, being rarely more than excess without commensurate capabilities. Tweaked sounds, and fashionable trends in frequency alterations dominated the press and showrooms.

Is that all over? And if it is over, are we ready to return to our roots as makers instead of buyers, or are we in a temporary malaise? Nothing more than a flu from which we will bounce back? Or is the DIY er himself to vanish as well with the hobby?
erik_squires
headphonedreams
529 posts
 
+1 @pedroeb

I think there will be DIY audiophiles in the future but only a minority. I am not one, mostly because lack of space and tools (and lack of time).

As for corporate vs boutique I think both will continue to co-exist. My dac is from a very small company and I have been very happy with it. My next dac may still be from a corporation since those are easier to find and listen to. Maybe it will be from Schiit which I see as a middle ground. It is a company but they started small and seems to care about their products and sq. The book by Mike Moffat is worth a read by anyone interested in audio companies.
ronboco
868 posts
 
I respect the DIY people out there. I wish I knew more about the technical side of this hobby. But I think many of us don’t have or want to use a lot of the most valuable commodity ever known to mankind. 
Time 

We just want to enjoy the music. 
Regards 
curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,945 posts
 
How can we Bluto’s famous speech from Animal House?

Even if you move a speaker a skosh, it’s a tweek.
JD
lanx0003
928 posts
 
I do NOT regard buying DIY kits off the shelf from a company selling those kits and building it according to the pre-designed and fabricated components such as crossover a DIY project.  Those projects are just replication of the existing design that the company has fabricated or copied from the manufacturer (hopefully does not trigger infringement of intellectual property).  The DIYers do not really design anything.  That is not a hobby but "killing time" only.  I am not sure what kind of fullfilment or satisfaction they got out of it.  The DIY company even tells you that, if you change the front panel of the speaker (for example), you need to change the design of crossover and they cannot help.  

BTW, I do consider cloning a specific speaker shape/design/pattern a infringement of interllectual property, big time.  Imagine how cloning Wilson Audio speakers of worth more than 20k, 30k and above possibly damages company's business.
alexberger
935 posts
 
In 2001-2003, my friend and I traveled several times a week throughout Israel to the apartments of the audiophiles. At that time, I was looking for an amplifier instead of my Plinius 8200, the sound of which did not suit me then. Then I had Spendor 2/3 speakers.

1. I then came across an amplifier from the 50s MacIntosh MC30. I was shocked how much better, more natural, more musical it was than my not cheap Plinius 8200.
2. Once, we ended up in a house where there was a homemade system with Lowther speakers with large front horns Oris 150 and 2a3 amplifiers. The sound that we heard shocked us. Everything that we have heard before could not be compared. We were like medieval knights who suddenly saw a modern army with tanks and aircraft.
3. After some time, I bought a Lenco L78 turntable for a penny. I put it on a heavy birch plywood plinth and fitted a vintage SME 3009 tonearm. I was surprised how much more accurate this turntable sounded in reproducing the rhythm of the music, how much better and more elaborate the bass and more natural tone of the piano compared to the much more expensive Nottingham Spacedeck which I had it then.

Since then, I realized that it was a fiction that the audio industry progress and what a solution for me is vintage audio and DIY audio.
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