Is it something about it that satisfies your creativity, your quest for knowledge, pride of accomplishment or seeking truth in a sea of subjectivity?
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Basically, I like solving problems, and DIY shows me problems every step of the way. And I like the satisfaction of building something nice.
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It started with penny pinching and a love of music. I’ve learned a lot since the beginning.
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Why not…?!
Seriously, I started building speakers after being underwhelmed by commercial offerings and the damage requested for what you got, plus almost everything was black.
I can’t remember when exactly, but about 12 years ago we needed a new pair of speakers. I googled ‘DIY speakers’, discovered PETT, then the various sites like Paul C’s and Curt’s. I find it immensely satisfying to build something which sounds good and is great value, even if the aesthetics of my later efforts leave much to be desired.
I find the whole subject fascinating and fora like this one are a great resource.
Geoff
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It’s an artistic outlet that touches on a lot of things. Speakers have acoustics, electronics, and fabrication. It’s a great mental stimulus.
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I’ve always been a tinkerer with a love for audio equipment. I got that from my dad. Speaker building definitely helps keep my brain engaged. It hits on all the things that interest me: HiFi, Music, woodworking, Technology, Electronics, and a great group of guys who share the same passions. It’s a logical extension to my live-sound days, but without the late nights, aching back and continued hearing damage.
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I enjoy listening to music, and good-sounding speakers are expensive. DIY lets me mitigate the cost and experience more speakers per dollar. It also overlaps with my love of CNC, woodworking, and electronics.
Some of you might not know this, but I have built multiple CNC machines and enjoy seeing them come to life almost as much as I like building speakers. I have worked in the electronics field for over 20 years and still love learning new things.
Woodworking has been a hobby for as long as I can remember. Since middle school, I have been in the shop doing whatever I could to learn more and get better. These days, I don’t do as much woodworking because I can CNC a cabinet so much faster, but I still go old-school on projects pretty often.
Digging into psychoacoustics is pretty fun, too. There are some things that we cannot measure but can hear—possibly only with our eyes. Building a speaker that measures great and has great directivity is almost an expectation at this point, but we can still hear very distinct differences between different types of tweeters: metal, silk, AMT, planar, etc.
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