Empowerment

Ever look inside the chassis of your $x000 amplifier and wonder how so few parts could cost so many $? It's not difficult to figure that at least 75% of the money you paid out went into intangibles. The way to beat this is to build it yourself, the way you want, with the parts you choose.

These kits will provide sound quality equal or superior to commercially available units of a much higher cost. Tweak them with premium grade parts and they will surpass anything near the price. Component parts come from well-respected manufacturers in China, America, Europe, and Japan. You will also be surprised by the quality of design, construction and parts quality used in these kits. Assembled, they look very good and reflect their high-end heritage.

Any of these kits can be constructed by someone with basic soldering skills. Detailed diagrams, photos and step-by-step instructions are provided for each kit. The circuits are simple so there is less to go wrong and the chassis are roomy enough to make building the kit easier. They can all be configured by the user to run on 115, 230 volt operation.

Is It Really Better to Buy a Kit Package ? What if I just source the parts myself ?

One Customer's experience :

"It would seriously be doing people a big favor if we can convince most people not to waste their time trying to build their own box. It will save them a lot of time, money, frustration, and end up with a far better final product.

... It is simply too hard to acquire the needed parts one at a time as there is no central location to do so. Sure, you can get hookup wire at one location, but where do you get small quantities of teflon tubing in the proper gauge? How about switches? Probably someplace else. In the end, I simply had to buy the parts a few at a time as I learned I needed them from DiyHiFi aynyway. So, add in the extra shipping charges and wait time.

Chasis? Forget about it, I tried to make my own because there is nothing presentable available for cheap. Then, I thought I would design a commercial quality chasis myself via Front Panel Express's CAD software and have them CNC it for me out of aluminum stock. Well, after weeks of fiddling around and not knowing what I was doing, I gave up. I may be a computer geek, but I have no experience with CAD software at all. Next came making my own. Well, I have a high-speed grinder, but I needed to buy carbide cutter bits and metal grinding tips. Add that cost in.

All things said and done, instead of ordering a complete kit with one email and building it in an afternoon, I had to make three seperate purchases from DiyHiFi and pester Brian with at least 5-10 emails for advice on how to wire it all up.

People, do yourself a huge favor.... If you've got a real desire to do it yourself, build the kit first, then take your time to make something catering to your personal taste."

Can I Build a Kit ?

The questions coming in raise some concerns about a person's ability to construct a kit. Many people have not built a hifi kit before but would like to and are unsure if they can. Firstly, you do not need to have an electronics background, understand tube theory or be an engineering technician.

You do need to be able to solder which you can learn by practicing in about one hour. You need to be able to follow step-by-step wiring diagrams.

You don't need to be able to read a schematic (circuit diagram) but you do need to be able to look at a drawing of wiring connections.

You don't need sophisticated test equipment but you do need some basic tools including a an AC/DC volt ohmmeter to measure values. You need an electronics soldering iron (25 watts is ideal), some electronics solder, needle nose pliers, Phillips screwdriver and wire strippers.

Building a kit is the best way to learn about electronics. When you have finished, you will be able to trace the signal from input to the output and you will know what parts of the circuit are for the B+, filament supply, rectification and signal.

Building a kit is satisfying because you did it, it was cheaper, it is true high end and you beat the system! You will no longer be the slave of popular magazine opinion and audiophile peer pressure. You can do small tweaks such as single component upgrades and hear the result. It the best way to learn what does and does not make a difference.

Many of the Diyhifisupply kits are now available fully assembled and tested with any of the upgrade options of your choice. Even if you take this route rather than build the unit yourself you will still be making a big saving over commercial hifi.