Audio
I'm not a audiophile, nor do I claim to have a golden ear, but I do
appreciate a good-sounding stereo or home theater. I've even tried my
hand at building some speakers. Check out the
cheap 1-way speakers I built out of some old car stereo drivers and
scrap plywood. A more advanced project was the
transmission line subwoofer.
Building speakers is fun but takes time and planning. Most people I've
met or read about do it either for enjoyment or because they can't afford
to buy the completed speakers they want. Doing it as a hobby is nice because
you can choose the level of detail you want to go to in design, and pick and
choose what materials you want based on cost and/or asthetics.
I've built speakers mostly because I don't have a lot of money to buy
high-end components. Speakers are also probably the easiest part of a
sound system for the do-it-yourselfer to build, assuming you have some
basic carpentry skills. Most 'experts' seem to agree that
changes in speakers are more noticable to people than changes in other
components of a system, such as the amplifier. In other words, a decent
amp driving good speakers will sound better than a top-notch amp with
poor speakers. I like to say speakers are to a stereo what tires are
to a car: the most critical, yet under-appreciated part of the system.
Just my humble opinion, of course :).
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