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RE: Well - we're bound to have different views

This was well said. I would add a point or two about DIY:

First - there is DIY bias that "because I built it it sounds better" and because "I bought a part that seems more sophisticated/better/heavier it sounds better" - the latter has not been the case IME. I have heard DIY speakers and amp that cost the same to the consumer as a finished product with arguably lesser parts quality that nevertheless sounded better to a lot better than the DIY.

To be fair I did hear an absolutely jaw dropping great DIY system in HK but it still cost the fellow $50,000US to DIY his product. So while tremendous it wasn't exactly cheap.

Second: Resale value is next to nothing in comparison to production products. I continually beat the drum over net cost. Ultimately NET cost is your overall cost so when you compare say a $5k DIY project that you can only sell for $500 - you don't compare that to a $5k production product. You may have to compare it to an $18,000 production unit that you can sell for $13,500. The costs for both are $4,500. This is the sort of cost to cost value that people should be making when the look to these things.

I do agree one of the big pluses to DIY may be that you can sort of build something to your individual desires - but then often I read DIYers having to "choose" their transformers or capacitors from a given manufacturer. Is the DIYer winding and building his own originally designed transformer for the given job or buying one from XYZ and are they designing and building their own capacitors and resistors and solder wire or are they going to parts express and buying Mundorfs?

Lastly, one of the advantages for some DIYers or people who just buy very rare hard to audition products is that there is no recourse in forum banter.

They own a product that no one else can hear so they come onto a forum and say - hey XYZ is vastly superior to "enter any product sold as a retail item) and there is no way to audition and make that comparison for yourself. There was a guy called soundmind on these forums who modified Bose 901 speakers and told everyone that every production speaker was total crap and only his DIY product sounded good. So where is the recourse? No one can audition it and prove him wrong or at least disagree with him.

Many of the SET making companies are DIY at heart anyway - They are building and designing products but they do have a team of people usually and they crosscheck with other products on the market. I know Peter Q at Audio Note buys up some of the top competition on the market at very high prices to listen and hear what they are doing. Not every company does that but it is being done.

In fact some of the DIYers our there should build their best amplifier and lend it to Peter and let him and their team of engineers listen to the product (or other SET manufacturers). He has hired people based on their efforts and chances are you will get paid more than whatever it is you're doing now.

Jobs are out there if you're product truly stands up to manufactured products.

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