I Miss Kits

[Ducatista47]

Not a nostalgia thing, certainly an economic thing, for sure a quality thing.

It seems to be still possible to buy and build decent electronics kits (Bottlehead, Welborne Labs, etc.). Generally very high quality offerings. Speakers are another matter. In an era when speaker prices, at the high end at least, can be grotesquely inflated, there should be vast potential savings in buying well engineered high quality designs where you build your own cabinets. And by that I mean off the shelf kits like the electronics kits.

I know of exactly one, the Hammer Dynamics Super 12 design I built. While it is a niche product - but so are most of the things we deal with on this site - it is at the top of the quality heap in its field. I would like to see more of this going on. The offerings from Parts Express and the like are fine, but I am talking about the best available components and engineering.

We all know why such kits are rare. No one will get rich selling a fairly priced kit with $600 to say $4000 worth of components. Selling the same thing in a cabinet for $25000 will. In the case of my speakers it was a labor of love by a talented individual working in literal isolation in the wilds of New Mexico. He perceived a need, had great ears and spent five years developing the product. Then he made it available for close to cost.

I am not looking for the big players to do this. Our beloved JBL has gone in the opposite direction, making the best components unavailable except as replacements for factory built units.

Nothing to be done about it, I just wish another John Wyckoff would come down the pike.

I wasn't quite truthful. I do miss the heady days when Heath, Knight and Dynaco offered everything from crystal sets to top quality amps and tuners in cheap kit form. I still have a Heath engine tuneup device. And I wish I still had the Knight crystal set. It was the first thing my Dad helped me build. It taught me to solder and it worked wonderfully. I discovered real, honest music through many DX late nights. I still don't sleep much at night, trying to recreate the vibe with music I now play through my system.

A guy would have to be nuts not to miss that.

Clark

[louped garouv]

A guy would have to be nuts not to miss that.

Clark

thing is, not many youngsters today are even aware that
this idea/manifestation was somewhat common in the recent past

[SEAWOLF97]

I do miss the heady days when Heath, Knight and Dynaco offered everything from crystal sets to top quality amps and tuners in cheap kit form.
Clark

I get what you are saying Clark , but society has changed ...you know..instant gratification and such... there are many DIY'ers on the forum, but they usually start from scratch with stock components. Modern times makes it hard to set aside 10-20-30-xx hours for assembling kits and with the relative cheapness of todays electronics (esp used) , its a hard fit into todays lifestyle.

When you are mentioning great kit producers from the past, don't forget Hafler.

[jcrobso]

It was not a great amp, but It was stereo! Later on I built a Knight kit Stereo tape recorder. It had 3 heads and I could do echo and sound on sound> Watch out Les Paul, OK I was never that good. But what I did do helped me get a good grade in music class and got me into a band.

It was a simpler time, I remember trips to Allied Radio with my Dad, going into the Hi-Fi listening rooms and hearing JBL speakers for the first time!:D

[richluvsound]

Nelson Pass is about the only one that I can think of , of any worth that is ... He openly supports the practice also.

I have though seriously about the kit market .... the components are the killer . Consistent high quality parts like JBL don't exist ,well theres TAD , but you are looking at 5 - 6 k per speaker .
5-6 k per pair to enjoy the sound of a 15-20k speaker, then maybe you may have a small chance of a market.

There are speaker kits out there ,but they aint for us big woofer boys and girls.

just an opinion, Rich

[hjames]

My first introduction to JBL (that I knew of) was at the University of S. Carolina radio station - back around '73-74. We had a pair of JBL 4310s (I believe), and a number of SWTPC (SouthWestTechnicalProduct Company) Tiger 01 amps (http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/Catalog1973b/Page5.jpg) running off the main studio boards, driving the studio monitors. SWTPC started off by providing kits that we'd see in PopTronics every couple months, back in those days ... but later, SWTPC moved out of audio and into the computer biz.

I'd been used to "big" KLH and later Advent speakers - but those darned JBLs got into my blood, so when college ended I got a pair of L-36 speakers (all I could afford new at the time) - with a CR-400 Yamaha - by thats a story from another thread ...

AH - found the SWTPC website - here's a link to their 1973 catalog!
http://www.swtpc.com/mholley/Catalog1973b/Catalog.htm
THOSE were some kits!

[richluvsound]

[QUOTE=hjames;2

I'd been used to "big" KLH and later Advent speakers - but those darned JBLs got into my blood, so when college ended I got a pair of L-36 speakers (all I could afford new at the time) - with a CR-400 Yamaha - by thats a story from another thread ...[/QUOTE]

L 36 decade original would be enough for me ... I had a pair above my head in the sound booth for 8
years ..... Great sound ,great memories .

Rich

[scott fitlin]

On crossovers, Marchand offers EVERYTHING he has in assembled or kit form. Phil also has some MOSFET amps, they can be had as kits or assembled. Yes, todays world has changed, but, there are a few things still available as kit form for those that wish to assemble their own. Phil Marchand has some great options available too. Tube op amps, Discrete op amps, choice of IC brands and types! I have had fantastic success using Marcand electronics in my system! www.marchandelec.com, for anyone that is interested in these REALLY great products. AND, besides Phil's products being REALLY good, his prices are quite attractive! Marchand offers active electronic crossovers, and Passive crossovers, too!

On speakers, well, the BIG manufacturers have pretty much done away with making their wares available as kits. Although, IF one wishes to construct their own cabinets, their are quite a few VERY GOOD brands of drivers available, but, complete kits, well, that seems to be a thing of the past, sadly.

[Wayner]

I've done some pretty rewarding kit work with speakers. Wayne Parham at Pi Speakers has a nice range of speaker kits and he does a fantastic job of communicating the engineering that went into his designs. I've built a few of his two way kits and I'm quite happy with the results. I also did a rebuilding of my Klipschorns with Al Klappenberger's kit. New crossover, tweet and midrange horn. Really topnotch stuff. In fact, I bought 2404Hs from a forum member to put in those Khorns. These two gentlemen have added quite a bit to my enjoyment of the hobby. And for what it's worth, I just got an amp kit from Bottlehead.

[christo]

thing is, not many youngsters today are even aware that
this idea/manifestation was somewhat common in the recent past

Most youngsters today can’t even cook never mind doing kit work, we’re the last of what could loosely be call the mechanical generation, we all have a basic understanding of how things work and are not afraid to pull things apart and put them back together. A few months ago my central vac packed it in, I pulled it apart and paid 75 dollars for a second hand part it’s as good as new.

I believe that my winter project is going to be doing something with this lot…

[louped garouv]

Most youngsters today can’t even cook never mind doing kit work, we’re the last of what could loosely be call the mechanical generation, we all have a basic understanding of how things work and are not afraid to pull things apart and put them back together. …


i'm somewhat young IMO.... early 30s, and I enjoy this sort of stuff too...
so maybe there's some hope.

another outfit offering kits is this one...

i've bought a fair amount of components from this gentleman,
but haven't taken the plungs on a full blown kit as of yet....


http://ampslab.com/

kind of a cool site IMO

[4313B]

i'm somewhat young IMO.... early 30s, and I enjoy this sort of stuff too...
so maybe there's some hope.

another outfit offering kits is this one...

i've bought a fair amount of components from this gentleman,
but haven't taken the plungs on a full blown kit as of yet....


http://ampslab.com/

kind of a cool site IMOThanks for the link! I need a new mini power amp for CLIO and would just as soon build one myself. Maybe this winter.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Thanks for the link! I need a new mini power amp for CLIO and would just as soon build one myself. Maybe this winter.

I would use a trashed out HK amp, being hi current designs they make an excellent voltage source

There are plenty of good kits around, they just don't have JBL stamped on them.
The is the Great Plains stuff if you want quality and high sensitivity

There are othe people doing other things:
Earl Geddes
Janzen
VAS

[rgrjit8]

These folks appear to still be around.
Seems like there is less variety in their line-up compared to years past however.

goldsound.net/kit.htm

[louped garouv]

These folks appear to still be around.
Seems like there is less variety in their line-up compared to years past however.

goldsound.net/kit.htm


they are still around....
:)


neat little shop if you are ever in denver.

[tomee]

Zillch has a kit, of sorts. Econowave crossover boards are available from him; CD, horn and crossover parts are from Partsexpress; you supply a woofer and cabinet and you're in business. :D

Wayne Parham has nice kits too (Pi Speakers), some using all JBL drivers with his crossover design.