Any DIYer s out there ?

Jon Risch's website is listed below. It has quite a bit of DIY and technical info on it. Jon is an EE ( electrical engineer ) and has been involved in various phases of audio and sound reproduction for MANY years. He is one HELLUVA good guy and does his best to help people out while sharing his knowledge and experience. Hope you can find some useful stuff on his site. Sean
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http://members.nbci.com/Jon_Risch/index.htm

Just to correct an error or misconception here, i am not an EE and have never been to any formal "school" for electronics. I am pretty much "self taught" via personal study while receiving "insights" from friends that are EE's or folks with their bachelors. Combine this with a LOT of hands on experience and that's where i fall into the game. As such, i am always willing to learn but am also limited in my current understanding and level of electronics knowledge. As was mentioned in previous threads though, this hasn't stopped me from working on electronics for a living or as a design consultant for over a half dozen manufacturers in my field of work.

In some ways, not being "trained" to look at things from a "conventional" textbook point of view has helped me. In other ways, my lack of formal training also puts me at a disadvantage compared to others that may have a better fundamental knowledge of what is going on in a complex circuit. Between my business partners degree and studies in electronics and my hands on experience, we have been able to work together quite advantageously though.

If i offended some EE's in one of my other posts, i do applogize. I have a great amount of respect for those that have formal educations in ANY field. It takes a LOT of patience and hard work to achieve what they have done. However, i do have to say that i have even more respect for those that make use of that knowledge and are NOT content to sit on their laurels. Push the envelope of your knowledge and skills, for your own sake. Sean
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Ehider, i think that we were posting at the same time. Thanks for sharing your insights with us. I've found pretty much the same things that you stated to be very true.

As to your comments about Zobel / impedance compensation networks, they DO have a downside though. It is called "power consumption". While the design may actually measure and sound better when "zobel'd", it will also suck more juice from the amp. If you have a limited power capacity to begin with, such as with a low powered tube or "set" amp, zobel's are NOT a good thing. As such, the engineers, designers / builders have to work with the intended market. Once this comes into consideration, you have to start thinking about MSRP, profit margins, etc... While some VERY beneficial mods can be done for pennies on the dollar, those pennies can add up VERY fast when your talking about large production runs. As such, that is one of the reasons why / how i got into this hobby. Just like you said, you can make GREAT improvements to various commercial designs with little cost or effort other than your own personal "elbow grease" and a FEW bucks here and there. Sean
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