Building amps from kits

Hobbs, I've done a bunch of DIY building and mods and I can say without reservation that it IS lots of fun. But it is LOTS of frustration too! You can find quite a few amp kits and designs on the net. Bottlehead.com has several tube amp kits, LC Audio has a series of solid state kit designs, and there are many others. The first big hurdle is the $$$ factor. I beleive that you don't really save lots of $$$ doing DIY. You can build more (fill in the blank________) for the $ but you still spend all you have saved, and them some. These sort of projects are the very definition of "nickle and diming you to death". However, it is lots of fun and I have learned a lot. Plus, now, I'm not afraid to get inside the rest of my equipment and tweak things. I'm currently working on upgrading my CD player and building a passive preamp/cross-over.

In the 70's and 80's I built almost all of the Dynaco kits which at the time were probably the best available and could be modified to no end. I still have a Stereo 70 that I will absolutely not part with and I don't even use it! I also built several of the early Haflers and they were great kits too. If you want to build a kit: follow instructions, learn to solder properly, follow instructions, take your time and follow instructions. Power amplifiers are much simpler than pre-amps so I would reccommend you take that project on first. I have no knowlege of the new kits out today (fortunately I can now afford much better gear)but I understand the Parts Connection is really pretty good as far as kits go. Based on my experience a few years back I'd say if you are interested in a kit then go for it.

I built my Hafler DH-220 amp from a kit back in the 80's and it has been working flawlessly ever since. You should be careful of the kits coming in from Asia. Some have gotten mixed reviews for quality and sound. The Velleman kits are cheap but have had problems in the reviews I have read. Be careful. Check with THE PARTS CONNECTION for starters, in Canada. (www.sonicfrontiers.com/TPC) I guess that there are some kits out of U.K., and you may see kits in AUDIO ELECTRONICS mag. Give it a try, but research carefully as many kits are expensive nowadays.