I feel for you

@carlsbad2 +1 !

@carlsbad2 ,

An excellent message!

Broaden your horizens, expand your comfort zone, don't be afraid to switch lanes.

Go out on a limb, that's where the fruit is...

I first studied civil engineering, changed my major to sociology, so some early hard science followed by my real interest in the soft sciences. I've long been diy for most everything in my life, home wiring, plumbing, car and motorcycle maintenance and repair, audio equipment, appliances, I'll pretty much try to gain an understanding of everything I may have an interest in. I've always thought self sufficiency was the epitome of a life well led, and the utility of it is off the map, I have much more disposable income to spend on silly things like audio systems, cars and motorcycles.

And make damn sure you know how to discharge capacitors before you go poking around inside.

@carlsbad2 +1!

100% agree. We all start somewhere. I have no professional technical training, but I’ve modified, designed, built, or enhanced just about all of my gear. The first mod I recall doing was adding more filter capacitance to my Hafler amp. Then I started poking around inside of speakers, putting plumbers putty on the backs of stamped steel woofer frames, and upgrading caps, etc.

DIY cables are a great first effort for someone who wants to try something.

Agree 100% and have built cables, tube amplifiers and modified most everything I have have ever owned in audio.  Learned a great deal and had fun doing it.  

And make sure that you are aware that there are push pull circuits that are class A and that class A is not just a SET thing.

@immatthewj +1

Mike

I agree, everyone should continue to grow and try new things. There is joy in discovery, and wisdom is the result of knowledge through experience. It's impossible to know whether you will like golf, beets, or Captain Beefheart until you give them a shot.

Having said that, I have found that I do not have the slightest interest in the "DIY" of it all but I'm okay with that. For instance, I changed my own oil for a while when I was 17 and owning a car was new and exciting, but after a few times other activities took precedence and I started paying someone to do it for me. I have made some interconnects and done basic soldering here and there, again early days (40 years ago) but there was no sense of "joy" or accomplishment in my experience, it was like watering the lawn or putting the trash out. The same goes for drywalling, electrical work, plumbing, you get the picture. I grew up on a farm and did all that stuff but I just can't be bothered to do it now. 

Glad (and grateful) that it brings others joy in any event.

@carlsbad2 Indeed. What happened?

...leaders tended to be scientists or lovers of science instead of lawyers and political science students.

@carlsbad2 Indeed. What happened?

...leaders tended to be scientists or lovers of science instead of lawyers and political science students.

It's too easy to get a degree in gender studies and work at Starbucks while living in your mom's basement.

@ozzy62 Nope. My point was about leaders, and their lack. But to actually build a political ecosystem designed to destroy science would have the Founders spinning in their graves. Who would possibly support that?

@noromance I typed up a good answer to your good question but decided it would take the thread into the ditch and deleted it.  thanks though for a good question.

carlsbad2

I think along the same lines as you do. I'm an executive in the Aerospace/Defence electronics industry which I have been employed in for over 40 years now. As an Engineering manager in the mid 80's, I went with a team of tech's to China Lake to become a mil certified solderer. Prior to moving south about nine years ago, I did weekend tech work for a couple of of high end audio shops i  the Northeast. I have built and rebuilt audio gear. Although I still have no qualms about repairing my own gear still, my limiting factor is my progressing retina disease. At least my ears are still very keen. Regarding who runs todays companies, as a degreed Mech Eng, I am a rarity. Back in the day, founders/owners/heads of technical related companies were run by technical people with a passion and a vision for what they wanted to achieve in their work. As I've seen all too often, in today's corporate world those passionate people have been replaced by finance individuals who are very good at squeezing out every last penny of profit they can find. I have been fortunate to work with some very good ones and my audio hobby has grown thanks to some of the yearly bonuses which came from their efforts. However, in the audio world we have seen what the loss of those passionate founders has done to what was once a fabled company. Marantz, Theil, and McIntosh to list a few. I'm glad to see newer ones rise such as VAC, Modwright, Lampizator, etc...

@carlsbad2 Understood. I can’t imagine not having a deep understanding of science and engineering. How empty the mind. Just as friends of mine from Europe with five languages cannot imagine how empty it must be to have only one.

At my small liberal arts college the most liberal arts students were the science majors.

Your system sounds so much better when you put all that sweat equity into it!! 

But no, really, my entire system sounded so much better after giving everything a refresh of caps, diodes, resistors, and transistors. 

There are 2 camps here.  Some like to modify and tinker with their equipment and others are content and just enjoy the music.  I am in the latter camp. 

Learning to build amplifiers and preamps was one of the most satisfying things I have done in my life.  And I say this as someone who has had a very satisfying career in another field entirely.  Not to say that doubt doesn't creep in now and then and whisper, "Just buy a Rega Brio and listen to the music!"  But that would be surrender! ;-)  On the other hand, I'm always mindful of a dear audiophile friend who is constantly in search of that "perfect" component or tweak.  Once, when I suggested that he was looking too hard, he plaintively cried, "But you can change your system whenever you want!"  He had a point. ;-)

However, I draw the line at car maintenance!  I myself envy another friend, an audio engineer and highly skilled technician, who keeps his 1972 BMW running like a top.

I’m sort of like Benjamin Button and getting life backwards.  Yes, I’m well into my late 70’s.  I didn’t major in math or electronics.  So what better to do than to refute old age?  I completed the online MIT electronics course just so I could be a more discerning audiophile.  Now I’m listening to music from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s.

@dogearedaudio said , "who keeps his 1972 BMW running like a top."

That's easy. Try keeping a 2022 BMW running like a top, on your own. :)

Lots of good reasons to try some diy, no matter the subject. I find cooking a challenge and rewarding at the same time. It's harder than I thought, and forget about baking.

@carlsbad2 I couldn't agree more and I couldn't have said it better

So true. I’ve started building speakers, first from css kits and now from scratch. I tend to sell them locally or give them as gifts, and some of the design sound as good or better than commercial speakers I have that cost of thousands and thousands of dollars retail. There’s also a pretty easy upgrade of upgrading the crossover with compatible capacitors and coils as needed.

Truth might just lie in the ditch buried by hubris. Perhaps Jefferson would have done well to study truth… Sally Hemmings for those who aren’t busy banning books.

and yes, i was running a Bridgeport at 12.. designing speakers w a PET FFT at 21… designing aerospace production systems since and recently working on getting qubits to behave for a bleeding edge computing hardware and software company…

I am aware or is it humble to not confuse if you want it done right with DIY….

oh and by the way, i worked closely with a Jefferson descendant… she is from the side of the family not afraid of truth… and equity… before you make the leap, her GGF was Lucian Truscott

@tomic601 I read up on Sally Hemmings and the associated trades. Partus sequitur ventrem. Given the current politics, and its history, the nation has an intrinsically more evil side than I thought.

and of course the blind and possibly willful ignorance in this thread… U of Chicago of all places… see Enrico Fermi… and just why he and his wife fled Germany… he of course just a refugee immigrant…  

but hey, let’s support the AFD…. 

For those who might care…see Atomic Heritage Foundation - List of European Refugees 

@carlsbad2 great post.

I am an accountant who specializes in energy generation, mining and forensics.  On my spare time i build, rebuild and race cars (currently on a semi pro basis) and do most of my own modifications on my audio equipment.  I am a coach on science Olympiads.

I think I learned a lot helping my late father build his Heathkits and Dynakits plus working on his cars and bikes.

I wish my kid's school would have offered a shop class.  I offered to buy some old electronics and a motorcycle for them to repair/restore.  School legal counsel wouldn't allow it.  So, we did it at home!

@tomic601 +1 for all your efforts.

Good advice to always be learning something new but with the caveat that if you value your expensive gear, don’t muck around with it yourself unless/until you really know what you are doing and have the right tools to do it right.  Also be  alert to potential to void any manufacturer warranties.

@tomic601  +2!

So we all agree politicizing science is a bad thing then?  I feel so much better now.

ISWYDT 👍😄👍

@tomic601 

see Enrico Fermi… and just why he and his wife fled Germany… he of course just a refugee immigrant…  

Enrico fled Italy, but for the same reasons he would have fled Germany had he lived there ...

@richardbrand yes, thanks for correction… team evil ran both countries….  i think my mind was in Germany..from where my ancestors fled…

@tomic601

I had to look Enrico up to confirm my suspicion! Apparently, he got interested in physics when he found an old maths/physics book written in Latin.

I never understood why I had to pass Latin before being allowed to study Physics at Cambridge in the UK! Took me two attempts ...

To get into university, the 17-year old Fermi had to write an essay "Specific characteristics of Sounds" where he used Fourier analysis - relevant to another thread here

Here are personal observations from @markphd.

@steakster while that thread is more about fine tuning your system, I am also thinking of people who have only 3 options when they have a problem. 

1.  Call the OEM.

2.  Find a local shop.

3.  Post here asking for help.

Jerry

And make sure that you are aware that there are push pull circuits that are class A and that class A is not just a SET thing.

And also be wary of audio repair advice from someone who tells you that the fuse rating that the manufacturer suggests is just an arbitrary number that he (the manufacturer) cooked up.  

My dad started his machine shop in our basement. I was his first "employee" at age 9. Physically impacting physical objects was second nature to me. Relocating the Mac9 racing engine from our racing go-cart as a kid onto a minibike then, unexpectedly, passing my dad coming the other direction in his Corvair van at 65 MPH was one of those "just because you can, doesn’t mean you should" moments.

My life as a "modder" of audio gear began innocently enough with interconnects It was the moment that I leaned that an $80 interconnect on a $350 CD player can sound better than an $800 player from the same manufacturer with the factory OEM cable attached. Years later, I "popped the hood" (or, in the UK, "lifted the bonnet") and looked inside. Discovered great examples of structural integrity, zero compromise, and attention to detail. Also noticed compromises due to manufacturing efficiency, in field service and cost considerations. Also found the occasional "weirdness" that was difficult to wrap my head around. And, some old, and VERY old thinking. I did eventually fill one item on my "bucket list", built a speaker, and was awarded a patent in 1990.

Attempting to describe sonic improvements from performance upgrades subjectivity is difficult, even if you have good command of vocabulary. I can sling authentic audiophile gibberish around with the best of them. But, until YOU have experienced something, you haven’t really experienced it. As someone said: "An opinion is what you get from someone else. A viewpoint is what you observe yourself." Taking a car from 0-60 in 5 seconds can be exhilarating. Doing it in 3 seconds is a different experience altogether. You go from "Wee, we’re having fun now!!" to blurred vision, lightheadedness, and the real prospect that you are having an medical emergency. Relating that same experience in an over-the-top audio equipment mod just doesn’t have the same impact.

My "mods" generally involve "low tech" solutions: improve connection integrity, parts quality, and sometimes just getting things out of the way that make it sound worse. Speakers, in particular, are guilty of errors of omission AND errors of commission. They can cover up detail, focus, spacial information, compress dynamics, etc. They are also guilty of adding sounds on their own. Things vibrate (and need to be dampened), reflections, and micro-phonics of components. Addressing BOTH of these phenomena provides good, consistent results. Sometimes $10 spent in the right area(s) can yeild more sonic benefits than $100 spent in the wrong area(s).

One of those things that gives me pleasure is discovering how much music can come out of inexpensive (yes, cheap) components if you get things out of the way and let them play. I’m also the same guy that bolted a turbo onto what is technically a British 4-cylinder tractor engine from the mid-60s. It’s not my 0-60 in 3 seconds rocket, but it’s a heck of a lot more fun to drive these days.

Part of my "education" process is to take a look at things from the totally opposite position from where I am "firmly positioned." Some may call it "intellectual humility." I reference a statement from the past: "There are no absolute truths. Only relative truths. And, workable truths." In that regard, one of my favorite books is: "Better Off. Flipping the Switch on Technology." The story is about an MIT student who decided to live with, do a research paper on the Amish for 18 months. No electricity. No internet. The life lessons he learned were profound. Won’t be the spoiler here. I’ll just recommend it.

Nice discusssion here. OP, thanks for the topic.

@immatthewj Thanks for the free rent.

I see you're reading my old posts.  keep it up.  you'll learn things. 

Jerry

@waytoomuchstuff thanks for your cool story and you're modding strategies.  I'm glad I inpired you to post it.

Jerry

@awise1961 Thanks for posting your experience.  I hope your eyes can hold on for you. hang in there.  jerry

@waytoomuchstuff I can relate to you on the automotive mods, mine journey began with completely disassembling our riding lawnmower, including engine at age of 12, 13, family discovers this, big trouble, the risk pays off as I get the thing back together, completely clueless going in.

I've always been of a mind that if one can't bear the risk of failure one may miss out on a learning experience. I've approached my audio mods with same approach, I actually destroyed a phono stage I converted from solid state design to tube alongside adding SUT to same unit, lost a good bit of money and lots of time on that one. I've frankensteined some of my equipment over the years, trying various components and/or values in order to  change voicing, adding resolution/transparency. There have been retrograde, lateral and forward leaning results, I perceive all were successes as I learned something. And I've taken every single aspect of home stereo to the same extreme, everything from breaker panel to room treatments, decades of experimentation, not afraid of risk. Result today is totally unique system, complexity way beyond the norm, but the sound conforms exactly to the preferences I developed over the decades. And I'm same with cars, motorcycles, I can go through everything from suspension to drivetrain, everything may be subject to modification. I do differ on one thing, I get a very similar 'high' from audio and automotive/motorcycle mods. By the way, speaking of 4cyl tractor motors in British cars, in midst of restoring my 1970 MGB GT, new upgraded engine alongside many other improvements/mods, really would like to build a Sebring GT.

@immatthewj Thanks for the free rent.

I see you’re reading my old posts. keep it up. you’ll learn things.

Jerry

Reading your old posts, @carlsbad2 ? Not really, I just read the daily posts on a few of the different forums and I remember both the good and bad ones. As far as learning things? Sure, I have learned that I wouldn’t base some work that I was going to do on my system on your advice.

I’m not afraid to take a $20,000 DAC apart and modify it. I’ve done mods for myself and other people.

Note to self: if that DAC ever comes up for sale on A’gon, stay far away from it.

I feel for you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEtx6L4U9rI