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The return of the DIYer

I’ve been thinking about several trends and forces that are affecting our hobby and how this will change things.

The global pandemic and supply issues, unemployment and how disposable income has dwindled in the middle class over the last 30-40 years. The brick and mortar showroom is vanishing, and audio shows have become scarce. About the only aspect of the audio industry which has not dwindled or hurt as much are bloggers/review sites and DIY suppliers.

Our hobby grew up out of tinkerers and experimenters, and then seemed to have been subsumed by the all powerful consumer. The arm chair speaker or amplifier designer who could talk tech without every doing a bit of math or soldering became what we call a "true audiophile" so long as they regularly bought and sold gear.

Now though, perhaps the tables are turning. The lack of funds in many an audiophile’s pocket, lack of ability to go listen for yourself, I’d like to believe the age of the mega speaker holding the cover of audio magazines is over. I honestly wouldn’t mind seeing most mega-speakers vanish, being rarely more than excess without commensurate capabilities. Tweaked sounds, and fashionable trends in frequency alterations dominated the press and showrooms.

Is that all over? And if it is over, are we ready to return to our roots as makers instead of buyers, or are we in a temporary malaise? Nothing more than a flu from which we will bounce back? Or is the DIY er himself to vanish as well with the hobby?
erik_squires

Showing 4 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires OP
15,826 posts
 
There is far more access to diy audio supplies than in the day of Radio Shack, partsconnexion and parts express, amongst many others


For sure! But what Radio Shack offered you was a range of possibilities you could touch. You could be enticed by dozens of different electronic subjects in half an hour. We lack that in person store browsing experience. Of course, I can go online and order custom made speaker drivers made from Swiss cow bells now and pay in Bitcoin or Eth, but nothing comes close to the Shack.

erik_squires OP
15,826 posts
 
Don’t get me wrong. I have tremendous respect ...

And here is the problem. I don’t think respect should rely on how a person enjoys their free time. How much or how little some one is ready for isn’t a dividing line about who is worthy or not.  Snobbery of any kind is what's killing our hobby.
erik_squires OP
15,826 posts
 
RadioShack used to have all the tools and circuit components and not only RadioShack.
Instruction manuals for sound equipment used to have schematics of all boards printed and now instead all we read that access under the box should only be done by professional.
DIYing died back then.



You know, you hit it on the head.  With the death of Radio Shack it's really hard for a hobbyist to get into anything without a mentor or group.  I mean, sure, the Internet has a video for that, but why would you eve get interested? How do you get started?

The big interest is in robotics and Python and Raspberry Pi.
erik_squires OP
15,826 posts
 
Wow,  @Lanx0003 I never thought I'd read such an anti-DIY diatribe on here like that one.   I could ignore it, but there's things here to unpack, going from easiest to hardest:
Intellectual Theft
  Those projects are just replication of the existing design that the company has fabricated or copied from the manufacturer...
Imagine how cloning Wilson Audio speakers of worth more than 20k, 30k and above possibly damages company's business.

Almost all of the kits I've seen from Madisound, Troels Gravesen, Parts Express, Meniscus are unique. In some form factors it's really hard not to end up with the same tweeter and woofer as someone else because they are natural partners from the same vendor.  That doesn't mean the electro-acoustical design was copied.  This is especially true in 2 way systems.

Yeah, all those fake Wilson speakers out there really cut into their business .... << giggles hysterically >> because "I was about to spend $30k on a speaker, but hey, I cloned it instead, and whew, the rest I'm spending on women and booze"... is not a real thing.

The DIYers do not really design anything. That is not a hobby but "killing time" only.

C'mon guy, you are seriously going to try to redefine "hobby?"  Merriam Webster says you are taking liberties with the language, the definition is very simple and very broad:

a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation

DIYers in any field have a variety of skill levels and are attracted by more than 1 type of work. I welcome them all.  I used to make furniture.  By the time I wanted to make my own speakers I lost my woodshop so I had the cabinets made by Lee Tyler.  So am I not a DIYer now??

I am not sure what kind of fullfilment or satisfaction they got out of it.

So, based on this, I should say that fishing is not a hobby, because I sure as hell can't tell what kind of satisfaction a fisher gets when there's a perfectly good supermarket 10 miles away.

Mostly what I'm reading is someone frightened that people will build speakers instead of buy them at the store. Sorry that scares you.
Lastly, the DIY speaker field, which is the only one you focused on, is wide open and better than ever.  For about $300 you can have a complete measurement setup, and if you are willing and able to spend the time on the math and science anyone could become a speaker maker.   I'm one of those, but I'm happy to welcome people getting a start buy buying off-the-shelf kits too.   Truth is a lot of DIYers start with kits, or start modding commercial speakers and then learn the rest.  Same can be said with DIY amp and preamps and even DACs. 

Good for them.
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