More voltage regulator questions
Jul 6, 2006 23:24:43 GMT
Post by xerxes on Jul 6, 2006 23:24:43 GMT
the DAK you are interested in may well turn out to be a real bargain but for that price neighborhood I would want an audiophile tested tried and true design that has shown some staying power against competition with any reviews by ears with no association or connection to the design threads.
I think that could be said about an awful lot of DIY kits. If you buy a "ready made", you can flick through the magazines and look around the web for stuff within your budget, draw up a shortlist of possibles, then go to a dealer and have a listen before you make up your mind and part with your cash.
With DIY, if you're lucky you can find some reviews, hopefully from unbiased sources, but you never really get to try before you buy.
However, for a kit you should also be paying a price far closer to the sum of the parts, rather than the parts, plus the cost of producing glossy brochures, paying for marketing, accountants, office staff, fancy premises etc. etc. and of course the the retailers substatial cut, which all adds up and accounts for around 75% of the cost of pretty much any product you buy retail.
Obviously large manufacturers can buy some components bulk, for less than small producers and kit suppliers, but given the reduced overheads, unless the design really sucks, you would hope that it would keep pace with retail products costing at least twice as much, and hopefully more.
Having said all that, I have an expensive couple of months ahead of me and this may have to wait a while. I am off to Amsterdam for a bit of a jolly at the end of this month and the month after that I'm going to my brothers wedding in Brazil, and he's not paying my air fair. Plenty of time to see what others think of it before I decide. ;D