[Robin W.]

I'm just wondering what various people like/want/expect from a kit?

I'm sure there are various answers depending on skill level and tools.
Who likes the all inclusive? Exactly what you'd find in the retail version of the product with "some assembly required".
How about board and tricky parts included but some of the common or prefered parts left upto the user, R's, C's, op-amps etc.
Or board only with suggested BOM/Schematic.

Thanks.

 

[DKJones96]

It really does depend on the person. I find putting together kits with everything included boring because you are basically just doing the work of putting the parts on the board. I get my fun from finding parts for everything.

 

[FallenAngel]

The only reason I ever go for a kit is when I get to save on buying things that only come in packages, such as the minimum 10qty order on some DigiKey parts. Usually, I like to pick parts myself.

Providing kits of hard to find parts is also very useful, especially when bundling 3-4 hard to find parts that must be ordered from different suppliers. I've definitely saved $50+ in shipping on some "kits" before.

 

[TimmyMac]

Board and Q-pack (if there's some hard-to-find silicon, or parts that need close matching) is usually best, I think.

 

[linuxworks]

what does 'q-pack' mean?

 

[Nemo de Monet]

I assume Q = transistor.

Part of the fun of DIY electronics, to me, is having a finished product that's different than everyone else has, so I'm not too keen on kits per se. That said, if a project is designed around a really hard-to-find part (Soviet opamps, subminiature tubes, decades-obsolete Japanese ICs...) - which I would argue is a bad design choice, but nevermind - making those parts available with the board as a sort of mini-kit certainly doesn't hurt.

 

[bjarnetv]

Putting stuff together is fun. shipping charges exceeding the value of the parts is not

For people in countries without proper electronics stores, kits are a godsend.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Just the PCBs and Q-packs - matching is nice, though.

Aside from that, I don't use many kits. I prefer to work with tubes and I'll use parts that I scour from electronics stores, swapmeets and hamfests. What turns up determines layout and part placement, so I don't really know how it'll turn out until I gather everything and sketch it out on paper.

It's more fun this way, anyhow.

 

[wolf18t]

Personnally I love hunting for parts and customize them to get a slighly different sound. But I hate casework. For me the perfect kit would be supplying PCBs and prepunched panel for a specific supported case. Don't need anything fancy and expensive here, the sound quality is the most important.

Getting the transfo with the kit is nice since they aren't always available at the usual suppliers (Mouser, Digikey). That help to keep the shipping cost down a little.

 

[Forte]

PCB and matched transistors.

Can see the appeal of kits for a first project or anyone not in the U.S. but have always preferred to order my own despite international shipping costs. You get the exact build you want and you learn a lot when you have to start comparing and choosing parts.

 

[keyid]

customization (add what I want and dont want) & fast shipping/response.

 

[Juaquin]

I like something that comes with a pre-made case (or at least is designed to fit into a standard enclosure like a Hammond) because I don't have any tools to do casework with here at school. I don't have a problem with ordering my own parts from mouser, though. So I guess my optimal kit would be a case and PCB combo.

 

[suo]

^ +1. I think casework/finding a pre-fabricated case is probably the hardest part of audio DIY.

Kits are nice for the fact you won't mess up. It's pretty easy to order the wrong part or a part that doesn't fit. Personally, I like kits that can save you from ordering from multiple websites (thus incurring extra shipping costs) and as others have already said, large minimum purchases and the sort.

 

[Robin W.]

That's pretty much the range of responces that I was expecting.
Different people buy kits for different reasons, and look for different things.
I was considering releasing a kit (entry level electronics but attractive case) however I see it would be hard to please the majority.
Thanks for all the feedback!

 

[Forte]

Although the responses here don't indicate it there is a demand for kits. Every time a new amp design is released here there are always people asking will a kit be available, can we get custom faceplates. Not everyone has the skills or tools for casework and shipping from multiple sources can be off putting.

Had a look at your website and a kit version of your Amp1 would appeal to students or anyone on a tight budget if they could save a few dollars as well as having the satisfaction of DIYing themselves a very nice looking amp. Also a kit version of a current model would be easy to trial as there would be minimal setup costs with the components already on hand, you could then get feedback direct from customers as to what they like or don't like.