[sdiy] PAiA 9700 kits/Blacet

[xamboldt]

I've built MOTM, Paia, and Blacet kits, and based on my experience, MOTM
offers the best total package - high quality parts / designs, and extensive
instructions / theory explanations.

Paia also has very nice, complete instructions / theory explanations, but as
others have said, they tend to cut corners on parts in order to keep prices
down. I still use some of my Paia gear, however - they're definitely
functional, useful instruments, although sometimes they need more TLC than
my other modules (which could be my fault since a lot of my Paia stuff was
done when I was less experienced).

Blacet has near-MOTM quality when it comes to the parts - in fact the only
differences I really notice are that Blacet uses carbon pots instead of
cermet/plastic, uses cheaper jacks (haven't had any fail, BTW), and doesn't
use shielded cable or mounting brackets. The designs are top-notch. The
assembly instructions are complete, but for the modules I have, the theory
explanation was pretty thin compared to MOTM and Paia.

All that being said, I still plan on ordering more kits from all three in
the future.

Hope this helps,
Chris

On 11/6/05 1:02 AM, "Aaron Lanterman" <lanterma at ece.gatech.edu> wrote:

> 
> I'm going to be getting some MOTM modules to make my students build, but
> I'm also looking at:
> 
> 1) PAiA 9700 series: $450 for the four modules seems to be a _lot_ of bang
> per buck.
> 
> 2) The Blacet stuff. For those who have built MOTM and Blacet stuff, how
> would you say they compare? Are the Blacet assembly instructions/theory
> explanations as good as MOTMs?
> 
> I can't think of anyone else that makes full kits...
> 
> - Aaron
> 
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