I've been building hi-fi stereo setups for years with all sorts different budgets, different rooms, helping friends spec out systems. I even worked at a hi-fi shop for several months before I came scurrying back to tech (a good story, but, uh, out of scope here). I kept wishing for something like PCPartPicker.com but for stereo gear. A place to design and save my systems, check compatibility, and see exactly how everything works. So I built it.

No sign-in required to create builds: just hit "Start Your Build" and add parts. The signal chain diagram updates in real-time as you build and you can run a system evaluation at any time. (Sign in to save, share, fork, or publish your system.)

The problem: turntables need phono preamps (sometimes), speakers need proper power matching, digital sources need DACs (sometimes), and on and on. These issues often aren't obvious without going down the rabbit hole of online forums, facebook groups, and reddit threads. Audiophiles can be... prickly. I think more people would be able to get into the hobby of listening to hi-fidelity music (it's my no-screen therapy) if there was a better onramp.

Solution: BuildHiFi lets you design a stereo system virtually and test it out. Select parts, see exactly how they connect via signal chain visualization, and run compatibility checks to catch missing links and power mismatches.

Technical approach:

- Graph-based signal flow: Products become nodes, connections are edges inferred from port compatibility (digital, analog, phono, speaker-level domains)

- Port profile system: Standardized port definitions (direction, domain, connector, channel mode) enable automatic connection inference

- Rule engine: Eight rule domains covering completeness, phono stage, digital chain, power matching, impedance, subwoofer, room, and speaker checks — plus positive insights for good matches

- Built with Next.js 16 App Router, React 19, TypeScript, Supabase

The catalog has 1,100+ products across speakers, integrated amps, power amps, preamps, turntables, streamers, CD players, DACs, phono preamps, and subwoofers. There's also a Learn section with guides on compatibility fundamentals and a browseable parts catalog.

Long term business model is to get some affiliate partnerships with gear sellers, but for now all the "shop this part" links just do a google search for the brand and model name.

Current state: looking for tire kickers and people who will build some public systems and show them off.

TL;DR: I built pc part picker for home stereos because it's something I wanted and think there's an opportunity in the market.