I’ve built 2 of these (I ordered the partial kit) and not only do they sound great, they were really fun and easy to put together. Sonically the HC-1 is dead clean (to my ears anyway), can’t tell the difference between it and my audio interface, which is great.
The quality of components provided in the partial kit was excellent. I ended up modding mine for more gain as per described in the HC-1 support/mods doc which can be found by searching the DIYRE support page.
Also customer service was excellent, Peterson was quick to answer all of the annoying beginner level questions I had; super grateful for that.
Great kit, great company! Nothing more satisfying than putting things together yourself, these people make it possible.