Yes I started off by building my amplifiers and speakers. In my case it was a couple of Mullard 5-10 designs and a Wharfedale design using an RS8DD drive unit in a wharfedale design distributed rear port enclosure of about 1.5 cu.ft volume. Oh and the deck was a Garrard SP25/II with a Shure M3D cartridge.
This system remained with me for about three years, when I replaced the TT with a Collaro 2010 deck to which I fitted an SME 3009 arm with a Shure M55E cartridge. That lasted a year then I replaced the TT with a Thorens TD124/II, and changed the amplifier with a Sugden C51 control unit feeding a copy of the power section of the Sugden A21.
Happy days!