How Did You Get Here?

[Grainger49]

It occurred to me how I found Bottlehead just this morning.  When Art Dudley sold Listener to a big distributor they contacted me and I subscribed.  I started reading Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg's column, may he rest in peace.  He suggested something other than the "normal" tube amplifiers, was a huge supporter of VSAC and named Bottlehead as one of the best values in all of audio.

I came, I read, I bought.

How about the rest of you?

 

[Paully]

Audioasylum.

 

[xcortes]

Searching for turntable kits. How was it called? Bix? Never purchased one but have purchase everything else (sometimes several ea) from the BH -and TP- catalog.

And I open the BH forum many times a day too!

 

[bobster]

searched the internet (google) for tube-based hi-fi amplifiers and the rest is history.

 

[JC]

I read the review of the original SEX Amp in Glass Audio way back when.  This led to a VALVE subscription and eventually to this forum (didn't even own a PC at the time!).

That first review of that early product indicated to me that these guys were primarily interested in the circuits they designed, and as an older hand at this, I related to that more than anything.  Also, I liked the idea of a company selling kits with a number of NOS/salvaged parts where available.  Recycling used to be a big deal in the electronics hobby!  Even in school, we often challenged each other to "make" something out of the odds 'n' ends we found lying around in the lab.  Hell, Heathkit got its start designing products out of military surplus, after all!

Finally, this is one of the better sites for people willing to talk about their experimenting.  The application of SS items where appropriate to make vacuum tube circuits perform at higher levels than the original designers were able to achieve is ground-breaking stuff that I only really see a couple of places.

 

[AudioDave]

It was back in about 2001 I believe and I was surfing the net for a new pre-amp and just happened to stumble upon a site with a super cheap tube pre-amp kit in a wood box called a Foreplay.  Tubes?!?!?  Kit?!?!  I had always thought vacuum tubes had gone the way of the dinosaurs and stereo kits vanished when Heathkit went away!!  One thing led to another and now I have trouble counting the number of Bottlehead kits I have assembled!  Best stumble upon a website I have ever made!
Dave

 

[Dr. Toobz]

I only found out about Bottlehead in late '08. Being in my thirties, tube electronics were something I saw only when I was very young (i.e., early 80's), and only in older relatives' homes. I've been into audio and electronics since I was a kid, and always wanted to build my own gear. My early memories of warm sounds emanating from from old tube amp/box speaker combos like my uncle's Dynaco led me to want to explore that route as opposed to SS. Plus, tubes are way cooler to look at! Some Google-ing and searching of amps in kit form brought me to Bottlehead, and several months later, I had built a new S.E.X. amp. Now, I have BH gear in different parts of the house and have built all the upgrades, like C4S boards and better irons, and am rewarded with great sound and the pride that comes from building one's own gear. It's helped me to rediscover my early love of electronics and kits, and is a fun way to escape the stressful world of DSM-IV diagnoses, standard deviations and pathology I have to deal with as a psychologist.

 

[Keim]

I bought a Teac amplifier.  It broke within a year.  I was unable to get it fixed.  This made me mad!  I said "I'm gonna make something myself.  That way I can repair it when it breaks."  I'd heard of kits before, though not Bottlehead.  I researched and heard about the Foreplay...

Only problem is nothing has ever broken-so I haven't had to do any repairs.  Hope I didn't jinx myself.

 

[grufti]

can't remember ... getting old ... having fun though.

 

[ssssly]

Shortly after joining the Air Force I got a second job at a Hi-Fi shop to make ends meet. I quickly got used to listening to gear like McIntosh and Krell amps pumping through B&W and Wilson speakers. Since there was no way on my meager salary to afford such things at the time, I decided that if I couldn't buy it I would learn how to make it.

Doc's outstanding manuals relieved me of the need to really learn anything other than how to solder well. But I get the same satisfaction of building it myself and it sounds better than the stuff I couldn't afford to buy back then.

And now that I can afford to buy it I wouldn't dream of it. The gear I have built sounds way better and the community and customer support that is the Bottlehead experience could never even be approached by "hi-fi" companies.

So thanks for a great adventure and what a long strange trip its been.

 

[Martin G]

I got here through Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg too.  I'd been searching the net for info on repairing tube radios and stumbled on his website.  His descriptions of gear that would make you want to "dance naked in front of the turntable" really appealed to me.  I grew up listening to tube radios and tube console stereos (I'm 50).  I'd never soldered anything before but after reading the Bottlehead forum for a little while I figured I'd give it a shot.  Bought the $99 Foreplay kit, soldered it up over two nights and when I fired it up the smoke stayed in and it made beautiful music!  I added Paramours when they first came out.  Love 'em.  Still read the forum just about every day.

 

[RPMac]

After 15 years of living with Nak TA-3A SS amp and Klipsch Heresy, I was never satisfied with the sound...particularly after long and loud listening sessions. Remembering the days of drooling over the Heathkit catalog, I began searching the net for something better. Reading Gizmo lead me toward SET. Bottlehead was one of the few I narrowed down to, but what sold me was this forum.

 

[Grainger49]

Three votes for Gizmo.  I'm sure we all miss him and his insane writings.

 

[Wardsweb]

I attend an audio meet in Houston on 10/26/2002 and was introducted to Bottlehead and tubes. I had spent a life time with SS and only thought of tubes for my Dad's Fender guitar amp. Well I was in awe of the sound from these low power tube amps and single driver speakers. The journey had begun.

 

[Hank Murrow]

I don't remember how i found BH, but I was an original subscriber to the Xerox-printed VALVE magazine; and attended the first three VSAC's in Silverdale and the last one in Vancouver WA. There, Doc introduced me to Paul Birkeland, who agreed to take my eight-year collection of tasty MQ bits (and other stuff) to turn them into my "Final Music System". So, while I have not enjoyed the special joy of building my own gear, I do have the pleasure of getting the projects I dreamed about actually built...... and the system sings! My pottery career is in full stride @ 71, so I am glad I concentrated on that, despite the attractions of the fabled blue smoke......... & glad to be in good company here.

Cheers, Hank

 

[Doc B]

Fun thread, folks, thanks for all the kind words.

 

[Natural Sound]

When I was a teen back in the 70's I took a 2 year electronics course. It was far enough back that we learned tube technology as a springboard for learning transistors. Part of that class was a lab where we each built a two tube mono amp consisting of a 12AX7 and a 6V6. I used that amp for years using a cheap cassette player as a source and an open baffle Altec Lancing speaker salvaged from a console HiFi setup that was destined for the landfill. Later a friend of mine used that amp as a practice amplifier for his electric guitar. As a person that likes to stay on the cutting edge I abandoned tube technology in favor of solid state. I also sold all my vinyl records and replaced most of them with CD's. I continued on this path for nearly 20 years and then stumbled on a few DIY headphone amp articles on the WEB. Since I've never been all that impressed with Solid State I decided that I would build a tube based headphone amplifier. In the process of narrowing down which circuit to use and sourcing parts I discovered the Bottlehead SEX amp. I was intrigued by the 6DN7 dissimilar triode design. Having a small and large tube circuit in the same glass envelope seemed really cool! And what was this "parafeed" thing anyway? By then I was hooked. I was a "tube guy" again. I ordered the SEX amp and have been very happy with it ever since. Of course it doesn't stop there. I bought a Seduction/FPIII "package deal" and some Paramour II's to build my main system. And recently I purchaced a Quickie and Crack (I hate that name BTW). Those amps are not built yet but are on the agenda after the spring chores are done. I'll build the quickie first to swap into the main system as a backup while I "raise the hood" on the FPIII and install some mods.

Thats my story to date. I'm sure there will be more to come. I'm anxiously but patiently waiting for some type of DAC to come from Bottlehead.

 

[ToolGuyFred]

Bought a Parasex amp after reading the ad in Sound Practices (sometime in the last century). Keep coming back. Well impressed with the Bottlehead team.

(Lost my Audio Asylum login and have just registered here.)

 

[HF9]

Ages ago I stumbled upon a post at AudioAsylum mentioning Bottlehead. Back then I didn't know the greatness behind vacuum tubes, the enjoyment behind building a kit or appreciate the vintage style of the plate on wooden base look.

More recently, I decided that building an amp was on the bucket list, and I put together a Millet MiniMAX kit. While the build was enjoyable, there really wasn't much opportunity to tweak the design. I then decided that I would take a crack at the Crack headphone amp. Now that I've gotten a bit older, I've grown to appreciate the Bottlehead look, old-school vacuum tube designs and building my own equipment, and oddly enough, shun the minimalist-looking SS equipment I listened to when I was younger.

The Crack build was enjoyable and sounds excellent... which led me to build the Seduction and I'm now planning on building the S.E.X. when time permits. Bottlehead gear is just far too addictive

 

[Maxwell_E]

I was talking to my friend one day in my 12th grade English class and mentioned that I was a fan of tube guitar gear and was looking for the modern equivalent of a Heathkit stereo. He mentioned that his dad (Doc B) does stuff like that, and that I should check out the website. I logged on, and I was hooked. I must have read every review on every forum about these things. I couldn't be happier with the product, and the people who make it. Thanks.