Introductions

[Grainger49]

Many of the posters on the new site seem to be new to the Bottlehead experience.  Some are old reliables like me.  But I'm sure it is hard for newbies to tell.

I'll start:  

I'm Grainger Morrison, retired Electrical Engineer, didn't learn about tubes in school.  I worked in industry, making things, not circuits. I started kit building in 1965 with my brother.  I have been a Bottlehead since 2002, I think.  First Bottlehead kit was Seduction bought the day they went on sale.  I also have a Foreplay 2 and Paramour 1s.

I understand circuits and Ohm's law.  A little more.

Who is next (during the Christmas doldrums)?

 

[Mudhiker]

I'm Isaac Gorton AKA Mudhiker.

I spent 8 years as a Coast Guard Electronics Technician and now run a cabinet finishing shop.

I built a set of Paramours in 2002 and have since done a Foreplay V. 2, Straight Eights and a S.E.X. amp.

I have had to privilege to work on some absolutely monstrous circuits over the years, though alas, no LORAN.

 

[Aural Robert]

I'm Rob Melnyk, hailing out of Vancouver BC.

I've been a draftsman, a college instructor, done CAD support, IT Manager, unemployed, and now I'm a building designer working in a manufacturing environment. I have virtually ZERO electronics knowledge or training.

I bought my first kit (Foreplay II) in 2003 +/- based mainly on reviews, but more on the support from the Forum here. That gave me the confidence to go the DIY route and I have not regretted it. I now have a Seduction, Paramours, FPII, and a recently completed SEX for the living room system. I've also built a couple of different speakers using the Fostex FE166E (one of them is the SEXY speaker). I've just picked up some vintage JBLs and am looking forward to experimenting with them and a/b-ing them with my Fostex BLH boxes. I really LOVE this whole DIY experience. I lurk here and on AA fairly regularly.

Aural Robert.
... Where's that confounded bridge? ...

 

[Wardsweb]

My name is Luther and I'm an audioholic...most of you know me by Wardsweb. I've been into electronics for over 20 years in one form or another. I've worked in automotive controls and active suspension, low earth orbit satellite (LEOSAT) communications and combat DF (radar), telecom/VoIP/network security and have been into computers and web design since 1998. Wardsweb is the shortened version of Wards Web World which is how I started out on the web. I now run WardswebLLC.com to fund my audio habit.

I've built a Foreplay, Paramours, Seduction and Sex amp. I just received my Quickie that I will work on after the Holidays. I tend to be obsessive by nature and meticulous in contruction by NASA schooling. It is difficult at best for me to leave anything stock. I have as much, if not more, fun building than I do listening.

 

[dbishopbliss]

My name is David.  My first DIY project was in the 1980's when a friend and I decided we hated messy interconnects on our stereos, so we made short ones.  Nothing to do with sound, only aesthetics. 

In the early 90's when I was young and reckless, I decided to modify my Fender amplifier.  I bought a kit and a cheap iron and started hacking.  I didn't know what I was doing at all and I had to stand on a rubber mat for it to work.  I'm amazed now that I didn't hurt (or kill) myself when I discharged the filter caps by grounding them to the chassis with a screwdriver.

I didn't do anything else until the late 1990's when I decided to make cables again, this time because I didn't want to spend $$$ like my friend.  Soon after that, I bought a Foreplay I for $99.  I didn't actually put the thing together for one year or so.  Soon after that, I got a Paramour I kit.  It sat in the box for a year, then I bought the iron upgrade and put it together.  Soon after that, I got the Foreplay III, but this time I built it right away.  A year after that or so, I got a S.E.X. amp.  That sat in the box for a couple of years, I bought the upgrade for it and just completed about 2 weeks ago.

My speakers weren't efficient enough, so I decided to make a set, but realized I didn't know anything about power tools or wood working, so I took a class at the local community center.  Since then I've made a couples of enclosures for the Fostex FE127E and FE167E.  I've also made a pair of Jim Griffin Jordan/Aurum Cantus monitors and a pair of ART Arrays.

I have also build a LM3886 chip amp and a Mauro Pensa RefC chip amp. 

I am good at putting things together, but don't know anything about designing my own stuff.  Last spring, the local audio club decided to have a contest to build an amp around the 6V6 tube for $250 or less.  This has been good motivation for me.  At least now I can look at a schematic and tell you what part of the tube is the anode and what is the cathode. 

Oh, I also help Doc out now and them with the website.  Mostly tweaking how it looks.  I build websites for a living, but I am not a designer.  I take what other people come up with and make it work (sort of like I do with audio projects).  Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to get everything I want to get done around here done.

 

[SteveH]

My name is Steve.  I'm an Electrical Engineer by profession.  I started out in the Canadian Forces as an Aerospace Engineering Officer, working mostly on airborne communications systems.  After taking an early retirement in '96, I have continued to work with the military from the industry side, mostly working on large military systems integration programs in various engineering and management roles.

My interest in all things audio has persisted since I was a teenager listening to my dad's tube amp, followed by my own solid state stuff.  I've built lots of speakers and several solid state amps, and I've been reading about tubes for some time.  My Quickie is under the tree waiting for me, so hopefully it will be the gateway to many more projects.  I'll keep you posted.

Steve

 

[corndog71]

I'm Rob and I'm an audiophile.

I've been in love with music forever but didn't get bitten by the audio bug until my mid 20's.  I started with car audio as I practically lived in my car.  While rebuilding my car stereo I was learning about the installation side of things when I heard differences in cables which blew my mind away.  I would hang out at all of the hifi shops in the city and listen to every piece of gear I could find. 

My first decent stereo consisted of my Sony CD walkman, a slightly rewired superscope integrated amp and a pair of Paradigm Atoms.  It was pretty much all I could afford.  Eventually I was able to afford nicer stuff as I kept expanding my knowledge of the hifi world.  My first real experience with tubed gear was at some short-lived high-end store.  They had a stereo that had all tube electronics and some very expensive speakers and turntables.  When the guy queued up a blues record my jaw hit the floor as the recording came to life right in front of me!  It was so life-like I could almost feel the performer's presence in the room!  

For the longest time I felt like most tube gear was simply out of my price range.  While working at a electronics repair shop I got to hear some seriously old tube gear and once again the fire was lit.  I tried learning some tube basics but my first efforts were pretty ugly.

A few years later I found Bottlehead and eventually bought a Foreplay 2 and loved it!  I tweaked and modded a couple of clones and still use one of them today.  I also have a SeX amp which I picked up within the last year.  Been wanting a Foreplay 3 forever but it's always just out of my reach.

This forum is still one of my favorites as there's almost never any strife and most of what I've learned about tubes has been from the great gentlemen who frequent here.

I've long been a fan of DIY and currently I've become obsessed with modding my speakers.  My last project was building my own subwoofer.  

 

[glynnw]

My name is Glynn Wilson and I am an audiophile.  It started in college when I saw my first Dynaco gear and AR tables with  AR and KLH speakers that various students had.  Now at age 62, it is still a major part of my life.  Recently retired and returning to NW Louisiana, my birthplace, I spent the last 20 years in sales for various record labels and distributors.  Working 7 years at Telarc, I was able to see how much work went into audiophile recordings.  Later, with a large distributor, I sold Water Lily, Audioquest, DCC and several other audio oriented brands, but my real income came from groups like Iron Maiden and Snoop Dog.  You gotta pay yer bills.

I built a pair of B-Glow amps while recovering from some surgery in 2000, but remained involved mostly with higher power tube amps and gear that wasn't DIY.  In Detroit I was invited to Nutube's house to hear his Bottlehead system and I was knocked out. I sold all my gear and started over, building a Foreplay II and a pair of Straight 8s, using an ASL 2A3 amp. Following directions on the web, I performed every mod to the Foreplay that I could find.  A couple of years ago I built an Extended Foreplay III and a pair of Paramounts (first as 2A3, then switched to 300B) and am just switching speakers to a pair of Bassszillas I built this summer.  After attending VSAC 2008 I was so impressed with the computer based sources I saw there that I have switched to 100% hard drive playback, using XXHighEnd software and a Wavelength Brick DAC. Whenever Bottlehead puts out it's DAC I will build one and decide which I prefer.

Many thanks to DOC,  PJ and all the members of this community who continue to give me advice.  Grainger has me buying Russian caps on ebay now.  I am having a ball.  I have no electronic traing and cannot read more than a basic schematic, but with Doc's instructions on disc it is very hard to screw things up.  I still am afraid to probe around in my gear when it is powered up - my initial tests usually have me doing the unpowered checks and then plugging it in while holding a fire extinguisher.  When things go real bad, I send my gear to Ed and he saves me.

 

[jimbop]

Jim Dombrowski (aka Jimbop) from Colorado Springs.

I've been a musician, music lover and hi-fi enthusiast since my teenage years (I'm now 55). I studied electronics for 3-1/2 years at a very good high school in Milwaukee, but I smoked too much pot to benefit from that education. I built a Dynaco preamp and tuner from kits when I was in high school, as well as several bass guitar cabinets and some Madisound speaker kits. I got introduced to tube gear when I was in my last 20's (Dynaco Stereo 70 and Mark III amps). I bought a pair of George Wright 2A3 amps about 8 years ago, and have built several Bottlehead kits since then. In the last couple of years I've ventured further into tweaking and upgrading my gear, and will probably do a scratch build at some time. I also need to thank everyone here, and at Audio Asylum, for all the help I've received.

JD

 

[wgrr]

First post here.  I have been lurking on and off for awhile.  A year ago November 2008 I lost my job and since I had ordered a S.E.X. amp in October before the prices went up, I figured it was the perfect time to build it and play with it.  The build went perfectly, so I had no reason to post for help.

I am a musician.  I played for fifteen years as a concert bassoonist.  I will spare you the details.  (I could sell my ax and buy one or two of every Bottle head product offered,.. it is a thought)  I also performed in Renaissance and Baroque consorts.

I decided I liked eating, so I got out of music and returned to the family biz; HVACR. (heating, venting, air conditioning, and refrigeration)  Did that for awhile, got injured, and went back to college for a CSEG degree.  Worked as A Unix sys/op for nine years.  Got tired of that and went back to commercial HVACR mostly in management. As mentioned before, I lost my job and used the time off to build my S.E.X. amp.  Did not get to play with it much though.  I took a job with AT&T in January 2009.  I am now responsible for the HVAC (no R) and building automation in 55 buildings.

As far as being an audioholic, I guess I am one, with no time to feed my addiction.  I hope that changes in the future. 

I went solid state free back in April of 2007.  I sold and traded all my SS McIntosh gear and got myself two MC40's and an MX110 tuner/preamp.  Feeding noise to the amps is a Luxman cassette deck, a Luxman CD player, a TEAC A6010 RtoR, and my newly recommissioned pride and joy, a TEAC TN-400 TT with a Micro-Sieki MA 505 tone arm.  I built the plinth and put it on practice arrow points, that sits on top of three marble floor tiles from Home Despot. The floor tiles sit on top of equipment sound isolators that are cork sandwiched between rubber.  My S.E.X. amp is for headphones.  Right now an iPOD is the source.  I would like to hook my TT to this amp.  That would require I build an phono preamp.  The cartridge In my TT is an Ortofon Moving coil X1/MC.  I am going to upgrade to the X3 or X5/MC soon.  That is why I am here.  I will post my questions in the appropriate forums.

I am Bill Ricker and I am 52 yo.
Thank you, I have learned a lot here.

         

 

[Grainger49]

Cool, a Teac 6010!  I used to sell them.  What nostalgia!

You should post a picture of your system in the Gallery folder.

 

[wgrr]

Cool, a Teac 6010!  I used to sell them.  What nostalgia!

You should post a picture of your system in the Gallery folder.

I will post pictures soon.  I completely rebuilt the A-6010.  Sounds great.  Only a few small issues left to take care of.  As you know, the tape transport is separate from the amplifier.  Might be a good candidate for a tape project deck.

Nostalgia is an understatement for this deck.  For years the deck was used to record the Philadelphia Folk Music Festival.  Philly is my hometown.

Bill Ricker

 

[ducati guy]

Conrad Stachelek AKA ducati guy (love those Ducati motorcycles). Currently an oncologist in Erie, PA. Started out as a physics undergraduate, then got my Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics before settling into medicine. I've been building electronics for a long time; still have my Heathkit HR-10 ham receiver I built in 1960 (same set of tubes). Got into audio in the mid 60's and built at few kits at that time. With work demands didn't get back into audio until 6 or 7 years ago. I went into the only audio store in the area and was amazed to find tube amps again. Got a Cary Rocket 88 and then proceded to take it apart to find out what justified the price (other than the iron, nothing that I could see). Found Bottlehead and have built several of the products. Amazing sound at a great price. I'm currently working on several projects in parallel as time allows. Hope to have my version of the Bottlehead SR-45 amp finished soon. Then on to my "super Paramount" with Mike LeFevre's FS-100 plate choke and TFA -2004 outputs. Many thanks to those who have put up with my construction questions. As you probably realize by now, I have absolutely no engineering background.

 

[jrebman]

Hi Bill,

Love the sound of those double reeds!

Someday I'll have to chat with you about your A6010.  I have one here in basic working orderr but could use a little TLC.  Also have an Akai GX-747D that's in near mint condition, just needs a little lube and light cleaning.

Would love to figure out how to get the A6010 to work with a seduction or Eros and get it back in top form.

Unfortunately, neither of these decks will work for tape project tapes as they need 15 IPS capability and probably other things as well.

-- Jim

 

[jrebman]

Ok, so maybe I should take my turn...  I'm Jim Rebman, live in Boulder, CO, and am 51 years old.  My bacground was originally EE when I worked at the Princeton Plasma Physics lab as an engineer and researcher working primarily with real-time embedded systems and very high power systems (think 120KvDC @ 100 A continuous), but eventually spent all of my time writing software.  Graduate work was in cognitive and computer science.

I have been into audio and building things electronic, metal and wood since I was a kid and following in my father's footsteps.  In the late 70s and 80s I designed and built lots of SS stereo gear and more than a few speakers, then got ill, lost my sight 20 years ago, and about 6 years ago decided to get back into audio.  I stumbled on the bottlehead site as I was looking for speaker kits at the time and noticed this very curious collection of "toy" amps that only put out a handful of watts and lots of people that had previously had similar gear to my homebuilt ss stuff saying that this was the way to go.  RMAF happened shortly after, and only being 40 minutes away I went to check out some of this low power tube gear, and that was all it took.  Between Doc, Ron Welborne, Jim Hagerman and a couple of others, I was hooked, and will never forget that Nagra deck playing through the early tape repro amp -- that spoiled me for life.

I'm currently living with a very nice 2a3/45 amp with a mercury vapor rectifier and a single digital source and all computer based.  Trying to keep track of hundreds of albums and over 1200 CDs with braille labels was getting frustrating to say the least and the computer has just let me get back to the music without the hassle of being a librarian as well.

I'm building a fully tweaked s.e.x amp and just got notice today that my nickel MQ upgrade iron is on the way.  Not sure what will be next, Stereomour, Paramounts, or the BH dac, but that will happen when it happens.

I also want to think all the folks at BH who have had lots of patience with my blind man's questions that should seem obvious to somebody with an EE background, but I have no real way to access schematics and tubes were only giving passing mention when I was in school.  This is a great place with great and helpful people and I've learned a lot from the folks here.

-- Jim

 

[Doc B]

Hey Jim,

Love the "Blind Bottlehead" description for your avatar/text. I now have this mental image of you in an old, worn shiny suit with a porkpie hat and dark glasses on, playing a National resonator guitar out on the front porch. Our conversation at the first RMAF is one of my more pleasant memories of that show, and I think folks here are rather in awe of your skill in putting these kits together.

 

[Grainger49]

I can't imagine.  I burn my fingers too often without being blind.

 

[jrebman]

Thanks, Dan.  I like the image .  Though I have to admit it was more like birkenstocks, a headband and a D-28

Of course I still haven't actually put a kit together either, but that is under way, so we'll all get to see how I do in the not too distant future.  MQ goodie package is being delivered today.

Grainger, believe me, I still manage to burn myself now and then too.

I recently finished building a Millet Minimax hybrid headphone amp for my dad's 80th birthday and if I ever take on another project that has a zillion little pieces on a dense PCB, somebody please put me out of my misery before I do it.  The guys who designed that definitely packed 10 pounds of potatos in a 5 pound bag, but... it works and sounds great according to my dad.


I love the listening, but the building is also a huge part of the fun for me.

-- Jim

 

[Wardsweb]

Thanks, Dan.  I like the image .  Though I have to admit it was more like birkenstocks, a headband and a D-28

Of course I still haven't actually put a kit together either, but that is under way, so we'll all get to see how I do in the not too distant future.  MQ goodie package is being delivered today.

Grainger, believe me, I still manage to burn myself now and then too.

I recently finished building a Millet Minimax hybrid headphone amp for my dad's 80th birthday and if I ever take on another project that has a zillion little pieces on a dense PCB, somebody please put me out of my misery before I do it.  The guys who designed that definitely packed 10 pounds of potatos in a 5 pound bag, but... it works and sounds great according to my dad.


I love the listening, but the building is also a huge part of the fun for me.

-- Jim

Jim I'm in total agreement on having fun building. To tell you the truth I have as much fun, if not more, building gear than I do listening to it and I do love listening. As a matter of fact, last evening a lady friend of mine came over and we spent several hours listening to music, drinking wine and nibbling on cheeses and fruit. She was so impressed with the sound she took a picture of the system to send to her boyfriend.

 

[rock4016]

I have not purchased or built any Bottlehead gear, but I have built at least 10 single ended tube amps over the years.  I've got a tube amp in my bedroom system, one connected to the Wii that the family uses and 3 complete amps in the basement with 2 more being built, and a guitar amp that needs to be finished.  I've repaired several old guitar amps and a couple console amps.

I've been to many bottlehead meets in the Northern VA area (at Castle Steves place, and Fritzs) and enjoyed the DIY spirit of the folks involved with BH.

These DC DIY guys got me into tube DIY http://www.dcaudiodiy.com/.

I also enjoyed participating in the 6V6 competition.

Lots of nice folks with great info to share.  I think it's neat to hear what some people have put together over a 30 year period, and how everyone has different tastes and priorities.
-Joel