I've spent my whole life as a DIYer and HiFi enthusiast. To the best of my memory, I stumbled on to the Electronic Tonalities (Bottlehead) website around 1997. At the time I had 2 Krell amps, some PSB speakers, a Cal Audio tube DAC and transport, and some preamp. I was working lots of overtime trying to assemble a system based on Stereophile recommended components, and was really pretty happy with the results. I convinced my wife to purchase a Foreplay kit ($99) and a Paramour kit for me ($349 I think) for Christmas, I believe. I had no idea what I was getting other than there was a very enthusiastic group of people on this forum singing the praises of these components. I grabbed the Whamodyne speaker design and ordered up those cheap MCM drivers, because I knew my PSB speakers wouldn't cut it with only 3.5 watts. I have to admit, the thought of an aluminum cone driver made me shutter. After all I was a Stereophile reader, there's no way this will sound as good as my PSB's. I built the speakers over Christmas break in an ice cold garage ( I live in Nebraska, so it really was ice cold). I new the ET kits would have to sit if I built them first, so I knocked out the speakers in a couple weekends. My kits were wrapped nicely under the tree on Christmas morning, and I tore into them like a kid! I was so excited. My wife then told me that she had talked to Eileen at Bottlehead when she ordered them, and Eileen had went out of her way to make sure they arrived in time for Christmas. As she told the story of the great interaction with Eileen, she admitted to waiting way to long to order the kits. Eileen made sure the got out and they arrived Christmas eve day. I began the assembly of the Foreplay, and over the next 3-4 weeks, I built the Foreplay and Paramours in stock form. I had an old Marantz receiver I snagged from the goodwill for $25, and I played the Whamodynes in my dungeon of a basement while I built the kits. I was surprised at the sound they put out, but didn't really pay much attention to them. I was focused on getting the kits done. Once they were finished I set them up in the dungeon on a cinder block DIY rack. I hooked up my very first CD player (vintage 1985, I purchased when I was 15 years old for like $400. Insane!) and turned on all the power. As I rolled the volume up I was pumped! It worked! I sat down in a folding chair, and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was blown away! This meager hand built by me system was killing my main system that had I spent crazy amounts of money on. I was in love with the sound. It didn't take long before I started on modifications based around reports on the forum, and it just kept getting better. As time went on, my Stereophile components were sold off, and I worked to get the most out of my Bottlehead system. Fast forward about 15 years, to the present, I have a much nicer basement now, but the same Foreplay and Paramours. The Foreplay has a string of mods I likely can't remember, and I just installed C4S and upgraded iron in my Paramours this year, after waiting 5 or 6 years, because I never wanted to be without the amps. C4S and iron was a huge upgrade to say the least. Maybe someday I'll feel the urge to try out Paramount or whatever else Doc and the guys come up with, but for now I'm set on amps. I did purchase a Foreplay 3 to replace my current Foreplay, but I haven't built it yet. I just finished a Crack amp, and am getting ready to start modifying it. My current system also has Seduction with C4S, a DIY turntable based around the Teres motor kit, and Pi stage 4 speakers. It's the best system I have ever heard at any price. Bottlehead has a lifelong customer in me. Thank you for your wonderful products and customer support, your truly a world class group of people. I can't wait for my kids to get a bit older so we can start building some kits together, and I can expose them to this wonderful hobby.
Pfenning
Pfenning
Paramour 1's with c4s and iron upgrade, Foreplay II, Seduction with c4s, Crack (stock) and Foreplay III (waiting to be built), DIY turntable with Rega RB250 arm with Incognito wiring, Oppo DVD, Pi Stage 4's and DIY subs