Hey Guf and guys,
Nobody's stupid here, but indeed some of do come from more technical backgrounds and/or have been interested enough to make the investment in time and effort to learn about circuits -- it is not a requirement at all.
My background happens to be in EE and computer science, but my dad was a mechanical engineer and he's the one who got me started this and on working with my hands and building all kinds of things. That only means I understand a bit more of what's under the hood, but when it comes to listening, we are all probably seeking a higher level of musical enjoyment (which also takes time and effort to develop) and bottlehead is truly unique in this respect -- something even people with zippo for background can and do successfully build these kits and go on to love the sound, maybe even a bit more because of the proud poppa symdrome one gets from building it yourself. They also happen to sound fantastic and in the world of outrageously priced audio gear, they more than hold their own against things an order of magnitude greater in price. I can and still do scratch build, but my reference system is exclusively Bottlehead for amplification. I've also had much more expensie gear and nothing sounds as good as what I have now.
So, if you're so inclined there are plenty of resources to learn electronics on the web, at local community colleges, etc. should you want to, but that won't make the music any better, and after that, it's totally your own call as to whether the increased knowledge makes you feel any better about the gear.
Good luck,
Jim
,
Jim Rebman -- recovering audiophile
Equitech balanced power; uRendu, USB processor -> Musette DAC -> 5670 tube buffer -> Finale Audio F138 FFX -> Cain and Cain Abbys near-field).
s.e.x. 2.1 under construction. Want list: Stereomour II
All ICs homemade (speaker and power next)