[skeptic]

Also, just to maintain a little perspective, compare the wait times for Headamp, Eddie Current, or even a pair of Alpha Dogs.  Bottlehead is quite fast by comparison.  

 

[MattTCG]

^^ Thank you for this sage advice. 

 

[Doc B.]

We've only been doing kits for 20 years and I don't claim to know that much about the business. Nor will I bore you with details of quarterly cost analysis or the challenges of working with multiple small high quality manufacturers to maintain an inventory. There is a saying I have come across that seems to summarize it well:
Good, inexpensive, fast - you can have two out of three. 

 

[MattTCG]

I have owned and operated a small business for the past 15 years. I certainly appreciate the challenges across the spectrum to be successful. I certainly don't mean to come over the wrong way. I also don't expect anyone to be held accountable for the way they run their business on a public forum. 
 
I just wondered why the wait is so long to get the kit. Are the parts hard to source? Do you have space issues for keeping the inventory? Telling me it's none of my business is a perfectly acceptable answer. I was just curious. 

 

[brunk]

  I have owned and operated a small business for the past 15 years. I certainly appreciate the challenges across the spectrum to be successful. I certainly don't mean to come over the wrong way. I also don't expect anyone to be held accountable for the way they run their business on a public forum. 
 
I just wondered why the wait is so long to get the kit. Are the parts hard to source? Do you have space issues for keeping the inventory? Telling me it's none of my business is a perfectly acceptable answer. I was just curious. 

While I can't speak for Bottlehead, various audio components are very niche parts, which are also run by other small businesses. You are at the mercy of their productions every step of the way. The transformers are most likely requiring a minimum order to fulfill and wait time on top of that. Then you have the acquisition of wood/metal and fabrication time there too. Heck, even the various tubes can be time consuming to acquire since BH gives you NOS and not current-production. That is one thing i appreciate with BH that Woo doesn't do.

 

[Doc B.]

There have been times when we had kits on the shelf. The last time was in about 2010 when the economy was in the crapper. We did maybe 1/3 of the business we do these days, and we are currently seeing a growth rate of about 25%. I have added two employees in the past 18 months, we have increased the order size of some parts as much as tenfold and we just expanded our packing and shipping facility square footage another 30%. We have changed some vendors because the old ones were too slow, like our old laser cutter. And yet even with the continual moves to step up the pace we still find that there times when there are no five lug terminal strips,or Cree rectifiers, or 270 ohm 5 watt resistors (that match the picture in the manual so the builders don't freak out because we sent one that's green and round instead of white and square) on the entire planet, and there won't be any for six weeks. So remember that every time one of you guys says "Why can't Bottlehead keep kits in stock?" I'm saying "Why can't Mouser or McMaster or Solen or DigiKey or Cree or Alpha Wire or Panasonic keep parts in stock?"
 
I get that this is the age of Amazon (by the way, hey Amazon, I've been waiting a week and a half for the shipping notice for my new modem you said was in stock ready to ship that day) and that we are all impatient. But if I focused entirely upon that aspect of the business we'd probably just end up selling junk*. And I think there's already plenty of competition in that market.
 
* I was was going to say s**t instead of junk, but my esteemed colleagues have turned that word into one representing very high quality. Go Schiitheads!

 

[JamieMcC]

On that note I have just found and subbed to Jason Stoddard "Schiit Happened" The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up thread  looks like it will be both a interesting and entertaining story and am looking forward to the next instalment.

 

[MattTCG]

  There have been times when we had kits on the shelf. The last time was in about 2010 when the economy was in the crapper. We did maybe 1/3 of the business we do these days, and we are currently seeing a growth rate of about 25%. I have added two employees in the past 18 months, we have increased the order size of some parts as much as tenfold and we just expanded our packing and shipping facility square footage another 30%. We have changed some vendors because the old ones were too slow, like our old laser cutter. And yet even with the continual moves to step up the pace we still find that there times when there are no five lug terminal strips,or Cree rectifiers, or 270 ohm 5 watt resistors (that match the picture in the manual so the builders don't freak out because we sent one that's green and round instead of white and square) on the entire planet, and there won't be any for six weeks. So remember that every time one of you guys says "Why can't Bottlehead keep kits in stock?" I'm saying "Why can't Mouser or McMaster or Solen or DigiKey or Cree or Alpha Wire or Panasonic keep parts in stock?"
 
I get that this is the age of Amazon (by the way, hey Amazon, I've been waiting a week and a half for the shipping notice for my new modem you said was in stock ready to ship that day) and that we are all impatient. But if I focused entirely upon that aspect of the business we'd probably just end up selling junk*. And I think there's already plenty of competition in that market.
 
* I was was going to say s**t instead of junk, but my esteemed colleagues have turned that word into one representing very high quality. Go Schiitheads!

 
Thank you for the response and I certainly appreciate your commitment to deliver a quality product as efficiently as possible. I wish everyone at BH continued success. 
 
After several days on my "loaner" crack, I have found nothing that approaches the sheer sense of enjoyment that the crack is able to flesh out in my hd650's. It's truly a sublime and hypnotic experience. I've owned many hp and many amps. This is the best pairing by a clear and appreciable margin. 
 

 

[Doc B.]

Thanks for the kind words Matt!

 

[Shaldome]

So I picked up my package from customs on Thursday and have the next week off, which should be enough time to build it
On my way to the post office to pick up my solder, I will take a visit to a brick&mortar store to get some stain for the aluminum plate and wood base. Maybe I will start painting and finishing the base today to give it some time to dry. I also think I will stick to my plan to build the basic Crack first and install the speed ball upgrade later next week, which is also the suggested approach from Bottlehead, if I remember correctly.
 
I will report back when I have finished it or ran into problems.

 

[JamieMcC]

Crack bypass update.
 
Russian Teflon K72P6 (silver one) soldered in place this morning, it is 0.056uf in value. The smaller black capacitor which it is cable tied to is a JFX 2.2uf metalized film!
 
Phew what a relief nothing sounds any worse and first impressions with the Teflon in the chain are encouraging!  I will let it burn in for a while now.
 

 

 

 

 

[grrraymond]

Just checking in to repeat that I now listen to music like I did when I was a kid. When my missus goes out, I love nothing more than to pour myself a bourbon, kill the lights and dance around listening to house and pop music.

I never think of anything that's missing, or if only this, that or the other. Music just sounds brilliant again. The only real downside is that it's kind of killed my audio obsession so I very rarely pop by HF any more.

Thanks, Doc.

 

[punit]

 When my missus goes out, I love nothing more than to pour myself a bourbon, kill the lights and dance around listening to house and pop music.

 

U must have a really long HP cable

Takes one to know one, cos I do the same & I have a 10 ft extension cable.

 

 

[Loquah]

Just checking in to repeat that I now listen to music like I did when I was a kid. When my missus goes out, I love nothing more than to pour myself a bourbon, kill the lights and dance around listening to house and pop music.

I never think of anything that's missing, or if only this, that or the other. Music just sounds brilliant again. The only real downside is that it's kind of killed my audio obsession so I very rarely pop by HF any more.

Thanks, Doc.

 
You must have had very progressive parents, letting you drink bourbon while you danced around listened to music! LOL
 

  U must have a really long HP cable

Takes one to know one, cos I do the same & I have a 10 ft extension cable.

 

 
I'm so glad to hear that my old Crack has found itself such a happy home. May it bring you years of enjoyment!!!
 
Which tubes are you liking best?

 

[Doc B.]

Thanks for the kind words! Nothing makes me more happy than hearing that someone stopped geeking the technical and just soaked up the tunes.