Quality DIY Sound

An Exciting Transition!

Hey Bottleheads,

You may have noticed the mention of interesting developments coming in 2025 on our website. We’re now ready to share what’s happening. Eileen and I have had a blast creating and growing Bottlehead for the past 30 years. As I am approaching 70 we find ourselves ready to retire. But the big question was what to do with Bottlehead? We felt the ideal situation would be for someone who shared our enthusiasm for the DIY audio mindset to step in and keep a good thing going.

Today we’re thrilled to announce that a passionate family of enthusiasts who truly believe in what we’ve built has acquired Bottlehead. These folks aren’t just investors — they’re longtime fans and community members who are committed to preserving what makes Bottlehead special. Let’s introduce them:

● Jameson O’Guinn is a longtime Bottlehead customer who has assembled nearly every kit in the lineup over the years. He’ll lead product development and marketing.

● Lindsey Phelps will handle accounting and will head up initiatives Bottlehead intends to pursue in STEM and education.

● Jean Bauder will take over shipping and customer service duties from Eileen.

● Eric Bauder has a deep background in electrical and mechanical engineering, and will be working closely with the team to help with product design and community troubleshooting.

We’re also excited to share that Paul Joppa and Paul Birkeland are sticking around as consultants and product designers. If you have been following us for any length of time you understand what a huge contribution these two have made to Bottlehead’s success. So you can expect to see new products with the same Bottlehead family sound, as well as receive the same level of support on our community forums. Eileen and I will be helping with the transition and will stay around for a while in an advisory capacity.

Regarding the transition, there will be a brief intermission starting today, June 13th. Over the following couple of weeks the operation will move from Washington to Illinois, and we are working hard to have everything back up and running by month’s end.

Eileen and I want to give our heartfelt thanks to all of you who have supported us over the years. It’s been an amazing ride and we truly cherish your riding along with us. We're looking forward to this new chapter in the Bottlehead story with much satisfaction and excitement.

Dan “Doc B.” Schmalle

Former President for Life

Bottlehead Corp.

More detailed info is available at [email protected]

Got questions? The very best place to get them answered is the Bottlehead Forum. Don’t forget to opt in to receive notifications so you can get the latest info about special offers and new products when you register on the forum. We won’t hammer you with junk. You’ll just see a Bottlehead Newsletter a couple times a month.

Bottlehead also has a YouTube channel. It is a repository for lots of tips and tricks to help you build your kit. We have a series by Doc B., The Doctor Is In, that shows some in depth tips and tricks for selected aspects of the build process. The first episode is about assembling the wood base that comes with your kit, and some simple ideas for finishing it. The second covers painting your chassis and the third has tips for mounting the various pieces of hardware to your chassis. The fourth video is all about soldering up your kit.

Welcome to Bottlehead

Here you will find vacuum tube based amplifier, preamplifier and headphone amplifier kits, speaker kits, finished high end tube audio products, reel to reel tape machine upgrades, parts, and one of the finest support communities on the web.

Bottlehead chassis, wood bases and speaker cabinets, transformers, PC boards and even that nifty little Bottlehead badge are all made to order in the USA. It typically takes four weeks to get the parts made for your kit.

YES! You can do it!

The majority of Bottlehead kit builders are first timers – and many go on to build an entire system!

Come join the ranks of DIY audiophiles and find out how much better your system can sound when you invest your money in excellent design and high parts quality without having to pay for factory assembly. The Bottlehead Forum has hundreds of members ready to answer questions and offer support to your first kit build.

“Long before ‘content marketing’ and ‘social media’ became business buzzwords, the good people at Bottlehead created a forum for tube audio enthusiasts that remains one of the best audio sites on the web and a brilliant way to encourage prospects to take the leap and buy its products.”