This thread is a breathe of fresh air. Yes, it is satisfying when you have the opportunity the mentor a young person. It is great you are taking the time to do this.
The bottlehead sounds like a great project and it has got to sound great. Make sure to spend some time looking at some videos on the art of soldering. There are clearly right and wrong ways to do this--you may even find some tips on line regarding the build of this particular unit.
If for some reason this project doesn't come to fruition, I can give a thumbs up on the Bellari. I am listening to it right now for the last 2 hours. I use it in a headphone based system for early morning listening. It drives my Sennheiser HD660s with ease sourced from a Project table with an Ortofon Super OM20e cartridge. Picked up a couple of premium tubes to have a little fun with inexpensive tube rolling. I love this little system. Very musical, smooth yet detailed, invites you to listen for hours. You can also upgrade the PS if you want. You can't go wrong for the price and I wonder if it is not a bit more "fun" than the Mani.
The bottlehead sounds like a great project and it has got to sound great. Make sure to spend some time looking at some videos on the art of soldering. There are clearly right and wrong ways to do this--you may even find some tips on line regarding the build of this particular unit.
If for some reason this project doesn't come to fruition, I can give a thumbs up on the Bellari. I am listening to it right now for the last 2 hours. I use it in a headphone based system for early morning listening. It drives my Sennheiser HD660s with ease sourced from a Project table with an Ortofon Super OM20e cartridge. Picked up a couple of premium tubes to have a little fun with inexpensive tube rolling. I love this little system. Very musical, smooth yet detailed, invites you to listen for hours. You can also upgrade the PS if you want. You can't go wrong for the price and I wonder if it is not a bit more "fun" than the Mani.