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Posts with tag vacuum tube

Orbitsound rolls out tube-based T6 iPod dock

by Donald Melanson, posted May 27th 2008 at 6:19PM

It's far from the first dock of its kind, but those that just can't get enough of that warm vacuum tube sound now have a new option to consider courtesy of Orbitsound, which is set to roll out its new T6 iPod dock. This one apparently combines those tried and true tubes with Orbitsound's trademark single-speaker AirSOUND technology, which the company boldly proclaims is nothing short of "life changing." So as not to let anyone out of that not at all overstated experience, the dock also comes equipped with standard 3.5 mm inputs and outputs in addition to an iPod dock to accommodate your various devices, as well as a video output and, of course, a remote control. No word on a price, but you can look for this one to start shipping sometime next month.

[Via Gadget Lab]

Gakken amplifier kit brings vacuum tubes to your iPod

by Donald Melanson, posted Mar 5th 2008 at 3:58PM

Gakken's no stranger to build-it-yourself retro audio gear, and it now looks to be trying to bring some of its old school ways to your iPod with its new Vacuum Tube Amplifier kit. As you can see above, however, while the company is apparently pitching it as an iPod dock of sorts (like we've seen before), it'll also work just as well with any other audio device, as it relies on nothing more than a headphone jack to hook things up. Of course, you'll only be able to do that after you put the kit together, but judging from the number of parts that doesn't look to be too daunting a task, and at about $150, it's not all that unreasonably priced either (the shipping from Korea could be another matter though).

Elekit's TU-873KEII tube amplifier for DIYers who can

by Thomas Ricker, posted Feb 8th 2008 at 3:51AM


Fancy yourself a do-it-yourselfer? Have a taste for the acoustic warmth our audiophile friends swear can only be delivered by vacuum tubes? Good, we've got the amp for you. Elekit of Japan just introduced their flagship TU-873KEII tube amplifier with a price set at ¥83,790 (about $780). The amp has a rated output of 8W x 2ch (8ohm), 10Hz - 50kHz frequency response, 106dB S/N ratio, and pretty blue ring up front to compliment your glowing tubes. You can even swap out the tubes until the sound is just right. With a March production run of just 300 units you might even have it assembled in time for Summer.

[Via Impress]

Rockridge Sound's VTS-384 tube amp and speaker dock for iPod

by Thomas Ricker, posted Nov 27th 2006 at 8:15AM

Check it vacuum tube buffs, Rockridge Sound has a new iPod speaker dock boasting a trio of vacuum tubes per stereo channel. As a result the VTS-384 delivers "full analog" sound out a pair of 2x2W (8ohm) speakers. The kit ships with a remote for controlling the iPod, wire protectors for those precious tubes, and RCA and USB jacks for sourcing non-iPod music or connecting USB speakers. Now, we're not so delusional as to consider ourselves audiophiles, but any benefit achieved by that single-ended triode vs. digital amp will likely be nullified by its compressed audio, iPod source, dontchathink? Still, sometimes it's not how the gear sounds, it's all about the looks. But for an expected MSRP of between ¥70-80,000 (about $604-$777) when these hit in February, you might rightly wonder if she's really all that.

[Via Impress]
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