Vacuum tubes are BACK!

Saint_Proverbius · Post by **Saint_Proverbius** » Tue Jul 09, 2002 10:06 am

[ -> N/A]

It looks like the venerable vacuum tube might making a come back to the tech industry in motherboards per this <a href="http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art ... preview</a> on <a href="http://www.hardocp.com/">HardOCP</a>. If you'll look in the middle left of <a href="http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image ... Zw==">this picture</a>, you'll see.. Yup, that's right, a vacuum tube! There's also a <a href="http://www.hardocp.com/image.html?image ... =">glamour shot</a> of the tube as well. What's the tube for? Well, here's a bit of the <a href="http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art ... article</a> here: <blockquote>Close ups of the tube and other components show off that this isn't just for decoration. The header that you see in the second picture above is not a power header, but rather the plug that handles the audio out jacks. <div align="center"><a href="http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MzAy"><img src="http://www.duckandcover.net/proverbius/ ... iv> You old guys will remember that vacuum tubes need some high-end power as well. AOpen has fitted the board with components spec'ed at twice the 200 volt power requirement by the tube system in order to produce a solid and stable platform. Seems to be no skimping here. </blockquote>Nothing like retro-tech! This was spotted at <A href="http://www.bigkid.com.au/index.php">BigKid</a>.

OnTheBounce · Post by **OnTheBounce** » Tue Jul 09, 2002 10:29 am

That is truly amazing. I was reading an article the other morning about how vacuum tubes are back w/a vengeance in the high-end audiophile market, being used in low-power amplifiers coupled w/various types of speakers for very realistic reproduction, but this goes far beyond what I'd have expected...

OTB

Max-Violence · Post by **Max-Violence** » Tue Jul 09, 2002 11:24 am

Next, they'll be making processors out of chicken feathers...

Oh, wait, they already do!

James · Post by **James** » Wed Jul 10, 2002 9:04 am

If you have ever used a tube (even only in the pre-amp stage) amp vs. a transistor amp for playing guitar then this would seem fairly intuitive.

There is a sound which is obtainable using valves which is unobtainable with trannys.

A nice idea!

Edit: Oh OTB, they have been used in guitar amps, both in the pre-amp and power amp stages for a while now. It's very popular, and if you listen to the sound you can hear why. Amps with valve power stages are fairly fragile though.
I would like to listen to a music system which utilised valves, it should sound pretty good!

OnTheBounce · Post by **OnTheBounce** » Thu Jul 11, 2002 10:22 pm

James wrote:Edit: Oh OTB, they have been used in guitar amps, both in the pre-amp and power amp stages for a while now. It's very popular, and if you listen to the sound you can hear why.

Yes, it's basically the same argument that Neil Young was using against CDs back in the late '80s and early '90s, namely that analogue gave you close to true reproduction as compared to digital averages. (This didn't keep him from having his catalogue released on CD, though.

) I agree to a certain extent since I still have plenty of vinyl and a turntable and it's basically the same argument between CDs and LPs as it is between transistors and vacuum tubes.

BTW, I would like to thank you for getting the song Toob Amplifier by The Presidents of the United States of America (I forget what they're calling themselves these days) stuck in my head w/your post.

OTB

Saint_Proverbius · Post by **Saint_Proverbius** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 1:23 am

Good old Neil Young.. I hate that guy.

OnTheBounce · Post by **OnTheBounce** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 4:14 am

Saint_Proverbius wrote:Good old Neil Young.. I hate that guy.

Then you would have loved the article in CD Review that I read that bit in (back in '92, IIRC).

(I have a sneaking suspicion that most folks posting on this board aren't old enough to know who he is, though...)

OTB

Section8 · Post by **Section8** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 8:39 am

They probably know the stuff he did with Pearl Jam. God, Pearl Jam were shit.

Insane-Lark · Post by **Insane-Lark** » Fri Jul 12, 2002 9:03 am

Section8 wrote:They probably know the stuff he did with Pearl Jam. God, Pearl Jam were shit.

Anything that could be filed under the heading *grunge* is crap & should be redirected to the round file or better yet a landfill.

As for Neil Young, I'm old enough to know who he is but young enough that I'd much rather snag the Bowie, Steely Dan, Janice Joplin, The Band, Klaatu etc first

OnTheBounce · Post by **OnTheBounce** » Sat Jul 13, 2002 6:38 am

Section8 wrote:God, Pearl Jam were shit.

Why do you say that? Was it Eddie Vedder's whiny, mumbled and generally incomprehensible lyrics? Or was it what asshole w/the hat that made him look suspiciously like Strawberry Shortcake? (That second one is enough of an excuse to round them all up and arrange a little trip to Room 101...)

OTB

James · Post by **James** » Sat Jul 13, 2002 7:38 am

Well I hope Neil Young will remember,

Couldn't resist, sorry

I can't say I'm a massive fan.

namely that analogue gave you close to true reproduction as compared to digital averages

I think he had a point though.

I find that albums which were recorded originally using analogue technology sound better on vinyl than on CD, frequently even after remastering. But I don't know how much of this is me being used to the sound of an album on LP, or the tape of the LP. There seems to be a warmth to the original sound which is lost in transition to CD, even though (or maybe because) the signal to noise ratio inevitably improves.

But more modern stuff either sounds good on CD or doesn't, IMO.

Somewhat tangentally:

There's a fun winamp plugin, iZotope Vinyl, which can add some artifacts from vinyl playback (warp, dust, scratches etc.) to mp3 playback. It's not going to turn your mp3's into records, but it's worth messing around with for a while.

Red · Post by **Red** » Sat Jul 13, 2002 8:07 am

Actually, analog (specially vinyl) isn't very hi-fi at all...

The only reason we like it is it's imperfection actually... Given we introduce some imperfections in a certain pleasant manner it'll provide us with a better atmosphere (a bit like people toying with an equalizer all the time... I mean the music wasn't meant to be listened modified, but as it was, yet people keep fidling with it... Although this can sometimes be legitamite given the speaker fidelity)

So the reason we like those vynils better then the remastered CDs is not because of quality but nostaligia. If you've spent all your youth listening to an album on vynial and then suddenly switch to a remastered CD, it'll sound all different (and to your ears bad...)

Also note that CD quality is pretty poor, as studios often can record up to 32bit 196khz per channel (and then downsample it to CD quality) - albeit CD quality is officially "what people can hear". Though of course some people hear better then the norm...

As a last comment, I'm not an audio buff, so I'm sure someone could talk me straight about what I'm saying here

Saint_Proverbius · Post by **Saint_Proverbius** » Sun Jul 14, 2002 3:45 am

OnTheBounce wrote:Then you would have loved the article in CD Review that I read that bit in (back in '92, IIRC).

(I have a sneaking suspicion that most folks posting on this board aren't old enough to know who he is, though...)

OTB

Did the article point out that ears are mechanical in nature and thus, have a reponse time?

The ear's not going to know the difference if the steps in the waveform are close together because those bones only move so fast.

Red · Post by **Red** » Sun Jul 14, 2002 7:24 am

Cartilages, not bones... well, I think anyhow...

Kotario · Post by **Kotario** » Sun Jul 14, 2002 11:26 am

No, Saint Proverbius is correct, bones. Smallest bones in your body. I don't remember the number, six I would answer tentatively. In any case, it is not a very important issue.

I'll be quite now.

Ardemia · Post by **Ardemia** » Thu Jul 18, 2002 7:34 am

Well I was gonna post about guitar amps but I got beat to it
don't forget bass amps
some of them are tube driven too