Bulky and sleek. Antique and modern. Analog and digital.
These opposites have somehow found their common ground in new stereo accessories for the iPod. British developers have been working on vacuum tube docking stations and amplifiers designed specifically for use with Apple's popular mp3 player.
This incorporation of old world technology in the present age is not a new idea by any means. Many guitarists currently use instrument-specific tube amplifiers and praise them over their solid-state brethren. To them, a tube amplifier captures the natural sound of the electric guitar and brings forth nuances often pushed aside by more modern methods of amplification.
Other stereos made specifically for the iPod have used solid-state technology, which audiophiles say lacks the warm, creamy tangibility of tubes. To please discerning ears, Roth Audio developed two models of their tube-driven systems: the Cocoon MC4 and the iTube Fatman.
“The cocoon goes well on a desktop while the Fatman is more for the living room,” according to James Roth, managing director of Roth Audio.
The Cocoon MC4 is an all-in-one docking station and amplifier with volume control and an on/off knob powered by four tubes. The iTube Fatman is a two-piece system that hosts the docking station on one part and the brain of the stereo on the other. The Fatman has additional inputs for auxiliary devices, an S-video output (for TV hookup), comes with a remote, and features a cool, interactive tube with a bouncing green light to indicate the system’s volume.
Both audio systems cost $649—more than the cost of a tube guitar amplifier with comparable wattage—which may be unwanted distortion to some ears. Still, music buffs are likely to weigh sound quality over cost.
“If you put an iPod into a docking station with good pre-amplification, it’s going to sound a lot better than putting it into a cheap one,” said David Chesky, a composer and co-owner of Chesky Records in Manhattan, which uses vacuum-tube-based recording equipment.
Information for this post was obtained from Anne Eisenberg's article "The iPod and the Vacuum Tube Sing a Warm Duet."
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