Total Marketing Fail

Posted in Technology on February 28th, 2010 by Dr. Warthan
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Sure, slap a tube on it, and watch the SteamPunkers and audiophiles line up with pockets full of green vomit in disgust.  This is the X-Tube, a USB/headphone amp made to look like a vacuum tube, promising high-quality DTS sound.  But there’s a problem.

That problem is “marketing”.  First, calling it the X-Tube was really stupid.  Go Google X-Tube and you’ll come up with a laundry list of porn sites.  Porn + Marketing = Win Fail (in this case).  Second, the fake tube gimmick is so overdone; the various communities that are into valves prefer real and fully functional ones.  Third, according to the DVICE blog I saw this at, there’s strong evidence to suggest that the DTS slapped on the plastic tube is a lie.  Lie + Marketing = Total Fail.  Last, is why?  Almost all modern computers, especially laptops, have built-in headphone amplifiers.

Via: DVICE

Valve Amp for the Audiophile

Posted in Music, SteamPunk, Technology on August 6th, 2009 by Dr. Warthan
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There’s a lot of buzz on the popular, tech blogs about the new T-2 amplifier from Neuhaus Labs.  It’s built on vacuum tubes and hand-wound transformers.  I’ve got about 14 years [at the time of writing this post] in the Pro Audio and Video manufacturing industries, so naturally, I was very curious to look at the T-2.  Short answer:  It’s a WIN!  Here’s my opinion.

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Nixie Clock with GPS Accuracy

Posted in Technology on May 29th, 2009 by Dr. Warthan
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This is just plain cool no matter who you are.  I love Nixie tubes.

Nixie Clock

There’s no shortage of retro clocks using those gorgeous nixie tubes, but this one’s different. It mixes the 60s-era Eastern European IN-14 time-telling tubes with a serial GPS receiver that keeps its accuracy rock-solid. In addition to that modern wizardry, it also incorporates clever tube-saving features, such as programmable on-and-off times, along with a routine that displays a scrolling date across the tubes to prevent burn-in.

From dvice.com