Sound card With vacuum tubes?

[Morgoth]

are there anny sound cards that use vacuum tubes?
or audiosets that use these? for good nice sound?

 

[HumanSmoke]

Try the AOpen AX4B-533 Tube - tho' I'm not sure that the "analog sound" audio offsets the lack of compute power and features!

 

[Morgoth]

well thats a entire mainboard

 

[erocker]

Nothing available in a sound card, but there are several vacuum tube headphone amps. Here's one for example: http://www.crutchfield.com/p_818EF2...56145&awat=pla&awnw=g&awcr=19722308425&awdv=c

 

[Morgoth]

thats what i wanted to see thanks

 

[Frag_Maniac]

I'm not sure anyone has ever made just a sound card with vac tubes. Wouldn't be too practical given the sheer size of the tubes themselves. It would most assuredly have to be an external one. I've only ever heard of the headphone amps like erocker showed even on external hardware. Not really the same as a sound card though.

 

[PLAfiller]

This thread made me so curious. I've never heard about vacuum based sound cards. I had to check out on Wikipedia. It seems there is an ongoing debate about vacuum tube vs solid transistors. But the trouble of finding one vacumum based is so much, and they are so limited, I don't think I will ever be interested in buying one honestly.

 

[a111087]

are there anny sound cards that use vacuum tubes?
or audiosets that use these? for good nice sound?

if you are looking for good sound, i think you are better off with just a decent creative or asus sound card.

if you have the money and if you actually have a good ear for the music (which most people just don't have), then you might want to look into quality external sound cards and DAC.
Don't forget to upgrade your headphones / speakers.

 

[Morgoth]

well im into guitar playing i got a solid state 30 watt amp my self and also played on tube amps
since tube amps give a more warmt sound i was wondering if this was avaible for pc to since i also saw modern radio with tube amps on it

 

[erocker]

well im into guitar playing i got a solid state 30 watt amp my self and also played on tube amps
since tube amps give a more warmt sound i was wondering if this was avaible for pc to since i also saw modern radio with tube amps on it

For my guitar on my headphones I use a Hotbox Active DI. You can connect any kind of effects pedals to it including something like a tube driver... Unless you want to run it through your computer, then I'd go with a USB DAC.

 

[a111087]

Asus Xonar STX sound card upgraded with Burson opamps

http://bursonaudio.com/DIY_HD_Opamp.htm

take a look at their web site. they are claiming to have better sound and they are very expensive, but i personally had no experience with them.

 

[Morgoth]

those are solid state

 

[Mindweaver]

IOGEAR GUADT51 USB Interface Theater Sound Xperience Audio Adapter

 

[Zen_]

I've had a couple of the Chinese made tube headphone amps, and would advise staying away from them for a setup that is going to see heavy use and frequently inputting low quality sources (i.e. crap from the internet). I went through two of them in as many years before going with a solid state Aune USB DAC / amp that has been rock solid for at least four years. Tubes are fun and all, but can also be a huge headache.

 

[Morgoth]

IOGEAR GUADT51 USB Interface Theater Sound Xperience Audio Adapter

http://images17.newegg.com/is/image/newegg/29-107-001-TS?$S300W$

that is also a solid state not a vacuum tube it doesn't have the cathodes / anodes in it
just a pcb in it

 

[Frag_Maniac]

that is also a solid state not a vacuum tube it doesn't have the cathodes / anodes in it
just a pcb in it

Geez!, what scam will they think of next? Fake tubes are worse than fake boobs.

 

[d1nky]

i thought theyre called valve amps?

 

[TUngsten]

i thought theyre called valve amps?

Yep, valves are the same as tubes. I think it may be the British nomenclature?

There was a weird thing Cooler Master made a long time ago that was a tube audio "enhancer" that supposedly added tube warmth to your PC sound but IIRC it was universally reviled.

I'm also a tube audio enthusiast, and I'd probably just try and run a stereo out from your PC into a decent tube amp. I've never bothered though.

 

[d1nky]

yea ive seen the tube/valve amps and drooled over them. theres a few newer retro versions with glass tops that are stunning. many designs have gone OTT with tube/valves.

i would prefer the reciever amp to be the thing that was tubed/valved as i believe they require a higher power input. (i may be wrong)

i guess you could get custom made sound card if money was no object! im imagining a gold caps, low profile dual tube card. oldschool wires, black/red twisted. black pcb .....

 

[radrok]

Search for Apex Pinnacle, that's like an enthusiast vacuum wet dream.

 

[Mindweaver]

that is also a solid state not a vacuum tube it doesn't have the cathodes / anodes in it
just a pcb in it

Yea, it just looks cool, but not the real thing.

 

[radrok]

Yea, it just looks cool, but not the real thing.

Tubeception!!

 

[fullinfusion]

Asus Xonar STX sound card upgraded with Burson opamps

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_nFPh3HIPj...onar+STX+sound+card+with+Burson+opamps++4.jpg

http://bursonaudio.com/DIY_HD_Opamp.htm

take a look at their web site. they are claiming to have better sound and they are very expensive, but i personally had no experience with them.

What the heck does that card cost?