Tube amps and iPods

Tvad,

I, for one, believe the iPod is a source that would benefit from tube amplification. While I don't run my iPod through my main rig, I do have a laptop hooked up, and I stream various Internet radio stations at bit rates from 64k to 224k, very similar to typical iPod output. These streams were made far more listenable when I added a tube preamp. I'm not exactly sure why that's the case, but I'm guessing the tubes take the edge off the compression artifacts, while possibly adding some beneficial harmonics of their own.

The biggest difference between my setup and using an iPod would be the DAC. While I have a pretty inexpensive Firestone Audio FUBAR DAC, it may be better than the Wolfson in the iPod, and regardless it doesn't have to run through the amp as in the iPod. I'm sure the iPod, though, would receive the same benefit running through the tubes as my laptop/DAC does.

Does it sound as good as my vinyl or CDs? Of course not, because no compressed medium does. But there's great stuff on the Internet, and anything being streamed at 128k or above is definitely worth a listen.

David

Wow, Biomimetic, great rage against the machine. If your "point was more about disposable culture, gadgets, and badly made products", I'm not sure you made your point. If you just don't like the iPod, that's cool. If you just don't like today's music, that's cool too. But the battle you purport to be fighting was lost long before you or I were even born.

As for me, I've never "rented" an MP3 in my life, but I have about 200 hours of music ripped from my own CD collection. My wife, on the other hand, loves buying both individual tracks and whole albums from iTunes, and has discovered lots of great music while only risking $.99. I think both of our paradigms are valid.

And by the way, I have plenty of "technical skill", and yet still choose to listen to music on my iPod. Amazing, huh?

:-)

David