Korg nutube

[bd139]

Interesting idea:

http://korgnutube.com/en/

And you can actually just buy them: https://uk.rs-online.com/mobile/p/double-triode-valves/1449016/

Edit: and they have design tutorials: https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/design-of-a-korg-nutube-amplifier-part-1-tube-basics

Now to mug some guitarists. Mwuhahaha.

[ataradov]

A new vacuum tube which puts vacuum fluorescent display display technology to practical use

And before this glorious invention we had no practical use for VFDs?

The real triode structure produces a warm, unique vacuum tube sound, delivering excellent linearity.

What is so unique about vacuum tube sound that can't be reproduced by a digital post-processing?

[bd139]

You’re 100% right on both counts. However when someone starts selling a new tube I think about shrugging my morality for a bit and jumping on the bandwagon. Gotta eat.

[kalel]

Whatever the sound difference might be (I really don't know), the question is is it being emulated by signal processing on many consumer devices (for example an effect you can choose)? This probably needs a bit more work and might not be included in many devices.

You can definitely use various VST plugins on a computer, but I'm not sure if they exist on consumer devices made specifically for music playback.

[ataradov]

You can definitely use various VST plugins on a computer, but I'm not sure if they exist on consumer devices made specifically for music playback.

There may be a couple of reasons to not include that. There is either no difference, or difference is negligible. Or people that go for this kind of thing are looking for physical glass, not the actual sound.

[bd139]

Tubes are a faith argument so it’s about money or no money really.

Oh and supporting a dying VFD company

[CJay]

ISTR these Korg NuTubes are low voltage and actually look very little like a 'traditional' valve/tube so they may not satisfy the afficionados for whom a glowing matched pair of KT88s or EL34s is the only real answer (where and how it needs to be inserted is a matter of hotly debated opinion of course)

I was going to order a couple to play about with as they look fun but wow, expensive, for the next couple of months I'll stick with silicon and maybe next year if I can sell on some of my junk^h^h^h^h valuable collection of vintage electronics I might treat myself to some.

[iampoor]

The real triode structure produces a warm, unique vacuum tube sound, delivering excellent linearity.

What is so unique about vacuum tube sound that can't be reproduced by a digital post-processing?
[/quote]

Sonically, you can get very similiar results, but sometimes the dynamics and "feel" of playing through digitally emulated vacuum tubes is just off. This is especially important in certain styles of music, and with certain guitar tones (Blues music comes to mind)! Of course, I am specially referring to vacuum tube guitar amps, many of which have little to no negative feedback.

Of course, this is a subjective opinion, but one that I have found many musicians I know have. I wonder if it has to do with the digital approximation of the transfer curves not being completely accurate? Also might be manufacturing tolerance of tubes, from my understanding, the parameter variation is pretty wide.

[ataradov]

Oh, never mind the audiophool market that believes a real light corresponding to real audio can create extra spiritual enjoyment.

But you've got to admit they look cool.

I think they missed the price point though. This needs to cost at least $150-200. Otherwise the stereo base is too narrow.

[Z80]

The real triode structure produces a warm, unique vacuum tube sound, delivering excellent linearity.

The 'warm' valve sound is actually because of a lack of linearity but that whole page has obviously been written by marketing and is full of freshly laid BS.
I don't really get the whole DSP quest, surely it's better to use them to improve the sound.  The beauty of valve amps is they are really simple and you can knock one together in an afternoon, spending months emulating this in a DSP seems like a lot of wasted effort.

[iampoor]

Oh, never mind the audiophool market that believes a real light corresponding to real audio can create extra spiritual enjoyment.

But you've got to admit they look cool.

I think they missed the price point though. This needs to cost at least $150-200. Otherwise the stereo base is too narrow.

Considering how many well manufactured modern production tubes are avaliable for under 15$ a pop, I dont think so.

This is targeted at the musical instrument market in low budget applications.
http://www.voxamps.com/MV50

[CJay]

Depends what the amp is for but why shouldn't people use valves/tubes if it gives them a sound they like?

For musicians a valve amp is as much a part of the instrument as, for instance, the neck of a guitar or even the strings and a good guitarist will 'play' the amp as well as the guitar.

Now if we are talking HiFi then colouring the reproduction of the input signal is a bad thing IMHO, I want my amp to be able to produce clean bass, sharp clear highs and not add its own sounds.

[bd139]

Got to agree there. Some good points.

The "high end hifi" is where the crackpottery is really.

[GK]

Wonder how microphonic they are. Datasheet specifies a "Resonance Frequency" of 5.8 kHz, but says nothing else with respect to microphony (no sensitivity spec. for a specified operating point with respect to acceleration). How much warm glow do you get from a pair of 12mW heaters? Maybe the purported glow is vacuum fluorescent-like if you wind the anode voltage up high enough.

There was also this new twin triode a few years ago by a company called Techtube IIRC. This creation might have been the last gasp of a dying CRT manufacturer as the tube looks internally like a pair of re-purposed CRT electron guns. Company went belly up as far as I can tell.

[rdl]

...

Oh, never mind the audiophool market that believes a real light corresponding to real audio can create extra spiritual enjoyment.

I actually like lights on audio equipment, preferably blinky active ones. I think they missed an opportunity here. I bet it wouldn't have cost that much more to add some pulsating bargraphs or some such thing. No reason audio can't be fun.

[CJay]

[quote author=rdl link=topic=100708.msg1379852#msg1379852 date=1513779202
I actually like lights on audio equipment, preferably blinky active ones. I think they missed an opportunity here. I bet it wouldn't have cost that much more to add some pulsating bargraphs or some such thing. No reason audio can't be fun.
[/quote]
Isn't that the whole reason for listening to music, fun?

[kalel]

Music is definitely about fun. I like little audio spectral analyzers (with LEDs or whatever). I prefer those that do actually work (there are some fakes ones too, responding to audio level only and simulating the frequency data).

[woody]

Turns out that SlimDevices were really ahead of their time. Lights, spectrum, AND a VFD 

[CJay]

Turns out that SlimDevices were really ahead of their time. Lights, spectrum, AND a VFD 

Now there speaks a person who probably didn't live through the 80s boombox fashion...

[woody]

Turns out that SlimDevices were really ahead of their time. Lights, spectrum, AND a VFD 

Now there speaks a person who probably didn't live through the 80s boombox fashion...

Wanna bet?? 

[SeanB]

Wonder just how good a regular run of the mill VFD would work there, it does after all fit the definition of a directly heated triode, having a heater, control grid and anode. Wonder if I should dig out some of the old single digit VFD devices I have and see if they actually have any gain as an amplifier. Multiplexed array will be harder to use, though you do get multiple anodes in there, or you can have a mixer using multiple grids to modulate the current.

[Cyberdragon]

Wonder just how good a regular run of the mill VFD would work there, it does after all fit the definition of a directly heated triode, having a heater, control grid and anode. Wonder if I should dig out some of the old single digit VFD devices I have and see if they actually have any gain as an amplifier. Multiplexed array will be harder to use, though you do get multiple anodes in there, or you can have a mixer using multiple grids to modulate the current.

Yes, it should work, the orininal audions were just lightbulbs with bent wire and a piece of sheet metal. But it won't be very good, with those teeny tiny dim filaments and an emmisive anode pissing away the electrons. Ideally, the amplication would be the same as a battery operated tube, but I doubt it. I don't know how it will effect the amount of electrons reflecting off the anode either. As a tube guy, I wouldn't use this joke of a toy for anything other than a display. Total wankery. I don't have anything against mini or flat tubes, but the fact they only have a single tiny filament for that size of anode, their anode does not maximize the electron collection (IE it's not wrapped around the filament) and that they sprinkled glowy crap on their anode for no reason, means they are just playing pretend and know nothing about amplifier tubes.

[CJay]

Wonder just how good a regular run of the mill VFD would work there, it does after all fit the definition of a directly heated triode, having a heater, control grid and anode. Wonder if I should dig out some of the old single digit VFD devices I have and see if they actually have any gain as an amplifier. Multiplexed array will be harder to use, though you do get multiple anodes in there, or you can have a mixer using multiple grids to modulate the current.

There are youtube videos and blog posts dedicated to that very subject, I think one of them even suggests that a VFD is useful as an RF amplifier

*edit* It's not even a new discovery, this one is from 2005 or earlier...

https://www.electronicspoint.com/threads/vfd-as-an-audio-rf-amplifier.29314/

[JPortici]

Interesting idea:

http://korgnutube.com/en/

And you can actually just buy them: https://uk.rs-online.com/mobile/p/double-triode-valves/1449016/

Edit: and they have design tutorials: https://www.rs-online.com/designspark/design-of-a-korg-nutube-amplifier-part-1-tube-basics

Now to mug some guitarists. Mwuhahaha.

so they finally are available to the public.. huh. have yet to see a design with those

[chris_leyson]

I was wondering when somebody would get around this, it's just a directly heated triode, in fact a dual triode even better. Uses easy to fabricate parts and planar construction. Of course the directly heated cathode limits the output power somewhat and the fluorescent anode, well I guess it's a direct indication of how much anode current you are drawing at least you get a visual indication if the it's biased up correctly. 30,000 hours operating life not so good. Forgot to add: at least it's putting some VFD manufacturing plant to some good use and you never know there might be some interesting spin off from it.

Just got the datasheet, interesting, I want one or maybe two