Tubes are back :). Another interesting Kickstarter project. There are only few tube portable headphone amplifiers out there and The Hybrid Valve Headphone Amplifier project strive for capturing the hearts and wallets of audiophiles and music lovers on the go wanting to add a bit o tube touch to their mobile digitally driven listening..
Tubes are made by USA company Raytheon, makers of the patriot missile and Apollo’s guidance computers. These glass tube valves are special: You’ll find these same valves in some of the best studio microphones such as the Audio Technica’s AT3060.
The Hybrid Valve Headphone Amplifier gives us back the warm rich quality sound that was lost when valves when transistors took over from valves. Plug it in between your phone or MP3 player and your headphones. Your music now passes though real glass tubes valves resulting in vastly improved sound quality. It will also boost the volume so you’ll now have enough power to drive your headphones.
Although the sound is big, the amplifier is small- about the profile of an iphone 4, and smaller than many new phones. With a long life rechargable Lithium battery you will be able to listen to your favorite music for hours on the go.
