[jfoxvol]

   
It's a difference between 116 and 128 dB SNR. Either number is way below the audible noise floor.

And what physics permits.  Also, nice avatar.  That's my favorite Scotch.

 

[Odin412]

  Solid state tubes, like I say on the product page, are not a new idea. There have been a number of companies that have tried to make them. Here’s how they go about it.
 

• They pick a type of tube and look at the response of the tube at different plate and grid voltages. These “tube curves” define the transfer function of the tube—a transfer function that is significantly different than most solid state devices (except a SIT, which is a story for another day.)
• Then, they try to come up with a combination of solid state devices (and passives) that mimic the curve of the tube. Sometimes this combination is very complicated—some have used literally dozens of parts. Sometimes this combination is pretty simple. For a look at one scheme, Google “trioderizer,” for a simple way to make a JFET work a lot like a tube (and also for an example of why you never let engineers name anything.)
• Finally, when they’ve gotten as close to the tube curves as possible, they announce to the world, “We have the perfect copy of the gold-grid, pinch-waisted, JimmeeJoeBob 12RU78 from 1959, come and get perfect tube sound forever!”

 
The reaction to #3 above is predictable, of course: tube die-hards cross their arms, squinch up their faces, and prepare to be supremely unimpressed by what the solid-state tube sounds like. Even if it sounded better, the solid-state tube company has created a perfect environment where nobody will ever admit it.

 
To take the 'heresy' a bit further: Wouldn't it be possible (at least in theory) to implement the tube transfer function in the digital domain by using a digital filter? For example, by using a DSP plugin to J River? If you added parameters to the filter you could (again, in theory) dial in how much warmth or 'tube-ness' to add to the sound. I've only played with the parametric EQ in J River to reduce sibilance in some bright-sounding headphones, but does anyone know if more advanced DSP plugins exist?

 

[mhamel]

   
To take the 'heresy' a bit further: Wouldn't it be possible (at least in theory) to implement the tube transfer function in the digital domain by using a digital filter? For example, by using a DSP plugin to J River? If you added parameters to the filter you could (again, in theory) dial in how much warmth or 'tube-ness' to add to the sound. I've only played with the parametric EQ in J River to reduce sibilance in some bright-sounding headphones, but does anyone know if more advanced DSP plugins exist?

 
There are quite a few plugins in the pro audio world that attempt to do this. I haven't actually used any of them but they're definitely out there.

 

[money4me247]

is primarily looking to use SE input without needing the balanced out, wld the new mjolnir2 be a worthwhile upgrade from the lyr 2? opinions/thoughts (esp from ppl who owned both & compared em) thxs!

 

[rtaylor76]

Here's a thought...

A tube is just a switch just like a transistor. I wonder what's tube digital decoder would look like. Even a simple one would be as big as a refrigerator if not bigger. And the heat and power required...would be very slow and not very many bits.

 

[jfoxvol]

Here's a thought...

A tube is just a switch just like a transistor. I wonder what's tube digital decoder would look like. Even a simple one would be as big as a refrigerator if not bigger. And the heat and power required...would be very slow and not very many bits.

Google "ENIAC"

 

[rtaylor76]

Google "ENIAC"

"In 1995, a very small silicon chip measuring 7.44 mm by 5.29 mm was built with the same functionality as ENIAC. Although this 20 MHz chip was many times faster than ENIAC, it had but a fraction of the speed of modern microprocessors of the late 1990s."

Yep. Very slow indeed.

 

[EraserXIV]

A BIMBO?

Yggy, Gumby, and Bimby.

 

[Armaegis]

Forget Bifrost/Bimby/Bimbo/Bambi... I want the new one to be called Fimbulwinter.

 

[tonykaz]

Wheyal, Ok on the Bifrost upgrade business.  Seems Schiit is an Upgrade type of Outfit, not a Whole new Model sort of outfit like the Car Industry.  
 
So it holds that the Yggy will be up-graded!  Lookin at past performance in this area, a person might guess the Time Frame will be : in a couple of Years.  
 
5 Years from now the Entire Schiit Line may feature a different look, especially if the company is Sold to Harmon or some other big $$$$$$$$ payer.  
 
People Retire, People Pass on, Widows sell, things happen with Privately held companies.  
 
On one happy day the Yggy owners will have advanced up the Escalator (closer to Audio Nirvana), they'll be ready for another purchase, will Schiit be there to guide them with a offering?, seems like they will.  ( of course this factors-in getting Yggy production running smoothly and a large number of Yggy units in the hands of happy owners ).  
 
As to what Schiit performance levels would cost at Retail, fuhgeddaboutit, the Internet destroyed Brick & Mortar Retail for everything besides Hair Salons, Cars/Tires, & Food plus a few other items like Lumbar.   Every Strip Mall owner is Praying for someone to sign a lease, vacancies are the continuing norm.  
 
I think Professor Baldr is right!, Bell Labs science is Solid.  
 
The clever youth at Sanford and the World's Engineering Schools have the fresh thinking to take these concepts to the Masses.
 
Apple & Google have the inclination and market forces to make it happen. 
 
It only took a very few decades to go from the Wright Brothers to the Boeing 747.
 
We are on the cusp of having the power of the Yggy in the Palm of our hands.  
 
But, what will we do with those Vinyl Twidlers? and all that Vinyl.  ( not to mention those 5Y6GTs and 12AX7s)
 
Tony in MIchigan

 

[OddE]

Here's a thought...

A tube is just a switch just like a transistor. I wonder what's tube digital decoder would look like. Even a simple one would be as big as a refrigerator if not bigger. And the heat and power required...would be very slow and not very many bits.

-Many moons ago (Probably 1997-1998 or so) I read an absolutely hilarious usenet post about the design challenges you'd face if you tried to build an all-valve computer of a (reasonably) modern architecture. Pure engineering porn.

I've googled like mad for the past fifteen minutes or so trying to find it - so far without luck.

The takeaway was something along the lines of "Build a few warehouses to house it next to a major river to get sufficient cooling, make sure a few nuclear power plants are nearby to power the gig up...."

 

[Mediahound]

-Many moons ago (Probably 1997-1998 or so) I read an absolutely hilarious usenet post about the design challenges you'd face if you tried to build an all-valve computer of a (reasonably) modern architecture. Pure engineering porn.

I've googled like mad for the past fifteen minutes or so trying to find it - so far without luck.

The takeaway was something along the lines of "Build a few warehouses to house it next to a major river to get sufficient cooling, make sure a few nuclear power plants are nearby to power the gig up...."

 
You might find this video interesting.

It's amazing that a small hard drive that you can hold in your hand today would have been larger than the entire San Francisco Bay Area back in
the old days using tubes:

 

 

[rtaylor76]

The takeaway was something along the lines of "Build a few warehouses to house it next to a major river to get sufficient cooling, make sure a few nuclear power plants are nearby to power the gig up...."

 
I am not even talking about a whole 1997 spec computer...just a tube DAC that is capable of decoding 16/44.1. Maybe Jason can use some of some of those 6088 subminiature tubes he has laying around. 
 
I still say with 6088's it would need to be about as big as a mini-refrigerator and likely need a mini-refrigerator to cool it as well as need ALL the 15 amps supplied from the wall, barring there is nothing else plugged into that leg. 
 
 
Novelty factor = high
Practicality = nil
 
A waste, but fun to think about.

 

[AndreYew]

The takeaway was something along the lines of "Build a few warehouses to house it next to a major river to get sufficient cooling, make sure a few nuclear power plants are nearby to power the gig up...."

Cloud data centers for places like Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. are often built right next to a river for exactly this reason.
 
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1226028328133040.xml

 

[US Blues]

 

The takeaway was something along the lines of "Build a few warehouses to house it next to a major river to get sufficient cooling, make sure a few nuclear power plants are nearby to power the gig up...."

Cloud data centers for places like Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. are often built right next to a river for exactly this reason.
 
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/1226028328133040.xml

With all these engineers working for tech companies I would hope they soon come up with a reasonable way to use the waste heat to generate electricity. There is a lot of potential amperage doing nothing but warming up the fish.