These new cans attempt to restore among the heat and realism that digital compression takes away.
Photograph: Morpho MFG
This publish’s headline appears like a joke, invoking expertise utilized in vintage radios, TVs and amplifiers, however the wi-fi headphones behind it appear solely severe.
“écoute: the world’s solely vacuum tube headphones, designed to compensate for the deficiencies of digital listening,” say the Indiegogo and Kickstarter funding-campaign pages. The French phrase “écoute” interprets to “pay attention” in English.
écoute vacuum-tube wi-fi headphones
The écoute wi-fi headphones in improvement declare to create a brand new model of old-school expertise to get the nice and cozy sound of an analog hi-fi system taking part in vinyl information. It’s meant to place again among the heat and realism digital file compression for wi-fi transmission takes away.
As you would possibly guess, the headphones don’t pack your granddad’s massive ol’ vacuum tubes in them, with their excessive price, fragility, huge power consumption and probability of overheating.
New vacuum tube expertise
Photograph: Morpho MFG
As an alternative, the cans pack a Korg Nutube P61, “a next-generation dual-triode thermionic valve (vacuum tube) primarily based on vacuum fluorescent show expertise,” stated Morpho MFG, the corporate behind the headphones.
Morpho stated it designed the sign path to:
- Fill out the sound and add heat to digitally compressed music.
- Add readability to the midrange the place our ears are most delicate.
- Reveal extra element within the instrumentation.
- Make vocals sound extra life like.
The headphones, with an aluminum physique and memory-foam ear pads, additionally embrace a Realtek ALC4050 32-bit, 384kHz Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC), recognized for a spacious sound stage, and customized 40mm cellulose drivers with a patented motor drive system, the corporate stated.
It additionally famous lively noise cancellation (ANC) and name answering will probably be options as of a firmware replace coming in spring 2024.
Headphones specs:
- Impedence: 10 Ohms
- Dynamic vary: 100db
- Wi-fi: Bluetooth 5.3 supporting apt-X Adaptive, apt-X LL, LDAC, and AAC.
- Wi-fi vary 10 meters / 33 toes
- Analog enter: 3.5mm
- Hello-res digital audio enter: USB-C
- Charging: USB-C
- Battery life: About 20 hours
- Pairing: Auto pairing reminiscence of as much as 2 gadgets
- ANC: Firmware replace spring 2024
- Calls: Answering on paired cellphone by way of firmware replace spring 2024
Value: Begins at $399
The place to preorder/pledge: Indigegogo or Kickstarter
