Anyone looking to upgrade their headphones might be interested in the new écoute vacuum tube headphones specifically created to compensate for the deficiencies of digital listening. Launched via Kickstarter this month the project has already blasted past its required pledge goal raising over $130,000 thanks to over 360 backers with still 10 days remaining on its campaign.
Featuring a Vacuum Tube Pre-Amplifier in the form of a Nutube 6P1 Dual-Triode Thermionic Valve together with Realtek ALC4050 32-bit, 384kHz Digital-to-Analog Converter. Known for its spacious soundstage and for delivering realistic and musical tones across the board from a neat and airy treble, through detailed and textured mids, and into deep and lush bass and sub-bass frequencies.
Earlybird pledges
Together with custom 40mm Cellulose Fiber drivers designed to take advantage of our meticulous signal path with a patented motor drive system that ensures an accurate and linear response to avoid thermal compression artifacts. Early bird backing offers are now available for the interesting project from roughly $399 or £314 (depending on current exchange rates).
“écoute headphones are engineered with a built-in vacuum tube and a signal path designed to compensate for the deficiencies of digital audio signals to bring back the missing warmth and realism to your listening experience. Because they are so expensive, vacuum tubes are typically only used in high-end analog hi-fi systems.
This has led to the false belief that there isn’t any value in using vacuum tubes when the signal source is anything less than ideal, or worse, digitally compressed. We have found the opposite to be true—digital signals have MORE to gain from vacuum tube amplification in terms of sound quality simply because there is both, more room, and more need for improvement.”
Vacuum tube headphones
“Streamed and wireless audio signals are compressed to reduce the file size leaving your music sounding comparatively lifeless and flat. The characteristic even-order harmonics of a vacuum tube create minute euphonic details that fill out the sound and add warmth to digitally-compressed music. This texture makes your music sound fuller and more realistic—less like it is being reproduced by a piece of audio equipment and more like it is being performed live in front of you.”
Assuming that the Ecoute funding campaign successfully raises its required pledge goal and fullfilment progresses smoothly, worldwide shipping is expected to take place sometime around January 2024. To learn more about the Ecoute vacuum tube audio headphones project sift the promotional video below.
“Conventional vacuum tubes are fragile, extremely sensitive to vibration, consume an enormous amount of energy, produce a tremendous amount of heat, and are entirely impractical for use in battery-powered applications. But we are not using a conventional vacuum tube—we are using a KORG Nutube P61, a next-generation dual-triode thermionic valve (vacuum tube) based on vacuum fluorescent display technology. “
For a complete list of all available pledge options, stretch goals, extra media and design specifications for the vacuum tube audio headphones, jump over to the official Ecoute crowd funding campaign page by going to the link below.
Source : Kickstarter
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