A tube car stereo? From Panasonic?? (1 Viewer)

[Danny Tse]

I don't even know if this is the right forum to post this thread. But I saw this item on audioasylum.com and it was just too amazing. Check this out....

A tube car stereo? From Panasonic?? I am waiting for that tube portable CD player....

 

[peter_anderson]

OMG!!! that is the most freakin cool faceplate for a car unit ever! do you have a link to the thread or something?

edit:

i found the thread, but it was just a link to a picture on matsushita's japanese web site. couldn't find any product information. see the "B-flat" tube? maybe they are trying to say "be flat", as in flat response?

 

[Scott Strang]

I like those mechanical needle indicators. I wish more companies would use them.

I think some Technics pwr amps still have them but they may not be imported anymore.

 

[Mike Veroukis]

Now THAT is COOL! I like it! I too love those needles and dials. Not sure why the industry ever moved away from them. I think it'll be the weirdest thing to ever find inside a car but I'd go for it. The only down side is I somehow doubt it would have a removable faceplate.
- Mike

 

[Danny Tse]

I located the link to the Japanese Panasonic car audio website. And I also found the car CD/MiniDisc player below....
Link Removed
As for the tube CD player above, here's the Link Removed. If any of you can read Japanese, please translate. I can make out the numbers on the specs, but that's about it.
Maybe Panasonic is working on some tube DVD-Audio players or power amps?!

 

[Danny Tse]

As for the Technics power amp with analog meters, here's the Link Removed to their products in Japan. There's some English on the site, so you can probably navigate around it.

 

[Richard Travale]

That is way cool. I sure hope the tube is easily replaced though. I could see you going through tubes like crazy in a vehicle.

 

[Ken Situ]

Could be specially designed tubes though. If they can make light bulbs last that long on cars, they can certainly make tubes last just as long, if not longer.

 

[Scott_ATL]

Especially if it's just a preamp tube, which is what it appears to be. Still, it's a very cool looking concept. Wish they'd ship 'em over here.

 

[EricT]

Here's what I use for my translations:
Just click the translate button and check out the results.
AltaVista-SYSTRAN Link to translation

 

[Sihan Goi]

Hey, I'm using a Technics SE-9021 stereo power amp with power meters right now on the computer I'm typing on...love the meters

 

[Scott_ATL]

My, how I do love the literal translation of Japanese to English.



Especially THIS line:



"The three-dimensional acoustic image which has thickness and the kind of depth where warmly the rich timbre which is the straw raincoat surfaces with merit, the respective part is reproduced."



Huh???



Still, it looks like a cool item. I'd buy one if given the opportunity.

 

[Danny Tse]

Here's a link I found at ecoustics.com that provides a description to the above Panasonic tube car stereo.

 

[Larry Seno Jr.]

God I'd buy it in a second. It's BEAUTIFUL. No date for US relesae though :frowning:

 

[Jeff_Krueger]

If you like the idea of tube components in a car check out this

 

[Chris Eriksen]

Tube Driver makes some nice hybrid equipment, but if you ever have the opportunity to hear a Milbert, you will be truly amazed...
Milbert Amplifiers

 

[Larry Seno Jr.]

$2500 for a tube amp in a car? They are crazy. You can get a McIntosh home amp for that much, and it's backed by 100 years of impressive quality.

 

[Jeff_Krueger]

I'm sure the milbert stuff is nice, just as sure it is more than slightly out of my budget range
I just wish there were more SQ comps around my area so could hear some of the other cool stuff out there. I'm trying to get my car finished up in a competion style install, not that I think it could be competitive but would be fun to go to some comps. I'm doing eerything by myself though.

 

[Danny Tse]

I figure I should update this thread with this one.
No, this is not an April Fools joke.

 

[Steve Schaffer]

"Could be specially designed tubes though. If they can make light bulbs last that long on cars, they can certainly make tubes last just as long, if not longer."

Car radios first appeared in the 1920s and used tubes until the late 50s-early 60s, and worked quite well for many years.

When I was a kid in the 50s we had a number of 10 year old Buicks and a Chevys with perfectly good tube radios in them. These old tube radios were built like tanks, typically they would last longer than most any of the head units on the market today.

Tubes didn't like the 6 or 12 volts used in these old cars so there was a device called a vibrator which upped the voltage so the tubes could heat up. You turned on the radio, the vibrator hummed for 30 seconds or so, then the tubes got up to temp and the radio produced sound. The vibrators would sometimes get "stuck" so you had to rap on the dash (all metal in those days) to "unstick" them.

These were AM only radios but had really mellow sound and fantastic reception range especially at night.