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> If a domestic factory starts cranking out tubes, even with a similarly high price, the impression of rarity and unavailability won’t be there, and I suspect t
by Syonyk 4y ago
> If a domestic factory starts cranking out tubes, even with a similarly high price, the impression of rarity and unavailability won’t be there, and I suspect that people then won’t buy them.
I expect that would improve tube sales, rather dramatically. Lower priced, high quality tubes, made without slave labor or something near it, and with actual quality control? That would be rather popular in many circles.
I'm aware it's an unpopular thing to point out on HN, but we are very much in the middle of a vinyl resurgence, with LPs having drastically outsold CDs in 2022, and showing no signs of slowing down. Make fun of it however you want, but there's very strong interest right now in analog, non-digital, non-consumer-tech, non-tracked-and-data-collection sound. Tubes go well with that, and quite a few high end audio vendors these days have various tube amps in addition to their semiconductor based amps.
It seems a good place to be, and I wish him the best of luck with it - I may have to see if I can acquire a set or two down the road when prices drop a bit.
- fsckboy 4y agodrastically outselling physical CDs in an age of digital download is not really a claim to fame. I'm sure a lot more buggy whips and buggies are sold than steam cars.
- Syonyk 4y agoIf it were solely due to CD sales dropping, you'd have a point. But vinyl is selling radically more, year over year, every year since 2006. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_revival#/media/File:US_vinyl_sales_1995-2020.svg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinyl_revival#/media/File:US_v... To finish the graph out, 2021 was 41.7M and 2022 is 43.5M. You can write it off however you want, but to dismiss it as irrelevant is a good way to miss what's going on in the world.
- fsckboy 4y agoI wasn't writing off vinyl (and I've seen the news that it's increasing), I was just saying that comparing it to CDs was failing to land a punch. And my "buggy whips/steam cars" analogy was spot on. ever notice how after a destructive tornado they say "it looks like a bomb went off", and after a bomb goes off they say "it's like a tornado blew through here". Not the same situation as the CDs, but the same in that my brain says "wait a minute..." and if you want to impress the listener, you don't want them thinking "now holup"
- dTal 4y ago>but there's very strong interest right now in analog, non-digital, non-consumer-tech, non-tracked-and-data-collection sound I appreciate your attempt to explain the phenomenon, but unpicking your words I don't find myself much wiser. CDs are not tracked or data-collected either. Vinyl players are every bit as much "consumer tech" as CD players. As for "analog" and "non-digital, they mean the same thing - but why should they be in demand? They sound worse. And before you say "it's not about the sound", sure, but even for intangible "souvenir" value, the only disadvantage a CD has over a vinyl record is that it's smaller. And surely it's at least a little bit about the sound? After all, they're not buying empty covers.