Ron made an astute observation in his first post about vacuum tubes: list
members no doubt have eclectic tastes and some would include tube audio
among their interests. I am a member of another list dedicated to hand
crafted audio, most of it tube equipment and much of it old fashioned horn
speakers. I was amazed how many of those list members were into classic
cars and bikes and how many Lancia owners there were (as am I). Naturally,
they, being "hands on" individuals, worked on their cars as well as their
audio equipment (just to make a subtle point notice I didn't say stereo
equipment some of us find a place for mono in our lives).
Anyway, one day I came across a wonderful essay that compared listening to
tube audio to sailing a Beetle Cat.
<http://www.boats.com/content/default_detail.jsp?contentid=1056>
Here is a short quote from Bob Perry's essay:
"But if the tube amp-turntable combination can truly express the ultimate in
listener-involved music reproduction, then the Beetle Cat can express the
ultimate in the personal sailing experience. This is not about high-tech.
"It's the sailing, stupid." This is about enjoying an afternoon of sailing.
This is about sailing along with your head about 2 feet off the water,
tiller in one hand and mainsheet in the other. I know of no boat better able
to convey the joy of sailing than the Beetle Cat."
It doesn't take much imagination to extend this full circle to include, yes,
LBCs and Spridgets in particular. Let's face it, Spridgets are not about
ultimate speed. They are about the sensation of speed, the melding of man
and machine, and the enjoyment of driving a car with which you feel
connected. As someone who has spent a many hours of pleasurable time with a
Beetle Cat tiller in my hands and guiding a Bugeye with that goofy plastic
wheel, I have to say there is a very definite involvement with each that is
lost with most other conveyances. It involves the trimming of the boat so
as to attain perfect balance between wind and boat, trimming the car to
maintain perfect balance between the car and forces acting upon it. And it
is about trimming your audio equipment (yes, tubes, capacitors, resistors,
and transformers make a huge audible difference) to achieve the maximum
involvement for listening pleasure.
I love the "seat of the pants" sailing experience and I love the "seat of
the pants" driving and yes I love to listen to huge horn speakers driven by
a tiny 3 watt triode amplifier with its "you are there" listening
experience. It's not about the speed or the power, its all about the
connection to the experience, man and machine, man and boat and man and
music.
Sandy Brown
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