Gizmodo: Amps

ImAmp by Audiotrack Beefs Up Your Cans on the Go

AddyDugdale — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 05:00:00 EDT

If you like to watch a movie on the go, but find your headphones don't give you enough volume for the full-on fillum experience, then you might appreciate the ImAmp. Made by Korean company Audiotrack, the ImAmp is a separate amplifier with a couple of headphone jacks, line input and volume control. The battery takes four hours to charge, and gives you eight hours of juice. Weighing about 200 grams (including battery) the ImAmp will be available on July 1 and will cost just over $250. [GeekStuff4U and Impress]

Apple Floppy Drive Amp Mod is Retrofabulous

Haroon Malik — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:20:00 EST

Check out this fantastic DIY project, which involves an Apple PC 5.2 Floppy Drive being modded into a fully functioning amp. I think you will agree; it looks quite amazing. The amp has four speaker terminals, face-mounted volume control, an RCA stereo jack and styling that makes us drool all over our now weakened knees. If you're willing to make the $5.99 investment for the floppy drive, give this awesome project a shot. If we weren't so lazy/cursed with abysmal soldering skills, we certainly would. [Instructables]

Coldplay Flogging off Old, Unwanted Studio Equipment, but Gwyneth Stays

AddyDugdale — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:27:19 EST

Coldplay, purveyors of middle-class mundanity to the eardrums of the worthy*, are having a garage sale at their studio. So, anyone who wants to pick up a gadget with Korg, Roland, Linn, Pearl, Hafler or Yamaha written on it, and which emanates a musical version of "Pew Pew," then head off to eBay, 'cause that's where you'll find it. Oh, and proof that Chris Martin is a very funny man indeed, after the jump.

*At this point, I would like to out myself as a music fan whose taste runs to GWAR, the Tygers of Pan-Tang, Yanni, Tony Orlando and the Singing Nun. I thangyew. [eBay via Music Thing]

JB7 Digital Jukebox Lets You Rip Your Tunes Without a PC

Haroon Malik — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 05:40:00 EST

3ga has just announced the JB7 digital jukebox, which allows the user to directly rip CDs to its internal HDD, negating the use for a PC. Standard rip time is less than five minutes, and the JB7 is available in either 40GB ($586) or 80GB ($625) flavors. Other features include alarm clock mode, USB connectivity, 30 watts per channel amplifier, remote control and support for various music compression storage formats. Sure, the JB7 is neat, but at those extortionate prices? We think not. [Tech Digest]

$55,000 Tube Amp Pumps Out a Serious 160W of Power

Adam Frucci — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 10:00:58 EST

What makes a tube amplifier worth $55,000? Nothing. But the NAT Audio Magna Amplifier sure tries to justify its ludicrous price tag, delivering 160W of pure, testosterone-piquing power. It uses three different tubes to achieve this, the 6N1P-EV, the 6N30P-DR and the Eimac 450TH. The whole thing weighs in at a hefty 88 pounds, and it's sure to get your music loud enough to make your neighbors want to move. [Product Page via BornRich]

Hovland Stratos Amp: Sell Your House, Kids and Organs for Rock'n'Roll

www.gizmodo.com — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 07:10:45 EDT

To the un-rock'n'roll like me, the object above looks like a TV cabinet, or a disco oven - but, like I said, I've never had much of a fever for cowbell. This is the Stratos from Hovland, an amp that was 20 years in the making. And this is the price: $50,000. More on what it has and what it does (and doesn't) after the jump.

400W of power into 8 ohms, 625W into 4 ohms and 800W into 2 ohms.
Measurements are 356mm x 244mm x 476mm
Weighs in at a hefty 41kg per channel.
Will give you more cowbell (probably), grief from your other half (definitely), but no 11 on the volume. Shame. – Ad Dugdale

Product Page [Hovland via Tech.co.uk]

Hottie Amplifier: Burnin' Sound, In the Slot

Charlie White — Thu, 21 Dec 2006 12:30:57 EST

That's right, that's a real guitar amplifier inside that toaster. It's a Hottie Amplifier, available in a variety of toaster styles for $149.

There's a solid-state amplifier shoehorned inside there, powered by a 9-volt battery, and the sound comes wafting out the vintage American toaster's slots courtesy of a 6-inch Jensen speaker.

Who could resist the idea of first getting toasted, then having a hot jam session, laying down some smokin' licks until your ears turn to toast. It's distorted, but sometimes that's a good thing. – Charlie White

Product Page [Hottie Amplifiers Inc., via Red Ferret]

Zvex Nano Head: Tiny Tube Amp Packs Punch

Charlie White — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 15:14:08 EST

The Zvex Nano Head is the world's smallest tube guitar amplifier, bound to be a favorite of electric git-box pickers and grinners all over the guitarisphere because of its unique distortion characteristics.

Classic rock & roll guitar playing is all about the distortion, where you're actually using overmodulation to your advantage. This .5-watt baby can't put out so much volume that it introduces unwanted artifacts in microphones, but still gives plenty of controllable distortion and great sound, so recording guitarists will be quite interested in this little pocket rocket.

Plus, it's probably a kick to hold this mini-firecracker in your hand, turning it up to 11 and feeling the heat as it strains against its screaming cargo. Go ahead, rock & roll ain't noise pollution. – Charlie White

Product Page [Zvex Amps]

Boostaroo Revolution Headphone Splitter + Amp: Make a Friend or Bother The Neighbors

Gizloco — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 08:14:15 EST

Another day, another gadget that amplifies headphones, but this time with a silly name. Meet the Boostaroo Revolution High Definition Headphone Splitter & Amplifier. Claimed to boost volume levels by up to 400 percent, the Boostaroo Revolution will have no problem making all your hot beats loud enough for everyone on the subway to hear. Or, if you just want to share your music with that special someone, just plug in another set of headphones and hand 'em over. I tell you, nothing wins over a girl's heart quite like a little Nas.

Well, the Boostaroo Revolution looks nice (only $50, too), but do people actually need their headphones' volume to be boosted that high? Aren't you afraid that you'll damage your hearing? – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [Boostaroo via The Red Ferret Journal]

DIY: MP3 Player Amp

Travis Hudson — Sun, 19 Feb 2006 10:24:19 EST

We don't discriminate here. Obviously this amp was made for the use of an iPod but it could also be easily used with any type of audio player using the standard 1/4-inch audio jack. The total cost is under $30 depending on what supplies you already have. The designer for this wanted a simple system that he could leave in his garage that would give good sound for his iPod but not cost him an arm and a leg. This isn t your 10-year-old's science fair project; it does take a little bit of electrical know-how.

Intro Simple Amp [instructables]

Portable Digital Guitar Amp

johnb — Thu, 08 Dec 2005 11:42:46 EST

What does an amp look like the age of the iPod? The Vox DA5 digital guitar amp ($130 street) weighs under 8 pounds, runs on C batteries, and includes multiple amp models (crunch, clean, overdrive) and 11 digital effects, with inputs for your guitar, mic, and an aux in and a speaker and headphone/line jack. No big sound here — the speaker is 6.5" — but it's a perfect practice amp. Or you could play it onstage with the world's tiniest guitar. -P. Kirn

The Digital Guitar Amp: Vox's Portable DA5 [Create Digital Music]