> As an audiophile of many years I can only say,
> Tube stuff does sound better, especially with
> digital signals

In my prior (pre-Bus-Depot) life I was in the audio field, and I also
feel that tubes can sound superior in a high-end audio system. But tubes
are not particularly well suited for automotive applications in my
opinion. The inefficiency and heat notwithstanding, many of the sonic
benefits would be lost given the environmental limitations of a Vanagon
(high level of ambient noise, limited speaker placement options, etc.).
While my home audio system uses tubes and high quality source components
(Audio Research, New York Audio Labs Moscode, Linn Sondek, Wadia), I use
an admittedly lower-fi hard-drive based MP3 system with solid state
amplification in my Vanagon. For automotive use it sounds great and is
far more convenient.

That said, there is at least one commercially available automotive
vacuum tube amplifier. Milbert Amplifiers in Maryland has been making
them for years:  http://www.milbert.com/

- Ron Salmon
  The Bus Depot, Inc.
  www.busdepot.com
  (215)  234-VWVW

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