- Integrated tube amplifier promises a warmer, more inviting sound
- Hybrid ANC, LDAC and USB-C to sound in higher resolution
- $ 799 (approx. £ 652 / AU $ 1,303)
We have seen small vacuum pipes in headphone amplifiers with the promise of a warmer, more involved sound experience, but the new écoute vacuum pipe headphones have decided to cut the middleman out and put a whole hi-fi on your head. The headphones include a KORG Nutube P61 right in the earcopes for an authentic pipe sound with Class A/B reinforcement.
We first saw these headphones at Kickstarter, where the project exceeded its financing target by a huge margin. And now they are available to buy through regular routes, albeit too much more than the preliminary backers paid: the price of early birds was $ 379 for $ 399, but the price is now $ 799 (about £ 652 / AU $ 1,303).
Écoute Vacuum Tube Headphones: Key Features
The idea of putting a pipe in a pair of headphones tends to bring mental images of massive pear-size pipes in mind, but Korg’s pipe is positively microscopic compared to those you find in similar by McIntosh’s pipe amplifiers. Which is just as good because a traditional tube is far too fragile to survive in the outside world, and that would also make the headphones much heavier. These are one relatively Lightweight 424g, thought it is much more more important than 250 g of the Sony WH-1000XM5.
In addition to the tube and amplifier, there are hybrid ANC with transparency mode, SIRI and Google Assistant Voice Control and both analog and digital input: the latter over USB-C supports 32-bit/384khz audio, which is much higher than just most audiophile headphones dare to go.
The alleged frequency response is 20Hz to 20 kHz, the drivers are 40 mm in size and there is Bluetooth 5.3 with LDAC. Battery life is an alleged 20 hours in full volume.
I haven’t heard these headphones, so I can’t say if the pipe is delivering its promises; At this price I would like to wait until the reviews are in before deciding whether to go for these or our current Premium selection of the best wireless headphones for audio, Dali IO8. But it’s pipeless …
