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The iTube is back and, yes, in accordance with the cliché, in black. It’s also now in one piece, rather than being broken into a separate amp and iPod dock. But they’re just the obvious changes, with upgrades including more power and remote volume control for external sources, not just your iPod.
Built for a better tomorrow
The Carbon is a hefty beast, for sure, and the piano-black finish looks much classier than the standard version’s chrome. The remote has also had a black makeover, but it still feels cheap and nasty – helpfully, though, it offers full control of your iPod.
One thing that has gone missing since the original iTube is the headphones socket. That’s not a worry if you’ve gone iPod-only, but if you’re planning on using the two aux inputs for a CD player or turntable, that could be a bit of a disappointment.
Fitting your iPod to it is the same procedure as with the original iTube – a backstop slides back and forth, and is secured using a knurled knob. Just plug your iPod into the dock connector and slide the backstop forward until it’s resting snugly against your iPod’s rear.
No slowing ’em down
Onto the sound, those valves certainly add a dollop of body to brittle MP3s, but the great news is that they don’t bog down the dynamics of the music, so dance music still sounds fast and taut.
Buy it as a package with the matching speakers and you’ve got the best-sounding iPod dock around. Alternatively, invest another £500 for the Fatboys speakers and you’ve got a truly audiophile hi-fi system that marries old tech with new.
Comments
Texx
3 years ago
I have to say that I'm hugely disappointed with this thing. It looks great but it has a huge amount of background hum, so much so that you can't listen to it quietly and it has to be turned off properly (not possible on the remote) if you want peace and quiet. As I used to make proper mixing desks so I know a bit about what causes noise and hum in audio and so have checked the mains, speakers feeds etc and the fault is definitely in the unit itself. I emailed the manufacturers TLA more than once and got no response. I was temped to send it back but it was a present, works well at medium high volumes and so haven't had the heart. It's now over a year old so I will open it up and find out if there is a duff component or a design flaw. It may be that I just got a duff one, but if you are tempted (and it does sound good wound up and the remote is actually fine) then please try it out in a shop and check that it doesn't hum at all before you take it home.