Who needs the warmth and glow of tubes when we have LEDs?

[bluesman]

We went out early for dinner last night and forgot to turn on the (LED) lamps we usually leave on at night. When we walked into a dark apartment several hours later, I noticed an eerie glow from several dark corners and the hallway. Here's what greeted me in the den:

 

 

That's a lovely ensemble of modern electronics, including a cable modem, a VoIP phone modem, a wireless access point, a network switch, a NAS, a wireless HDMI transmitter, 2 outlet strips and a surge protector plus who knows what else! At the other end of the counter is a similarly beautiful assemblage that includes a UPS, a PC, an audio mixer, a DAC with display, a preamp with display, an illuminated power strip and a wireless keyboard/mouse receiver. My Wadia 151's bright blue display and the indicators on the Raspberry Pi peeked out from under the piano, and at least another dozen LEDs popped out of the darkness from the kitchen and patio.

 

Out of curiosity, I put my hand in the middle of the cluster pictured above. It's pretty warm in there, as it is in front of monitors and other electronics we think of as being environmentally friendly. I don't think my '50s & '60s tube equipment emitted that much energy, and I know my current PrimaLuna equiment doesn't. Now I can't help but wonder if we're raising the ambient temperature of the planet with all this stuff we think of as energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Maybe we haven't made as much progress as we think.

[Jud]

We went out early for dinner last night and forgot to turn on the (LED) lamps we usually leave on at night. When we walked into a dark apartment several hours later, I noticed an eerie glow from several dark corners and the hallway. Here's what greeted me in the den:

 

 

That's a lovely ensemble of modern electronics, including a cable modem, a VoIP phone modem, a wireless access point, a network switch, a NAS, a wireless HDMI transmitter, 2 outlet strips and a surge protector plus who knows what else! At the other end of the counter is a similarly beautiful assemblage that includes a UPS, a PC, an audio mixer, a DAC with display, a preamp with display, an illuminated power strip and a wireless keyboard/mouse receiver. My Wadia 151's bright blue display and the indicators on the Raspberry Pi peeked out from under the piano, and at least another dozen LEDs popped out of the darkness from the kitchen and patio.

 

Out of curiosity, I put my hand in the middle of the cluster pictured above. It's pretty warm in there, as it is in front of monitors and other electronics we think of as being environmentally friendly. I don't think my '50s & '60s tube equipment emitted that much energy, and I know my current PrimaLuna equiment doesn't. Now I can't help but wonder if we're raising the ambient temperature of the planet with all this stuff we think of as energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Maybe we haven't made as much progress as we think.

 

It's Christmas all year round at your place!

 

My guess would be it's a little more indirect. Most of the effect would not be the equipment heating the environment directly, but rather the warmth being an indication of wattage, and that in turn indicating how much power you're using, with an efficiency of far less than 100%; in turn the fossil fueled power plant converts hydrocarbons into electricity with an efficiency of far less than 100%. So lots of carbon to make those watts, plenty of which are wasted.

[bluesman]

So lots of carbon to make those watts, plenty of which are wasted.

Wow, that's re-volting!

[Jud]

Wow, that's re-volting!

 

Oy.

[AlainGr]

At the time when I had a turntable, a cassette deck, an integrated amplifier, there were only few lights. And I was shutting down each of them after a listening session.

 

Now with an internet router, the TV decoder, my main audio components always on (except for the power amp), the PC, this and that, sometimes I wonder how much energy I am spending (or wasting)... I could of course decide to turn off all of them when sleeping or being at work, but... It seems so normal to leave all in standby or ON (to not shorten the lifespan of certain components)...

 

Food for thoughts...

[YashN]

These days we're having a cool time when watching movies (Blu-Ray surround is especially fun), so we turn off all lights for full immersions, try to block off whatever light sources shine through the windows, but one thing is still left: LED lights everywhere.

 

So the plan is to build some black paper caches that we can set on all the LEDs around.

[gmgraves]

We went out early for dinner last night and forgot to turn on the (LED) lamps we usually leave on at night. When we walked into a dark apartment several hours later, I noticed an eerie glow from several dark corners and the hallway. Here's what greeted me in the den:

 

 

That's a lovely ensemble of modern electronics, including a cable modem, a VoIP phone modem, a wireless access point, a network switch, a NAS, a wireless HDMI transmitter, 2 outlet strips and a surge protector plus who knows what else! At the other end of the counter is a similarly beautiful assemblage that includes a UPS, a PC, an audio mixer, a DAC with display, a preamp with display, an illuminated power strip and a wireless keyboard/mouse receiver. My Wadia 151's bright blue display and the indicators on the Raspberry Pi peeked out from under the piano, and at least another dozen LEDs popped out of the darkness from the kitchen and patio.

 

Out of curiosity, I put my hand in the middle of the cluster pictured above. It's pretty warm in there, as it is in front of monitors and other electronics we think of as being environmentally friendly. I don't think my '50s & '60s tube equipment emitted that much energy, and I know my current PrimaLuna equiment doesn't. Now I can't help but wonder if we're raising the ambient temperature of the planet with all this stuff we think of as energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Maybe we haven't made as much progress as we think.

 

My amplifier for my desktop system gets it's "Warm Glow of tubes" from LEDs around the bases of the two 6N1s employed!

 

[YashN]

My amplifier for my desktop system gets it's "Warm Glow of tubes" from LEDs around the bases of the two 6N1s employed!

 

If it's not LED-biased, I'd say it's cheating!

[YashN]

 

 

[Audio_ELF]

I think I might be scared of entering that room till the light returned... Watched Saturn 3 too often in my formative years...

[bluesman]

Oy.

 

C'mon, Jud - ya gotta keep current.

[bluesman]

 

 

That is absolutely beautiful!!!

[gmgraves]

If it's not LED-biased, I'd say it's cheating!

 

 

It is cheating, but that little amp (25 WPC) and its matching speakers sound so damn good* that I don't care.

 

*A well-known audio manufacturer thought my desktop system sounded so good when he heard it, that he bought (assembled?) one just like it for his home office (he might be using a different computer, I didn't ask)!

 

My Office Stereo:

Mac Mini

Dragonfly 1.2

IfI IUSB Power supply for the Dragonfly

Napa Acoustics NA-208A amplifier

Napa Acoustics NA-208S speakers

[Allan F]

C'mon, Jud - ya gotta keep current.

Aren't you ashamed? And, please, no comments about resistance to your posts.

[firedog]

I just read an article that said that a typical modern household has about 50 devices that are never actually "off". The amount of electricity consumed this way per month/year (in other words, with nothing in the house actually in the "on" setting) is supposedly greater than the entire amount consumed by a household in many less well off countries for those same amounts of time.

 

BTW, the article also claimed that tablets and laptops consume almost as much electricity when "off" but plugged in as they do when on. It recommended not only turning them off when not needed, but also unplugged.

[mansr]

BTW, the article also claimed that tablets and laptops consume almost as much electricity when "off" but plugged in as they do when on. It recommended not only turning them off when not needed, but also unplugged.

 

That's rubbish. A powered-off device uses only enough power to maintain the battery at full charge and keep the real-time clock running. Considering that when not plugged in, the battery lasts for months, it really isn't much power.

[bluesman]

Aren't you ashamed? And, please, no comments about resistance to your posts.

Watts the problem with it?

[AlainGr]

"Resistance is futile !" ??? (Star Trek)

[YashN]

That is absolutely beautiful!!!

 

Thanks, you'll probably also notice though that they are retouched, especially the contrast and saturation. I still need to learn how to take the best pictures in the dark of tubes like that with a small digital camera.

[mansr]

Thanks, you'll probably also notice though that they are retouched, especially the contrast and saturation. I still need to learn how to take the best pictures in the dark of tubes like that with a small digital camera.

 

The old guideline to expose for the highlights and develop for the shadows still holds.

[YashN]

The old guideline to expose for the highlights and develop for the shadows still holds.

 

I'm sure they do, so I need to explore this and the corresponding features in the camera.

[PopPop]

My Prima Luna IA has high efficient LED lights to let me know that the unit is ON and consuming 250W.

[master]

Nice pics, thanks for sharing.

 

Makes me want to pull out my vintage gear with LEDs. I've a couple of mini and compact audio systems with a load of LEDs. I'd even stay up in bed watching them "dance" through the night.

 

Something like this from the likes of Pioneer, Sansui, Akai, etc. still wows me no end.

 

[Jud]

Watts the problem with it?

 

Ohm MG

[AlainGr]

It makes me "fear a day" when electricity will be more expensive...