Do You Miss Knobs and Dials and Switches?

[Sal1950]

I was thinking the same. It's that i'm not engineer enough to make something myself with such i a look or i had already done it.

Same here, but I can dream. LOL
In any case just having it in your stack, even unconnected but maybe have the VU meters active or some such deal would be sweet.
I just dig the "ole school, steam punk" look.

 

[Peterinvan]

I am a knob tweaker (see below).

My nagging concern is that when I have to replace my 2018 RAV4, I will not be able to find an SUV with real knobs and without a distracting iPad screen in the middle of my dashboard.

 

[Waxx]

EU regulations just pointed out that physical buttons will be mandatory for essential tools in a car to pass safety tests. Basiclyk the Tesla way will be very bad for safety ratings and on longer term illigal within the EU for safety reasons. And when that is mandatory in the EU, many brands will comply as the EU is a big and rich market for cars...

to quote the text that is going arround:

"“New Euro NCAP tests due in 2026 will encourage manufacturers to use separate, physical controls for basic functions in an intuitive manner, limiting eyes-off-road time and therefore promoting safer driving

Under the new rating scheme, which is due to come into force from January 2026, manufacturers won’t be able to achieve the highest safety ratings if they don’t provide proper, physical switches for certain functions including indicators, hazard lights, sounding the horn, operating windscreen wipers and activating the eCall SOS function.

The regulation of how drivers interact with vehicle controls (the Human Machine Interface or HMI) is surprisingly weak in the European Union. The European Commission issued an update to a formal ‘recommendation’ on the subject in 2008 but ETSC is not aware of any action being taken against a manufacturer for not abiding by the code. At its heart the recommendation says “an important overall requirement can be simply stated as ‘Do no harm’. This means that the system should enhance or at least not reduce road safety.”

 

[MattHooper]

EU regulations just pointed out that physical buttons will be mandatory for essential tools in a car to pass safety tests. Basiclyk the Tesla way will be very bad for safety ratings and on longer term illigal within the EU for safety reasons. And when that is mandatory in the EU, many brands will comply as the EU is a big and rich market for cars...

to quote the text that is going arround:

"“New Euro NCAP tests due in 2026 will encourage manufacturers to use separate, physical controls for basic functions in an intuitive manner, limiting eyes-off-road time and therefore promoting safer driving

Under the new rating scheme, which is due to come into force from January 2026, manufacturers won’t be able to achieve the highest safety ratings if they don’t provide proper, physical switches for certain functions including indicators, hazard lights, sounding the horn, operating windscreen wipers and activating the eCall SOS function.

The regulation of how drivers interact with vehicle controls (the Human Machine Interface or HMI) is surprisingly weak in the European Union. The European Commission issued an update to a formal ‘recommendation’ on the subject in 2008 but ETSC is not aware of any action being taken against a manufacturer for not abiding by the code. At its heart the recommendation says “an important overall requirement can be simply stated as ‘Do no harm’. This means that the system should enhance or at least not reduce road safety.”

I’m looking forward to these futuristic cars with knobs and dials! An age of wonders!

 

[Sal1950]

Under the new rating scheme, which is due to come into force from January 2026, manufacturers won’t be able to achieve the highest safety ratings if they don’t provide proper, physical switches for certain functions including indicators, hazard lights, sounding the horn, operating windscreen wipers and activating the eCall SOS function.

I would wish they do the same for something that's supposed to be super simple such as Heat/AC controls and the RADIO.
I really really hate the new cars and God Forbid if something were to happen to my cream pie 2006 Ram pickup, I believe I'll go to the next Mecum
Classic auction and purchase a second hand classic Restomod that won't have all that goofball crap on it.

Florida Summer Special 2025 - Mecum Auctions

Mecum Auctions will showcase a stunning collection of 1,500 vehicles at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, FL on July 9-12, 2025

www.mecum.com

 

[Snoopy]

knobs , switches , VU and Tubes

 

[DSJR]

Nah, too showy

Having said that and after years of using what looks like a 70s cooker as analogue preamp (perfectly transparent though, but pots and switches getting old and crabby), I gave into fomo and bought a known good used preamp at a very good price, with push buttons, simple display and a remote control for everything. Sod the basically identical and to me transparent sonics, it took me ages in my older age to start to get on with the totally different operation of the thing and for ten days or so, I nearly sent it back!

 

[Snoopy]

I really love that 70s style I’m not into tubes really.. I couldn’t name a single tube in there without looking it up.

 

[mhardy6647]

View attachment 458717View attachment 458718View attachment 458719View attachment 458720

knobs , switches , VU and Tubes

A refugee 17 volt filament HV rectifier tube from the days of transformerless series-string TV sets. Cool.


Is that an "integrated" amplifier? If so, what are the power tubes? I cannot tell.

 

[Snoopy]

A refugee 17 volt filament HV rectifier tube from the days of transformerless series-string TV sets. Cool.


Is that an "integrated" amplifier? If so, what are the power tubes? I cannot tell.

Cayin HA-2A headphone amp .

What’s funny is with the same dac , EQ settings and same headphones, this one 1 watt amp drives my headphones easily to the same volume (in low gain) as my Singxer SA1 does with 3,6 watt and my SMSL SP400 6watt (sold) did in high gain)

 

[BJL]

Folks,

In this modern digital day and age, when so many of us have moved to digital playback, very often using some form of computer control via a touchpad, smart phone, keyboard or whatever to control the system…

…. Does anybody miss the look and tactile experience of using volume knobs/dials/switches, etc.?

Or do you still have those in your system?

For a while when I first switched to a digital server system, when I ripped all my CDs, and later added streaming, calling everything up and operating it via my smart phone was kind of a cool novelty. “ A new world!”

Over time for me the novelty wore off, and it started to feel like one more damn screen I had to interact with, after interacting with the phone all day long.

And don’t get me started on using a laptop or a keyboard to interact with an audio system.
There is no interface I despise more. It feels so kludgy (and perhaps reminds me too much of work).

Anyway, that’s one reason why I had a remote control custom-made for me with a big volume knob, and which could do some other switching in my system. It’s really nice to use in a tactile and aesthetic way, and it’s part of my break from the digital world:

View attachment 432277

Aside from that, of course, my pre-amplifiers have their own buttons or volume knobs. But they are in a different room which is why I need to use a remote.

How about you folks? Still doing the tactile physical knobs and dials at all?
Or miss it?

(And yes, I resisted calling this thread “ Show us your knobs!”)

No I do not miss knobs and switches at all. Good riddance to them.

 

[mhardy6647]

Cayin HA-2A headphone amp

ahh.
The tubes in front of the "output transformers"(??) are perplexing me. The dimpled tops look Soviet, but the logo looks like "Arvin" (1950s-60s manufacturer of radios and some other electronic stuff). They kind of look like 6SN7s(???) but I am not at all sure. Maybe something like 6EA7 or 6EM7 dissimilar triode, one of the elements of which has been repurposed in some hifi applications as an audio power amp?

EDIT: Check that! They're Compactrons, aren't they?
Maybe something like this?

Tube of the Month : The 6FY7

Hi! Sometimes when I am looking for a certain tube in my stash I stumble upon a type which I had forgotten about but which is interesting t...

vinylsavor.blogspot.com

or 6FJ7?

Single Ended eXperimenter’s Kit 3.0 for Headphones & Sensitive Speakers - Bottlehead

The S.E.X. kit 3.0 is retired as of November 2024. Watch for a new S.E.X. kit revision in 2025!

bottlehead.com

 

[Snoopy]

ahh.
The tubes in front of the "output transformers"(??) are perplexing me. The dimpled tops look Soviet, but the logo looks like "Arvin" (1950s-60s manufacturer of radios and some other electronic stuff). They kind of look like 6SN7s(???) but I am not at all sure. Maybe something like 6EA7 or 6EM7 dissimilar triode, one of the elements of which has been repurposed in some hifi applications as an audio power amp?

EDIT: Check that! They're Compactrons, aren't they?
Maybe something like this?

Tube of the Month : The 6FY7

Hi! Sometimes when I am looking for a certain tube in my stash I stumble upon a type which I had forgotten about but which is interesting t...

vinylsavor.blogspot.com

Output Tubes	Amperex 17BF11 x2
Driver Tubes	Amperex ECF82/6U8 x2
Rectifier	RCA 17AX4GT

 

[mhardy6647]

Amperex 17BF11 NOS
Amperex ECF82/6U8 NOS
RCA 17AX4GT NOS

Man-o-man! That's a dumpster-driver tube, for sure!
It's a 17V filament version of...

http://www.tubebooks.org/tubedata/HB-3/Receiving_Tubes_Part_1/6BF11.PDF

At least it has an actual beam power AF power amplifier section

I did not see that an an Amperex logo, sorry.

 

[Snoopy]

Man-o-man! That's a dumpster-driver tube, for sure!
It's a 17V filament version of...

http://www.tubebooks.org/tubedata/HB-3/Receiving_Tubes_Part_1/6BF11.PDF

At least it has an actual beam power AF power amplifier section

I did not see that an an Amperex logo, sorry.

Dumpster driver tube ?
I got no clue about those things really :-/

Found this:

===
The ECF82/6U8 and 17BF11 tubes used in the HA-2A were likely produced in the early 1950s, so they belong to the American production period, not the Dutch production period.

They were specifically used in the audio section of early tube televisions and almost became the standard configuration for TV audio at that time. The Amperex ECF82/6U8 is a composite tube that combines a high-gain pentode and a medium-gain triode.

Cayin's design engineers make full use of its low internal resistance and low noise characteristics, employing unique and ingenious design, wiring methods, and power supply arrangements to achieve rich, warm, balanced, and harmonious sound characteristics in the listening experience.

The Amperex 17BF11 is a dual pentode composite tube that was originally used with one pentode for voltage amplification and the other for power amplification in early applications.

However, in the HA-2A, Cayin's engineers have designed it to always work in a single-ended class A mode, carefully designing the gain circuit and incorporating an in-house developed Z11 iron core EI output transformer that is ultimately responsible for driving the headphones.

 

[Oddball]

I am sad to report that I lost taste in any adjustments that require physical movement except for the fingers taping on a smartphone. If I was doing my adjustments through the front board, it would be burdensome to stand up and do it again and again for 10 times or so.

 

[JeffS7444]

Output Tubes	Amperex 17BF11 x2
Driver Tubes	Amperex ECF82/6U8 x2
Rectifier	RCA 17AX4GT

6U8 aside, I love how they've repurposed (probably high quality) TV tubes. Pete Millett did something similar with his Engineer's Amplifier.

 

[mhardy6647]

The 17 volt filaments are a sign that they were designed for use in inexpensive, ac-dc series filament string (power transformerless) radios and televisions. That doesn't make them bad tubes per se, but there are (or were) likely large caches of very inexpensive, unused stock available when the sources of classic audio tubes dwindled.

 

[Snoopy]

The 17 volt filaments are a sign that they were designed for use in inexpensive, ac-dc series filament string (power transformerless) radios and televisions. That doesn't make them bad tubes per se, but there are (or were) likely large caches of very inexpensive, unused stock available when the sources of classic audio tubes dwindled.

So… all good I quess?
As long as the end result is good I’m happy will have to look into what is available as replacement tubes sometimes in the future but for now I have no issues with noise / hiss / hum and all that stuff that I was worried about with a tube amp.

 

[JeffS7444]

So… all good I quess?
As long as the end result is good I’m happy will have to look into what is available as replacement tubes sometimes in the future but for now I have no issues with noise / hiss / hum and all that stuff that I was worried about with a tube amp.

You'll be thanking the designer when you see prices on those 17-volt tubes! Possibly 6U8 as well, but IIRC, McIntosh used those in the MR71 tuner, so they may not be quite as overlooked as the "Compactron" tubes.