Dice Electronics’ iTPA-220 iPod tube amplifier system is a bit like a strict vegan meal served inside a hollowed-out animal’s skull. Sure, there’s no meat in it, but good luck getting vegans to dig in. On the other hand, if you’re just an omnivore looking for good eats, you might find a lot to like.
In this case, the vegans are audio purists who treasure the sound of tube amps, and the animal skull in the mix is an iPod, packing compressed tunes that said purists would cringe at the thought of. The iTPA-220 makes overtures to the audiophile crowd with its old-school tube amp, but also ignores their analog mindset with a piece of cold digital gadgetry at its core. It’s an enigma, to say the least.
