Moving right along from the weighty (the post below) to the trivial (this post), allow me to publicly drool over the iMPAMP — the world’s smallest all-tube stereo amplifier. Ever wonder why the sound coming out of an iPod kinda sucks? It’s not merely due to the much-maligned lossy compression of MP3s. Another big problem is that iPods — indeed, all small handheld audio players — have really cheap amplification circuitry. To get a really nice fat signal, you need a powerful amp, and ideally an analog one that uses vacuum tubes.

Ah, but how can you fit an entire tube amplifier in your man-purse? By getting a $545 iMPAMP, that’s how! As the creator boasts on his web site:

Perfect for your office or recording environment…you can put the iMP AMP right on your desk with bookshelf speakers and have a mini tube hi-fi setup for your iPod!

Check out his video introduction to this thing. It’s just insanely cute.

(Thanks to Andrew Hearst for this one!)