A Room with a VU (4-in-1 Review)

[@proyectosledar]

hi, you are right. i have the 1ts item and it is fake. i made a video with a swep tone and you can see the result. cheers

[@misaalanshori]

Proyectos LED link?

[@VictorGarciaR]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKPcdpJ7pL2Djsk kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnS9dYSlh8xsitk

[@sevraj2008]

La primera vez lo vi en tu canal , el unboxing y el test...esperaba que funccionase pero...todavia estoy mirando uno bueno para poder comprarlo...

[@6581punk]

It seems to me like the first one has a threshold which triggers the particular frequency band to move, which then falls until it triggers again. It's not actually measuring the dB level in that frequency band.

[@NH3rrm4nn]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z3W1lHeJps9kl7c Markus Fuller did too

[@Reudinger]

I really like the calm and low paced style of your Videos. You show the items, explain things and the history. You take your time and dont rush, take things apart and look whats inside. And I like listening to your voice. Even for me, as a non native english speaker, I never had trouble to understand what you are saying. Keep it real :)

[@markanderson350]

What I took for granted In the 70's is now a rarity. Wow!

[@willtubes73]

@@Psychedelicxylophone????????

[@willtubes73]

@@Psychedelicxylophone check who you replied to

[@muhammadramli8979]

😇😇😈😈😂😄😅😆😆

[@jay7264]

the one you can't get with the vu needle is beautiful

[@johnclavis]

VU meters?? Bah! I'm an American -- we use VU *feet*!

[@MrPGT]

Just call it a yard for a really quick and dirty conversion and you're good to go. ;)

[@amaanqureshi1286]

Party Bot that's was punny

[@DarkIzo]

VU feeters ?

[@sergiofreitas9368]

That was such a terrible pun, but funny at the same time!

[@vink6163]

Very amusing - but of course the rest of the world spells meter and metre differently to avoid that kind of confusion ;-)

[@frvo]

I just love VU meters

[@frvo]

That's a very good idea! But... I wonder if that would be possible... Hmmm...

[@duophonix]

What would he have to Gain?

[@v4vaughan74]

duophonix 😃

[@razmann4k]

Who doesn't?

[@lionelhutz4046]

You have excellent taste in voice actors.

[@summerlaverdure]

I appreciate the editing from the LED matrix into the hi-fi spectrum analyzer, it's very smooth and I usually take stuff like that for granted, just today I am watching everything with attention to the edits. Excellent work!

[@mistermatix8241]

That last model, what's so cool that your Sony deck fits perfectly on top, like a mini separates setup. Utterly brilliant.

[@CuttingtheCaboose]

I "LOVED" VU and Spectrum displays when I was young, I even bought that 'Realistic Ten Band 31-2020' EQ's from Tandy, just for the lights. Some sort of setup with these panels could make an interesting set prop for a KZbin channel or desk installation for a 'gadget' computer desk. You got me thinking! Fantastic video as always x

[@GnatGoSplat]

Same! I was so fascinated by that EQ every time I went to Radio Shack. Some time in my college days, I even bought one from eBay to reminisce about my childhood and still have it to this day.

[@Fireship1]

This KZbin show is so well put together and professional, it should be on broadcast TV. Bravo Techmoan! Love the channel and the content!

[@genewitch]

yeah, i always wonder how much editing time is spent, the videos always look grand.

[@coreyfellows9420]

Agreed!!

[@miromustang]

I bought myself a VU meter kit from a guy that is based in Lithuania and it consists of two nixie tubes, driven by K157DA1 driver chip. It is caled SGVU151. Works realy great and it is pleasent to look at. It gives you a nice warm feeling.

[@paralentor]

I especially appreciate this channel because all of our specialty electronics stores are long gone and Best Buy would never in sell something as cool as a a headphone amplifier with VU Meters.

[@hfric]

Your video, brought be back to simpler times... when all listened to theirs mp3 collection on Winamp (or WMP)... and jumped in awe, when they saw its VU digital meter on theirs CRT screen .

[@patrickandersson6282]

The Slovenian guy who made the last product featured is now selling analog VU meters in the same box configuration. Looks pretty cool.

[@AndersEngerJensen]

Regarding the LED-panel and its fake frequency response: I have the same problem with my plugin in Final Cut Pro X for my music videos. Firstly it drifts off course during the songs, but it's also just reacting to the amplitudes and it doesn't look as good as I was hoping. So that was $39 out of the window.. sort of. :P

[@robertgaines-tulsa]

I bought a stereo LED VU meter off of a guy who puts kits together 3 years ago. It only cost $30 bucks at that time, but since I don't have a ton of cash, it did the job. It has 10 LEDs per channel (left, right) with 5 green, 3 yellow, and 2 red LEDs each. It also has a stereo potentiometer to adjust the meter level and a pair of RCA input jacks (left, right). All the components including the DC barrel jack for power are mounted on a clear, acrylic stand. It runs off 9-12vdc, and you supply the power supply. I just used a stereo splitter cable to connect my audio selector output to both the VU meter and amplifier. I didn't notice any change in sound quality by doing that. Although it is not to big and I don't have much room for anything bigger anyway, it gives me something to look at as well as provide me an accurate idea of how much power each channel is putting through the amplifier (without any numerical measurement). It also has an extremely fast refresh rate. This meter has also helped me identify various issues with my audio system down the road allowing me to fix them quickly. Although it is not big and super sophisticated, it does give me a VU meter like the one on a boom box we had back in the mid-'80s.

[@mfbfreak]

The vacuum tube indicators should be bright enough to be visible in a normally lit room. They are very sensitive to undervoltage. They aren't very spectacular, but they work very well for their purpose - to actually indicate when you record too loud (with a transparant red marker in the middle), or for when you have tuned your radio correctly.

[@johnr6168]

Yes they were fine for domestic equipment. The dB numbers on mechanical meters don't mean much to most people anyway. The valve (vacuum tube) indicators were used in equipment which already used valves elsewhere so it made sense to use one more valve for the level meter.

[@KnaufL]

The magic eye tube one(the glass one) can be biased and the sensitivity can be adjusted by the potentiometer on the PCB using a screwdriver

[@GeneralVanRyberg]

Thank you so much for this video, I contacted the maker of the Blue/Red Horizontal Boxed VU Meter and he expects to sell new ones soon, I'll be watching daily. My Logitech SqueezeBox Touch, that I'll be replacing soon, also had that VU needle view. That was my favorite view as well. But the external boxed horizontal VU meter will be a satisfactory replacement. Keep up the great work! PS: Patreon does not allow one-time donations, right?

[@ronshaw80]

On the last one, I'm sure the LED bar graphs are peak reading. Most VU meters are not, unless they have special circuitry to make them peak reading. If they are standard VU meters, with standard VU ballistics, they would not show the peak clipping, where the LEDs will, so they are probably both correct, allowing for the differences. Nice video.

[@delacroixp]

Love the boxed VU Meter. I had an Aiwa feather-touch tape deck in high school (1980) ... with 3 colour LED VU Meters ... green, orange and red ... mesmerizing.

[@fortherecord1569]

That spectrum at 8:56 really whips the llama's ass!

[@Dragoslav_MD]

For the Record ohhh, winamp...

[@luis21207]

Winamp hardcore fan here!

[@Argoon1981]

hahah :D but i'm sure only a few will get that reference.

[@abadenoughdude300]

Winamp ftw

[@jasonrod]

The compilation at the end of the video was just brilliant.

[@digitalmediafan]

Love to get that display at 16:40 what was the ID of the seller ?

[@reeffeeder]

Oh joy. I literally just checked 30 minutes ago for new Techmoan videos and there were none. Went and had a poo, came back and there was one waiting for me! Oh joyous day!

[@sofa-lofa4241]

Please poo more often!

[@VOmaker]

I like the one that emulates the analog VU meter and the last one. Very good. The vacuum tube unit got my attention. My maternal grandmother, while devoutly reglious, was a bit of tech junkie back in the sixties when I was just old enough to be the same. She acquired a Phillips reel-to-reel tape recorder which she used to record church services and the like. It was a brute of a thing and weighed a ton. I remember having to carry that to the church for her on public transit. Anyway, it was only a mono unit of course and the record level indicator was in the stop button, which was larger than the others. It was one of these types of vacuum tubes. The plastic cover over the opening where it was housed, had a red bar in the centre, and if you went into that bar, the recording level was too high. It was all manual of course, no automatic level control. The tube in this machine was much more responsive than those in the video. It also indicated VU when playing back a recording. It was fun to see that they are still around in some form.

[@VOmaker]

I found a photo of a unit very similar to my grandmother's. I just remembered, looking at the photo, that the red bar wasn't painted on the plastic window, but on a sleeve that the tube slid into to mount it in the stop button. Unfortunately, there is no way to share the photo here. Or is there? www.vintage-radio.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=94166&d=1402851825

[@jonizulo]

4:16 what song is that?

[@CJWarlock]

The astonishing devices Techmoan presents on this channel... The collection of videos on this channel is gold! :)

[@paulodpereira]

1:35 the 5v screw terminals on the controller are probably wired in paralell with the mini usb, so you could connect the display power there and only use one power supply (if it can provide enough current)

[@SynthoidSounds]

Device #2 with the VU tubes . . . I remember, about 50 years ago, we had one of those monster cabinet furniture stereo systems in the living room, had the very same tube, only in that case it was used to the indicate the channel tuner locking onto a channel. As for device #3, would gladly buy one if it was available, somewhat surprised someone else hasn't already produced a similar item. Thanks for the providing the video.

[@mydg1t]

the seller is going by "digital love" and the product is ili15. I have found him on ebay, etsy, amazon, and youtube.

[@AuraQualic]

My recommendation is buying an American Audio dB-DISPLAY. it's dirt cheap that mostly used in PA but can also be use for fancy stuffs if you want to see some VU in your room.

[@TooSlowTube]

@4:30ish, the manic LED behaviour is more likely to be correct, than the slow response of the Hi Fi component. The "falling back slowly" behaviour of the Hi Fi one is either a deliberate feature, to make it more user friendly, or they're using a circuit that recovers from a peak very slowly - e.g. discharging a capacitor through a resistor. The LED one is doing the same, with the red dots across the top - but clearly in software. It's using a lot more frequency bands too. VU meters are often slowed deliberately, to help people follow them. For a moving coil one, it also protects the mechanism from being torn apart by trying to move in real time. It could look something like tihs: Signal -> Frequency band detector -> diode -> hold capacitor -> discharge resistor. The capacitor would charge more quickly than it discharged , so it reacts to the start of a peak fairly quickly, but then holds it, in a leaky "sample and hold" circuit, for you to look at. If you analysed the music with a FFT (mathematical frequency analysis trick, used on computers), in real time, with no tricks to enhance the user interface, I'd expect it to be quite lively. Try it with a track where there are just sharp hits, like someone tapping a hi-hat, for example. Your perception of the sound might linger a while longer than the reality, but the chances are, the sound dies off very quickly - unless there's a lot of reverb on the recording.

[@cokeelite12]

The opening and music are simply the best

[@pg1171]

I think that I will stick to my old tape deck/CD/mixing board/ receiver with a REAL VU meter setup. It may be 80's/90/s, but it actually works the way that it is supposed to. Plus, I can plug my guitar in, along with my headphones, and practice with only me hearing what I am playing. Plus, I can stop, reverse, and re-play anything that I want to. Thank you for reviewing these items. It just informs us that new items just don't work as well as they should, or are just pretty junk. The first one would be good around Christmas though! The red and green would be pretty with Christmas music! Great job, overall! KUDOS!

[@MarioValderramaz]

I love VU meters, I am actually retrofitting a Cooler Master Musketeer 2, back from my PC era, to a Bluetooth speaker i am working off. Also change my car stereo for a much older pioneer with VU meters animation on it, at least, it's something. Love your videos

[@MrVolksbeetle]

Growing up, my Dad had a Sansui 4channel receiver with a Teac 4channel reel to reel. VU heaven!

[@montuotojo]

I have an old Fidelity Playmaster tape machine from the 60's, which has the same vacuum tube level indicator, as you have here. It switches on when you set the machine to record mode and looks pretty cool. I must say - the even though the indicator valve is smaller in size on the tape machine, it definitely has a bigger 'dynamic range' - meaning thatwhen the signal is very quiet, the light columns are very short, almost not present. I found it very cool.

[@MrBlackdragon1230]

I am like you when it comes to sound output displays, they should never have gone away.

[@MattTester]

The AS30, commonly available as a kit, was also available on Amazon UK in pre-built form from a couple of sellers. I bought one in July (I knew I would mess up a kit) branded as DROK for only £35. It's essentially the same as the last device but vertical and more compact with USB power and a 3.5mm input both terminating in a USB mini-B plug. I've been very impressed with it, I use it on my PC for levelling the volume of applications.

[@TheBrickson98]

Oh! Magic eye tubes! I didn’t realize they made them in a bar style like that. My Zenith console radio from 1939 or so has a magic eye tube to show how tuned in you are to a station, but the display is circular, and at the top of the tube. It sits horizontally in the chassis, and displays out the front in the tuning dial.

[@Hito--chan]

what you want is one of these: nixiekits.eu/Magilyzer.htm The second one with the magic eye tubes needs to be able to be adjusted, they're like normal valves/tubes, they degrade over time, the one on the left is actually working better than the one on the right, you can see it when you turn the lights on that the one on the right is noticeably dimmer than the one on the left. I bought a couple of cheap $5 kits for boards that use those magic eye tubes for an amplifier I made earlier in the year and each came with a pot that could adjust the level so I could match the tubes if one was more sensitive than the other. I agree those ones are a little under whelming but you can get different types like the EM800 that's a single bar that moves from bottom to top or my favorite the the EM80, though they're not a direct replacement so you'd need to to make an adapter or do some rewiring to get them to work with the boards designed for EM87/84 like the one shown in the video.

[@jamessloanofficial]

I love that you admit you have no need for a gadget, just want it for the gadget factor. I think that's probably most of your audience!

[@NH3rrm4nn]

8:48. Is the graph linear? It appears linear, where most of the frequencies are in the first third. Those are usually displayed in log scale. Where we can see the frequencies spread out better. If you know the chap, maybe he can tweak the code, get an update.

[@chrispotts2010]

Brilliant.....at last, a sensible look at the, much disregarded, VU meter. Your video was most enlightening. Any more like this would be most welcome.

[@nrood3821]

what brand and model is the cassatte player in here at the 2:06 mark? thats the style of tape player id like to get to add to the stereo system in the living room for if i need to play a tape. the one i have now is on the stereo i got from when my grandfather passed and i try not to use it alot and wear it out. and the tape deck needs a good cleaning. if anyone has info on it please let me know

[@pmgodfrey]

I have two Dorrough 40-A meters. No gimmicks, no ridiculous blue LEDs -- just accurate metering and fun to watch.

[@Max16032]

You may want to check out the Hayakumo Forma VU meter. It's intended for DJs but it looks pretty good with wood side panels and both analog needles and LED metering lights. It's quite expensive and limited edition, but I think it looks fantastic.

[@borisjevic6338]

Wow! What did I just watch? , THIS IS LIKE DEJA-VU! I can swear that I have seen this video a couple of weeks ago or even at most around 2 months or so ago! No way did I time travel! This now has me spooked!

[@allertschallenberg1857]

Mat, are you sure the DC 5V terminals on the controller for the first one aren't there to actually power the LED-matrix?

[@allertschallenberg1857]

Yeah, the spades were the only things that made me doubt it -- and I guess they're what threw Mat off as well.

[@Techmoan]

1) What instructions? I didn't get any. 2) The display isn't worth buying anyway, for all the reasons mentioned in the video, so it's all academic.

[@wonderwoman_nikki]

Finally able to get a hold of the Mini LCD with Analog VU needle! Can't wait for it to be delivered! I love your videos!

[@jevchance]

What’s the title so I may search on eBay?

[@wonderwoman_nikki]

@@jevchance I haven't seen it on ebay. I got mine from ETSY. The guy in Romania that makes it only carries them occasionally. I'd add him to your favorites, and keep an eye for any in the future. (I waited for about a year). Link -> www.etsy.com/listing/585261034/eu-shipping-only-ili14-lcd-audio?ref=hp_rv-1&frs=1

[@phillipev]

Very interesting subject indeed, I could watch reviews of these things for days. Cheers from Brazil 🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷

[@glyn1963]

the second one is very like the ' Magic Eye ' displays that were fitted to Grundig home reel to reel tape units in the 60's and 70's. Memories of many a Sunday night recording Tony Blackburn's top 20 rundown in the early 70's on my old second hand machine.

[@ethansloan]

I thought it would measure the amount of Velvet Underground music in a given room. Bummer.

[@tubical71]

That´s why i DIY my VU meters...the ones that you can buy are usually crap...even the bar graph one that uses the propper chips, at around 12:00 but also uses only the one chip (LM3916) which is exactly designed for a single chip solution. As it has the typical -20, -10, -7, -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3 points hard wired into it....the LM3914 and 15 can be scaled to display a window with a user altered scale/spacing factor when you want a larger display, the LM3916 can be scaled as well...but it looks and still respond unequal and "wrong" due to uneven spacing. The most forward and easy setup for a DIY VU meter which will display everything correctly and looks just "right" is to set up an R2R-ladder (resistor divider) where you can set your desired spacing by using only a buch of in series resistors and feed every output of this laddder into the negative input of an opamp. You need to have an opamp for every point of your display. Then use a half or even a full wave peak rectifier to detect the peak signal value and feed this to all positive inputs of all the opamps you use in the display section. Connect a LED to every opamp output via a 50ohm resistor. if you use a cheap LM324 (four in one chip) for the display and an TL072 for the detector you can set up a nice, let say 50dB ranged, VU meter with a nice log scale which also looks "right" for just about 30 bucks and a weekend of soldering. A more "modern" way to set up a VU meter, is to use an arduino and a neopixel string. the internal ADC can be used to display a VU meter of about 30dB range. So far i done a stereo VU with 64 pixels with a nice fading peak hold. just a matter of good coding and a little peak detector hardware frontend to free up computing time to have room to compute a nice visual response. A traditional analog meter VU is the sipmlest of all...buy a 5Volts or a 10 volts analog needle meter wire a diode and a 100Ohm resistor in series and a cap of around 0,47 up to 4,7 µF in paralell to the meter terminal, and hook it up to your speaker outputs. it would resond way better than all these fake VU meters showed here...

[@magreger]

I now wait in anticipation for the comedy at the end. I used to not care for it but now I see it as a nice treat.

[@mrmeow3924]

The title of this video alone deserves a like!

[@kevinbeckenham3872]

I like the magic eye,it reminds me of day's of valve reel to reel tape recorders.Magic eye's were never that accurate. Love the video.

[@yummypaint-uy6ze]

Have you seen the spectrogram view in foobar2000? Its a scrolling waterfall style and it and its easily the best ive ever seen.

[@philmccracken6134]

I agree with you, it's extremely detailed and precise, you can follow exactly what each instrument is doing and see all the dozens of harmonics (especially with a human voice). For a better visualizing tool than this there is only iZotope RX.

[@dannooo548]

You should play a sweeping sine wave to to the first one to prove it's bad

[@6581punk]

That Korg kaos pad thing would be able to do that I think.

[@capitanesejapitalism1679]

it just isn't smoothing/averaging any output, it may be skookum but without sweeping sine we no nuffang

[@WooferCooker]

Anvilshock v

[@gtb81.]

7:09 it has adjustments on it, for this exact thing, it should be dialed in properly

[@krist0sh]

The tubes on the second device were commonly used on Tandberg (and other...?) tape-recorders as a meter for adjusting the record levels.

[@JaredReabow]

that first one seems like a waste because there is so much you could do in software with it to make it better. It could act like a clock when not in use, or do some internet interaction like youtube subscriber counter for example. You could adjust the brightness with PWM in software also.

[@SinaelDOverom]

What was the music at 8:06? I want it in my player now!

[@_intrepid]

I bought a kit and tubes for a Nixie VU meter. Did some tests and the effect is really nice. Only downside is you have to use high voltage to power the tubes.

[@MayaPosch]

Now I'm tempted to try my hands at my own VU meter, including proper DFT-based frequency analysis :)

[@genewitch]

there's an arduino library for driving the RGB Leds with extreme fidelity, and since arduinos can sample voltages, you could at least get 8 bits of resolution off each channel. I imagine if you used a set of bandpass filters in front of the arduino you could sample say, 4 pins per channel and get even more range (still each pin at 8 bits, but multiple pins per audio channel.) The LED Library is called FastLED, and can run hundreds (at least) of LEDs on a single pin. I've tested it with over 80 so far, and it can do it at 30-60FPS.

[@fabriziooldrini6888]

In the 60s I owned a Geloso reel to reel tape recorder that had one green tube as vu meter. This tube was also present in a big Grundig radio and disc changer stereo Tha my grandpa had, it was used to indicate the full tuning of a RF radio signal

[@zuurbekje3125]

The Behringer Ultramatch DEQ2496, besides being a digital equalizer and an excellent DAC, has multiple music display options, including VU meters and spectrum analyzer. Highly recommended.

[@zuurbekje3125]

Haha! You won't regret it! :)

[@CEzikMaj]

Personally, I prefer 60 frames videos instead of 4K, because most people even not have an 4K display as well as me. I prefer 144Hz monitor.

[@voidofspaceandtime4684]

2k 144hz master race

[@dmer-zy3rb]

sounds good - doesent work. most 1080p videos just look very bad, barely like real 720p. and the 60 fps thing on youtube made the situation even worse.

[@CEzikMaj]

I think Techmoan should try it. He has pro video equipment so any video noise should not be that visible.

[@DarkLinkAD]

(Drunken response) I think your refering to data compression. 24 FPS youtube at 4k at XXX = greater image fidelty than 60 FPS youtube at 4k at XXX bitrate. Yet not comparable to blueray 1080p at xxxx Bitrate.

[@YCbCr]

It would be nice not needing to upload 4K footage just to get a 1080p-like fidelity in the end. :/

[@Fritschge128]

Very cool, I'd love to see more!

[@halseyballistic]

This video demo and review of the different VU displays is awesome!

[@1973Washu]

A Raspberry Pi and a TFT display in a box of your choosing would be a far more versatile option. You could display a large number of audio visualizations.

[@80s_Boombox_Collector]

There are several apps that can display meters on your phone or tablet. Of course, the major limitation is that your music has to be playing from that same device.

[@alanknight2204]

Hi I expect the last one was based on the LM3914 IC ( very old device ) . They each drive 10 LEDs and you can use them together to drive more . The ICs are about 15p each on Ebay from China etc . The LM3914 gives a linear output there was one for VU meters perhaps LM3915 ? Alan

[@dj_paultuk7052]

Back in the mid 80's my dad had a Reel to Reel tape machine that had Valve based VU meters. There were colours in it too. Quite cool for the time.

[@emolatur]

With regards to the one you like but is unavailable due to the maker having disappeared... Search here on yt for "digital love ili15 lcd" and you will find it, and it will lead to where to order one.

[@Wildmutationblu]

Nicely edited and mixed video. I hope you know that your hard work is appreciated.

[@Phaser1x]

PLEASE someone make the blue and red display again 2022! Want.

[@bridgebuilder4480]

I think #2 (the glass magic eye tubes) were a little misunderstood. I have a couple of those, although mine are not that particular kit and were far cheaper, and they make great meters. Those tubes were originally designed as tuning indicators for old radio sets and not as VU meters , but being a vintage vacuum tube they have sort of the same appeal as nixie tubes or dekatrons. It looks like the ones displayed were not trimmed properly, there should be little trim pots to adjust the sensitivity and make them more in sync and give them a wider range . I always found VU meters interesting. Great video!

[@morho9422]

these were used as vu meters in 1960's as far as i know for certain. maybe earlier. i do not know their history. i am familiar with the Tesla Mono 50 AZK 405.

[@DLock-jw8me]

Since a lot of these devices are in the price-range of cheap smartphones: what about smartphone-apps? Are there apps that visualize external audio-signals, and if so, how do they compare to these dedicated devices?

[@increiblepelotudo]

Fantastic, as always. You should submit some of these amazing vids to CBS Sunday Morning, seriously. You need a slot!!!

[@thisisnev]

Back in 1980-ish Aiwa made an add-on High Com II noise reduction box, the HR-50, for their micro hi-fi range. It wasn't very practical as a NR unit, because it had to be calibrated manually for each tape - but it had beautiful 3-colour LED VU meters which also worked in NR bypass mode. They crop up occasionally on eBay for about £90.

[@geoffreyblackburn2110]

Another solid video. Looking forward to the next episode with your puppet work. Thank you for all of the effort.

[@gabrielv.4358]

Nice!!! I really like the VU-Meters and Spectrum Analyzers.

[@freesaxon6835]

The twin valve device was used in the old valve radios ( magic eye tuner ) the closer the two green band got together, the more the radio station was tuned in

[@Robzter117]

What's the name of the cassette player you show at 2:10? Looks really cool

[@bigbro5793]

Very entertaining, highly professionally made. Thank you, really enjoyed this video.

[@Distinctly.Average]

Been watching and enjoying your videos for a while. As someone who used to repair loads of old AV kit it brings back lots of memories. Saw a new tube base spectrum analyser using the magic eye tubes you have on the VU meter but using 6 of them instead of two. Chap called mr nixie makes them. A quick google for magilyzer brings them up. Certainly looks good.

[@Kiana.Da.Editor.3701]

*Techmoan* Can you peel-off the 'QC-Passed' sticker on the first item and see what is the code on the chip?

[@garyallsebrook3493]

I have a Phase Linear audio spectrum analyzer thats pretty cool, but the one with the VU's is pretty slick. People are curious about the first one - the lower the frequency the bigger the amplitude, so the circuitry is reacting to something in that bandwidth.

[@jamiemarchant]

That was neat. I would not mind it if you reviewed more of those.

[@kevinpatrickmacnutt]

I have an old graphic equaliser with an old LED green/yellow/red spectrum analyser in my system set to "bypass" for that reason as well as giving me an extra tape input.

[@cabdav]

I can't help but thinking that a better option is to use one of the assorted tablet/phone apps that works on sound picked up via. the microphone. Leave that running on top of/alongside your system. Don't know if threre's a VU needle version but I wouldn't be surprised. Several of them around, easy to install and use.

[@djk8541]

Love the build quality of that last one, and I really like that they're a handmade small operation, but $100 is a bit much for the novelty

[@RobertKohut]

Thanks, just bought the boxed blue version. Very nice build quality!!

[@ThatCrazyMechanic]

man Ive been looking for a SAE receiver for about a year or so now. cant find any. love the rotating vu or whatever its called thing.

[@Wazoox]

I've got an excellent Wohler AMP1A-30 on my desk, that I've had for free from a closing TV station. Very nice 3 colors VU-meters, sounds very well for its size :)

[@c2pascual]

Ha! i got lucky and found an old new in box kenwood with the last VU display built in. Its just so fun to watch

[@migalito1955]

When I was a kid I connected a short string of mini Christmas tree lights to each of the left and right B speaker terminals. It worked but beat to the overall amplitude of the channel as opposed to the amplitude of individual frequency ranges.

[@fountaincap]

Maybe the reason they did away with these is because, the way music is being mastered nowadays with the loudness war, the thing would be peaking constantly!

[@Razvii]

Or you know by just putting the gain way down or adding additional gain softening

[@ShawnGuertin]

The last time you showed us the vector oscilloscope, you inspired me to program on on Arduino. For those interested, it's XY-Scope on GitHub