How good is Fatman Itube?

[admin_exported]

So my speakers are 87db 1W/1m. Would the fatman be able to drive them well? and more importantly.. is it worth its price?

I like warm & musical presentation so is there any better product for 300€ or under?

 

[Anonymous]

I know a few people who have the Fatman itube (25w per channel) and they say it leaves them decidedly underwhelmed which is not surprising since most speakers have an amplification range between 30w-100w.

 

[Anonymous]

Only time i've heard a fatman it was distorting like anything and not even at very loud levels.

Not sure if that was the fatman itself or a case of badly looked after by the shop.

 

[matengawhat]

I have the Fatman Carbon in my kitchen running with a pair of MA Br1s and it rocks - plays loud without distortion - nice warm sound - great dock

In my opinion best sounding ipod dock around - i also have the B&W Zep and this is far better.

 

[Tony_R]

A short while back, somebody posted a link to a site which claimed to demonstrate what rubbish the Fatman amps were.

Essentially, there's nice pretty valves on top, but two cheap 'n nasty IC output stages hidden underneath...

I have searched the forums in vain for this post but cannot find it - however if anybody knows of this site...

 

[Tony_R]

Found the link I was referring to in my previous post.

Here it is. <<< clickme

.

 

[Messiah]

Nice link Tony, very interesting article!

 

[matengawhat]

i rem that article and its was based on the original fatman not the mkII and some of the comments mentioned are no longer valied with the new update.

Personally i've not had any problems with it playing loud, nor with the noisy sound floor, or the volume control. Also the carbon now has tone controls on the remote and i do find a couple of clicks to the treble really helps

the fact that when it was delivered one of the tubes was lose would suggest to me that it had a good knock somewhere along the way

also in contrast to that article What hi fi have a very different opinion

i bought it as a simple setup for my kitchen and can't fault it - does what it says

 

[chebby]

Tony_R:
A short while back, somebody posted a link to a site which claimed to demonstrate what rubbish the Fatman amps were.

Essentially, there's nice pretty valves on top, but two cheap 'n nasty IC output stages hidden underneath...

I have searched the forums in vain for this post but cannot find it - however if anybody knows of this site...

Strong stuff.

I guess then that you have never owned one and heard how nice they can sound? (Assuming one uses it as intended within it's limits.)

Fellow forumer 'matengawhat' said above that he enjoys using one with a pair of Monitor Audio BR1's and I used to enjoy my iTube with a pair of the same speakers....

(My old set-up for PC and iPod from a couple of years ago.)

I cannot equate my own experience with your knowledge of what others claim. (Have you heard one yourself?)

I know WHF have favourably reviewed three or four of the Fatman iTube amplifiers since the original was launched a couple of years ago and I recall 4 and 5 star results for both pure class A and hybrid models. (The original iTube, the 'Carbon' and the i182.)

You have to look at these things in the context of what they were designed for. The basic Fatman iTube was designed to be used with a PC and/or an iPod as a step up in quality from the usual iPod dock speaker systems (or PC speakers) and as such it succeeded admirably. Comparing it with full-on hifi amplifiers costing far more, yielding much more power, and designed for a different job is not really appropriate.

 

[chebby]

otherdude:
So my speakers are 87db 1W/1m. Would the fatman be able to drive them well? and more importantly.. is it worth its price?

I like warm & musical presentation so is there any better product for 300? or under?

You need more efficient speakers. 90 - 92db say.

My old BR1's were 91db I think. Even then don't expect room filling volume in your lounge unless you are using very efficient speakers and the more powerful (25 watt per channel) Carbon Edition like the one mentioned earlier.

The entry level iTube (15 watts per channel with a fair wind) is more suited to a small bedroom or study.

 

[Anonymous]

I had one that I bought from Amazon. The remote failed gradually so that in the end it would only switch the power on and change the volume. This happened in the first few weeks. I emailed Fatman's customer services but never received a reply. Amazon then replaced the model. Seccond time around the same thing happened but this time quite a few months later. This time I left a message regarding the problem on the Fatman Customer Services answer machine. In the meantime I spoke to Amazon and they agreed to refund the product. Just a day or so after my product was returned and refunded Fatman rang me, but is was too late as I had sent the product back.

I loved the product, especially the way it looked. Even though I'd had the same problem twice I would have happily accepted a replacement product. Unfortunately, it all happened too late. I don't have anything at the moment but keep reading the reviews looking for something similarly stylish. I actually chose the Fatman because What hi fi recommended it

 

[Anonymous]

G Girl - did you change the batteries?

 

[Tony_R]

chebby:Tony_R:
A short while back, somebody posted a link to a site which claimed to demonstrate what rubbish the Fatman amps were.

Essentially, there's nice pretty valves on top, but two cheap 'n nasty IC output stages hidden underneath...

I have searched the forums in vain for this post but cannot find it - however if anybody knows of this site...

Strong stuff.

I guess then that you have never owned one and heard how nice they can sound? (Assuming one uses it as intended within it's limits.)

Fellow forumer 'matengawhat' said above that he enjoys using one with a pair of Monitor Audio BR1's and I used to enjoy my iTube with a pair of the same speakers....

.....(My old set-up for PC and iPod from a couple of years ago.)

I cannot equate my own experience with your knowledge of what others claim. (Have you heard one yourself?)

I know WHF have favourably reviewed three or four of the Fatman iTube amplifiers since the original was launched a couple of years ago and I recall 4 and 5 star results for both pure class A and hybrid models. (The original iTube, the 'Carbon' and the i182.)

You have to look at these things in the context of what they were designed for. The basic Fatman iTube was designed to be used with a PC and/or an iPod as a step up in quality from the usual iPod dock speaker systems (or PC speakers) and as such it succeeded admirably. Comparing it with full-on hifi amplifiers costing far more, yielding much more power, and designed for a different job is not really appropriate.

Chebby - indeed I have never owned one - I was only trying to convey somebody else's opinion as per the link I posted.

Indeed, Musical Fidelity (amongst others) have successfully combined silicon and valves to good effect, so I'm not knocking the product at all.

It is interesting to note that on their site, under "Main Features" for the "iTube Valve Dock" they (Fatman) state:

"Valve processing gives warm, rich, audio characteristics" - just the very reason why many other hybrid amplifier manufacturers go down this route.

 

[matengawhat]

G Girl:
I had one that I bought from Amazon. The remote failed gradually so that in the end it would only switch the power on and change the volume. This happened in the first few weeks. I emailed Fatman's customer services but never received a reply. Amazon then replaced the model. Seccond time around the same thing happened but this time quite a few months later. This time I left a message regarding the problem on the Fatman Customer Services answer machine. In the meantime I spoke to Amazon and they agreed to refund the product. Just a day or so after my product was returned and refunded Fatman rang me, but is was too late as I had sent the product back.

I loved the product, especially the way it looked. Even though I'd had the same problem twice I would have happily accepted a replacement product. Unfortunately, it all happened too late. I don't have anything at the moment but keep reading the reviews looking for something similarly stylish. I actually chose the Fatman because What hi fi recommended it

the battery that came with my original remote did not work luckily they supplied a spare swapped it and was fine

 

[matengawhat]

i'm not saying this product is the best in the world when it comes to hi fi - if you look at my main setup this is a long long long way off - but for what it is an efficient ipod dock compared to bose, B&W ect its fantastic

 

[skularatna]

I've got a itube 252 connected to a pair of wharfedale diamond 9.1 and it sounds amazing, music is warm, separation is brilliant and everything is crisp.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah, changed the battery!

 

[Henley]

There have been many reports where ipods fail to recognise docks from varying manufacturers or remote functions. Often resetting the ipod cures this. The link explains all.

http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=search&q=To%20reset%20an%20iPod%20with%20a%20Click%20Wheel