The Evolution 64 - Is it worth the money?
Added 2023-02-01 00:01:45 +0000 UTCThis is a product I was sent for review a few months ago. Started work on it a few weeks ago, but kept having to put it aside. Finally finished.
Comments
It’s the 28th
John
2023-03-01 02:20:22 +0000 UTCThe better audio is really hearable even after the YouTube compression and on MBP Max M1 speakers! Especially, the beginning of the Giana Sisters tune sounds more detailed and brighter. But I think the reason is not the tube component. So, you are right - maybe not worth the $500. But I see a good use of this board for electronic musicians who want to use the Sid (or two of them) in productions and want best output quality.
Alexander M. Korn
2023-02-04 09:44:58 +0000 UTCTubes are fun to do projects with, but I use $1 army surplus 12SR7 radio tubes from ebay for making projects. I wonder if it is based on this: https://diyaudiostore.com/products/korg-nutube-b1
that guy
2023-02-02 04:49:00 +0000 UTCI also think the nutube is a bit over the top... Tube amplifiers are especially useful when you want the typical overdrive characteristic around its saturation point, like in a guitar amp or Hammond organ, but for just "hifi" amplification, there is actually no real benefit in a tube amp. And that said, the SID chip is definitely not "hifi" :-P. The little sound difference that is hearable here you can probably get easier with a couple of simple passive components.
MrHammond
2023-02-01 19:35:11 +0000 UTCWow, someone is more expensive than Jens with his C64 Reloaded MK2? Color me impressed. o.o By the way, Jens board has autodetect for all chips instead of any jumper shenanigans and a flashable ROM that you can easily flash trough USB among other quality of life and design improvements. ~200€ plus slaughtering a C64 for its chips is still nothing i would pay for a computer that would collect dust most of the time, but some folks might be interested.
BastetFurry
2023-02-01 17:28:44 +0000 UTCI did notice a difference between the two audio options, as that expensive add-on kinda made the sound a little warmer and brighter, but we're talking a VERY minor difference and not "objectively" better, but "subjectively", as in not everyone's going to consider it an improvement. So yeah, neat little additional option for sure but definitely far too expensive for what it does. :P
Kris Asick
2023-02-01 14:26:34 +0000 UTCInteresting video as always and a great comparison, but I wish you had made a comparison between the standard and the NUTUBE64 output of the Evolution64 and not between a stock C64 and the NUTUBE64. Because I think the difference comes from the changes in filtering and circuitry.
André Scheffler
2023-02-01 10:37:14 +0000 UTCNice to get your angle on this product 😊 I'm pretty ok with my C64 MiSTer core (except I can't get the Keyrah to work with it) but like others I'd go with a Gideon’s Ultimate-64 as the ultimate package if I needed a stand-alone.
Ulrik Hansen
2023-02-01 10:30:26 +0000 UTCI think the Evo 64 is a neat project but I also think it is a bit outside of what I want. I am glad it has been made and like that it is more like a C64 from a parallel universe but I just don't need one. After purchasing a Turbo Chameleon 64 and enjoying that with a Breadbin unit, I think that I really want to get an Ultimate 64 as the next C64 I purchase. I realize that it wouldn't really be a genuine C64 but I want some of the added functionality it provides. I have TheC64 Maxi and probably play games on that more than any other Commodore-like thing. It is fun for games but not much else that you can enjoy from an old Commodore.
CubicleNate
2023-02-01 02:07:27 +0000 UTCThe weirdest part is that I thought you had at least a few SID and VIC-2 chips laying around. But then again, you're not Adrian. Also, I feel like the whole vacuum tube thing is a bit of snake oil, considering that the signal starts as digital to begin with. The only reason to listen to analog versions of digital based music is when the original system has many numerous different revisions and the analog is playing back the "Best" version of it. (Like a Sega Genesis or an Adlib.)
Rick Green
2023-02-01 00:25:59 +0000 UTC
