I love all kinds of stuff with vacuum tubes. They just look cool and remind me of a different era. I love me some iPod docks with tubes, amps, and clocks. Even this “test tube” clock looks pretty neat, even if they’re not real vacuum tubes or test tubes that have chemicals in them or a tiny lifeform.

It’s basically just a bunch of numbers with glass domes over each. It doesn’t quite match the style and warmth of a Nixie clock, but hey to each his own. It does have a cool retro look. It’s $75.

Audiophile specialist McIntosh Laboratory has just unloaded a flotilla of new high end (i.e. pricey) components for the “price is no object” home theater. The one we picture above, for example, is the MC2301 Vacuum Tube Power Amplifier, priced at around $11,000. That’s right, $11k.

Full details on this vacuum tube piece of audio equipment and four other new McIntosh releases are found after the jump.

Nemo Gould, a mechanical sculptor, assembled the Big Man robot from all kinds junk materials ranging from vacuum cleaner parts to chair legs and he even used floor polisher. The Robot is a respectable 8 feet tall and has a little robot inside that controls him.

The Big Man robot moves it’s hands to and fro and it can also move it’s mouth up and down. The “Little Man” in it’s chest moves levers that control Big Man. It doesn’t get much more awesome then watching a tiny robot control a big robot with antlers on it’s head. Video below.

The Atari 2600 brings back a lot of memories for some of us. And making a portable Atari can be fun, but this modder has really outdone himself with this model, giving the project some amazing style.

The Multari is a portable Atari 2600 with 32 games built right in. The chassis itself was made from vacuum-formed styrene plastic, with the usual colorful buttons and D-pad, there’s also a 5-inch display and a set of speakers. In fact, this is one of the nicest portable Ataris I’ve seen yet. Check out the video below.

At first glance you might just think this is a new concept phone. It’s actually a machine designed so that you can get your wank on, and it opens up so you can clean it easily. Ain’t that a pretty picture. It’s made of silicon, and it’s got vacuum and pump buttons on it for you to adjust the sidewalls, so you can pretend you are with a really hot girl.

Apparently it’s good for fifty uh…uses. It will cost you $99, but hey, they also throw in three containers of lube. This gadget will help you do what you already do anyway, just high tech. I can sense that some of you are excited. I can almost hear you thinking, “This is like using someone else’s hand entirely”. That’s right. No need to make your hand fall asleep before the deed any longer my friends. And for others out there…This beats the hell out of using a cardboard TP tube.

I love design. I also love vacuum tubes. This Tube Lamp is an homage to high end audio amplifiers, with some funky details. What you get is a series of 9 tubes with 25 Watt lamps inside. The glass tubes glow when switched on, so you can pretend you are a mad scientist.

They really went the whole nine yards, encasing the tubes in a black bakelite box and giving the device a toggle switch, mirror top and dimmer knob. Anyone who has an appreciation for old tube technology will love this. Imagine what a great conversation piece this would be. Especially if you are the kind of evil genius who connects about ten of these things together.

Teresonic is hoping to appeal to those seeking “environment-friendly audio” by unveiling a speaker which draws only a few watts per channel. The new Teresonic Magus speaker is priced at $3,985 a pair.

The Teresonic Magus speakers are a smaller size, said the company, using low power amplifiers which include vacuum tubes, a sensitivity of 98dB and what’s termed a “unique design” to produce sound more equivalent to larger, more power hungry speakers. The design itself is described as being full-range and straight-through (crossover-less).