Look familiar? This is the very same Fatman iTube we covered a few months ago. Where it was previously only available in the GB, you can now get your hands on all the iPodrific goodness here in the states. Bluebird Music is importing the Fatman iTube, so you know it's going to do some business. Bluebird is also the importer of Neat speakers, Exposure amps, Chord amps, Living Voice speakers and other premier brands.

Know what I'm hoping? I'm hoping a million little 'Pod heads buy these things and get the hi-fi bug. It's these kind of "convergence" products that will save this biz, imo. Simple to use, plenty of audiophile mojo and lots of room to grow. Bluebird knows what's up. Get in with the iTube and upsell 'em on $75,000 Chord SPM14000 amps. Yeah, not so much but you get the idea...

The iTube is priced at $649 and uses discrete amps for 13 watts of juice with a tube input stage. Headphone jack and remote round out the package. Wondering who is behind the iTube?

"iTube is made by TL Audio, a world leader in the pro audio industry. For fifteen years this British company has designed and manufactured innovative tube-based electronics for studio engineers and professional musicians. Fatman customers include engineer/producer Mick Glossop, (Frank Zappa and Van Morrison credits), long time Pink Floyd engineer Andy Jackson, and many others."

If you think the iTube is a spitting image of the chinese Dared MP-5, you are correct. Seems TL Audio rocks a slightly different version than the American MP-5 (the MP-5 has USB where the iTube has an iPod dock). The American Dared company seems to have gotten stuck in the audio syrup, which is where TL and Bluebird come in.

The Dared MP-5 wrangled a number of glowing reviews from around the net, saying how the amp sounds great with plenty of tubish qualities. Perfect desk or computer system was the verdict. It's unclear how much the Fatmanization differs from the Dared MP-5, but I'm betting it's not much.

The Fatman iTube is available immediately so go tell your Bose buddies to pack up the plastic audio. Check it out >>