How Much Better Does a $2000 Amplifier
Sound Compared to a $200 Amplifier?
Most people don’t know what they are missing in the
enjoyment of music, because they don’t have a reference for comparison.
Therefore they have to put up with whatever is offered to them. Certainly most people have already auditioned more expensive systems and
concluded that their ears are not equipped to enjoy these high price systems. Well,
the problem is not any particular ear but it is the audio player and amplifier itself.
The expert audiophiles talk of distinguishing the subtleties of sound quality
between a low cost mass market amplifier and a high end tube amplifier. They have what is termed
"golden ears". Most people don’t realize that they too, do have golden
ears
and can judge what good sounding music is.
For the ordinary person, there is
a very uncertain difference between a $200 amplifier and
a $2000 amplifier. This fact does not indicate that ordinary people lacks a sense of
musicality - it only reveals the small, unimportant improvement
obtained by such large cost increases. For all practical purposes, all amplifiers
sound the same. But a $200 amplifier wearing DakiOm Feedback Stabilizers
can sound noticeably better than a naked $2000 amplifier, even to the ears of ordinary
people! (...Put a Feedback Stabilizer on the $2000 amplifier and the sound will
be even better.)
This may sound like an
extraordinary claim, but hearing is believing. For example, take the HomeTheaterDirect.com
Stereo Amplifier A2100 (100 Watts per Channel, $219) which one can buy
online (we have no affiliation with them). Connect our A203 stabilizer to
the speaker terminals and R203 to the line-out. (Even if unused,
stabilizing the line-out reduces noise in the amplifier). The A2100 + DakiOm
sounds better than any un-stabilized amplifier under $2000. If fact, let us know
if you can find a stock amplifier under $3000 that is better sounding because we
haven't been able to. If you add all our DIY
tweaks to the $219 A2100 amplifier, especially project #3 with another A203,
this combination will compete with any un-stabilized amplifier regardless of
price. We highly recommend the A2100 + DakiOm to anyone who wants budget ultra
high end audiophile sound and we will happily demonstrate this system at our showroom,
even A/B it with another system. The A2100 even has built in volume controls so
you can skip the preamp and connect it directly to the source for an even
cheaper/better sounding system.
Why Amplifiers Sound Similar
- They All Use The Same Type of Feedback Circuits
All amplifiers sound the same because they all utilize similar feedback methods
to improve the accuracy of sound reproduction. Feedback methods are probably the most powerful
ways to correct output deviations from the input. In audio amplifier designs there is hardly a substitute for some form of feedback control circuitry.
Without feedback control, distortion levels would be intolerable. However, these feedback circuits
are extremely sensitive to any disturbances. It is the instabilities in this
feedback mechanism that are the
root causes of distortions that lead to the feeling of irritation in reproduced music.
Technically speaking, phase lag between inputs and outputs of the amplifier
can change with
the frequency of the signal. At some particular frequency or transient event, the phase lag becomes
–180 degrees, a condition known as positive feedback. When this happens the output
is no longer balanced with the input. Instead, the imbalance adds upon itself to
grow larger and larger, until it is large enough to foul up the music. Instabilities
are generally high frequency phenomena (beyond hearing range) but they may
saturate the circuit or become rectified into audible low frequency distortions. The
technical term for this phenomenon is "positive feedback
instabilities".
Positive feedback instabilities cannot be suppressed by conventional
methods of frequency compensation that only work at some given troublesome
frequency. Furthermore these textbook methods do not work when the troublesome frequency is not constant but
shifts all the time because of changes in circuit characteristics such as output
loading, voltages, temperature fluctuations, and other dynamic conditions. Music
is full of transient and dynamic signals that form the seed for positive
feedback instabilities to occur.
Note: We do not mean
that your amplifier will stay locked in an unstable state and stop
functioning or become inaudible. When the positive feedback condition
occurs, your amplifier's negative feedback circuit will eventually
settle out and regain control, but these unstable periods lead to music sounding blurred,
harsh and distorted. The positive feedback instabilities though short
in duration, occur frequently enough to smear and distort the fine
details of music. It is these details that make music sound natural, clear, pleasant,
and not fatiguing.
How DakiOm Corrects The Inherent
Instabilities in Feedback Circuits
DakiOm Feedback Stabilizers are patented circuits designed to restrict
positive feedback from becoming uncontrollable. The circuit senses the presence of
high frequency oscillations and then switches on or off appropriate components to
adapt the circuit characteristics away from the positive feedback conditions for
that frequency.
Therefore, any newly appearing oscillation can only reach a certain level of
interference before dissipating in a short time; this is too brief to maintain
any sustained distortions. DakiOm Stabilizers help your audio system follow the nuances of music the way shock
absorbers help you steer your car over rough pavement.
The first time listener of stereo systems (even using a
$200 receiver)
equipped with DakiOm stabilizers will recognize immediately that music is more
musical than before. Taking the DakiOm Stabilizers away will result in
unbearable and irritating music. There is no coming back once you have heard the
difference. Much better sounding systems can now be attained by average people. For best results, all
amplifiers outputs should be stabilized, including outputs of players and preamplifiers.
Good Music is Easily
Recognizable by Anybody - No Need to Overanalyze
The sense of musicality is inherent in all ordinary people. It is difficult
to quantify musicality. It is recognized but not describable. Terms such
as smooth, silky, clean, spatial, tight, solid, magnificent, and so on are only
approximations. The real experience is a strange emotional feeling, a pleasure
sensation in response to one particular high quality musical note, the flowing
relaxation of rhythm that's in tune.
Overanalyzing the sound by breaking it down into elementary characteristics (such as tight, silky, open etc.) only confuse people into a forest of complicated combinations of elementary aspects of sound. These combinations cannot reflect the real emotion conveyed by sound.
When people analyze each note to look for good aspects of sound, they get confused and lost. When people feel emotionally immerged in the song, they know right away that the sound is good. They are now led by the song and feel carried away. Audio systems available today
often cannot reproduce the total emotion of sound. They can only bring out some
of the elementary aspects of good sound. That is why overanalyzing the sound is the order of the day.
DakiOm is proud to introduce a breakthrough in bringing out the true emotion of sound.
Once exposed to this new appreciation for
music, the listener will demand more. When the
taste of true music is acquired, there seems to be an insatiable demand for
better sound quality. At DakiOm, we will always work hard and strive to improve
your enjoyment of music. As a new company unveiling a new class of technology, we
hope to get your support and encouragement.
If you have the time, we also recommend reading the
News
and Views page to get the latest information and commentary from
DakiOm. Also, take a look at our DIY
projects, many of which you can build for very little cost.
You may contact us anytime. We welcome you to
express your ideas, comments, and opinions.
