I realized a long time ago that (usually) a lot of time, effort, exposure, and experiences are needed to fully grasp a concept or idea. [This concept or idea might be an idea, a level of knowledge, a fluency level in a foreign language, an deep understanding of whatever the task at hand is, etc.]
It's been about three years since I restarted my addic.....uh....
journey into audiophoolery. I'm not really an audiophile, I think. When I observe those who I consider to be audiophiles, I realize I'm more an enthusiast, but I digress. In this period I have gone from thinking that any amp that supplies approximately 100 watts of power is enough for any situation I might find myself in to understanding there are different classes of power (A, AB, D, T. etc.) and tubes, hybrids, and solid state. Additionally, there really is a difference in quality of parts, caps, power supplies, etc. I think I'm getting close to a pretty high level of understanding of this audio world.
Yesterday, I was wandering the streets of a certain area of Taipei that is better known for computers than audio, but perhaps 5% of the shops specialize in audio. Of that 5% most shops deal with the sort of audio/electronics that appeal more to the mass market or (as I like to think of it) the young'uns, but a very few shops cater to the folks who don't shy away from dropping serious coin on high quality famous brands. As I was preparing to leave this area, I stopped into a convenience store for a drink. [
Remind me to tell you all about how incredible convenience stores are in Taiwan. It boggles the mind.] As I walked out with drink in hand; raised to my mouth to greedily swallow the contents, I glanced across the street and spied several signs advertising well known audio brands like B&W, Audio Research, etc. I hadn't noticed these signs before. Huh. I walked right into the shop and immediately saw several pairs of speakers lined up along the right wall. "Bummer," I said to myself. These same brands are peppered all over Taiwan in what I consider to be 'entry level to almost mid-level' audio shops. Speakers range in price from $400/pr to $1500/pr - Wharfedale, Castle, Chaco (sp?), Dynaudio and others. I nearly turned around, but kept going because I realized those speakers occupied less than 1/3 of the front room.
The further back I went, the larger the speakers got. Electronics were limited (very limited) to a Cambridge Audio Minx and a plain Jane looking amp I had never seen before. By this time a youngish (mid-20s) salesman had engaged me in conversation asking me what I was looking for. I told him amps since I still hadn't liked the looks of the speakers - especially considering how much I like the ones I have already. The guy foolishly tried to interest me in the Cambridge Audio Minx (70w/ch) immediately after I told him my current amp has 100w/ch and that I wanted more power.
That was almost enough to get me to run away, but another guy came along (mid-40s) who started talking rapidly and
very enthusiastically about the plain Jane looking amp. He offered to play some songs on a pair of B&W 801 speakers. I listened because I'd never heard these speakers before. The music sounded great, of course, but it meant nothing to me since I'd never heard the speakers before and the music was unfamiliar. After I showed him a picture of my LS/5-R speakers, he switched the B&Ws out for a pair of Dynaudio Excite X12 bookshelf speakers.
"Great," I thought, I've heard these speakers twice in the last 1 1/2 years and didn't like them either time! The first time they were powered by a McIntosh amp in a nice showroom; the second time was in a bad room at 2014 Axpona. I braced myself for a third unexceptional session with these. Unfamiliar classical music was played and.... WOW! Holy Shit! These sound fantastic! I can't believe how great they sound. The power, the sound stage, the clarity.....Where the hell did that concert hall come from?....Yes. That good. If I had walked into this room 3+ years ago, I would have bought the speakers on the spot only to be sorely disappointed when I got home because of the amp I had at the time. Why did they sound so good? Well, most of you know why - the amp and preamp are fantastic. The amp and preamp were both manufactured in the back room of this shop. These are the plain Jane looking amps that I had seen earlier. The mid-40s guy is the manager in charge of the amp/preamp/DAC production department and really knows his amps. The younger guy meant well, but almost blew it.
He showed me different amps that were in different stages of completion. One after another he proudly declared the caps were high quality German made - nothing from China or Taiwan, high quality wiring, special soldering (learned a new word in Chinese!). Memories surfaced of times I had seen pictures of the insides of Odyssey amps, Modwright amps, and maybe AVA amps, and a couple other amps whose names escape me. Giant rows of BIG blue caps, heat sinks, power supplies. I had stumbled upon the Taiwanese equivalent of Odyssey or Modwright (or whomever). Imagine Klaus excitedly talking about his babies in Mandarin. Yep. That's what I had found yesterday. Is this what Pass Labs amps are like?
The amp powering the Dynaudio X12 speakers was 200w/ch solid state. The preamp was tubes. The DAC was whatever the Philips CD880 player had. The sound was amazing.
But wait - there's more! Now the manager excitedly mentions that they also do crossover upgrades for speakers that folks bring in. And, get this, he's got a pair of the Dynaudio X12s with upgraded crossovers that he can bring out for comparison! [I'll bet he would have cried if I had said I wasn't interested - but I was
very interested.] He brought them out and started playing the same music. They sounded better but I couldn't place my finger on the difference, so he attached the original to the right and the upgraded to the left. There was no mono switch, but the difference was more than clear enough. Finally, after reading about crossover upgrades here on AC (and elsewhere), I get to hear them in action on different pairs of the same speakers! Awesome.
I have stumbled upon the mother lode thanks to my craving a sports drink (Super Shupao). Very cool!
I suppose I should tell you the name of the company now, and the name of their amps so you can rush into the internet to check out the website....in Chinese. Yeah. There aren't any nasty viruses hanging round their website, so go ahead and blindly click on different choices. Or you might be able to use Google Translate to get some really interesting translations. Or, some of you are Chinese/Taiwanese/Singaporean....
Drum roll please....
The name of the company is Yoson Audio. It's been in business since 1973. Link:http://www.yosonaudio.com.tw
Their amps/pres/DACs are the Descartes models.
If you have questions about the website or amps, ask here and I'll post links or info.
I'm going to return to the shop in a week or so with my Fritz speakers. When I told the guy I had to experience their amps with my speakers, he told me to bring them in. I can't wait. This is going to be so so cool. Well, I have to wait because we're heading to the southern part of the island for a few days to visit friends and dodge the Dengue Fever mosquitoes.
Sorry you had to put up with my long-winded monologue. Enjoy!
Michael
