Dakiom feedback stabilizers - buy them now

gary · « **on:** 2 Feb 2004, 02:28 am »

That's my recommendation. I still can't get over the effect these things have... especially for this kind of money. It's a complete no-brainer in my book. To get them for the introductory price you have to submit a 100 word review, here's mine:

I ordered the Dakiom stabilizers on a whim, I didn't think there were any design deficiencies that a such a simple circuit could overcome in a well-built amp such as mine (Cayin TA-30 tube integrated). Given the 30-day trial period, I figured I had little to lose so I bought them out of curiousity, with a great deal of skepticism.

Well, after three days of listening, the skepticism is gone... my system now sounds better than I thought it could without upgrading to a multi-thousand-dollar amp. What has improved? In a word, realism. Everything just sounds more real. Vocals, guitar, bass, percussion instruments, everything. The final test came when I removed the Dakiom stabilizers... the sound was dull and lifeless. When I put them back in again, there was the magic. No doubt about it, these are an essential part of my system from now on and they get my highest recommendation.

If anyone wants to check them out, their website is www.dakiom.com

-Gary

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #1 on:** 2 Feb 2004, 03:00 am »

Gary,

I gotta' agree with you on this one...now after a full 8 days of burn-in and listening. How many of each A and R103 did you buy? I have 2 R103's (1 for CDP and 1 for pre outs) and 2 A103's (2 amps attached with banana's).

I am without the use of my MSB DAC for a few weeks, so I'm left with the fairly awful sound of the solo Sony DVP-S7700. I have been so spoiled by the MSB/Power Base Combo that I dreaded the sound of the solo Sony when first hooked up. Yeech - really.

So it was the first couple days of listening (rather it was more like trying to listen) that I saw some pretty outrageous claims by DakiOm on their products. So, after getting a really lucid and informative email back from Mr. Kim Dao (get it, DAkiOm - anagram or something I think this is called) on my system needs, I ordered. $158.00 with tax and shipping...1 day arrival; commendably fast.

The moment I put these in, things improved. There was greater ease and less strain throughout. Highs had 'tingle' missing previously and the rest of the presentation was clear with more solid lows. It sounded to me like, over the course of several days, they were breaking in. This led to an interesting exchange with Mr. Dao that strongly suggested that it was my brain 'learning - in'. Tell ya' what...whether it is or isn't, Kim is refreshingly free of artifacts, himself.

I don't have my DAC/Power Base back, but I am perfectly comfortable with tunes now. The music is still a bit 2 dimension-able (there is no substitute for 192K oversampling with jitter control) and bass still is less firm/strong than before (tough for Sony with stock power supply to compete with large storage caps in Power Base), but overall, it's many times better sounding with and without DakiOm's and the naked Sony. Yes, removal of DakiOm's results in collapse of the ' pleasure zone'. Back in go the DakiOm's and you're happy again.

I can't wait to have the DAC back and try the DakiOm's with it. It will really be singing in here I think.

Neither Gary nor I know each other, and we both have outstanding results to report in two entirely different systems. This is a very strong endorsement for DakiOm.

One thing to note - the DakiOm's only work with components employing negative feedback. So many digital amps, Monarchy SM-70, Musical Concepts SP2 Linestage owners (and other components that do not use negative feedback in their circuitry) are not candidates for DakiOm's. Such use will degrade performance. I don't know if you system has one or more non-negative feedback components can you still use A or R103's on those that are not. You best ask Mr. Dao.

I am getting way more than $158 in pleasure with the DakiOm's...you will likely, too. Mr. Dao further recommends tossing your overpriced IC's and Speaker Cables, getting some double shielded Radio Shack's, and give a listen. He dares us all to. Now, I haven't gone that route (but may try it some day)...wouldn't that be a hoot? $158 ends up saving $600 (in my case) on high priced cables.

- 2 thumbs up.

Cens · « **Reply #2 on:** 2 Feb 2004, 03:30 am »

What the heck -- I'll mail them a check tomorrow and give them a go. Hope i get the same positive benefit.

Regards,

Chris

gary · « **Reply #3 on:** 2 Feb 2004, 03:56 am »

Chris,

Go ahead and buy them, if worst comes to worst you can return them for a refund. Although, I really doubt that would happen.

-Gary

eico1 · « **Reply #4 on:** 2 Feb 2004, 04:10 am »

I wonder if added distortion is what adds a little little tingle to the sound.

Aren't these the devices with diodes in them?

steve

Sa-dono · « **Reply #5 on:** 2 Feb 2004, 04:41 am »

Can anyone answer, in simplified form, how the Dakiom's technically work? I'd rather not read through the whole patent information if possible. TIA!

F-100 · « **Reply #6 on:** 2 Feb 2004, 05:58 am »

Brian Cheney used them with his equipments during the CES so these must be good stuff.

gary · « **Reply #7 on:** 2 Feb 2004, 02:46 pm »

Quote from: Sa-dono

Can anyone answer, in simplified form, how the Dakiom's technically work? I'd rather not read through the whole patent information if possible. TIA!

I wish I could. Frankly I don't understand what they do (my degrees are in mechanical engineering, not electrical). I've asked a friend of mine who's an EE to look the patents over, hopefully he'll get back to me with his opinion of what these things are really doing.

Quote from: eico1

I wonder if added distortion is what adds a little little tingle to the sound.

Aren't these the devices with diodes in them?

steve

It's the opposite of that, i can assure you. All I can say is try them, if they suck in your system you can send them back for a refund and gloat about being right.

-Gary

PJ · « **Reply #8 on:** 2 Feb 2004, 03:02 pm »

Where can we see the patents?

I looked at uspto.gov and searched for Dakiom, but got nothing..

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #9 on:** 2 Feb 2004, 04:29 pm »

Quote from: PJ

Where can we see the patents?

I looked at uspto.gov and searched for Dakiom, but got nothing..

PJ,

Gary purchased viewable pdf's on the patents and can be seen here:

http://www.pandathumbaudio.com/download/Patent1.pdf

and

http://www.pandathumbaudio.com/download/Patent2.pdf

Sa-dono · « **Reply #10 on:** 3 Feb 2004, 07:42 am »

Quote from: gary

I wish I could. Frankly I don't understand what they do (my degrees are in mechanical engineering, not electrical). I've asked a friend of mine who's an EE to look the patents over, hopefully he'll get back to me with his opinion of what these things are really doing.

No prob Gary. Let me know what your friend thinks, if he gets back to you. Thanks!

PJ · « **Reply #11 on:** 3 Feb 2004, 11:12 am »

Sorry I am not convinced. I didn't read the entire patent as it was a little long winded. I kinda lost interest after the first page

However...

Correct me if I am wrong but wouldn't the common ground return for both channels decrease channel seperation do to a share common impedance (known as galvanic coupling). At high currents this would worsen..

I am only a EE student, perhaps a real EE could comment...??

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #12 on:** 10 Feb 2004, 08:13 pm »

So, as a postscript to my earlier posts, I now have the DakiOm's in the system and I am once again using the MSB DAC/PowerBase and Sony as transport.

There was definitely another level of refinement in going back to the 192K playback - more 3 dimensional sound. In conjunction with the DakiOm's in the system, it sounds more realistic and pleasant as ever here now.

I have two particularly abysmal recordings (from Jean Pierre Rampal and Verdi)...both are digistal re-masters from recordings 20 years ago or more. With DakiOm's they can be tolerated, without they are ear splitting with or without 192K. They actually sound better at lower resolution 44.1 as it better disguises how awful these are recorded.

If you listen to your system for a time with the DakiOm's in and take them out, you will RUN to put them in again. That's pretty high praise for these little fella's. I am not sure they are all that Mr. Dao would have us believe, but they are definitely on the right path to better sound at reasonable cost.

Mr. Dao asked me if I'd like to participate in an experiment as to whether these things require break-in time (I 'heard them breaking in) or was it all in my head (he phrased it much nicer). I didn't have an opportunity to take him up on it as it is busy season now at work, but nonetheles, buy a couple and see for yourself.

DakiOm's, buy them now...I heartily concur.

byteme · « **Reply #13 on:** 10 Feb 2004, 09:24 pm »

Based on the reviews I've got a pair of A103's and a pair of R103's waiting to plug into the system. I was seriously thinking of doing my HT set up as well, but, it's not as critical and it would be even more of a mess behind there with all the additional cabling. So, I'll do the 2 channel and if I ever get a chance to listen to my stereo again I'll post results!

I just started a new job and between that and all the other crap I've got going on I've had NO time to enjoy music lately. Pisses me off. Although my Lorelei's should be here next week and then FOR SURE I'm going to make time!

gary · « **Reply #14 on:** 10 Feb 2004, 09:55 pm »

B-

It'll be ineteresting to see what you think. Keep us posted.

-Gary

Guan · « **Reply #15 on:** 3 Mar 2004, 08:20 am »

The Dakioms have been in my system for a little over a month now.

Summary
Overall, I find that using the Dakiom filters has a positive influence on the sound of my system. I hear more details, tighter and better defined bass and a more fluid midrange. However, the ic filters were probably not used to best effect as I encountered some interface problems with my tube pre-amp, tube DAC and balanced connections. The Dakiom filters may not work well with every component (tube equipment users take note!), so experimentation is essential.

First Impressions
After a couple of informative and pleasant emails, I ordered 2 amp filters and 2 ic filters from Kim to outfit my whole system. I received them promptly and installed all the filters at once (not a great idea but I was pressed for time). Immediately I was struck by how utterly smooth and sugar coated my system sounded. But I soon realized that I lost quite a bit of high frequency detail and output. The sound was rolled off to a fault.

IC filters (R103)
I discovered (and Kim agreed) that the ic filter was incompatible with my high impedance tube DAC. Taking the filter out restored the highs. The second filter on the output of my ARC pre-amp made a subtle difference but I had to use an rca/xlr adapter to accommodate my balanced cables. The improvement is quite subtle and I’m not convinced that it is better than using balanced connections throughout. At Kim’s suggestion I tried using a filter in parallel on my tape output but I couldn’t tell much difference.

The ic filter did improve the sound of my Sony XA777ES SACD/CD player and LG cd-recorder but I still prefer the sound of my tube DAC sans filter. The sound is more vibrant and alive with the tube DAC although it is slightly grainier. I must add that my ARC pre-amp is quite merciless in revealing all shortcomings/flaws upstream. I guess this means that I will have to upgrade my source next.

All in all, I feel that the ic filters confer only subtle benefits in my system. I gather from Kim that it’s a hit and miss thing using the ic filters with tube gear.

Amp filters (A103)
I had to use 2 amp filters as the binding posts of my Jeff Rowland 8T amp are quite far apart. I installed them on the same binding posts as my speaker cables. Again I felt that the effect was quite subtle. This was not surprising to me as the Rowland amp has a huge power supply (640,000uF) and its own dedicated 20A line with a custom Chris Ven Haus Flavour 4 cord. How could these dinky filters help further?

Well, one day I decided to hook the amp filters to the amp’s 2nd pair of binding posts that were not used. Good golly! The sound became more open, with greater separation and better-defined bass. It was a subjective 10% improvement!

One thing to note is that the amp filters are only rated to 165watts. I have a 250 wpc amp, so I may look into the new higher wattage filters.

All in all, the Dakiom’s are well worth checking out, especially at the current promotional prices. Even if the ic filters aren’t performing optimally in my system, I’m still keeping them as they will come in useful if/when I no longer have tubes in my system. Recommended.

System pic:
http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=1072

gme109 · « **Reply #16 on:** 4 Mar 2004, 05:05 am »

Quote from: gary

That's my recommendation. I still can't get over the effect these things have... especially for this kind of money. It's a complete no-brainer in my book. To get them for the introductory price you have to submit a 100 word review, here's mine:
...

I've been waiting for the new higher powered speaker filters to become available which it looks like they are. I have a 500 Spectron Musician II digital amp. After reading over his website though, it looks like he's not recommending them for digital amps. Something about not having feedback circuitry. I'm wondering since the Spectron does use a feedback loop in it's circuitry if it might then benefit? I sent an email off to the manufacture to see what he has to say.

I really would like to try them, the price is right, there is a lot of very positive feedback and they offer a 30 day trial period.

Gary

TheChairGuy · « **Reply #17 on:** 4 Mar 2004, 03:47 pm »

Gary/GME109,

Mr. Dao (owner) has the straightforward way of the engineer and technician he is...he'll set you straight on whether your Spectrons can use the Dakiom's or not. Either way, he'll likley suggest a pair of R103's (one for CDP or DAC and one for preamp outs).

As you saw from my previous posts on the subject, they were beneficial in my system.

Let us know how it goes...

Soundideas · « **Reply #18 on:** 17 Oct 2005, 05:24 am »

Here's more on their new 203 series feedback stabilizers...... http://www.echoloft.com/cgi-bin/YaBB/YaBB.cgi?board=hifigeneral&action=display&num=1124249404