friend of mine turned me on to this gentleman today. I sent him an email asking about making them DC ready, and he mentioned that he could do that easily...Nice looking stuff! I am set as far as preamps go, but these look interesting:(disclaimer---they arent terribly expensive, but not cheap either)..good to see something that can be used in the field other than v3s, minimes and porticos..
www.davissound.com
We were audio "purists" from the beginning. Our original goal was, in the mid seventies, to build equipment for use in our own studios which would be as TRANSPARENT and as "COLORLESS" as possible.
You've heard the phrase, "straight wire with gain" many times (of course, some of us now know that even a simple "straight wire" can "color" the audio under certain conditions!). We were among the first to aspire to this design ideal.
And, in principle ...
truly transparent audio chains are still the foundation
of our primary audio equipment.
As you read further, you will discover that we do many unique things in our circuit design and fabrication techniques which result in audio equipment that is UNIQUELY SUPERIOR in many ways!
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"LOW END" or "HIGH END" ? As the wise old sage replied when asked a meditative question ... "It all depends" ... In other words ...we are SUBJECTIVELY OBJECTIVE in our approach!
We certainly do not believe in "mystical" properties at work in audio electronics but we DO know that some simple, albeit UNUSUAL, methods can make a difference in both AUDIO QUALITY and resulting circuitry which will last almost indefinitely! After all, it is these very UNIQUE methods that give us our own niche and cause the truly knowledgable to seek us out for our
hand-laid circuitry and fabrication methods!
"STAR" WARS? - This "war" between audio subjectivists and objectivists has been going on almost since the beginning of audio and, likely, will continue to do so. We prefer to recognize a "Grey Area". A very real example of what we mean:
We KNOW for a fact that placing a brick beside (or on top of) your audio amp will NOT make a difference in the "sound" of the amp (an actual claim by one subjective extremist in a publication!)- unless, of course, it happens to dampen an acoustical/mechanical cabinet rattle!
On the other hand, we also know that there are very sound, common sense reasons why our circuit fabrication methods, which use direct, point-to-point wiring technique, with components mechanically connected as well as soldered, are far superior to the industry "standard" method whereby components are
flow-soldered to PCB traces!
This is so, if for no other reason (and there ARE other reasons!) than the fact that one solder joint is better than two and a direct connection is ALWAYS better than an indirect one - ( lead to lead ... as opposed to lead to trace, then trace to lead).
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"AIR BORN!"
In the early days, we pioneered our own version of "surface mount technology". We used normal sized components soldered to traces and pads which were located on TOP of the PCB, usually on double sided circuit boards
with the underside used as a shielding ground plane.
Nowadays, for a variety of reasons, including the logical advantage of direct, point to point wiring mentioned above, we build many of our circuits utilizing what we call "air suspension" ("AIR BORN"!) technique. This entails direct soldering component leads to each other after having first formed a sound, mechanical connection, and encasing the whole circuit block within a plastic case.
This method was born out of a personal distaste for the wasteful, subtractive process of circuit board etching whereby harsh chemicals are utilized to wash away the copper you don't want (which is most of the copper on a clad board) leaving a small amount for the PCB traces and pads.
Our new method also solved a second problem for us as well.
"GETTING IT LAID" ...
We finally realized that many of our original audio circuits, now perfected after many years of evolved research and fine tuning, would need to be "potted" (embedded in silicon) for proprietary purposes. This was because, in at least one verifiable instance, a major manufacturer had "borrowed" one of our original treasures and was attempting to manufacture it almost component for component! For many reasons in the real world of competitive circuit design, patents simply do not work well in these areas nowadays. Therefore, we now "pot" many of our most exclusive, hand-laid circuits into building-block modules with the contents secure and protected, in more ways than one!
GOOD AS GOLD? HOW ABOUT BETTER!
When sub modules are interconnected within a unit, we do NOT use plug-in connectors! Plug-in connectors, subject to oxidation, corrosion, warpage and jitter, are among the main causes of problems in most manufactured products over time!
Most forthright mass production manufacturers will admit that their laboratory test-bench prototypes ALWAYS out perform to some degree, and outlast to a large degree, the subsequent production-run models inspired by these prototypes!
This is largely because most mass produced products are designed with two basic main priorities foremost in mind. These priorities for the manufacturer are "ease of assembly" on a production line and "ease of servicing" when the product comes back to the factory service department due to failure.
Ironically, it is most often these very things utilized for "ease of servicing" which caused the product to wind up needing the service (things like PCB plug/socket contacts and modular plug-in connectors for example)!
Nowadays, as consumers have become increasingly aware of some of the pitfalls of modular manufacturing methods, we hear a lot of "propaganda"
about the benefits of "GOLD PLATED" connectors.
Large mass producers HAVE to rely on some form of modular plug-in system since they always use the assembly line method in some variation.
Furthermore, if a circuit board fails, it has to be designed for "unplug and replace"
since that is all their technicians are trained to do!
THERE IS NOTHING SONICALLY BETTER THAN A GOOD, SOLID, CORRECTLY LAID OUT, HARDWIRED CONNECTION WHICH IS MECHANICALLY SOUND AND PROPERLY HAND-SOLDERED!
So, WHAT is better than a GOLD plug-in connector?
NO plug-in connector, that's what!
Our circuit boards and sub modules are HARDWIRED to each other and to their various control assemblies. This requires KNOWLEDGABLE assembly persons taking tedious hours to put a piece together.
But, the end result is well worth the time investment!
EVERY DAVISOUND CIRCUIT IS BUILT IN ONE-OF-A-KIND PROTOTYPE FASHION, WE GUARANTEE IT!
The result is circuitry that will last a lifetime (or MANY lifetimes)
without failure or service!
Certainly we use strict patterns, and proven procedures but every piece of our equipment, and its circuitry, is individually hard-wired and hand soldered!
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"SPECSMANSHIP" ...
Over the years, the specifications for various products, quoted by various manufacturers, have become nearly meaningless. In earlier times this was largely because of something now known as "specsmanship". That refers to the dubious "art" of manipulating specification descriptions to suit one's own purpose in making one's own product look superior on paper.
Fortunately, nowadays, MOST professional products all have very similar, respectable electrical specifications when measured by traditional standards. What, then, separates the "sonics" of one product from the "sonics" of another? We like to think that, in our case, the highly defined audio that "jumps out at you" (as one satisfied user once told us) is due in part to some of the very techniques we're bringing to your attention on this page!
Unless otherwise stated for a particular device, ALL of our units (Tool Boxes and custom built units) feature COMBINED noise and distortion products that fall into the residuals of today's best test equipment (typically .001% or better!)!
This means performance approaching the theoretical ideal and
certainly near the limits of today's technology .
Typical maximum signal levels are now right at 32dBu due to our new circuitry which allows much higher power supply voltages! Full power bandwidth of these circuits measures ruler flat from 1.6HZ to beyond 30KHZ with intentional, gentle roll-off thereafter to minimize supersonic and RF distortions which could, otherwise, interfere and interact with signals within the audio range
(-6dB at 120khz and 6 dB down per octave thereafter).
ALL IMPEDANCES AND SIGNAL HANDLING/INTERFACE CAPABIBILITY ARE IN KEEPING WITH TODAY'S DIGITAL AUDIO STANDARDS.
Normal input impedances are 50Kohms, or greater, for non-loading, bridging capability (line level equipment) and output impedances are low at
100 ohms, or less, for maximum drive capability.
All signal shaping capacitors are high quality, test selected, film types with any minimal required electrolytics being recent issue, high-tech, discreetly formed bi-polar configurations with proper DC bias employed. Resistors are matched, low noise, metal film types in all critical signal areas.
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DaviSound circuit assembly techniques, like our enclosures and control panels, are truly UNIQUE BY DESIGN and quite unlike what is accepted as standard in the electronics industry of today. Our small staff of craftpersons routinely construct some of the most dependable ...
consistently performing audio/video circuitry available anywhere today!
So, if you ever have occasion to look inside one of our "TOOL BOXES", or other gear, and you notice tightly twisted pairs of heavy gauge wire directly interconnecting modules, boards and controls as opposed to thin PCB traces, you will know that it's because there are very good, very real reasons ...
very SOUND reasons ... why our way is better.
And they are based on good common sense ... not mystical, guru magic!
THANK YOU FOR READING!and I particularly like his comments on audiophilia...
would like to know your thoughts about wheher or not I would be better off using __________ Cable or __________cable connecting to the TB-8 amp? I've heard that you just believe in old fashioned speaker cable. So, what do you think about audiophile type cables in general? And, what do you think about using some cheapo, distorted gear to record with if your customer happens to like the sound.
Answer:
Well, here we go. This is probably the most "loaded" question I will ever get! Naturally, I respect the opinions of most audiophiles in general and, do, in fact, credit them as a group with encouraging some of the fidelity strides in audio, particularly in the early years of high fidelity development.
I also like to point out to them that here are some legitimate reasons for ackowledging "right ways" and "wrong ways" to do things in engineering that can affect the sound of audio equipment without taking it to the ridiculous.
I certainly want both conservative engineers and audiophiles alike to always be able to recognize the valid steps we take with our methods, that no other mainstream manufacturer ever will ... things like like sealed circuitry ... direct, hard-wired connections and the other methods we employ which are documented in our DESIGN PHILOSOPHY .
Furthermore, no objectivist, who is also a credible design engineer, could ever make an argument against using the best available capacitors where needed in coupling, or signal shaping/forming, circuits or against the use of the best available low-noise metal film resistors throughout a circuit design.
Having said that ... even though I risk many extremely subjective "audiophiles", no doubt, taking offense at the following observations ... I must take that risk nonetheless ...
TRUST ME- FOR YOUR SHORT SPEAKER WIRE CONNECTION ...
ALL YOU NEED IS 16 gauge zip cord, period. Save your $200.00 (or higher!)!
Once you have adequate copper for the current it must carry, fabricated into a reasonably paired cable, anything else you might "perceive" as "audible improvement" in speaker cable ...
is purely self-delusion.
There is an old syndrome known amongst electronics engineers in audio called "designer's ear" that we always have to guard against! It is based on the same tendency of experimenters in all fields of science to, at times, subjectively "sway" the experimental criteria based on expected outcome. This human tendency has been well known and documented in psychology for- not decades - but centuries!
In audio, one tends to hear what one wants/expects to hear after making "tweaks" and "improvements" when, often,
it is truly "all in the head" and not "in the ear" -
as Ripley would say- "Believe It Or Not!"
All of this is, of course, multiplied when one reads about others who can also "hear" the magic of a particular part or "new" technique!
Just like the human belief system at work in regard to religion and politics, people tend to believe what they WANT to believe, and NEED to believe, regardless of any factual evidence to the contrary. Some people tend to have a sub-concious, or perhaps even concious, need to align their beliefs with those of a certain group. Sometimes, this belief system can even over-ride the lessons of one's own past experiences!
As for your other question ... the argument that "colored audio" has its place and that using so-called "inferior" signal chains, on occasion, to create "art" is certainly justifiable if one knows what he is doing and, preferably, for the most part, keeps it on the other side of the microphone! Because, the concientious audio engineer must always remember that an archive signal chain is based on the finest, highest fidelity one can acheive and fidelity, by definition,
means accuracy!
We must strive for perfection in that regard in the recording/monitor chain although real world "perfection" is not possible. But, in my own, personal, emphatic opinion, "snake oil" and "voodoo" have no place at all in a professional studio, or audio lab, on the control room side of the glass!
Topic: Davis Sound preamps(DC options available) (Read 1658 times)