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Review: Dakiom A103 and R103 Tweak

Category: Accessories

SUMMARY POINTS:
1)I am NOT affiliated with this company in any way; they wouldn't even give me their phone number! (They also sign their emails, "Dakiom".) I would sign an affadavit on this.

2)The outlandish sounding claims they (DAKIOM) make are--surprisingly--really true. They do not sound like credible claims and I was VERY skeptical, but yes, they are largely, if not completely, true, in my opinion.

3)Sonically:
-->Smoother AND more detailed high end (yes, BOTH)
-->Lower AND less boomy bass (yes, BOTH), even quicker
and more accurate than the already outstanding
Rel had to begin with
-->Better central imaging (already was good).
-->Yes, they really DO cause less listening "fatigue"

4)RECOMMENDATION:
BUY THESE-->PERIOD.
THEN: Compare with and w/out.
If you dislike, or are neutral, return them.

5)To Reiterate: I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO FINANCIAL, PERSONAL, OR OTHER INTEREST IN THIS COMPANY. I HAD TO AGREE TO WRITE A 100+ WORD REVIEW AS A PURCHASE PRECONDITION FOR THEIR "INTRODUCTORY OFFER". DOUBTED THEY WOULD WORK AS CLAIMED. I WAS WRONG. I AM NOT OFTEN WRONG!!!

William W. Hoover

==================================================================
Unabridged Version, complete with all the (annoying and irrelevant?) details:


Background:
I recently upgraded my system, with the only remaining indigenous component being the ST 140. The Paradigm Monitor 100 V3's sounded great, and the Rel Storm was just phenomenal, having been meticulously "tuned in" to the listening room by the dealer's installer. I was shopping for cables and saw the Dakiom ad on Audiogon and was intrigued. It sounded like hyperbole, but I figured I'd return it if (and when) these failed to live up to their seemingly outlandish claims. For some reason I "bit", not wanting to miss out just in case the claims were true, which I REALLY doubted. Their pre-purchase requirement to agree to write a review seemed like a probable sales gimmick, but it did pique my curiosity, and I wouldn't have to write it anyway, since in all likelihood these were going to be shipped back. They were shipped to me very quickly. I read the inserts with the wild sounding claims. I kept the envelopes for the anticipated return...

AN ASIDE: THESE PEOPLE WILL COMMUNICATE ONLY--AND I MEAN ONLY--BY EMAIL. THEY PROTECT THEIR PRIVACY LIKE HOWARD HUGHES DID HIS. THEY DO ANSWER THE EMAILS UNFAILINGLY, HOWEVER.

Experience:
Listened with my son, age 13, an accomplished violinist (unlike his father, me). He wanted NOT to know when the stabilizers were installed versus uninstalled. Four songs, including Boston's "Peace of Mind", Fresh Aire's "Tocatta" from "III", and two others I don't remember. He stated an IMMEDIATE preference, after a few notes, not knowing whether they were installed. He preferred it WITH the stabilizers, and even said that as soon as he heard the difference, he'd quietly hoped that the configuration he preferred was the "plus stabilizer" one, or else his father had just wasted a lot of money to make his system worse.

Meanwhile, my wife, listening UPSTAIRS, and also not knowing which was which, said the system sounded better with the stabilizers.

I felt the same way. JUST TO BE SURE, I took them off and listened again. Terrible. Put them back on. Great again. Out of honesty (they really do make you check a box agreeing to write a review) and gratitude (it is SO refreshing to stumble onto a company that is telling the truth) I've written this review.

CAVEAT: I can neither verify nor disprove their claims regarding differently priced amplifiers. I will comment ONLY on my system and the product's impact thereon.

Epilogue:
Now I BELIEVE these mysterious people, whoever they are, and will NOT be returning these--ever.

William W. Hoover

Associated gear
CD Player: Onkyo Integra DPC 8.5
Preamplifier: Rotel RC 995
Amplifier: B&K ST-140
Equalizer: Parasound R/EQ 150
(USUALLY ON "BYPASS"!)
Loudspeakers: Paradigm Monitor 100V3
Sub-bass: Rel Storm
Interconnects: ALL RCA's
Player-->Preamp: Audioquest King
Cobra
Preamp-->Equalizer: Audioquest
Diamondback
Equalizer-->Amp: AQ Diamondback

Speaker Cable:
Canare 4S11, "Bi-wired" ,with
Audioquest terminations.
Sub-bass Cable:
Rel stock, hooked to the amplifier


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mdhoover
mdhoover OP
695 posts
 
Thanks to all of the above for responding.

A new chapter MAY be in the making for this. A certain "Tvad" has come up with an interesting idea:

Now that the system has substantially changed, what about the Dakiom Feedback Stabilizers? Were they helping, or just masking weaknesses in the above system, making it sound smoother? Put another way, are they more like "filters" (in which case they'd now be expected to DEGRADE the sound of my current system); or are they more like "signal optimizers" (in which case REMOVING them would be expected to degrade the system)?

Thoughts? Predictions? Is anyone even interested in this?
If not, I have no problem with allowing this thread to f-f-f-ffffade away.

mdhoover OP
695 posts
 
ronbonds: Too often, people hype things or bash things. So your response, although neutral, is actually very useful and much appreciated. In fact, you are the first person I have personally read about who didn't hear a change one way or the other. I have no idea whether these things will still make a difference in my CURRENT system, but did notice a significant improvement in my "old" system. Thanks for responding to this thread.
mdhoover OP
695 posts
 
ronbonds: So, now that some time has passed, has Dakiom been as quick on the "return" side of things??????
double4w
87 posts
 
Mdhoover,thanks for asking.Actually I posted a follow up on this point,twice actually.It seems however that the (I assume)censors chose not to allow the comments to be shown.I used no foul language whatsoever,so the motive must be otherwise.So what happened is that Dakiom employed PayPal to facilitate the refund transaction.This thereby forced me to activate an account which I did and do not want.I simply have no need of it,and am quite conservative about publishing my financial info in 'cyberspace'.I then e-mailed Dakiom with a simple question as to why they could not simply refund the bank ATM/Debit card I used to fund my purchase,as is always my experience in refunds such as this.I received a reply from Dakiom.To quote it verbatim, "HI, NUTS". To my mind this may be an indication of just what Dakiom is like behind all their promo rhetoric!
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