Guido Ringel, Berlin 16/12 2024

 

The will to want By Guido Ringel It all started with an ad. On a German website an offer came across my eyes: Danish Audio Design – the „little Big “power amplifier. My attention was caught, because I´ve been looking for a new power amp to replace my Pass X 350. Not that I don´t like „my“ Pass Amplifier anymore, but time has come for something new and powerful to drive my pair of ATC SCM 100. And the amps I saw in this ad looked promising: big, reduced to what is needed in the layout and the features. But who is „Danish audio design“? Never heard of that brand before. So, I started researching. At I realized, the brand with the blue cat logo is situated in Denmark and was founded around 7 years ago. By Jan Jakobsen, who has been active around the world in the Hi-Fi-industry for decades. And this guy had and still has as he would call it “the will to want”. He wants something different. An unusual approach, a different thinking. So started from point zero. Forget everything you knew about the so-calles best Hi-Fi in the world. Make your own. Do it your own way. And listen to your heart. So he once decided to start a „revolution“; a new achievement to an almost perfect sound: only the best materials, manufactured in the EU, no tubes, much more power than needed – and all of that at a reasonable price – compared to the well renowned world class producers. Only a few dealers around the world, no distributors – but personal approach to possible customers. Believe it or not: after getting in touch with Jan in order to learn more about the power amps, I was soon invited to visit him in Denmark: „come and listen“, accommodation and food will be provided, free of charge. Really? Does he mean it that way? No pressure to buy something? (picture) I couldn´t resist. After some days of hesitation, I decided to shoot across northern Germany and visit this somehow „crazy“guy in Give/Denmark. And to make a long story short: I was blown away by his hospitality. Together with his wife Bitten, they are the perfect host. So, I had the opportunity not only to visit the workshop and learn as much as I could about his way of making audiophile Hi-Fi, but to LISTEN. In his showroom, Jan presents his skills in manufacturing audio equipment. Pre-amps, power-amps, CD-player, turntable and even speakers and cables. I will only focus on the power-amps, because I brought my Pass 350 just to have a fair comparison. In the meantime, the pair of “the little Big” had been sold – so we started auditioning with „the only one“, DAD´s premium power-amp. (pictures) This one has a 60kg transformer handmade at one of the finest transformer factories located in Denmark, capacity of 3000000 UF, power of 600 W per channel at 8 Ohm. Jan says, „we are sure that this block will last your life“ and „it uses almost no power as it is made right max 20 euros a month if you use it 4 hours a day”. Plus: using Class-A/B, it never gets hot, so all parts last a really long time. In total: 500 kg of weight! Quite impressive. But how does it sound? I started with Stravinsky´s „Sacre du Printemps“, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, a CD I know inside out. And to be honest: I´ve never heard it like this before. Instruments perfectly located, dynamic range as never before – and perfectly balanced. And this is what I had in mind the following hours of serious listening: „perfectly balanced“. Never harsh tones, no instrument ever too much upfront, full control. No matter how fast the music was, no matter how many instruments to be reproduced, this amp always had everything under control. Stunning. (picture) But how would my Pass perform against this heavy „monster“? To be straight forward: This X350 is still playing at a very high level. No distortion, strong power, „just music“ to put it in a positive way. But in contrast to „the only one“ it was lacking the accuracy. And it couldn´t play as fast. The stage wasn´t hat wide open, dynamics was limited. Not to mention the bass. Did I say „full control“ when speaking of „the only one“? With Pass, the bass wasn´t within the natural limits. As the hours went on, we changed back and forth; more CDs (I am old-school, no streaming, if possible), more music, more comparison. And I concluded: How will it be any better than this? Maybe here and there a little warmer? Maybe sometimes a warm „touch“ in human voices? But if you want everything with a tight grip and never get annoyed by unbalanced reproduction – „Danish audio design“ will be your choice. Even if you only want to spend a beautiful day in central Denmark…… By November 2024, Jan has built a brand-new power-amp, called „Revolution “. I have not had the opportunity to hear it yet, but in Jan´s words, this machine is insanely fast and accurate und brings sound to the next level…… My attention is caught again…… And this time not only by an ad.....

 

Andor Kovacs, Hungary. 9/12 2024

 

Your products reflect your personality ang your philosophy of life. You stive for the maximum ang that is somthing to be appreciated

Per Nieburn, Chairman, Viborg Music and hifi Club 26/12 2024I

I met Jan Jakobsen for the first time in 2023 and can only say, that this man has real drive.We have been to Danish audio Design Int, the club where i am chairman, Viborg music and hifi club a couple of times, and it has been a fantastic experience, the hospitality Bitten and Jan Jakobsen show is amazing, they are so natural and very welcoming.          The sound from all the show rooms is nothing short of amazing and if you have never heard a 21 inch hifi bass before, it's worth a visit, it's crazy As for their power amplifiers   and their gear in general, it's the top of what you can buy for money, here you don't      pay for gold buttons and and the like, but anly for the fact that there is really something wild and big in all their products, Insanely fast and super resolved sound full of details in the sound with no aggressive tones in abundance. I have since then bought a lot of power cables, and signal cables, what can i say, other than they are amazing and beat most of the ones i have heard and at a price that is far from the competitors, but i understand that this is how they feel about cables, no crazy prices here and no woodo, just pure super sound for the money. So if you're looking for a great experience, i highly recommend visiting Danish Audio Design International