Digital Antedote II

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I have recently purchased the passive Digital Antedote II from Taddeo Loudspeaker Co. Rather than write a review I am posting the letter that I sent to Tony Taddeo.
Jack DuMoulin
P.S.: Please note that I am not affiliated with the Taddeo Loudspeaker Company in any way.
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Dear Tony,
I feel compelled to drop you a line. First let me thank you for your very prompt, personalized service. I was taken aback when you called me long distance just to verify a Zip Code number. I canâ€™t think of any other dealer or manufacturer who has ever done this in my many years in the electronics business. I was impressed!
I received the Digital Antidote II a week ago, just after the Easter Holidays. I immediately inserted it into my system and gave it a listen. My audio system is of very high resolution. My speakers are Tractrix horns from 100 Hz to 20 KHz supplemented by a Paradigm Servo15 for the bass frequencies. A Tact 2 digital room equalizer does an excellent job of taming room modes below 200 Hz. I will spare you all the details; suffice it to say that my system receives many comments from music lovers and has been copied many times.
Still, I was left wanting. I found myself listening to the sound of my system rather than get involved with the music. Then I came across your web page and studied the theory behind the DA. I am an Electronics Engineer and design industrial controls for a living; your treatise made a lot of sense to me. I decided to give the DA a try. I also read several reviews, and after reading Jon Galeâ€™s from Sound Stage I didnâ€™t really expect to be bowled over.
Well at this point in time I would say that Jon Gale should get himself a Ghetto Blaster, he is wasting his time and money on High End gear. I wonder if he has ever heard a live orchestra. Anyway, to get back to my test, I put on a recording of Haydnâ€™s Piano Concertos Nos. 3, 4 & 11 by Leif Ove Andsnes on EMI. (Excellent recording) I took only one bar to know that you were on to something! I played this recording probably 5 or 6 times since I got it for my birthday but this was the first time I was listening to the music instead of the â€˜soundâ€™ of it. It was totally involving. I used to play the violin in a (amateur) symphony orchestra during my teens, so I am very familiar with this instrument's timbre. It never sounded quite right to me on CD, regardless of the quality of the recording. With the DA in the circuit the timbre sounds â€˜rightâ€™ and massed strings sound like many individual instruments playing together. The steely quality of strings on many CDs is largely gone.
I played many more CDs that day and found to my amazement that I had listened to 4 hours uninterruptedly! I had never been able to do this before; I usually wandered away after an hour or so and puttered around, listening to music in the background. It seems that all listener fatigue is gone!
Rather than telling you more things you already know, let me tell you that my wife has exceptionally good ears and I rely on her judgment occasionally when I am not sure if my mod really made an improvement or whether itâ€™s just wishful thinking. Although I didnâ€™t need her opinion this time I was curious as to what her reaction would be. I only told her that I added something to the system and asked her if she could hear a difference, and if so, what she heard. She is not familiar with audiophile jargon. She listened for a minute or so and said: â€œEverything sounds much more realistic.â€ That sums it up very nicely! Thank you again, Tony, I am a very happy camper!
Sincerely
Jack DuMoulin
PS: I still canâ€™t believe Jon Gale's comment that he had to strain to hear a difference! What is this man doing working for an audio magazine?

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Topic - Digital Antedote II - Jack DuMoulin 16:25:44 04/14/02 (0)

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