Thank you Audio Excellence and Dan D'Agostino for giving the audiophile community this perspective an a key part of audio history. What a straight talking, humble man. Very impressed with his honesty about measurements vs. musicality. Makes me want to own some of his products in the future (when I can afford them...lol). Please try to keep these types of interviews coming!
Fantastic 2nd episode! Was so disappointed when the first episode ended so abruptly. This interview has to be the best 9ne I have seen on any audiophile CZcams show.
I listened to both parts of your interview today. Great history lesson. Well done interview. Dan, Petra and the family are very generous people. They had our 50 odd group over to the new facility last year as the guinea pigs listening session/tour. They provided food and wine along with an educational session. Not that a sale was likely to come out of it. Then they loaned us a new amp for our Speakerfest event. Great company. Great people!!!
Excellent Video, I really enjoyed listening to Dan - - I appreciate that you guys didn't push Dan too hard with questions so he was able to elaborate - fascinating to understand a bit of his personal journey as an audiophile at heart and how he blended and implemented his engineering skills while navigating the business side of his industry.
@@adrianlow2114 He for sure is , and for me living in Scandinavia ( Denmark ) getting to know these people is like a revelation.....because other wise your " just " reading articles....but youtube brings people to life.
To put things in perspective: Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems Relentless Monoblock Amplifier: 570 lbs (258 kg) Harley-Davidson, Inc. 2020 Iron 883 (Sportster series, running): 564 lbs (256 kg)
Adrian, Big thank you! This was a treat! The best video 2 videos you have put out on your channel! Both parts flew by. Dan is a legend! I rank him right up their with nelson pass and the other greats ! I have heard Dan speak on previous videos but was always curious about the his history, time line at krell etc. He has made some legendary stuff for sure. He's the type of genius designer that you could just sit and listen to him tell Stories! Quite a character ! Lone part I would have liked was a more in depth talk of last days with David Wilson trying out his new amplifiers in his last days in his home. Those Wilson speakers were his crowning achievement and mated to dans relentless amp (another crowning achievement). Lucky to have such a person in audio. I didn't know he left krell. Sorta sad but at the same time some good came out of it making Dan realize krell had strayed bit. I relate to this with some of krells gear from those eras. Measured well but just wasn't musical. Glad he making gear for enjoyment. Wish we could afford some of dans beautiful audio jewelry! If their is a Ferrari /bugatti of the audio world, it's dans terrifc gear! Honestly, if $$ is no object, dans gear is probobly the best out there. Someday i will get to hear (another day see) more of dans products! Great to see Dan is making headphone amp. No doubt it will be a reference for every company I'm sure. Look forward to Jays review! I think you should do another part of this video after this lock down and visit Dan and his producing facility. I'm guessing nobody has done a video on this yet. Thanks Adrian! Look forward to more fabulous videos!
What a lovely man, no airs and graces. Back in the day I had Krell mono blocks driving Apogee Duetta Signature's . It was the best system I ever had, would make the hairs on the back of your neck tingle. But alas when my partner and I had children it all had to go, especially the Apogees as prying little fingers could so easily damage the planar panels . The things you give up when you have children, ha ha. Now they are all grown up I will think about putting together a new system. I would not buy Krell on principle, not after what they did to Dan.
Fantastic as usual !, i'm 53 so grew up with all this history , i sometimes think that when a company is great it should not grow !, just keep it great , For example , i fear Sonus Fabar is getting a bit diluted , i like the Franco Serblin design's , i also like the new electa Amator 3 and the minima amator 2 , I know that Serblin left SF and started another speaker company before he died so people that say SF changed when Serblin died are wrong !, He left , What do you Guy's think of the Minima Amator 2 ? , to be continued ............
Great interview! I am going to have to listen to this product line some day but I still don't understand how much better this type of product can sound vs let's say a high end Hagel. Isn't an AMP supposed to not have a sound and dare I say it, just AMPLIFY the signal?🙄 I mean they are $45,000 for the integrated. Blind test a $8,000 amp vs this? One thing I do know about is wine as Dan was just talking about that topic! A $300 -$500 bottle of wine is usually a total rip off compared to a $70 bottle! And that's being nice! And almost no one can say this wine tastes $300, $3,000 even vs the $70 bottle. Heck cheaper vodka's are always choosen in taste tests compared to the Grey Goose stuff in all blind taste tests.. Very easy to find here on CZcams! Its all marketing and Image. I would only assume these ultra expensive AMP products are the same as ultra expensive wine, or Vodka? I would be more than interested in being schooled on this subject matter. All I know is there is a famous video of violinists who are blind folded playing either their million dollar violins or a relatively cheap knockoff and NONE, I repeat NONE of the participants guessed correct which violin they were playing!🤪🤪🤪🤯🤯🤯 Really think about that and the real Human ability to judge music tone/quality. The participants were shocked.🤯🤯 The best of the best in their field! And again these were literally million dollar Stratovarius's vs a semi cheap clone. Does make one wonder about all of this Audiophile stuff, no? You would think after hearing a $150,000 at a show no matter how its set up the system should sound FANTASTIC ,which it usually doesn't and we're told it's the room set up? This ultra high end stuff is so confusing! Not Hagel or even Macintosh stuff but the ultra high end being mentioned in this video. I understand they are made in small batches but $45,000? It's funny because in the watch world, the more complex the movement the more expensive the watch usually is although a much cheaper design can keep time just as accurately!🤪🤪🤪🤫🤫🤔🙄
@Big Jay I agree on many of the points in your statements. There are many aspects other than the sound itself that drives our decisions as to what we *think* sounds better to our ears. Expectation or Confirmation Bias, and preconceived "ideas" or thoughts we may have about, let's say, Class A vs A/B vs Class D, or a Steinway grand piano vs a Yamaha C7, etc. Our emotional state at the given time may also influence our results as well. But having said that, in the real world, amplifiers DO or CAN sound different, even though in theory they should all be "a straight wire with gain". :-) But when making this statement, you must also consider the Particular Loudspeakers that are being driven by a Particular Amplifier. You must understand that the Amplifier AND the Loudspeakers that are connected to each other result in a COMPLETE CIRCUIT that is UNIQUE to THAT SPECIFIC COMBINATION. Each speaker+crossover design will have an inherent Sensitivity or Mean SPL, a certain nominal impedance, and also a varying and unique impedance load or value at any given frequency. i.e. The impedance curve over the full frequency range Fluctuates Uniquely in any given loudspeaker system. IOW, each loudspeaker presents a Unique Reactive Load to an amplifier. And different amplifier topologies & circuits will respond to that unique reactive load differently. There are many acoustic properties of the loudspeakers that can be affected when using different amplifiers: Dynamic Capability & the Reproduction of Transients, the Distortion Level & when or where it occurs/and in what way, Power Compression, etc. AMPLIFIER LISTENING/COMPARISON TEST: It's a long listen, but if you have the time, check out this ~€2500 Integrated Amplifier Listening Test & Comparison in the CZcams video linked below. You can download the raw files from their website, but YES, the differences really can be clearly heard even over CZcams streaming. The only thing that changes in this comparison are the Integrated Amplifiers themselves, and Jaap (the presenter) spent the previous day setting up and level-matching the outputs of each amp, and he checks them again quickly when starting each new listening session with the next integrated amp. Use your best Full-Range audio system or good headphones when listening. The audio in this comparison doesn't necessarily aim to present a perferct representation of exactly what you would hear if you were in their room. But more so it reveals THE DIFFERENCES that clearly exist between the different integrated amplifiers when combined with THIS particular set of speakers, and when nothing else in the system is changed other than the amplifier itself. This test uses "reasonably priced" integrated amps of varying designs. But ask yourself, why you would surmise that amplifiers costing much, much more would not, or could not, sound different and/or even better, as these do in comparison to one another in this fairly straightforward test? Cost restrictions in other products DO affect the ultimate performance that we are able to achieve and experience. This is true in items such as smartphones, automobiles, motorcycles, and any other technology. Why should amplifiers be any different? Most of us tend to end our cycle of "upgrade-itis" once we get to a certain level that is "pretty close to as good as (we think) it gets". That may partly be due to our available finances, and/or due to the limits of our own personal experience with audio gear. None of us have had the opportunity to listen to EVERYTHING, and even to a lesser extent, all possible combinations of audio gear. In my personal experience, every so often, my own idea and knowledge of audio in terms of "it just can't get any better than this" are broken, and the bar is raised yet again to a higher level. For me, this last occurred after hearing the Børresen Acoustics #05 loudspeakers (in a good room) powered by the NAD M33 Master. WOW! Anyhow... Listen to the Integrated Amplifier comparison here: czcams.com/video/hW8-ijjT0tg/video.html Jaap @ TheAlphaAudio has other comparisons with different types and levels of gear as well.
Why would a businessman agree to what amounted to a partnership and credit line without hiring an attorney to review the agreement first, explain all the implications, make recommendations for changes or not sign it at all and not explore other avenues of credit? I'm sure that would have cost far less than fighting the consequences afterwards. Also going into a business partnership with someone you don't personally know so you have some feel for how you'd get along let alone not stab you in the back. You essentially gave up control of your company. I'm an engineer and I hire experts when I deal with matters I don't understand.
I wanna take on a minority partner let me give them a majority seat on the board that sounds like a good business sense. I’ll start a new company after watching the movie minions
It is exciting to see Dan triumph from his ouster from Krell. He reinvented himself and his design philosophy.
Thank you Audio Excellence and Dan D'Agostino for giving the audiophile community this perspective an a key part of audio history. What a straight talking, humble man. Very impressed with his honesty about measurements vs. musicality. Makes me want to own some of his products in the future (when I can afford them...lol). Please try to keep these types of interviews coming!
The amps remind me of Pagani Huayra.
Fantastic 2nd episode! Was so disappointed when the first episode ended so abruptly. This interview has to be the best 9ne I have seen on any audiophile CZcams show.
I listened to both parts of your interview today. Great history lesson. Well done interview.
Dan, Petra and the family are very generous people. They had our 50 odd group over to the
new facility last year as the guinea pigs listening session/tour. They provided food and wine
along with an educational session. Not that a sale was likely to come out of it.
Then they loaned us a new amp for our Speakerfest event. Great company. Great people!!!
Always a great man to listen to.
Excellent Video, I really enjoyed listening to Dan - - I appreciate that you guys didn't push Dan too hard with questions so he was able to elaborate - fascinating to understand a bit of his personal journey as an audiophile at heart and how he blended and implemented his engineering skills while navigating the business side of his industry.
Best thing on internet this month! Thanks!!
Thanks a lot , what an amazing good interview. :)
@@adrianlow2114 He for sure is , and for me living in Scandinavia ( Denmark ) getting to know these people is like a revelation.....because other wise your " just " reading articles....but youtube brings people to life.
What an awesome interview. He sound so humble. I learned a lot, thanks!
To put things in perspective:
Dan D'Agostino Master Audio Systems
Relentless Monoblock Amplifier: 570 lbs (258 kg)
Harley-Davidson, Inc.
2020 Iron 883 (Sportster series, running): 564 lbs (256 kg)
And you can buy 25 harleys vs one amp for the same price :)
The thing is that the quality difference cannot cover - justify the price difference
Legend.
Thanks for excellent and interesting show. Look forward to more!
Thanks for sharing this, what an amazing interview! I can't wait to buy a D’Agostino product!
Bring Gold Bars
Adrian,
Big thank you! This was a treat! The best video 2 videos you have put out on your channel! Both parts flew by. Dan is a legend! I rank him right up their with nelson pass and the other greats ! I have heard Dan speak on previous videos but was always curious about the his history, time line at krell etc. He has made some legendary stuff for sure. He's the type of genius designer that you could just sit and listen to him tell Stories! Quite a character ! Lone part I would have liked was a more in depth talk of last days with David Wilson trying out his new amplifiers in his last days in his home. Those Wilson speakers were his crowning achievement and mated to dans relentless amp (another crowning achievement). Lucky to have such a person in audio. I didn't know he left krell. Sorta sad but at the same time some good came out of it making Dan realize krell had strayed bit. I relate to this with some of krells gear from those eras. Measured well but just wasn't musical. Glad he making gear for enjoyment. Wish we could afford some of dans beautiful audio jewelry! If their is a Ferrari /bugatti of the audio world, it's dans terrifc gear! Honestly, if $$ is no object, dans gear is probobly the best out there. Someday i will get to hear (another day see) more of dans products! Great to see Dan is making headphone amp. No doubt it will be a reference for every company I'm sure. Look forward to Jays review! I think you should do another part of this video after this lock down and visit Dan and his producing facility. I'm guessing nobody has done a video on this yet. Thanks Adrian! Look forward to more fabulous videos!
Great interview and what a great story.
I remember the first review of the Momentum in Stereophile. It struck me hard even as a picture. Like nothing else ever id seen.
What a lovely man, no airs and graces. Back in the day I had Krell mono blocks driving Apogee Duetta Signature's . It was the best system I ever had, would make the hairs on the back of your neck tingle. But alas when my partner and I had children it all had to go, especially the Apogees as prying little fingers could so easily damage the planar panels . The things you give up when you have children, ha ha. Now they are all grown up I will think about putting together a new system.
I would not buy Krell on principle, not after what they did to Dan.
this is great - totally reshaped my image of the product. i'm going to have a listen as soon as is reasonably possible
Jonathan Fingold - Bring Gold Bars
To listen to one of these is one of these amps is on the bucket list. Great video.
Fantastic as usual !, i'm 53 so grew up with all this history , i sometimes think that when a company is great it should not grow !, just keep it great , For example , i fear Sonus Fabar is getting a bit diluted , i like the Franco Serblin design's , i also like the new electa Amator 3 and the minima amator 2 , I know that Serblin left SF and started another speaker company before he died so people that say SF changed when Serblin died are wrong !, He left , What do you Guy's think of the Minima Amator 2 ? , to be continued ............
I really enjoyed this!
Great.
Great one 👌🏼
2 years later no headphone amp crazy
Great interview! I am going to have to listen to this product line some day but I still don't understand how much better this type of product can sound vs let's say a high end Hagel. Isn't an AMP supposed to not have a sound and dare I say it, just AMPLIFY the signal?🙄 I mean they are $45,000 for the integrated. Blind test a $8,000 amp vs this? One thing I do know about is wine as Dan was just talking about that topic! A $300 -$500 bottle of wine is usually a total rip off compared to a $70 bottle! And that's being nice! And almost no one can say this wine tastes $300, $3,000 even vs the $70 bottle. Heck cheaper vodka's are always choosen in taste tests compared to the Grey Goose stuff in all blind taste tests.. Very easy to find here on CZcams! Its all marketing and Image. I would only assume these ultra expensive AMP products are the same as ultra expensive wine, or Vodka? I would be more than interested in being schooled on this subject matter. All I know is there is a famous video of violinists who are blind folded playing either their million dollar violins or a relatively cheap knockoff and NONE, I repeat NONE of the participants guessed correct which violin they were playing!🤪🤪🤪🤯🤯🤯 Really think about that and the real Human ability to judge music tone/quality. The participants were shocked.🤯🤯 The best of the best in their field! And again these were literally million dollar Stratovarius's vs a semi cheap clone. Does make one wonder about all of this Audiophile stuff, no? You would think after hearing a $150,000 at a show no matter how its set up the system should sound FANTASTIC ,which it usually doesn't and we're told it's the room set up? This ultra high end stuff is so confusing! Not Hagel or even Macintosh stuff but the ultra high end being mentioned in this video. I understand they are made in small batches but $45,000? It's funny because in the watch world, the more complex the movement the more expensive the watch usually is although a much cheaper design can keep time just as accurately!🤪🤪🤪🤫🤫🤔🙄
@Big Jay
I agree on many of the points in your statements.
There are many aspects other than the sound itself that drives our decisions as to what we *think* sounds better to our ears.
Expectation or Confirmation Bias, and preconceived "ideas" or thoughts we may have about, let's say, Class A vs A/B vs Class D, or a Steinway grand piano vs a Yamaha C7, etc. Our emotional state at the given time may also influence our results as well.
But having said that, in the real world, amplifiers DO or CAN sound different, even though in theory they should all be "a straight wire with gain". :-)
But when making this statement, you must also consider the Particular Loudspeakers that are being driven by a Particular Amplifier.
You must understand that the Amplifier AND the Loudspeakers that are connected to each other result in a COMPLETE CIRCUIT that is UNIQUE to THAT SPECIFIC COMBINATION.
Each speaker+crossover design will have an inherent Sensitivity or Mean SPL, a certain nominal impedance, and also a varying and unique impedance load or value at any given frequency. i.e. The impedance curve over the full frequency range Fluctuates Uniquely in any given loudspeaker system.
IOW, each loudspeaker presents a Unique Reactive Load to an amplifier. And different amplifier topologies & circuits will respond to that unique reactive load differently.
There are many acoustic properties of the loudspeakers that can be affected when using different amplifiers: Dynamic Capability & the Reproduction of Transients, the Distortion Level & when or where it occurs/and in what way, Power Compression, etc.
AMPLIFIER LISTENING/COMPARISON TEST:
It's a long listen, but if you have the time, check out this ~€2500 Integrated Amplifier Listening Test & Comparison in the CZcams video linked below.
You can download the raw files from their website, but YES, the differences really can be clearly heard even over CZcams streaming.
The only thing that changes in this comparison are the Integrated Amplifiers themselves, and Jaap (the presenter) spent the previous day setting up and level-matching the outputs of each amp, and he checks them again quickly when starting each new listening session with the next integrated amp.
Use your best Full-Range audio system or good headphones when listening.
The audio in this comparison doesn't necessarily aim to present a perferct representation of exactly what you would hear if you were in their room.
But more so it reveals THE DIFFERENCES that clearly exist between the different integrated amplifiers when combined with THIS particular set of speakers, and when nothing else in the system is changed other than the amplifier itself.
This test uses "reasonably priced" integrated amps of varying designs. But ask yourself, why you would surmise that amplifiers costing much, much more would not, or could not, sound different and/or even better, as these do in comparison to one another in this fairly straightforward test?
Cost restrictions in other products DO affect the ultimate performance that we are able to achieve and experience. This is true in items such as smartphones, automobiles, motorcycles, and any other technology. Why should amplifiers be any different?
Most of us tend to end our cycle of "upgrade-itis" once we get to a certain level that is "pretty close to as good as (we think) it gets".
That may partly be due to our available finances, and/or due to the limits of our own personal experience with audio gear. None of us have had the opportunity to listen to EVERYTHING, and even to a lesser extent, all possible combinations of audio gear.
In my personal experience, every so often, my own idea and knowledge of audio in terms of "it just can't get any better than this" are broken, and the bar is raised yet again to a higher level.
For me, this last occurred after hearing the Børresen Acoustics #05 loudspeakers (in a good room) powered by the NAD M33 Master. WOW! Anyhow...
Listen to the Integrated Amplifier comparison here:
czcams.com/video/hW8-ijjT0tg/video.html
Jaap @ TheAlphaAudio has other comparisons with different types and levels of gear as well.
@@bbfoto7248
Thanks for the extensive input! I'll check out that link after I eat!🤗😉😇😎
The best most stable clientele ever are the ultra wealthy.
@@petersouthernboy6327
Especially this morning!🤑🤑😶😉😇
Would love to hear what you guys think of the progression integrated amp…?
Why would a businessman agree to what amounted to a partnership and credit line without hiring an attorney to review the agreement first, explain all the implications, make recommendations for changes or not sign it at all and not explore other avenues of credit? I'm sure that would have cost far less than fighting the consequences afterwards. Also going into a business partnership with someone you don't personally know so you have some feel for how you'd get along let alone not stab you in the back. You essentially gave up control of your company. I'm an engineer and I hire experts when I deal with matters I don't understand.
selling my house and getting a Relentless. it is built like a fotrtress!
If i win the lottery, oh yeah
What was the end THD on his new amps 0.1
Some of d’agustino’s amps look like short cappuccino machines
I wanna take on a minority partner let me give them a majority seat on the board that sounds like a good business sense. I’ll start a new company after watching the movie minions
Great interview, except for the throat clearing.
Overly priced!