Impedance Mismatched ? It has happened to us all

When audiophiles listen to their newly purchased components at home, they often find the sound quality doesn’t match up to what they heard in the shops demo room. The sonic characteristics that persuaded them into purchasing the machine in the first place have simply vanished.  This all too familiar situation, often leads to most audiophiles blaming the remainder of their system for “not being as good as the one in the shop”.  The end result is often more upgrades and further misinformed or ill-advised investments.

The nuts and bolts of it:

Many audiophiles are not aware that the performance gap between what they hear in the shop and what they hear at home is a direct result of impedance mismatching between the new machine and the rest of their system.  Impedance matching is a complex technical issue in audio. It is mainly concerned with the various types of output stage designs. What makes it worse, is that the same manufacturer can have different output / input (I/O) impedance standards across their range of products due to design changes / updates. (See table below).

 

While some manufacturers are willing to disclose the I/O impedance figures, most are not too keen.  The end result is an audio market full of confusion, myth and plenty of frustration. Unless the entire audio system is from the same manufacturer within the same product line it is most likely that impedance mismatching will exist. Most audiophiles are paying 100% for their systems but are only hearing 70% of its full potential.

 

 

 

 

The AB-160 will fully Synergise any audio system:

Burson Audio buffer removes any impedance mismatching by acting as an isolation platform between any source components (CD, DVD, SACD player, Phono preamp, radio, PC sound card or even IPods) and downstream amplification (preamp, intergraded amp,  etc). Burson Audio Buffer is designed to Increase signal transmission efficiency between all components and unlock the potential of any system.

Impedance mismatch frequently occurs in PCs and Ipod based audio systems.  

Due to their different operating  environments, IPOD and PC sound cards use different output stage designs compared to home based audio amplifiers. That is why connecting an Ipod or PC sound card output to a Hi Fi system, will certainly result in impedance mismatch. Therefore, although the output audio signal is loss-less, due to impedance mismatching, less than 60% of the micro-detail can reach the amplifier.

 

 

 

But It is the micro-detail that is the stuff that makes music musical.

The end result can be loss of dynamics and texture. The more obvious symptoms include a lack of attack in the music (not just bass, but every single note played), a lifeless and thin “digital sound” and a need to turn up the volume to achieve the same sound level,

 

This problem can be resolved once and for all by a Burson Audio buffer.  The buffer will synergise your ipod/soundcard to the rest of the system, and you will realize how hi-end your ipod or soundcard really is.