Resources

1. Designer's Notes For Distributors

Understanding and Explaining Digital Audio Sources (DAS) to Customers

A. What is a DAS? (Core Concept)

Definition:

When designing, we can measure the electrics, we can analyse the sound, but music is felt, and so long-term listening is our final arbiter.

A DAS (Digital Audio Source) is the component — or set of components — that prepares and delivers the digital audio signal to the DAC.

Examples customers may recognise:

• A streamer app talking to cloud servers
• A laptop used for audio
• A NAS plus a streamer
• An all-in-one streamer

Key talking point:

Oladra products combine server and streamer functions in one platform, engineered specifically for signal integrity — the factor that most strongly influences DAC performance.

B. Why A DAS Matters

Even though music is digital, timing and electrical noise still affect the final sound.

Use this analogy with customers:

“Just like a turntable relies on stable speed, a digital system relies on stable timing of the 1s and 0s. When that timing is cleaner, the DAC works far more effectively.”

Two main influences on sound:

• Timing stability (jitter) of transitions between 1s and 0s
• Electrical noise riding along with the digital signal

Both originate in the DAS and travel downstream.

C. Common Customer Misunderstanding: “Aren't 1s and 0s all that matter?”

Simple response for customers:

“The bits all arrive, but the precision of their timing affects how well the DAC can turn them into analogue music. Better timing in the source gives the DAC a cleaner starting point.”

More detailed version (if needed):

DACs have internal clocks, PLLs or ASRCs, but those stages perform better when the incoming signal has low noise and stable timing. A noisy or unstable source forces the DAC to work harder and degrades its performance.

D. Talking About Network Switches

Customers will ask about switches because the internet is full of opinions on them.

Key guidance for dealers:

• One good switch close to the DAS can help by reducing electrical noise.
• Cabling and whole-network cleanliness matter too.
• A switch is not a replacement for a high-quality DAS.

Use this analogy:

“A great switch won’t turn an ordinary source into a high-end one. It’s like putting a $5,000 power cord on a $1,000 amplifier — helpful in some ways, but not the best use of your budget.”

E. Talking About Reclocker/Isolator Boxes between DAS and DAC

Clear message:

Reclocker/Isolator boxes can help only when the upstream source is weak.

What dealers should explain:

• External reclockers can reduce timing errors but add their own noise and grounding paths.
• Fibre links block only one of several pathways for noise, pass signal disturbance through, and add their own signal reflection disturbance, noise and grounding paths.
• If the DAS and DAC are very good, bolt-on devices between them are likely to have a negative impact on naturalness and emotional connection.
• Reclocking and isolation work well as part of a total-system design (e.g. part of a DAC or DAS).

F. What Makes the Oladra Platform Different

Dealers should memorise the key points of this section — it is the core value message.

The problem:

When files come from the internet or storage, they have no meaningful timing. The DAS must build timing through stages. Early stages need high processing power, but that power can create noise that harms timing precision throughout the DAS and DAC.

The conventional approach:

Start with a general-purpose computer and add:

• software tweaks
• low-noise power supplies
• special PCIe input and output cards for isolation/regeneration/reclocking

This is like tweaking a family vehicle to make it into a racing car without changing the engine. If you don't address the computer that generates the digital audio signal from the file, performance is limited. Oladra's total-system design is equivalent to a purpose designed racing car.

The Oladra approach:

Oladra has designed and built:

1. a proprietary audio system from operating system, through multiple layers to the user interface,
2. bespoke high-power digital audio computers based on its proprietary platform,
3. as a single integrated system, engineered specifically for digital audio,
4. to create a new class of digital audio source.

Dealer explanation to customers:

"This is the future of digital audio. Oladra does not modify a general-purpose computer. It designed its hardware and software together so that every stage — from the first handling of the data to the final output — protects timing precision and minimises noise to an unprecedented level. That’s why any DAC performs at a much higher level with an Oladra source.”

G. Explaining Flow vs Sentia vs Presence (Practical Guidance)

Dealer message:

“All three are built on the same Oladra Platform, with the same strengths in sheer clarity, immediacy and spaciousness. The difference is how much computing headroom they have — and how uncompromising the parts selection and execution is.”

What each model is for:

• Flow: Built to play from streaming services. Cannot play stored music files,
• Sentia: Same platform level as Flow but with more resources, able to effortlessly manage and play stored music files,
• Presence: The absolute expression — best parts throughout, and the deepest optimisation of every circuit and board trace for maximum naturalness.
• to create a new class of digital audio source.

What not to imply:

Don’t describe Flow/Sentia as “cut down” in design intent — the platform approach is the same; the cost reduction comes from parts selection that minimises audible compromise.

H. Explaining Optimal vs Extended Motherboards (Storage vs Sound)

Dealer message (simple):

“Optimal is the best-sounding configuration and suits most owners. Extended exists for customers who must store very large libraries internally.”

Key facts to communicate:

• Optimal: designed around a single 4TB internal storage disk, and prioritising sound quality.
• The Optimal can manage large libraries by including files stored on a NAS in its library.
• Extended: supports two additional user-installable internal disks (example: adding two 8TB drives = 20TB internal).
• Extra internal disks add live Core interfaces and interfaces on the SSDs - increasing electrical noise, even when the disk is not being accessed — this is why Extended can carry a small sonic penalty versus Optimal.

Options to consider:

A good quality NAS in a good network with the Optimal motherboard can achieve similar quality to internal disks on the Extended motherboard.

Commercial Reassurance:

Modular design means exchanging between Optimal and Extended motherboards is possible for a reasonable change, so the user's decision is not final.

I. Suggested Dealer Phrases (Short, Clear, Honest)

Use these when customers ask direct questions.

• “A better source gives the DAC a cleaner starting point.”
• “Digital music is all about signal timing — and the foundation for that timing comes from the DAS.”
• “Noise and timing errors start at the source and influence everything downstream.”
• “A good switch helps, but it cannot replace a high-performance DAS.”
• “Reclockers address symptoms; Oladra addresses the cause.”
• “Oladra’s platform wasn’t built on a computer — it is a bespoke design engineered for audio from the ground up.”

J. If the Dealer Has Just 20 Seconds to Explain Oladra

“Your DAC’s performance depends on the timing and noise conditions arriving on and around the digital signal it receives. The Oladra Platform is designed from the ground up to give the DAC the cleanest, most stable signal possible — far better than a computer or generic streamer. That’s why systems sound more natural, open and lifelike with an Oladra source. Every design stage, every part selected, every circuit board trace is conceived solely for high-end audio.”