Sound
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Sound
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Pursuing Headphone Transparency
Who We Are
JDS Labs is recognized as a leading developer of high fidelity headphone amplification and digital-to-analog conversion technology. In short, we help you enjoy the world’s best headphones. At our core, we are music nuts, engineers, DJs, and Makers who share a love for building incredible electronics.
John
Seaber
John
Seaber
Seaber
Electrical
Engineer and
Founder of JDS
Labs
Engineer and
Founder of JDS
Labs
John Seaber had no intention of starting a company. Frustrated with mediocre bass response of his headphones and the weak signal from his iPod, he stumbled upon Chu Moy’s pocket headphone amplifier project in 2007. John hacked a bass boost circuit onto a messy prototype one hot summer night, and as his iPod shuffled to a remix of Anna Nalick’s Breathe (2a.m.), he was blown away by the result: JDS Labs was born. John continues to share his excitement and helps others to enjoy the hobby.
John Seaber holds a BSEE from Missouri S&T and remains the lead electronics engineer on all JDS Labs designs, working with a team of talented developers and fellow audio enthusiasts.
Look
ing
back
Look
ing
back
ing
back
A slice of JDS
history
history
A JDS timeline
2007
John adds bass boost to Chu Moy’s opensource pocket headphone amplifier. Spare builds are listed on eBay as “cMoyBB” to share the magic. JDS Labs is born in a college bedroom.
2011
Keenly aware of the growing dissonance between blogger NwAvGuy and the HiFi community, JDS Labs takes a risk by actively supporting NwAvGuy's Objective2 headphone amplifier and securing its position as the face of the objective movement.
2012
JDS Labs triples in size as Objective2 and ODAC gain market dominance. JDS Labs moves out of a basement and into a 900 sq. ft. office space.
2013
JDS Labs moves into a 2500 sq. ft. facility and sets up a CNC in the dock to keep pace with growing demand and quality expectations.
2015
The team envisions the Element Line, investing $0.5MM into a satellite machine shop and manufacturing assets to see the project through to completion.
2018
Atom Amp is released, sending shockwaves through the market for its leading benchmark performance and incredible value. The first batch sells out in days.
2019
JDS Labs releases the second generation Element II, EL DAC II, and EL Amp II following the success of Atom. Meanwhile, competition is forced to adopt JDS Labs’s objective approach in order to remain relevant.
2020
COVID wreaks havoc on global manufacturing and supply chains, delaying release of Atom DAC by six months. JDS Labs invests deeper into robotic automation during another period of growth. All machining assets are replaced by new 5-axis CNCs and collaborative robots, more than tripling manufacturing productivity.
2021
Following the AKM Semiconductor disaster, JDS Labs acquires an Audio Precision ApX555 audio analyzer and redesigns its digital products in record time. John divests the JDS Labs machine shop to cofounder Nick, forming separate companies in order for each founder to pursue focused growth.