✏️ Authorship Note (click to expand)

This piece is 100% human-authored. No AI assistance was used in writing, editing, or proofreading this content. What you read here represents my authentic voice and personal perspective.

📚 Essay Submission Note (click to expand)

This piece was seelcted as the Why Major Essay of my college application.

Why do you want to study your chosen major? (Here at Georgia Tech)?

When I first spotted a set of open-back, slatted-magnet Venus Planer headphones, I couldn't resist plugging them into the store’s headphone amplifier and playing the theme from my favorite videogame, White Album. Incredibly, it sounded just like when I play that piece on piano. But when I brought the headphones home and plugged them into my computer, the sound was completely different.

Modern technology can reproduce the dynamics of live instruments. However, the store’s CFA3 headphone amplifier cost $3,995, and it would barely fit in my room. I needed a high-quality audio device that everyone could fit and afford. I would have to make my own.

The CFA3 uses manually matched transistor pairs, which necessitates its size and price. By replacing through-hole components with surface-mount ones, using dual transistors, and employing multi-layer PCB technology, I got the same performance at one-eighth the size and one-fiftieth the cost. I also documented the whole process on forums, leading the CEO of Moondrop (the brand behind those Venus headphones) to message me. He said he founded Moondrop with a similar goal: to make high-quality headphones affordable. “Start your own amplifier brand,” he encouraged me.

That’s exactly what I want to do, and it’s the reason I hope to major in Electrical Engineering at Georgia Tech. Tech pairs rigorous academics with entrepreneurial development. I’d love to join the Vertically Integrated Projects (VIP) program, collaborating with industry partners who can provide crucial insights into real-world market needs and engineering challenges – knowledge I’ll need to launch my own company. When I do, the Advanced Technology Development Center, a startup incubator, would be a great resource to help me transition from hobbyist to entrepreneur.

My goal is to revolutionize the Hi-Fi industry with compact, affordable, premium amplifiers. With a Georgia Tech education, I believe I can.

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