Paul McGowan writes: Have you ever thought about how many different people you’ve been in your lifetime? The Paul of high school is very different than the one typing this note—even the me of a decade ago isn’t the same as today and there’s every indication tomorrow will bring more changes. It’s a funny thing […]
Month: February 2020
Found 106 results
If I am in the Music Room listening to some change engineering made or a new tweak we want to put into products, it’s my responsibility to listen and evaluate those changes as best I can and pass judgment on them. Sometimes that’s very difficult because I find myself in a situation where it sounds […]
https://www.quora.com/Why-does-my-fathers-30-year-old-200-watt-Hi-Fi-sound-better-and-much-louder-than-my-new-500-watt-home-theater-system
Reading through some of the threads it seems that the absence of a remote control on a pre or integrated is a ‘deal breaker’ for some here. These are my experiences. A couple of years back, at a private listening session with a maker (anonymous ‘cos it really doesn’t matter who because the thread might […]
Paul McGowan: While enjoying a morning cup of coffee I was reading Art Dudley’s engaging article on his acquisition of an old pair of Altec Lansing loudspeakers in the May issue of Stereophile. In the latter half of the article he tries to tame the Altec horn of its tendency to ring when stimulated – […]
I’m considering various CD transports at present, and these are older models(that’s the only way I can afford one!). Thus I need to make sure of availability of lasers/mechanisms to avoid having an expensive paperweight. Whilst I understand the mechanical failure modes of transports, I’m wondering what causes laser failure? Is it purely a function […]
Paul McGowan writes: We cobble together multiple components to form a stereo system. Speakers, cables, equipment, are all necessary elements to produce music in our homes. The skills needed to assemble a proper stereo are not taught in school and with the single exception of Jim Smith’s excellent work, I’ve yet to see a book explaining […]
Paul McGowan writes: In our post on Software Jitter I got several emails from folks telling me “that’s an obvious distortion path”. True enough but it sure wasn’t before we found it. Fact is we’ve been struggling with trying to figure out why small changes in the code that runs our products have an impact […]
Having owned quite a number of speakers and equipment over the years. This isnt an argument that active speakers are always better, but its interesting that they just arent more popular in the home, and yet are ubiquitous in the studio. The “BBC monitors” of today are rarely used in hifi. With an increasing number […]
Have you ever noticed that if you have an opinion about something it can easily be dismissed or agreed upon as soon as you know there’s a term or explanation for it? For example I used to reject as distasteful olive oils that were so spicy they burned the back of my throat until I […]
Paul McGowan: This is the first post in our series on Tubes vs. Transistors. I’ll do my best to keep this fun, informative, not uber technical and to the point so we can all have something to look forward to each day. You may have heard the term “Audion” as there is a UK manufacturer […]
They say ….. If you’re already a fan of Gamut’s superlative RS Series (and let’s face it, if you’ve heard them, you will be), then you’re in for one heck of a treat. The new hot-off-the-press Zodiac is a further development of the pride of the RS Series, the huge RS9. “The Zodiac is basically […]
The thread starts: Hey everyone, I am looking for some cheap tweaks, i just got done putting in a inner tube under my componets as an isolation device, and it works great. What else would you reccomend?..i am also thinking of an inner tube under the spkrs, with some sort of device to keep them […]
Paul McGowan: Thanks to reader John McRee for suggesting the title of today’s post. Yesterday we learned we need 8 times more power to reproduce speech than we do sine waves – which may then surprise people that loudspeaker manufacturers continue to use sine waves as a basis for their efficiency measurements. It certainly surprises […]
The thread starts: I am currently on the lookout to upgrade my existing speakers Rega R5. I currently run them with a Rega Dac/NAC52/Supercap/NAP135’s. The current room did not suit my previous speakers as the room is very hard, suspended floors and vinyl floor covering. I have recently auditioned Proac Response D18, decent bass but […]
Paul McGowan: Most high-end audio systems are very personal because they are hand assembled by the owner. Rarely are any two alike and that’s kind of what makes this sport fun. But if dealers sold pre-assembled “cookie cutter” systems that the owner did not personalize, would they still be high-end? I believe so. I believe […]
Paul McGowan writes: I remember learning to ride a bicycle. My father, Don, patiently held the bike upright—running alongside me—as I tried to get enough speed and balance to avoid crashing. At one point I felt confident enough to yell “let go!” only to look behind me and realize he had done so several hundred […]
They tell us ….. Japan-based Miyajima has been making phono cartridges for more than three decades. Although they were only discovered by American and European audiophiles in recent years, they have since received rave reviews all over the world and deservedly so. With several patents under his belt, Noriyuki Miyajima is a passionate music-lover and […]
Paul McGowan: The new power amp I’ve written about is finished and it’s everything I ever hoped for in an amp. Unfortunately there’s only one in the world at the moment and more won’t appear until this summer. The process of going from the one to the many is tedious, laborious and so completely necessary […]
Paul McGowan writes: Even simpler than PCM. But here’s a case where the concept may be simple but the execution is not. However, in order to understand how it works, we don’t really need to wade into the details. Basically we have a fixed clock running at 2.6MHz (single DSD, analogous to 176.4kHz in […]
They told us ….. Singled out as one of The Absolute Sound’s top three ‘Auspicious Debuts’ at the 2014 Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, Miyajima’s newest top-of-the-range stereo cartridge, the Madake, is now available in the UK. The clue about what makes the Madake special lies in its name: Madake is the Japanese term for a […]
What is the general consensus? And why? Dip in and out HERE
I was thinking today about the younger generation , Will they ever get to hear decent quality audio ? Most youngsters now days only use mobile phones for everything. My daughter looks forward to our weekly listening on a Friday night she is amazed at the superior quality on all formats. 8 track R2R and […]
Paul McGowan writes: When a trumpet or trombone plays loudly – or a bass drum or gong is hit hard – the sound that is produced by the instrument is dynamically linear with the softer sounds that instrument can make. The same cannot generally be said about a loudspeaker that is reproducing those sounds. Imagine […]