Paul McGowan writes: Perhaps the single biggest reason to use a switch mode power supply (SMPS) on a power amplifier is that the output of a properly designed one is more like perfect DC than that of a conventional supply; and not just by a little bit. Conventional supplies switch back and fourth between plus […]
Month: March 2020
Found 84 results
“Hi, I recently sold my dearly beloved, old Vandersteen 2C’s here on Audiogon (and I hope SgtPeppers is loving them at this moment!) I did this because in our remodeled house, my new listening room (which will double as a guest room) is just too small for the 2C’s. The Spousal Acceptance Factor was just […]
Our speakers are typically either 8Ω or 4Ω but can that be changed? The problem as described to Paul is connecting up different impedance speakers to the same amplifier. Watch Now Paul McGowan
MB writes: As a long-time audiophile, music lover, and teacher of a class in jazz appreciation, I despair of the musical taste of much of today’s younger generation of listeners. At the risk of offending some of you, too many younger adults (read: under 35) have been raised on a steady diet of music that […]
13 responses so far; the thread starts: I have recently turned to “pro” gear . I have not heard a “bright” set of studio monitors yet ? They are not designed to accentuate any frequencies . I have owned many bookshelf speakers over the course of my life and none have come close to studio monitors […]
I should really ask – can the running in of electronics cause an audible change, or is that a myth? I say no, the running in of electronics will not cause any audible change. What do you think? More
In a recent post we covered with good detail the steps to achieving low bass with your subwoofers. By keeping the frequency lower than you need to match your main speakers you can focus your efforts entirely on getting the very low bass right. Now it’s time to match up to the mains. Matching the […]
Paul McGowan writes: I wrote that I had an out-of-the-box idea to share with you. This is just for fun and stimulation – and no, it is not a precursor to a new product. The idea revolves around the notion that it is wrong-headed to use digital room correction of the loudspeakers themselves (above 150Hz […]
Paul McGowan writes: The past few days we’ve been focusing on not setting boundaries but I think it is really more about where much of the innovation we see comes from. The fact is, most innovation comes from small scrappy little companies – not from big corporate giants. Take Apple for example – one of […]
The thread starts: Mission PCM7000 – imported blind from overseas and almost put me off CDs for life. Linn Nexus – could never figure out why I didn’t get rhythm & timing, even with an LP12 up front. McLaren A150b – the feeblest 75W integrated amp you couldn’t give away. Easily trumped by a 5W […]
Paul McGowan: Amateurs, as defined by Wikipedia: An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science in a non-professional or unpaid manner, often having little or no formal training in their pursuits, and many are autodidacts (self-taught). Does that describe our industry? And for that matter, are we even […]
Paul McGowan writes: Have you ever been leery of turning up the volume control too high because you don’t want to push the system too hard? I don’t mean in terms of volume level but stressing out the preamp by getting too close to its limits? If that’s happened to you, you’re not alone. It’s […]
I’m sitting within 4 metres of my speakers, would more distance help or does this gave nothing to do with it.. ? Please click HERE to continue
At first I dismissed the thought, so ingrained is the notion of an artist creating a package around a body of work, but then I realized he is right. The medium itself has always dictated the package musicians use to wrap around their work. There’s the famous story of Sony founder Akio Morita’s dictate to […]
One from our archives, but still worth dipping in and out I feel. Neil I’m been looking at some older DAC options and there are some nice older models around which admittedly can’t handle todays hires sampling rates but is this really an issue? Just because an older DAC might only handle up to say […]
An oxymoron….?? Any gems from the early 80’s like the Philips 100 thing. I liked the Naim CD3, but this would not really count, as it is a hi fi brand. What do the classic hi fi folks listen to that can be had on ebay for a 100 quid or so ? MORE
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2019/sep/30/tokyo-japan-bar-martha-shibuya-ebisu-whisky
Paul McGowan writes: “One of my readers, Alan, recently asked a really good question. “Reviewers of high resolution sound reproduction equipment frequently speak of one element of the reproduction, depth. But they speak of layers of depth; I’ve never really understood that concept, because in real life I always hear a continuum of depth.” […]
“I thought that I’d give my valve amplifier combo a proper work-out for the first time to see if this ‘shitty little 60W Yaqin amp’ from China (modified by our resident friend and forum moderator Anthony Matthews of Tube Distinctions) could hack it with some hardcore dance music at serious levels. Needless to say I […]
I received by email recently from a person who I respect rather highly. He didn’t invite me to comment. Ordinarily I wouldn’t post something like this – but something in it raised my curiosity. In fact it was his phrase “I thought the last section was interesting…” that made me try this. He was quite […]
Paul McGowan writes: I thought today I’d touch on the term Palpability for a couple of reasons: I use it to describe certain aspects of what we hear in our stereo systems and more pertinent – I have just been exposed to a greater degree of it than ever before. I was going to title […]