Is it price, parts quality, brands, or designers that makes some audio products sound better than others? Learn the truth behind how manufacturers decide what products are going to cost.
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When our eyes are assaulted with a bright flash of glare we put our hands up to shield ourselves. It’s not a whole lot different with audio. A biting dose of glare makes me cringe and reach for the volume control. Glare is that overly bright sound that rides atop the music. It has any […]
THE OBJECTIVE: The objective here is to, on a continual basis, refine the best system, under £100, that can be achieved today, pre-owned. A FEW GROUND RULES: Please look at episode #01 for clarification PLEASE NOTE: Every item in the system has been purchased by me off the auction sites. At this cheap-as-chips level, the […]
They dominated the record catalogues of the 1950s and 1960s. Orchestras trembled at their every irate, intemperate word and record company executives scuttled to do their bidding. When the CD arrived, their recordings were again released in swathes. And then, like the dinosaurs, they suddenly disappeared. The once-mighty maestros Pierre Monteux, Fritz Reiner, Charles Munch, […]
Paul McGowan. As I get more familiar with the new music system a couple of thoughts occur to me about what it is that gets me excited about what I am hearing and experiencing. I think the magnification and separation of elements within the recording have to stand out above many others. I am fortunate […]
Paul McGowan writes: Back in “the day” a manufacturer would launch a new product to waiting Audiophiles and the first reviews of it would generally start to emerge perhaps 6 months later. In the meantime, many units were sold without benefit of other people’s opinions save those of the dealer. Now that dynamic is changed. […]
I have just fitted my F9E to my Akito mounted on my 401 and it sounds very good. So good in fact (apart from some sibilance) that it will stay there till I can find a MM that has the same sort of character. Anyone who has used a F9E will know what I mean, […]
Overview: What could this possibly have to do with a music web site? Guest contributor Ray Purchase explains: The Hobbit – High Frame Rates Don’t Work for Cinema Here’s a recent case that highlights that choice of frame rate is critical. http://gizmodo.com/5969817/the-hobbit-an-unexpected-masterclass-in-why-48-fps-fails The director of the film The Hobbit decided to try higher frame rates […]
Kicked out of his family home at the age of 14, Steve became a genuine hobo, hopping freights all over America. Always travelling with his guitar – having been taught a few chords as a kid by Delta bluesman KC Douglas, an old pal of the legendary Tommy Johnson – in the ’60s he began to play at […]
We’re all a bit worried about being criticized. What if those we respect don’t agree with us or have differing opinions? What would happen if you played for someone your favorite track on your perfect setup and they were unimpressed? Or worse, pointed out problems? We all love it when our friends and family swoon […]
One of the risks of trying new things and moving in different directions is the threat of ridicule. It’s scary stepping out on the ledge in search of new results. Safer, I think to stay with what’s accepted. Normal. But, what is normal? My friend, Seth coined a phrase for normal that I really like. The regular kind. Most of […]
I was a non-believer in capacitor service, until I came across this little NAD 310, which buzzed through speakers like hell, regardless of volume level. Still played music, so I thought – lets change caps and see… After power supply caps change (like for like, and with budget brand, to try if thinking was correct) […]
Last week was the AXPONA high-end audio show in Schaumburg, a suburb of Chicago. PS Audio was there as well as hundreds of other manufacturers. As always, I had my trusty video camera at the ready and produced a 17-minute video tour with interviews of manufacturers and views of the show and rooms. Here’s where […]
Overview: What could this possibly have to do with a music web site? Guest contributor Ray Purchase explains: The Golden Age of Television So this is where the difference between video and film occurred. Video forfeited the magical glamorising effect of film’s 24 frames per second, but in doing so got closer to the (sometimes […]
Paul McGowan writes ….. Does your system give you the lowest bass notes? Is it right in the room? How would you actually know? I don’t need to remind most of my readers of the value I place on adequate, accurate, bass. It’s the foundation of a good system and most systems get it wrong. […]
