Paul McGowan: Just when we think a tradition has been ravaged it’s often time to look at what might come from its rebuilding: Landlines to cell phones. Trains to airplanes. Horses to cars. In May of 2011, my son, Lon, sent me an email. “Your friend Seth Godin’s speaking in Seattle. Wanna go?” in 2011 […]
AUDIO The Insider
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Paul McGowan: I was thumbing through a stereo catalog recently and came across a full page presentation for Infinity loudspeakers on the left page and Klipsch loudspeakers on the right page. The designers of the catalog used photos showing their entire lineup from small to large loudspeaker in a line. I am sure you know […]
In my post about where the image should appear, behind the loudspeakers and not in front, we stirred a bit of controversy on the one hand and sparked a number of questions on the other. Several of you have asked how you can manage depth in your sound system and asked what controls the depth […]
In the previous post I told the story of receiving 14 tickets in a row for the same heinous crime: no brake or tail lights on my little red sports car. I promptly threw away all the tickets and went about my business until a cop showed up at the door with a warrant for […]
Paul McGowan writes: There are two primary types of reflections in a loudspeaker based stereo system: those that are created from the loudspeakers and those captured on the recording. To get proper imaging in your system you don’t need both, as any good set of headphones would demonstrate, but since most of us have loudspeakers […]
Paul McGowan writes: The term “listener fatigue” is something we’re all familiar with and something none of us want. What is listener fatigue, why does it occur and what is it we can do about it? What’s interesting to me about this subject is there are no measurements, no rules, no clear answers to the […]
In our search for sonic truth, there comes a point where the systems get so good their “truth” is more about our personal preference. In fact, personal preferences often trump truth. We know we’ve gotten closer to the truth when it matches what we believe to be the musical truth. Of course, no one knows what musical truth is. […]
Paul McGowan writes: My friend and fellow audio designer Jeff Rowland came by to say hi the other day. Jeff’s always a welcome guest as he and I manage to nearly always be on parallel paths when it comes to product designs. I found Jeff and friend Tim Jerome in our listening room playing music […]
Paul McGowan writes: As a follow up to yesterday’s post Just because, a few readers wrote to me defending both sides of their worldview of how things work. The objectivists reiterated “observations are not accepted fact until you can measure them” and the Observationalists wrote to say “if I can repeatedly observe the same thing […]
It seems like a simple potentiometer in a box would be the cleanest and best sounding preamplifier on the planet. So why aren’t they more popular and what’s PS Audio doing about them? Watch Now
Paul McGowan: In the January 2012 edition of TAS Robert Harley wrote a great article entitled the Price of Progress wherein he details the steady decline of recording quality after the late 1970′s. This really brings to light one of the conundrums Audiophiles face: play it like it is – warts and all – or […]
Paul McGowan writes: It’s not something attainable in a product – I have no desire to work on achieving it – it is a fool’s errand. I bring this to your attention because of all the kind notes people have been sending me about the new power amplifier and my quest to “perfect it”. I […]
Paul McGowan …. We love our symmetry. I’ve watched with fascination as people line up tableware, straighten wall mounted pictures, even get plastic surgery in the name of perfection. When it comes to setting up a stereo system symmetry gets us in trouble. This is a really hard one to battle because our tendency—my tendency—is […]
Paul McGowan: One of the most difficult to reproduce bits of music is massed strings, whether they be cellos, violas, or violins. It takes a complete and near perfect chain to get these right and they represent to me the biggest challenge and what I always turn to for the “final test” when designing product. […]
Computers delivering music to DACs sound different. Some are better, many are worse, some downright awful. So if bits are bits, how can this be true? Is there a good USB solution to feed a DAC? Watch Now
Paul McGowan writes: A fellow manufacturer dropped me a note recently in response to one of my posts regarding the declining acceptance of high-end audio in the home. He writes: “Audio-as-a-destination-activity is the enemy of the rest of the household. It takes both money and the listener away from the family. Home Theater is a […]
Paul McGowan: One of the more satisfying affirmations happens when two or more unrelated people make the same sonic observation. We send out an update and emailed observations roll in. “What happened to the bottom end?” Or, “The top end just opened up.” For better or for worse, it is fascinating that so many unrelated […]
Many receivers can accept SACD DSD files over HDMI but why can’t high-performance DACs? Are there any that do and if a low-cost mass-market receiver can play DSD files from SACD why not a high-end product like from PS Audio? WATCH NOW
Paul McGowan … I was reminded by one of our commenters to these posts about an era in audio I think of as the flavor of the month. It was a period of time in the 1970′s and early 1980′s that found loudspeaker and audio electronic manufacturers designing products that were not especially true to […]
Paul McGowan writes … There sure is a lot of confusion over sample rates. We hear about CD-quality sample rates at 44.1kHz (and its multiples), or another common sample rate, 48kHz (and its multiples), and then there are multiple higher sample rates (176kHz, 192kHz as examples) and of course DSD. Lots of numbers. All very […]
Paul McGowan writes: Here’s another thought on the continuing discussion of why a preamp matters in the chain. Perhaps it’s the DAC’s volume control itself. One thing is obvious. A DAC without an integral volume control cannot be used without a preamplifier; either separate or integrated. Thus, when we think of why preamps matter with […]
Paul McGowan … If we’re playing a dynamic piece of music at a moderate level it’s likely we’ll not hear the soft parts of the score. A little compression would enable us to hear both the softest and loudest passages. Yet to purists, compression is about as acceptable as farting in a crowded room. Let […]
Most tube power amps have an advantage over most solid state amps: high voltage. If we look at a typical tube vs. solid state design, that tube design might have up to ten times more voltage than the solid state design – at least in a preamplifier. The tubes need the high voltage to operate […]
I remember the first time I became aware of what we call Listener Fatigue. It was many years ago when there was only turntables, vinyl and most people listened to nothing but tube electronics; solid state was just coming onto the hi fi scene and we are part of that pioneering effort. I know I’ve […]