Dear Colin, I’ve ordered a pair of 4-Pin DIN plugs to construct an interconnect for a Quad 33/303 system. Do both the channels need to be individually shielded, or is crosstalk not an issue here, and one could use something like this with just an overall shield? http://www.van-damme.com/14.html Failing that, can you recommend a really […]
AUDIO The Insider
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Gentlemen – what is this ‘thing’ called bi-wiring and will Elsdon Wonfor Audio be making speaker cables that use this tecnique? Thanks. Ron McQueen. {Colin} Dear Ron, bi-wiring is used to stop the reflection signal of one or more transducers affecting the movement or control of another. This can happen and it is caused by […]
Dear Colin, power supply question. How often do we have to turn off our equipment such as power amp, pre amp. cd player , power conditioner ……? Can we leave them on for days while listening on and off or do we have to turn them off after every session of listening? As a general […]
Dear Colin, step up transformer noise. I purchased an amp from Europe that needs 240v [ I am on north American voltage].. I bought a step up/step down transformer to equalize the voltage. it works, but the transformer produces noise through the speakers, even when the amp is turned off. the transformer I bought was […]
Hi Colin. Who if any are your audio designers heroes and why? Thanks. Nigel Beethoven (no jokes please) Hello Nigel. Heroes is a bad thing to have as it puts normal humans on a dais and yet they are human. But the gents and ladies in this complex industry that I put up with; the […]
Dear Colin, Zero autoformers; how to measure impedance please? I got a pair of Speltz zero autoformers recently but when I measure the total impedance, my multimeter sees only 0.4-0.6 ohm no matter what I do. It seems the multimeter could only read the DC resistance from the autoformer itself but not the total impedance […]
Hello Colin. From reading your very cogent and helpful answers to those questions here I appreciate that you take the design of power supplies very seriously. I’m writing here out of ignorance of the design process and indeed materials used but I wonder if it’s coming to the point where the next set of advances […]
Every recording has the perfect volume level it needs to play at but often times when you reach that perfect level you get listener fatigue. Is that normal and right? Watch Now
Golden opportunities don’t often come our way but, when they do, we should grab them. Life’s short enough as it is. One of our HiFi Family members had emailed me a few weeks ago asking if I knew anyone that might be interested in owning a pair of Genesis Technology’s Gen II speakers. He was […]
Dear Colin, If audiophile grade feet, power cords, and fuses can really improve sound quality, why don’t high end designers/manufacturers just incorporate these audiophile grade components at the time of build? Why sell an under-optimized item that can be easily improved upon by the owner or a modder? I guess you don’t do that at […]
If the source has an XLR output but the amp it feeds has only a coaxial RCA input can you use an XLR adaptor without compromising sound quality? Continues HEREhttps://www.psaudio.com/askpaul/can-you-use-an-xlr-connector-for-single-ended/
Hi Colin. To what extent – if any – does marketing influence your designs? It has ….. for a few things. I’ve not really taken much notice of marketing and to be honest, if an audio business is run by money grabbing twits like those I’ve met in the past then … no thanks. I […]
WHAT IT TELLS US Sensitivity is a measure of the magnitude of input signal need for the amplifier to produce full output, at maximum volume. This tells us what signal sources the amplifier can handle, and produce full output if required. But it also tells us where the volume control is likely to be set is […]
Hi Colin. First. Congratulations on rising phoenix-like from a difficult time with difficult people! From what I have read my impression is that you are intent on keeping Elsdon Wonfor Audio small; a boutique-brand if you will. However for the sake of conversation, or curiosity or whatever, if you wanted to, could the company be […]
Hi guys. Is there or will there be an ‘official’ Elsdon Wonfor Audio policy on this. Here’s my view. I’m an adherent to the psychological theory of so-called break-in; it’s simply one’s brain adjusting to a new piece of audio equipment. I also like to compare it to the ancient therapy of acupuncture; break-in apparently […]
Dear Colin, Can you tell us a little – or a lot if you wish – about the Integrated Amp design you are most proud and why please? The Claymore come to mind – the Inca Tech Claymore – it was designed on a whim for a US based company that never came back to […]
Hello Colin. I seem to have read somewhere that you feel that external power supplies for audiophile equipment Is really an irrelevance if the original power supply design has been correctly implemented. Have I got that right? If not, can you put your views to us? Thanks in advance, Nigel Okay, I did say that […]
Geoffrey Owen – head of Helius Designs writes: In this episode I’m going to discuss the evolution of tonearm design and consider aspects of various designs that most influenced my approach to Helius. My own hi-fi journey started with the most classical of 1970’s choices – an SME 3009 mounted on a Thorens TD125 MKII […]
Hello Colin What sources and speakers does you use in development and why please? Thanks. Mike Hi Mike, Now that is a tricky question I like my old Ruark Sabres, they are old friends made for me by my old friend. I also use Spendors, and borrow others makes depending on what I am designing.I […]
Several accessory companies manufacture and sell extremely expensive ground boxes and this customer wants to know if they work and why. Paul says it doesn’t matter if they work or not, there’s a bigger issue at stake. Watch Now
Not my first rodeo! I’ve been the industry for a while and been taken behind the scenes of quite a few makers. The backroom people and not always males either are generally fairly approachable with only the occasional massive egos you read about. And the point of this is, err what? Many of them use […]
Paul McGowan: “I am sure you make great sounding products but they’d be wasted on me. I could never appreciate a system at your level!” How many times have I heard that from a neighbor, the UPS man, a vendor come to visit with us at PS Audio? Almost always. What’s interesting is that 100% […]
Paul McGowan: I came into the sound room to play something yesterday and it didn’t sound right. After investigating I discovered someone had moved one of the speakers for some reason or another. I was angry and took it personally. After calming down I started questioning why that mattered so much – and then it […]