Paul McGowan: Not to be on a nostalgia kick here but a recent post about Direct to Disc recordings got a few of you to ask me why a Direct to Disc was so much more dynamic than a standard recording and the answer is simple: one less layer and vinyl has more dynamic range […]
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Paul McGowan writes: Just heading out the door, went to fire up the dishwasher and the marketing pitch on the soap caught my eye. “Now, Hypo Allergenic!” What the hell does that mean? It was the main selling feature of the dishwashing soap and for years I have taken it for granted. In fact, I […]
Paul McGowan: How many of you remember back when every receiver, preamp and integrated had a loudness button? I remember with great fondness my first Kenwood integrated amplifier in the early 1970′s and right on the front panel was a magical button labeled loudness. Funny thing was whenever I pushed it on nothing got louder. […]
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: 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. […]
Paul McGowan writes: I have gotten a lot of mail, as of late, regarding our stance on the DAC feeding the power amplifier directly. There are clearly two camps on this issue: those that believe less is more and those that believe more is better. I have always found myself in the camp of less […]
Paul McGowan writes: Recently we covered one of the advantages of the higher power supply voltages afforded by tube circuits: linearity. Today we’ll jump into the second advantage of increased voltage, headroom in power amplifiers. Headroom is a funny thing. If you take a SET amplifier of perhaps 18 watts and try and get 20 […]
A few readers have asked me to back off on being uber technical and get back to writing more about sound and high end audio from a listener’s perspective rather than a designer’s and I’ll definitely do that but I did want to finish up on our little series about DACS. One thing to remember […]
Paul McGowan: Popular audiophile lore has it that a mismatch in impedance between the preamp and amplifier will result in bass loss. Yup. If the amp’s input impedance is too low weaker bass will be the result. That’s true in the same way it’s important to pump the car’s accelerator before starting it. In the […]
Paul McGowan writes: I suppose the term “headroom” must have come about in response to tall people trying to make sure there’s enough room for their heads to go through a doorway or fit into a carriage. Makes sense anyway. In audio, headroom means that there’s enough space to amplify music without running into the […]
Paul McGowan: Radio station engineer Jim Mussel invited me to his home to hear what I couldn’t at the station, so poor the Quadraflex monitors were. Jim assured me that there were better speakers, better electronics and “something I’ve never heard before” awaited my arrival at his home. We both lived in Santa Maria California, […]
Paul McGowan writes: Several of you asked me why I was so interested in a 20+ year old pair of loudspeakers that I would sell everything in the listening room to get it and what makes this speaker so special? This giant loudspeaker has a number of charms but perhaps the biggest for me is […]
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 Engineers don’t yet know how to measure all we can hear on a resolving stereo system but we know a lot. What are the measurements that tell us what sounds good and what does not? Watch Now ▸ EDITORIAL NOTE: The opinions expressed in the above post do not necessarily reflect those […]
Paul McGowan writes: I would imagine the canon shots on Tchaikovsky’s 1812 might sound more like the banging of pots on a B&W Zepplin, or a pair of bookshelf speakers. Big music should be honored by full range gear. Conversely, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, or Red Norvo sound right at home on small kit. If […]
Paul McGowan: Most of us think of the hot seat, sometimes better known as the Sweet Spot, as the center chair in front of our loudspeaker pair. And that would be correct. But as we begin this new year it’s instructive to open our thoughts to some new ideas. Why do we think it’s so […]
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 […]
We love our older gear, the ones with the big VU meters, the cool knobs and audio connectors we’ve held onto for so long. When’s the best time to consider moving it on, repairing it, restoring it, or just going with new kit? Watch Now Paul McGowan EDITORIAL NOTE: The opinions expressed in the above […]
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 […]
Paul McGowan Is it ethical to spend time at your local stereo dealer and then buy online at a lower price? This question is at the core of the situation dealers and customers find themselves in today and you might be surprised at Paul’s answer. Watch Now EDITORIAL NOTE: The opinions expressed in the above […]
Paul McGowan Life is often a series of trade-offs. We gain here, lose there, creating tough choices because gains and losses are rarely black and white. Such is the case with headphones for me. On the one hand, they are wonderfully focused sonic microscopes. They offer privacy and intimacy, and their output seamlessly covers the […]
Paul McGowan writes ….. I have never understood the purpose of speaker stands for small two-way loudspeakers. If you’re not going to use them on a shelf, as intended, what sense do they make? A small speaker box struggles with bass—it’s just physics. Sacrificing music’s full range for a small box only makes sense in […]
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. […]
Brand and pedigree set expectations. A Mundorf or REL capacitor has more good feelings associated with them than an XYZ capacitor. Yet, that XYZ capacitor might just blow the socks off either brand. The trick, then, is to avoid the manufacturer’s easy way out: choosing a recognizable brand to delight the eye of the customer […]