Paul McGowan: There are two sides to many things: stories, paper, listening rooms. On one side are speakers and on the other, you. Where you sit in relation to the system: nearness to walls and speakers, height relative to the tweeters, in or out of bass nulls, can often make more difference than the components themselves. […]
Paul McGowan
Found 619 results
Paul McGowan writes: It’s probably going to take me a long time to get used to the idea of playing my LP’s through a DAC – I mean it’s just really weird to put the needle down on the LP and hear the ticks and surface noise of that LP coming out of the PWD […]
Paul McGowan writes: Head amps are devices used to separately amplify moving coil cartridges to the same level as moving magnets. They can be built from active electronics with power supplies or simple step-up transformers. They are needed because moving coil cartridges typically have outputs thirty times lower than their moving magnet brethren. Why they […]
Paul McGowan writes ……… Not that long ago in the scope of our evolution did we question if there were life forms smaller than could be seen by the human eye. Our collective answer was “no”. Yet enough people asked an even simpler question “how do we know that?” One questioner invented the microscope and […]
Paul McGowan writes: We just released some new software that changed the sound of our PerfectWave DAC. As is normal there’s debate on whether or not those changes are better or worse. For me there’s no question they are better in every respect – but only after I retuned my system to take advantage of […]
Paul McGowan: In an earlier post about oiling up the snakes I touched on the idea that marketing can sometimes get in the way of people’s acceptance of a particular technology. Yet without market-speak, products would sit on the shelf as dull and uninteresting to customers. The best product names seem to be a blend […]
Paul McGowan writes: The story behind PS Audio introducing the high-end world to the oversized external power supply is a good one that I cover in this video. But that was more than 40 years ago. Is power supply “overkill” still a factor after four decades? Indeed it is. And for good reason. In the […]
Paul McGowan writes: I’ve been thinking hard about how to simply and easily explain DSD, 1-bit, Pulse Density (all pretty much the same thing) and decided it’ll be easier to break it up into a few small posts. Let me first explain why we’re talking about it, what it is and why it matters. PCM […]
Paul McGowan writes: Not more than a few weeks ago I returned from a great trip to Japan where I toured multiple cities and high-end audio dealers. I put together a ten-minute video you might enjoy. Click here to play it. We know the high-end audio industry is in a state of flux—many suggest it’s […]
Paul McGowan: I am often asked why power supplies make a difference in audio electronics. For, after all, it’s the power supply and it is not in the signal path. Being outside the signal path suggests that a well designed power supply should be sonically invisible, as if it were not even there, yet the […]
Paul McGowan My recent post suggested the perceived shift away from high-end audio was not what it appears. That, in fact, it is a shift away from spending family resources on isolating the audio system – not the lack of desire for high-performance. We now have entire generations of music lovers who want music throughout […]
Paul McGowan: My friend Doug keeps on me about getting involved with digital EQ. I keep resisting. I am really not sure why. I think I have a stubborn streak in me. Or maybe I am just scared. I do know that once I latch onto something I can’t let it go. So often times […]
Paul McGowan writes: I was in the process of posting today’s Ask Paul video on the difficulty of designing power amplifiers when I was reminded of the lengths some speaker designers were willing to go for bass. I was thinking of Arnie Nudell’s Infinity Kappa series, the terror of solid state amplifier manufacturers the world […]
Paul McGowan writes: For those of you following the trail of the Music Room construction and the installation of the Infinity Reference Standard loudspeakers, the latest chapter, part 6 is up and ready for viewing. Part 7 will probably follow quickly as the IRS system is, as of this morning, setup in the room! Yesterday’s […]
Paul McGowan: 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 friend […]
Paul McGowan: When I audition a stereo system using popular music I seem to focus most on imaging. Does it feel like I am in the space it was recorded in? When I audition using classical music the space becomes less important and what I seem to focus on is the sound of the instruments. […]
Paul McGowan: I know this story of my first sale of a stereo product is taking a number of twists and turns and please forgive me, today’s will be even a bigger turn. Perhaps it will be the size of a U turn today. But in the end it all pans out and makes sense. […]
Paul McGowan writes: If I had to think of the worst thing I might add to a power amplifier, an output transformer would be right up there – yet the vast majority of tube power amplifiers sport them. Tube amps interface their output stage with your loudspeakers through a matching transformer, not because it sounds […]
Paul McGowan writes: Let me set the scene for you. You’re at a dinner party, the folks that invited you have worked their hearts out to make a lovely meal, but it’s not to your liking. And then your worst fears come true. “How was your food?” She asks so nicely, filled with expectations (and hope). […]