Here’s a good one for the measurement nerds in us all. How to quantify emotional engagement. How is it that a technically inferior technology like vinyl can often better engage us emotionally than a technologically superior format like DSD? And to make matters worse, a vinyl reproduction of a DSD master like those we have […]
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It is always difficult to have to reject the hard work of anyone but, in the long run, it’s critical to maintain standards. While auditioning a candidate recording we made of a wonderful musician for Octave, I had the unfortunate task of saying no. No, it’s not good enough. No, it serves neither the music […]
The dictionary defines the word paradox as a statement or proposition that, despite sound reasoning from acceptable premises, leads to a conclusion that seems senseless, logically unacceptable, or self-contradictory. Such is the nature of audio transparency. Invisible sound. A seeming paradox. On the one hand, we can never hope to see sound. So the idea that some sound appears […]
I really dislike labels as they apply to people. I have spent much of my adult life working hard at removing them from my lexicon. Labels encourage us to place complex people in simplistic organized little boxes. That hardly allows for diversity or nuance. Yet, today’s crowd seems ever more eager to assign labels to […]
Power amplifiers come in classes determined by their design. Their classifications are listed by simple letters of the alphabet, but underlying that simplicity is a whole lot of complexity. For example, amp classes as determined by their bias and turn-on cycle include A, AB, B, and C. The differences in this class of amps is […]
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.
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
If I believe something to be correct it’s easy for me to jump to a conclusion that matches that belief. On the other hand, if an observation doesn’t match my belief, I don’t jump anywhere near as high or quickly. In fact, it takes a great deal of energy to jump in the opposite direction. […]
If you have a combination of old and new equipment is it possible to mix and match for best performance and synergy? Or, should you stick with one manufacturer’s vision of what’s best? Watch Now
Setting up a subwoofer in a high-end system can be darned tricky. Is there an easy and quick way to get it right, first time, every time? You bet there is and leave it to Paul to explain how Watch Now
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
When playing high-resolution PCM files the defacto industry standard seems to be 192kHz, 24 bit. Right? I mean, given a choice between the next candidate, 176.4kHz, we automatically choose 192kHz. Why would we do this? Perhaps human nature. We assume higher is better. But, in fact, there’s reasonable evidence that in many cases, 176kHz is […]
One of the delights of Apple products is their packaging. Easy to open, clean, simple, and elegant with a promise of more joy to come with the product itself. If the packaging is a joy think how nice what’s inside must be. What’s worth talking about is just how far removed they are from everyone […]
If you’re looking for the best sonic solution for streaming music it matters how that music gets delivered. For example, if you’re connecting with USB then the computer matters: faster, quieter, better built will sound better. And the USB cable matters. And then there’s the requirement of an interface buffer to maximize sonics (the Matrix works great). […]
As diehard advocates of DSD as the ultimate capture technology, we are in the infinitesimal minority. We find ourselves here on the wild frontier for one reason and one reason alone. DSD sounds remarkably better than any other capture method (including analog). So the question continues to pop up. If DSD is so darn good […]
The practice of making a sweeping statement about how everything is one way or the other. This is wrong and this is right. This matters and that does not. This guy’s a liar, and this one always tells the truth. The problem with this line of communication is two-fold: nothing is always one way or the other and we cannot know everything. I find myself making sweeping […]
When we set our sights far in the future the world looks nice and rosy. Imagine that new pair of speakers gracing your living room, the new amplifier, the rebuilt room. According to Mark Twain imagining the future takes a combination of things. “Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind […]
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 […]
Rules are made to be broken and I cannot think of a better one to break than that of the Rule of Thirds. When that rule is applied to loudspeaker setup it calls for the room to be broken up into thirds: 1/3 of the room’s longest dimension away from the front wall is where […]
When you see a woofer moving in and out at low bass notes does that action cause distortion? And if so, what kind and how important is it? Paul helps a person make the right choice in speakers. Watch Now Paul McGowan