http://www.psaudio.com/ps Get tips and do-it-yourself tutorials from audiophile experts en paul@psaudio.com Copyright 2009 2009-10-17T19:59:03+00:00 http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-find-the-best-position-for-your-subwoofer/ http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-find-the-best-position-for-your-subwoofer/#When:18:59:03Z The biggest problem in any room is getting the bass right.  Most speakers are capable of producing reasonable bass but there is no passive loudspeaker built that can claim true full range sound.  To reproduce full range audio in your room you will need a subwoofer; but placement of that subwoofer can be daunting.  Room modes, standing waves all get in the way of great bass.  Here’s a trick that the pros use that can make your life easy.  Instead of guessing where the sub should go, take a different tack.  Place the subwoofer in the listening position (even on the couch or chair if you can) and then move yourself around the area where the loudspeakers are to find the best sounding bass position.  You can simply walk around the area where your speakers are positioned or even crawl on the floor until you hear the sweet spot.   Then all you need to do is place the subwoofer in the new position and when you sit in your listening area, it will sound perfect. 2009-10-17T18:59:03+00:00 http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/convert-hi-rez-files-to-wav-files/ http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/convert-hi-rez-files-to-wav-files/#When:16:02:04Z Convert hi-res files to WAV using XLD. (XLD is a shareware program available at: http://tmkk.hp.infoseek.co.jp/xld/index_e.html ) (1) open Preferences, click ‘General” tab, set ‘Output format’ to ‘WAV’ (2) under ‘Output directory’ check the ‘Specify’ button, then click ‘set’ and choose folder you require for output (3) click ‘Open’ and then close the preferences (4) click File menu heading and choose ‘Open…‘ from the drop-down menu (5) choose the file or folder of files you wish to convert and click ‘Open’ N.B. Remember that the PWT only displays track numbers so at this stage it is worth numbering the tracks in the order you require on the DVD. I put all the tracks for a DVD in a single folder and start numbering at ‘01’, ‘02’ etc. B. Burn a UDF 2.0 DVD data disc using Express Burn. (Express Burn is a freeware program available at: http://www.nch.com.au/burn/ ) (1) click ‘New Disc’ icon, type in name required for disc, check the ‘Data DVD’ button and then ‘OK’ (2) click ‘OK’ to the info box and add files either by dropping them in the box or by using the ‘Add Files’ button (3) in the ‘FileSystem’ drop-down menu choose ‘UDF’ (3) click the ‘Burn DVD’ button (4) in the ‘Burner Drive’ options EITHER choose your disc-burning drive into which you have put a disc OR choose ‘Image File’ (I use the latter option and do the disc burning separately in Toast using the ‘Copy’, ‘Image File’ menu item. In this way I can first burn a DVD-RW to test my hi-res music selections and then burn a DVD-R once I’m happy.) I have had no success with two other obvious means of burning data DVDs on a Mac: C. Toast Under the ‘Data’ drop-down menu there is a ‘DVD-ROM (UDF)‘ entry. I tried this by dropping the files I wished to burn into the box but the resulting disc was declared to be ‘Invalid’ by the PWT. D. Finder If you Cntrl-click on a folder using Finder there is an option under ‘More’ to ‘Toast it’. This launches Toast and brings up the ‘DVD-ROM (UDF)‘ entry in the ‘Data’ window i.e. exactly the same as C. above. I am currently using a relatively old version of Toast (8.05) whereas the latest is 10. I’m upgrading to Toast 10 so I’ll find out whether the UDF 2.0 files necessary for the PWT can now be burnt to DVD. David LOvell 2009-08-23T16:02:04+00:00 http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/burn-dvds-for-the-pwt-on-a-mac/ http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/burn-dvds-for-the-pwt-on-a-mac/#When:15:54:55Z While it is very easy to generate data DVDs with a Mac, I feel others may find it useful if I share my conclusions. I was looking for a simple process that I could use to reliably create data DVDs to hold the LP albums I am digitising. As noted elsewhere in this Forum the simplest method is to use ITunes: (1) create a playlist by hitting the ‘+‘ button at bottom left (2) drag and drop tracks from your library list to this playlist (3) hit the burn button at bottom right (4) in the pop-up box that appears check ‘Data CD or DVD’ (5) insert a blank DVD. As the PWT can only accept WAV files at the moment, you need to ensure the tracks you wish to choose at (2) are WAV files. If like me you store your music as Apple Lossless or AIFF you will first need to create WAV versions as follows before (2): (1-1) go to iTunes ‘Preferences (1-2) under ‘General’ hit the ‘Import Settings’ button (1-3) in the pop-up box choose ‘WAV Encoder’ from the drop-down menu at ‘Import Using’, choose ‘Automatic’ at ‘Setting’ and hit the ‘OK’ button (1-4) hit the ‘OK’ button in the ‘General’ menu (1-5) select all the tracks in your library you need to convert to WAV (hold down Apple key and click on tracks) (1-6) under top-level menu heading ‘Advanced’ choose “Create WAV version’ 2009-08-23T15:54:55+00:00 http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-burn-audio-dvd-for-the-pwt-using-vista/ http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-burn-audio-dvd-for-the-pwt-using-vista/#When:16:36:54Z Idiots guide to Hi-Res burning on DVD for the Perfect Wave Duo using windows Vista” Rudimentary step by step This will assume to are starting with FLAC (most common download format right now) 1: Download and install “Nero 9.0” free trial version (huge program, takes forever!) 2: Download free “Traders Little Helper” software . 3: Create 2 folders that you can easily find and access. Name one FLAC and the other WAV 4: Download FLAC file into pre-determined Flac folder . 5: Open “Traders Little Helper” 6: Select “Decode Audio Files” from the File menu . 7: Import/select the FLAC files to be converted using the “Add” button 8: Make sure the box next to “over-write existing file is NOT CHECKED 9: Make sure to select the WAV folder created above as the destination of new WAV files 10:Click the “Decode” button You now have usable WAV files. Time to burn the DVD-R 11: Open Nero software 12: Select the “Rip and Burn” option tab 13: Select “Burn Data Disc” button 14: Do not use “Express Burn”. Select the “Burning ROM” option instead. 15: Select “DVD-ROM (UDF)” option from the left side column 16: Click the “UDF” tab on the top 17: Change options box to “Manual Settings” (this allows you to access UDF formats) 18: Leave Partition Type as “Physical “ and select “UDF 2.0” in the box below. 19: Select the “New” button from below 20: Find the folder with your WAV files. 21: Select, drag and drop files you want burned 22: Click the Burn Button from the toolbar. You’re done! Stick it into your PW Duo and prepare yourself for a listening experience of a lifetime! Here’s a tip…Use the I2S connection. I strongly recommend it. I’ll also give a thumbs up to PSA’s pure silver I2S-12 . Incredible detail and sound with this connection. My motivation for writing it is two fold. First, I wish I had found something like this a few days ago. It would have saved me many hours of frustration. Secondly, I don’t want other newbie’s to walk away from the PWT/PWD because the thought of burning hi-res DVD’s scares them. PSA has created an outstanding product here and you owe it to yourself to give it a try.  Even “idiots” like myself can/should enjoy it’s cutting edge technology and sound. Hope this helps a few folks do just that. Levi 2009-08-19T16:36:54+00:00 http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/connect-a-pwt-to-the-internet-wirelessly/ http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/connect-a-pwt-to-the-internet-wirelessly/#When:13:18:34Z Connecting your new PerfectWave Transport  to the internet is how you download song titles and cover art when you play a CD.  Accessing the internet is easy is you have a home wired for network connections: just simply plug the PWT into any internet capable Ethernet connection and the PWT (or the PowerPlay unit) does the rest automatically.  But some homes use only wireless to connect to the internet.  When this is the case, you need a wireless Ethernet Bridge (access point) to connect the PWT to your wireless router. A wireless network access point (wireless Ethernet bridge) are all about the same thing: they can connect any device that has an ethernet connection, using wireless technology, to a wireless router.  You can read about our favorite bridge here: http://www.linksysbycisco.com/US/en/products/WET610n.  This one is about $100 retail. To make this work, you need to have a wireless router in the first place.  Wireless routers are inexpensive and easy to setup and allow wireless access to your internet connnection throughout the home.  These routers are available at Best Buy, Staples, Off ice depot or over the internet.  Once connected and configured, you have access to the internet from any device that has WiFi capability (such as an iPod Touch, iPhone, laptop etc.) If you wish to connect an ethernet capable device, such as the PerfectWave Transport to the internet, you will need to connect its Ethernet port to an internet capable connection, either through a CAT5 cable or through a wireless access point.  Using a wireless access point, or Ethernet Bridge (like the one pictured by Linksys) is easy.  Use a short CAT5 cable to connect the PWT to the Bridge.  Connect power to the Bridge and follow the setup instructions provided with the Linksys.  An overview of the setup process would show that once the Linksys device is powered up, it will immediately communicate with your wireless router automatically. All you need to do at this point is help the two communicate.  To do this, you’ll insert the setup CD into your computer (the Linksys comes with this setup CD) and follow the few simple steps for setup using a wizard. Once configured, the PWT will connect to the internet and you will see a "connected to the internet" affirmation on the top of the PWT touch screen. If you have any problems, call us.   2009-07-05T13:18:34+00:00 http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-play-flac-in-itunes/ http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-play-flac-in-itunes/#When:15:47:33Z If you’re on a MAC and are using iTunes to manage your music library, you may have noticed that it will not handle FLAC (Free Lossless Audio CODEC) encoded files.  FLAC encoded music is the defacto standard for reducing file sizes without loss of quality.  FLAC files are bit-for-bit perfect copies at about half the file size. iTunes will not recognize FLAC files and offer their own method of lossless encoding called Apple Lossless.  Unfortunately, Apple Lossless doesn’t work with anything other than iTunes so that vast majority of people use FLAC and are forced to forego iTunes as their music player and library organizer for these files. Now there is an easy way to fix this.  There is a free program you can download called Fluke that fixes everything.  Download FLUKE Fluke is a plug in for your MAC.  It’s simple to use.  Once installed, you simply choose any FLAC encoded file or group of files and choose to open with Fluke.  Fluke quickly converts the FLAC file identification tags to fool iTunes into thinking they are Quicktime files (Quicktime is Apple’s video format).  This allows iTunes to recognize these and play them. One last trick you may wish to know.  If you want to copy these files onto a CD, iTunes won’t allow you to do this without yet another trick.  While iTunes will now play the FLAC files for you, if you wish to copy these files onto a CD you’ll first need to convert them to WAV.  To do this, simply highlight the files you wish to convert, right click the highlighted files and click on "convert to WAV".  Now you have a bit perfect copy of the FLAC files in WAV.  You can then add these to your playlist in iTunes and burn them onto a CD.  2008-12-25T15:47:33+00:00 http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-adjust-the-vta-of-a-turntable/ http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-adjust-the-vta-of-a-turntable/#When:01:01:02Z The VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle) of a tone arm on a record player is a critical adjustment for good sound.  Many people would encourage turntable owners to play with the angle until the vinyl sound right.  We would agree.  However, there is a bit more science to it than just listening. The object is to match, as closely as possible, the same VTA as the original cutting head for the master was set.  Typically, there is an easy standardized method - that relates to the degree of angle used by almost all cutting masters.  The Vertical Tracking Angle was not always standardized. But since the stereo disc was launched, the angle was defined at 15 º and was changed in the nineteen seventies to 20 º. That is why the Ortofon SL-15 became SL-20.The To adjust your VTA properly, you need to find the adjustment on the base (post where the arm is mounted to the turntable) of your pickup arm that allows you to raise or lower the back (the end opposite of where your cartridge is) of your tonearm. Look at your owners manual (if you still have it), go to the audio dealer from whom you purchased it or contact the manufacturer for help in finding out how to make this adjustment. CAUTION: On most tonearms, you will NOT be able to adjust the VTA while playing a record or with the stylus even resting on a record (without destroying the record and/or cartridge cantilever or stylus). YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! For initial setup of your VTA, place a medium thickness album (no 180 gram re-issues or flabby RCA Dyna-flex Red Seals) on the turntable and place the stylus on the record (do not have the turntable rotating for these adjustments). With the stylus resting on this medium thickness album, the bottom of the cartridge should be parallel to the album. By this, I mean the flat area near the front of the cartridge where the cantilever / stylus assembly protrudes from the bottom of the cartridge. CAUTION: Make all adjustments on the tonearm with it sitting on the tonearm rest. You now have a good starting point to find where the nominal VTA setting is located for your arm / cartridge combination. Select 3 records from your collection with which you are familiar. You will use them to find fine tune the nominal starting point for your VTA adjustment. One of them should be what I will call a normal thickness album (London CS 6xxx or STS 15xxx (orange - silver label), RCA Shaded Dog, non 180 gm. Chesky, etc.). The next should be a thick album (Decca or EMI reissue, Mobile Fidelity 2-xxx series, etc.). The third album should be a thin album like an RCA Dyna-flab. After setting the starting point of your VTA session using your eyesight, listen to a section of all 3 albums. What you want to listen for is the seniority of the strings, the "air" around the instruments and the width of the hall. If you set your VTA correctly for nominal thickness albums, you will hear the following: 1.The medium thickness album will have extended stage width, a hint of air or rich harmonics around the individual instruments and singing in the upper strings without any stridency. 2.The thin album will have good stage width but the strings will sound unnatural, edgy and irritating. 3.The thick album will sound slightly muffled, with a lack of high frequencies and air around the instruments. If this is not what you hear in your comparison, your VTA is not set properly for medium thickness albums. If the thin album sounds correct, the back or base of your tonearm needs to be raised about 0.010" (0.4mm) (the thickness of a cover of Ultimate Audio) for medium thickness albums. If the thick album sounds correct, the base of your tonearm needs to be lowered about 0.010" (250 micrometers) for medium thickness albums. A few passes at this and you will learn what to listen for when you adjust your Vertical Tracking Angle. To reiterate, once you have found the correct VTA setting for a medium thickness album, you can use this starting point when you want to adjust your VTA for best sonics. For very thin albums (flabby Red Seal), or Angel and late Columbia, you will have to lower the back of the tonearm by as much as 0.005". For very thick albums and many of the Decca, Classic or EMI reissues, you will have to raise the back of the tonearm by as much as 0.010" or 0.015". Also remember that during the course of the life of your cartridge, the nominal setting will change as the cantilever ages and flexes making it sound as if the back of the tonearm is too low. After a short period of time of focusing on the sound (and not the music), you will learn to identify when the VTA is adjusted properly. After this adjustment is correctly made, listen and enjoy the music. Sedrick Harris, Paul McGowan 2008-12-11T01:01:02+00:00 http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-avoid-first-reflections/ http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-avoid-first-reflections/#When:00:51:15Z When sound pressure comes out from your loudspeaker, it is typically aimed directly at your listening position. When it arrives at your listening position, it is referred to as "direct sound". Along the way towards that listening position, the sound pressure wave will hit the side walls, pieces of furniture, and so on, causing multiple reflections. The reflections are delayed slightly in their arrival to your listening position. These multiple delayed signals are referred to as reflections. Therefore, when the direct sound arrives at your listening position, it is quickly followed by the same sound, slightly delayed in time, causing a confusion to the music. If we were to play our speakers outside, this would not be a problem (unless it rained). Unfortunately, this is not the case, and we in fact listen inside. Therefore, we must deal with these reflections. Since we cannot eliminate all reflections, we should concentrate our efforts on the biggest problems first. The biggest problems are known as "first reflections" because they are the first and most predominant reflections to arrive at our listening position. First reflections are almost always created when the sound coming from the loudspeaker hits the side wall (the walls closest to the left and right sides of the speakers). They are relatively easy to correct if you can identify where they occur. To minimize their effect on the sound of your system, you need to place either an object in their path to diffuse their energy (such as a piece of furniture), or an object in their path to absorb their energy (like a tapestry, curtain, or foam rubber).   Locating the point of first reflection is simple, but you will need the aid of a colleague and a small mirror. First, remove the grille cloth from your loudspeaker. Second, have your colleague hold the mirror against the approximate area of the first reflection on the side wall, holding the mirror at the same height as your tweeter is from the floor. Have the assistant move the mirror along the wall, while maintaining the correct height for the tweeter, until you can see the tweeter in the mirror. Mark that spot, and repeat the procedure on the opposite wall. The mirror has visually exposed the location of the first reflection. 2008-12-11T00:51:15+00:00 http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-resolve-absolute-polarity/ http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-resolve-absolute-polarity/#When:14:35:35Z There's no small amount of controversy surrounding this issue. That's partly because some listeners aren't particularly sensitive to the effect of inverted signal polarity, while for others, it's very irritating. Since a number of manufacturers include a polarity reversal switch on their components, they obviously think that it's worth addressing. First, I should admit that I am in the latter camp. It always bothered me... It was 1982. I was trying to set up a pair of Magneplanar T-1D loudspeakers. I had actually written the set-up instructions on these in 1976, back in my ARC/Magnepan days. So I was reasonably knowledgeable about how they should sound. The LP I was listening to had a famous male performer (singer, writer, guitar player) on it. In fact, I happened to know at the time that this performer owned the very same model of speakers! It was only his voice and his guitar on the recording. But I just couldn't get the sound right. I could either put him in the room while he played a slightly muffled guitar, or, by swapping the 'positive' speaker connectors for the 'negative' on both speaker leads, I could make his guitar clear, but then it sounded as if he was singing with rocks in his mouth! By this time, I had been wrestling with the occasional effects of inverted polarity for several years. I had become aware of it through my work doing freelance recordings for the local NPR affiliate and others. But this LP recording was especially maddening. Apparently, the microphone for the performer's voice was wired with one polarity convention, but the pickup for the acoustic guitar was wired in reverse. Or perhaps the microphones used different pin-outs for hot and return signal. Since some mics used pin 1 ground, pin 2 hot, pin 3 negative, and some mics swapped pins 2 and 3, it could have been "correct wires to incorrect mics." Before I say anything more about that situation, I should probably touch briefly on absolute polarity. Since some advocates of the audibility of the concept can't even agree on how best to describe it, I'll go for my own simplistic description. First, you should know that there are two places where the original event's acoustic polarity could be inverted: (1) Somewhere in the recording chain (microphones, cables, mixer boards, microphone preamps, etc). (2) Somewhere in the playback system (a component may invert signal polarity, or it could be an incorrect speaker cable hook-up). Playback of proper acoustic polarity in a recording results in a recorded compression waveform when reproduced in a playback (home) system that maintains that acoustic polarity. Imagine saying 'punch' and projecting the word forcefully from your mouth. Exhaling. That's compression, similar in a way to positive 'absolute' polarity. Now, imagine saying the same word by pulling in the air as you say it. Inhaling. That's rarefaction, similar in a way to inverted absolute polarity. Unfortunately, systems that use loudspeakers that aren't particularly phase/time coherent may not show much of a difference. And more often than not, this is the source for comments such as "I may hear a difference, but it's no big deal" or even "I can't hear any difference. It's just an illusion." Not only is the effect of inverted absolute polarity audible, I actually ran a test in 1984 to verify that I could measure it on a home audio system I had installed. It was easily and repeatedly measurable at the listening seat. In general, a system that is non-polarity inverting (a positive waveform on the recording produces a positive waveform into the room) will sound clearer with recordings that have positive absolute polarity. Bass will have more attack on the leading edge. It'll be more defined. Vocals will be more 'present' on the soundstage. And treble will sound more 'correct,' not splashy and ill-defined. And then, sometime after my "good singer, bad guitar" incident, there was great news. Someone finally wrote a book about absolute polarity! In 1988, Modern Audio Association in Boston, Massachusetts, published Clark Johnsen's book, The Wood Effect, about the effects of absolute polarity. There is still a limited quantity of the second printing available. You can get his book by e-mailing Clark at clarkjohnsen@gmail.com . OK, why did I spend so much time on a phenomenon that many audiophiles and some reviewers ignore, as if it didn't exist? You need to know about the phenomenon in the event that you should inadvertently select two components to compare that happen to have opposite absolute polarities. Because the unfortunate result could be that you would make a mistake when evaluating a component, purely because it inverted absolute polarity when compared to another that did not. Additionally, more than a few power amplifiers and preamplifiers have an odd number of gain stages, which will result in inverted polarity (in both channels of course). I'm always amused when I read a review (especially if it's a rave review) about a product that I KNOW inverts absolute polarity. Did it mean that the product is even better than the reviewer thought, or did it mean the reviewer is slightly incompetent? Or did he catch it, but not write about it? Honestly speaking, this is an instance when purchasing an acoustic polarity indicator might be worth the expense even for a consumer who is considering an upgrade. Jim Smith 2008-12-03T14:35:35+00:00 http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-deal-with-room-treatment/ http://www.psaudio.com/ps/how-to/how-to-deal-with-room-treatment/#When:14:34:58Z This observation comes from over three decades of experience and hundreds (if not thousands) of successful critical installations. You definitely want to address the first horizontal reflection from each front speaker. I'm assuming that in most installations that there is a nearby wall or other object(s) that can reflect sound from the side of your speaker. It's not so much for correction of tonal balance (although it may be required if your speakers have uneven frequency response off axis), but it's mostly to prevent smearing of the sound. The slightly late arrival of reflected sound will muddy your overall sound and affect your imaging. Think of a stone dropped into a pool. The waves are like sound waves. If you drop a stone simultaneously near the edge of the pool, those waves will merge with and affect the original waves. Some audiophiles are surprised to find that with proper room treatments, including absorption, recorded reverberation will be increased, not diminished! For example, the sound of a choir singing a cappella in a large space will sound more spacious when you absorb the unwanted speaker/room reflections than it would if played in a live room without treatment. That's because unwanted room reflections are smearing and even covering the sound of the subtleties of recorded ambience, spaciousness, and acoustic delay. (1) The side walls where the sound reflects from the speaker and then arrives at your ear. (2) The area behind the listening seat. (3) As many corners as possible. If you determine that a secondary reflection from the other speaker is capable of reflecting at your seat, I'd consider addressing it as well. There are two other places where room treatments can help, but they may not be WAF friendly: (1) The first reflection on the ceiling from each speaker to your ear. (2) If you have bare floors, the first reflection on the floor from each speaker to your ear. Of course, carpet or area rugs can take care of the floor bounce issue in the mid and high frequencies. 2008-12-03T14:34:58+00:00