Do rooms affect recordings?
Posted 13 hours ago
When a performer gets close to a microphone how much does that affect the reverberation and room noises?
ASK PAUL
Have a burning question for our founder, Paul McGowan? How something works? How to get the most out of your system? Tubes? Transistors? Streaming? Servers? Stories?
Paul will answer one question each day and share it “live” and unrehearsed on video. Submit your own question through the form on this page and Paul will answer those chosen by our editorial staff. Please leave your first name, location, and email address so we can credit you for asking.
Don’t miss a video; sign up to our YouTube Channel here:
Is Ethan Winer’s test infallible?
Posted 1 day ago
Is Winer's null test infallible or can it be fooled? Find out the facts and the truth behind this testing method from Paul.
What’s the worst shape for a room?
Posted 2 days ago
Of all the hundreds of rooms you've visited and setup systems in what's the absolute worst you've seen or could imagine?
What is Ferrofluid?
Posted 3 days ago
Ferrofluid in loudspeaker drivers was all the rage years ago. What is it and is it really a magic potion for speaker performance or BS?
What’s the best combination of amp and speaker?
Posted 4 days ago
High efficiency loudspeaker and small amplifier or the opposite? What's the best sounding combination of amp and speaker?
Coaxial vs. conventional 2-way loudspeakers
Posted 5 days ago
A coaxial driver combines both a woofer and a tweeter together but is this the best way to build a loudspeaker?
Do automatic voltage regulators work?
Posted 6 days ago
An automatic voltage regulator can provide long term stability for the house when voltages are unsteady, but are they needed or even desirable in a high-end stereo system?
Should rooms be dead or alive?
Posted 1 week ago
What's the perfect listening room? Is it acoustically dead or alive? Paul shares with us the secrets of achieving the perfect listening room.
How should speakers present an image?
Posted 1 week ago
How wide of an image should a high-end stereo system present and how does it do that?
What’s the best room direction for speaker placement?
Posted 1 week ago
Do speakers work best firing into the length of a rectangular room or the width? Audio expert Paul McGowan shares what he knows.
Is there a way to ensure good AC power?
Posted 1 week ago
What can we ask of an electrician to ensure good AC power from our home when it comes to our listening rooms, and how important is that power?
The Big Move
Posted 1 week ago
After more than a decade and a half of faithful service to PS Audio and our guests, and playing host to designing every product we currently manufacture, Music Room One is finally at its end of life. Watch as we dismantle this iconic room and move it across the street to its new home.
The best way to combine home theater and 2-channel
Posted 1 week ago
Most people aren't lucky enough to have both a dedicated home theater and 2-channel audio system. So what's the secret to having both?
Is it time to rethink our power grid?
Posted 1 week ago
Back in the days of Thomas Edison and Nicola Tesla there was a huge debate whether to go AC or DC with our power grid. Paul answers if we should be rethinking this when it comes to our audio systems.
Can compressed music be used for voicing?
Posted 1 week ago
The age old problem of high resolution speakers and audio gear is the better the system the worse bad recordings sound. This is a real problem because so much good music is poorly recorded.
Does DSD have a future?
Posted 2 weeks ago
DSD is the finest sounding recording medium. Far better and more analog-like than PCM which is everywhere. But, does it have a future in the recording industry?
What’s the best sounding volume control?
Posted 2 weeks ago
Volume controls of all kinds affect sound quality in negative ways, some more than others. Is there one type of level control that's better than all others and if so, why?
Is Bluetooth high-end?
Posted 2 weeks ago
With the advent of Bluetooth 5 is it time to consider Bluetooth as good as wired audio? Is there a chance we can ever get high fidelity out of this low resolution streaming media?
Should rock music have a soundstage?
Posted 2 weeks ago
It's apparent that classical music should have a soundstage because most of it is recorded on a stage, but what about rock and modern music close mic'ed in a recording studio and without benefit of a soundstage to begin with?
Are PS amplifiers designed to meet a price?
Posted 2 weeks ago
When PS Audio designs an amplifier or preamplifier is it to a predefined price point or does the designer get free reign with however much they wish to spend and make the best they know how?
How to integrate subs with full range speakers
Posted 2 weeks ago
Full range loudspeakers aren't as full range as most people believe and they benefit from the addition of a subwoofer. How is this done and how does one know when they are needed or not?
Do double blind tests work?
Posted 2 weeks ago
The double blind test where neither the subject nor the interviewer knows what's being tested is assumed to be the gold standard in unbiased testing. Yet, there are problems with this method when evaluating sound quality.
Would dedicated lines cause ground loops?
Posted 3 weeks ago
Running separate ground and power lines for each piece of audio or video equipment is a smart way to run your system for best sound quality. But are there problems from ground loops and their hum?
Why should tweeters be ear level?
Posted 3 weeks ago
Tweeters are said to be best when at the same vertical height as the listener's ears. Is that true and if so why? This viewer disagrees with that assessment and grilles Paul.
Has Paul McGowan become jaded?
Posted 3 weeks ago
With nearly 50 years of experience in the high-performance audio field this viewer wants to know Paul's level of commitment and enjoyment of what he does for a living.