Posted 3 weeks ago
Does pure multi-channel audio have a place in the broader world of high-performance audio or should it stay as a home theater format? This viewer wants to know why it is so rare to find high-quality multi channel audio.
Posted 3 weeks ago
This viewer considers stereo a gimmick and much prefers the sound of his two-channel audio system as mono rather than its intended stereo image. Can mono have 3-dimensional sound characteristics?
Posted 3 weeks ago
Power amplifiers are some of the most critical pieces to a high-performance audio system yet often times they are either misunderstood or under appreciated. Paul Explains why.
Posted 3 weeks ago
Stacking stereo equipment runs the risk of interference from magnetic fields. Do chassis effectively keep out those magnetic fields and if so, how do we know which ones do a better job?
Posted 4 weeks ago
We are told to pay attention to an amplifier's damping factor and that it is something that controls speakers, yet, just what is damping factor and how is it calculated?
Posted 4 weeks ago
We know that potentiometers (volume controls) sound best at their highest levels, so what happens when there's also a pair of high efficiency speakers connected to that same system?
Posted 1 month ago
Paul pulls back his kimono on sound of the crazy stuff he did in Europe and shares some family secrets about the music scene in Munich and his time with musicians Elton John and Giorgio Moroder.
Posted 1 month ago
Since LPs are built around older technology do they actually sound best when played on the same vintage equipment as they were originally designed for?
Posted 1 month ago
With the advent of the Loudness Wars it seems practical to ask for a standard minimum dynamic range for recordings to get us back to where we'd like to be.
Posted 1 month ago
We know that new speakers require a degree of break in to sound their best, but what about maintenance? Do they lose their elasticity over time and what should we do about that?
Posted 1 month ago
Several accessory companies manufacture and sell extremely expensive ground boxes and this customer wants to know if they work and why. Paul says it doesn't matter if they work or not, there's a bigger issue at stake.
Posted 1 month ago
In order to hear the softer passages of classical music this viewer has to turn up the level of his system beyond what makes sense for when things get loud.
Posted 1 month ago
Most stereo sales people ask a lot of questions of customers before giving advice. Why do they do this and how should this viewer answer them?
Posted 1 month ago
We often see low THD figures in specification sheets of hifi equipment but do those numbers have anything to do with hum and hiss in equipment?
Posted 1 month ago
Does Total Harmonic Distortion numbers tell us anything about the amount of hiss and noise present in a stereo product?
Posted 1 month ago
This viewer is a bass instrument musician and he finds it difficult to follow the bass line of his instrument on his current setup. Is there anything he can do?
Posted 1 month ago
When subwoofers are concerned does a carpet hamper the output especially if that subwoofer is a down firing style? This viewer believes that the furry protection from the floor will restrict his bass.
Posted 1 month ago
The Infinity IRSV is one of the best loudspeaker systems in the world and, at the same time, one of the most intimidating. How does their crossover work and how does someone actually tune such a system?
Posted 1 month ago
Is the best crossover for a loudspeaker a single pole, single capacitor for the tweeter? This viewer has heard he should rip out the guts of his 2-way speaker pair and get out the soldering iron.
Posted 1 month ago
Hifi systems depend on room acoustics for their performance level. If one has the opportunity to start from scratch and build the ideal room, what might those dimensions be?
Posted 1 month ago
When building a high-performance home theater system is it better to use in-wall components or on-wall boxes and why? This viewer is anxious to build his own home theater and do it right.
Posted 1 month ago
We hear about "musically involving" systems but what does that actually mean? How do we determine if a hifi system is musical and what of systems that aren't this way?
Posted 1 month ago
Some power amplifiers have two sets of output binding posts for each channel. What is the purpose of these twins?
Posted 1 month ago
Years ago there was a massless tweeter called the Blueflame and it was an incredible sounding high-frequency driver. Whatever happened to that tweeter and the Hill Pasmatronic speakers?
Posted 1 month ago
The RIAA curve is a rather dramatic equalization network applied to record albums and 45s over the last half-century. Why is it there, what does it do, and when can we expect it to be retired?