About Paul McGowan
Paul McGowan is the co-founder of PS Audio (The 'P' ) and has been designing, building and enjoying high end audio since 1974. He lives in Boulder Colorado with his wife Terri and his four sons: Lon, Sean, Scott and Rob. His hobbies include hiking, skiing, cooking, artisan bread baking. His current big project, other than playing with stereos, is writing a book series called the Carbon Chronicles. Book One, the Lost Chronicle, is a work in progress. You can view his efforts at http://www.paulmcgowan.com
Hi Paul, I was nervous about what you would say. You came out tops! I fight every day against nationalistic claptrap here in the UK. Ever since Brexit the country has gone downhill, and I watch from across the pond at the shenanigans going on in your homeland.
Stay strong and true!
Same here in the Netherlands. Great comment, Paul. Is president of the USA maybe something for you? (I’m not kidding!). Thanks for your wisdom.
Well said Paul,
All this discrimination and hate has to stop! Happen to love my turntable, even though the company is Canadian it’s manufactured in Taiwan. Who cares if it sounds excellent? Well, you would be surprised. When I recommended Fluance to a friend of mine he scoffed at it because the DC motor and turntable was mainly Taiwanese. I just looked at him and said, “ELAC, Yamaha and other manufacturers happen to be using the same exact motor in their turntables.” In fact, they may even be using the same Taiwanese manufacturer. He didn’t know what to say. But he’s certainly glad he bought the Fluance and couldn’t be happier with my less than $500 recommendation. You can crack the case cover on some companies that boast “American Made” and you will find electronic components from all over the globe. Sometimes the components or parts that we need to make High End or High Quality Audio products simply are not available in the United States. When you want to build something that’s excellent quality for your customers this will almost always be the case. As for Chinese made audio, some of it is spectacular. China has come a long way in the last 20yrs, their Tube Amplifiers alone prove it. Yaqin push/pull tube Amplifiers rolled to better high quality tubes produce a beautiful warm sound. China is very serious about HiFi. The SMSL made DAC is another excellent example of how far China has come. For someone just starting out with HiFi fever that’s unable to afford a higher end DAC, it’s a very wise choice for someone working with… we will say less than $1000 for everything including speakers. There’s nothing wrong in my opinion with having an awesome mixture of audio products from all over the globe. It’s not very popular, but there’s now a safe zone facebook group dedicated to Chinese Stereo & HiFi Fever, it was created because someone was sick and tired of people criticizing or talking trash about their Chinese made gear. We unfortunately live in a world where pessimistic people feel the need to continuously tear down others on social media. Grown adults bullying other grown adults about their stereo gear.
you never answered the question that i thought was asked instead you went on a liberal escapade
Glad you get it !
“Its time to make the world a little wiser. There are enough destroyers and critisizers. The world needs a healer” – Todd Rundgren
Hey Paul, thanks for having the balls to speak out against all the bullshit that’s going on in our country right now. This is not who we are.
Thanks for using your platform as a major hifi manufacturer to dispense some sanity. Those who will be offended will face their own karma.
Paul…you are an amazing person. Not only have you built a great company with products that are cutting edge and reasonably priced, but your wisdom and insight and the way you share them is an absolute inspiration. Thank you so much.
Paul, well said. I know this dark cloud of the past 4 years will pass, and we will get back to what makes America great and no longer be a punch lne and a joke. To much of the dark clouds have been allowed, with nothing good ever said, and that feeding those with simulair view points. People all over the world wake wake everyday like we do, want the same things and just want to live life. I worked for Sony and I had a few older folks call me a slant eyed SOB, where I was not even a Asian, it was because I worked for Sony. Another said “we should and killed more of you in WWII”. This type of feeling is what is being feed like red meat today to many.
So happy you stand up for America, because for 85% of us this is not who we are. Glad you employee and support so many vendors in our country, wish big corporations would be as deligent, but the stock market values drives them.
“I know this dark cloud of the past 4 years will pass, and we will get back to what makes America great and no longer be a punch lne and a joke. To much of the dark clouds have been allowed, with nothing good”
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It will for sure! Insane politicians come and go…what remains are the people who knowingly or blindly voted for them. That’s the real demolition to the states. The world will not forget for quite some time that the states still inherits them, just as the world didn’t forget that some other countries inherited people who supported insane historical developments there. This demolition just kind of more or less stops for most, when those supporters died out. It is frustrating to more frequently hear (outsides the states) that people don’t want to travel to those states anymore now for some time. This really is no rare statement unfortunately (although it only affects a part of them…but it’s a noticeable part).
I think the question was about the quality of parts and workmanship of audio gear coming out of China and that was a concern long before the pandemic. Highly rated components made in the USA or the UK were sent out to be made in China and audiophiles complained the quality dropped along with the sound. We love the people of China, its their tyrannical communist government that is the issue and those in this country who turn away from the exploitation of labor those poor people suffer from to save a buck should be ashamed. Lebron James lectures us about oppression in this country while he takes millions in endorsement money from Nike that exploits 20 cents a hour labor in overseas sweat shops. The people in China tried to fight for Democracy and their tyrannical government squashed them. We as a country cannot be dependent on or reward such a regime at the expense of our workers who lost their jobs to them or the expense of our national security. China experiments with bio weapons and there is still some suspicion around this virus and how it came out of their country. Doctors have escaped from China and are seeking asylum to tell the truth while other whistle blowers are never heard from again. The Chinese government also steals intellectual property from our country. They have no regard for our intellectual property and they have used it to strengthen their military not to make lives better for their people. To sum it up the people of China are wonderful people as you said Paul and should not be treated badly by Americans. But we need to keep an eye out for the spies from China living in our country and going to our universities sent here by their government to work and spy here. Some have been caught but that should not reflect poorly on the many Asian people who come here for a better life and love our country. They are the first ones to warn about the atrocities going on in that country including the inhumane treatment of animal’s.
And flag waving is much better than flag burning. I love my country and would never burn the flag. Try burning a flag in countries where there is dictatorship government’s and see what happens to you. North Korea tortured and killed an American student for trying to come back home with a poster suveniour.
Flag burners are not people who escaped the tyranny of socialist/communist countries, those people adore our country, they are organizations bought by globalist billionaiire socialists like George Soros a self proclaimed former Nazi collaborator who says he hates the USA. The organizations he and others like him support pays groups like ANTIFA to burn flags and turn peaceful protests into riots. Divide and conquer. That’s the plan of the new world order or what I call the new world disorder. They are the ones creating the racial unrest in this country. Not immigrants who escaped the clutches of dictators. Soros once called himself God. It’s a group of Bilderberg people who want to rule the world in a one world government and countries like China are their tool to get there. We must not sell out to that to save a buck. This country was formed to escape tyranny. The Kings and Queen dictators around the world. If we lose this country there’s no place left to go. God bless the USA.
Thank you Joe. Well said.
The whole world was aghast with the Rape of Nanking, and rightly so. The atrocities Japan committed in China were shocking. Then when we found out how Japan treated our WWII POWs the hatred became very personal. Of course the blame goes not to the Japanese people, but to its tyrannical imperialistic government forcing its people to execute profound evil.
Now our concern is for the tyrannical Chinese government with its quest for world dominance at any cost, a nation that openly surveils and ranks their own citizen and rewards or punishes based on the “quality of their citizenship”. Our hearts go out to the Chinese people persecuted by them and sent to reeducation camps. Muslims, missionaries, residents of Hong Kong and Taiwan weigh very heavy on our hearts. Conflating alarm about vile aggressive governments with racism is severely misguided. And yes, Joe; my Chinese friends will be the first to echo your alarm over the CPC. May we never forget lessons from Neville Chamberlain.
I think this guy really drank the bleach.
Just our opinions, no need for the insults. You don’t have to agree with it but insults don’t make your point. China is invading Hong Kong and has their sights on Taiwan. After they crushed and murdered their own people in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests when the people said give me democracy/liberty or give me death they will do the same in Hong Kong and Taiwan. If you are in bed with the devil you are an accomplice to that tyranny and oppression of their people and the slave labor that steals away our jobs and enslaves their people who have no way out of it because China is a dictatorship and not a democracy. We need to disengage from China and ween off their dependence unless you want a one world government ruled by China who are the ones leading a new world order of socialist/communist tyranny.
Standing ovation from me Joe…you nailed it…all of it.
Great response and if anything the pandemic should have made the world closer as we are all fighting a virus that knows no borders! The red meat feeding is making the country more weak. The history of America has been the advantage of the melting pot. Please vote to build an America in which all are allowed and expected to contribute. In the audio world of things, thanks for giving us the new Power Play information. I found it interesting that my 20 watt tube amp puts out 200 watts.
Well said Paul! Thanks for speak the truth about this nonsense issue going on in this country. We should look for honest companies working hard to provide the best possible products at any budget. If a Chinese company is able to produce any product with good quality at a better price due to their market conditions, good for them and good for the consumers that look for products in that budget. That is competition and that benefits the advance of the industry.
My first post
Great common sense answer – you can’t generalize everything or abdicate the power of thinking.
I bought my first Chinese audio product about 9 months ago. My Japanese Onkyo DP-x1a died suddenly. I had used it for car, mobile headphone listening and to experience MQA. I replaced it with a $300 Hiby R5 and have since added my first DSD files (Out if thin Air) to my listening delight. The Chinese R5 does everything My $700 Onkyo did and more- actually even better The only drawback is the small screen & font for aging eyes but I knew that beforehand from reviews.
Every decision We make should stand alone and benefits by applying fact and perspective- (whether audio or politics)
Touche!
Well said Sir!
Nationalism is not helpful for anybody!
Only to defend the country against all threats both foreign or domestic. Power should be in the hands of the people according to our Constitution, not billionaires or oligarchs.
Flag burners are not people who escaped the tyranny of socialist/communist countries, those people adore our country, they are organizations bought by globalist billionaiire socialists like George Soros a self proclaimed former Nazi collaborator who says he hates the USA. The organizations he and others like him support pays groups like ANTIFA to burn flags and turn peaceful protests into riots. Divide and conquer. That’s the plan of the new world order or what I call the new world disorder. They are the ones creating the racial unrest in this country. Not immigrants who escaped the clutches of dictators. Soros once called himself God. It’s a group of Bilderberg people who want to rule the world in a one world government and countries like China are their tool to get there. We must not sell out to that to save a buck. This country was formed to escape tyranny. The Kings and Queen dictators around the world. If we lose this country there’s no place left to go.
Very well said Joe
He is so delusional that he makes the same post twice. Bleach has affected him completely.
You should really keep your opinions and disrespectful comments to yourself!
I don’t agree with the politics of everyone here, but I give them the respect to not belittle them or make disrespectful comments to or about them. Take your hate speech somewhere else.
slangingham slangs again.
Feel better now?
Years ago I heard a $65,000 CD player from China. It was as amazing as one would have hoped.
“Is this an American design, built in China?”
No. Chinese all the way.
I get the point about treating people as fellow human beings and, by extension, evaluating audio components on the basis of value as opposed to other concerns. However, I get extremely ticked off by excuses made by either useful idiots (many in the academic and arts communities) or professional grifters (sports personalities and politicians who profit from Chinese dealings) who overlook the concentration camps and organ harvesting perpetrated by the CCP on the muslim Uyghurs, as well as a litany of human rights abuses and organized oppression. For my part, I will not buy any product knowingly made in China, in the fervent hope that economic hardship will eventually cause the CCP regime to collapse and a more humanistic government to evolve.
Thank you, Paul. Nicely stated.
As to Chinese gear….the best amp I ever owned was Chinese. I wish I still had it or could find another.
Also FWIW, I try my best to buy a car not only from a Japanses company, but one of the few that are actually built in Japan. Sadly, U.S. autos can’t compare to the build quality.
The point is, buy the best you can find.
I, a few hours ago, listened to your commentary. It has taken me some time to digest what you stated since close scrutiny of the video
was necessary. My reply does not reflect any political position or bias nor does it contain any request for a reply. Its just a response.
Item one-Flag Waving/Nationalism
In the U.S.A., at the present time, there is a dislike for the country. From my POV, this dislike has been nurtured by a main factor that our educational system, universally, has failed to meet the needs of the current century. I have attended meetings of Silicone Valley
company executives and one of the main problems they were having was that the current pool of workers have a reading level at the fifth grade and many CEOs have stated that they had to bring the language of their manuals to the seventh grade level. In addition, another problem discussed was that the current heard of workers fail to be able to work with each other creating other problems.
In my history, I was a member of Rotary Club for many years. Club members would always house school age students for a year in their homes and these students would attend the same high school that the U.S.A. students were in attendance. After many years I found out that most of the students would not get credit for the year the spent at H.S. in the U.S.A. because the level of education was not on par with their home country.
Your commentary about flag waving, which implies Nationalism in a deleterious way, is not what most industrial thinking people are stating. What I think of when I see Nationalism, is the recognition of the ability of a united people to create, build, and institute great
products, both industrial and social. U.S.A. is a free country and anyone, anyone, who wants to succeed can; We live in an open society
and all it takes is thought and the absence of fear and one can be successful, irrespective of prior failures.
Item Two: I’m living in paradise
As you sit in your lounge chair, in an atmosphere that you obtained by working and not throwing in the towel because of what some one said or did, is what this country is all about. If you have perseverance and prepare yourself for the quest, being successful is not difficult at all, nor to be ashamed of. I was rather upset by your comment “I know I’m sitting in paradise” reminds me a simple guilt for your success. Would you be happier with the alternative? Probably not, since that is not what happened!
Today, we are bathed by the enigma that “socialism” will remedy all problems. I recall, many many years ago listening to an interview of a woman, who was in her senior years, who grew up in Russia after the 1917 revolution. She stated that her father was a member of the post-revolution Duma. She stated that her living space was exquisite; her food supply mirrored the finest foods of Western Europe; her clothing was from France and in the Kremlin they predominantly spoke French since Russian was for the peasants. History tells us that Russia had stores for the ruling class where supplies mimicked what we experience in the U.S.A. and stores for the others where supplies if any were depleted by 9am. Conversation with friends who have lived in socialist communities in both Europe/Asia and Latin America today echo the aforementioned-and that is why the live in the U.S.A.
None of the U.S.A. press agencies have reported that the prosperity in our country has blossomed in the last few years. Unemployment, discarding the effects of the current virus, has been the lowest, 3.4%, as compared with the prior administration of 4.7%. Also, poverty is now 10%, the lowest in our history. I don’t hear anyone complaining that their investments have increased in value over the past 3 years.
Recall, our country was responsible for the industrial revolution.
I was going to expand my reaction to the video but I think this is enough. BTW I think the video should be processed through one of your regenerators, for credibility-the electrical signal seems fine!
Larryro2
Thanks, Larry. I figured this one post was a good one to respond to as many of the emotions have been removed. Thanks for that.
Couple of points first. The industrial revolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution was started in Britain and Europe and while we certainly participated I think it’s historically inaccurate to suggest our country was “responsible” for it.
Secondly, I am not sure what news you listen to (NPR for me), but it’s constantly reported that our economy’s at (was before the pandemic) at the lowest unemployment, highest stock market, etc. None could miss that. Been that way on a steady roll since Trump took over from Obama. He was handed a pretty sweet economy and he’s been growing it ever since. That’s certainly not gone unnoticed.
As to what I hear as a common complaint is about people disliking the country. That’s a rallying cry from one side to explain away the other side. I don’t dislike our country nor do any of the progressives I know or have read about. We all love our country and want to see it get better. And here’s the thing. Our country has a lot broken and it’s getting more broken. The desire to fix what’s broken is what drives progressives (or “liberals” or whatever you wish to classify people who want change) to want to change. As I have written many times, the desire to change, the freedom in our country to make public what is broken and needs fixing, should never be viewed as “disliking” the whole, but rather wishing for better.
Many conservatives wish the complaining would go away. I get it. If you’re white, well off, and happy, why would you wish for change? The common rhetoric answer is “I got here by the sweat of my hands and I deserve to keep what I have”. And the answer to that is, absolutely! No one wants to take it away from you. But, I think it’s healthy to remember many of us come from a position of privilege and within this country, a growing number of folks don’t have that to help them. They’ve got to overcome obstacles of race and economics to bubble up to the top.
It is by no means a level playing field and that is the crux of it. Level the playing field and progressives will quiet down.
Lastly, socialism. I know it’s popular to equate socialism with communism and that’s just wrong. I wish we had better words. No one on either side wants communism nor totalitarianism. We all support the free marketplace. The difference is simple. Progressives want a free marketplace with rules and boundaries, while conservatives want the same without them. We can argue all day long about which is best but that is the heart of it. And one last point on the socialism. Yes, many of us wish to reduce the wealth gap by increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans and spending that money on infrastructure and helping those at the very bottom of the pile that cannot do it themselves. A safety net if you will.
Again, I am not going to debate the merits of these differences, but it would sure be great if we could stop finger pointing and hate speech. If we could again discuss our differences as Larry did: calmly and without tearing down the others as bad people out to destroy our country. There are fringe elements on both sides of aisle, but let us not suggest those in the middle want anything but the best for our country.
Very powerfully and elegantly put!
Thank you, Paul—could not agree more.
Thank you Paul for this great statement. I can only second everything what you said and I am really happy, that I have bought an amp from a company that shares my values. In this very tough times where national- and anti-enlightenment movements obviously become more and more popular it is about time that we all stand up and clearly articulate what humanity is all about. Thank you again. You made my day, week, month, year with this.
Thomas (Germany)
In the late 1970’s I bought an Ibanez guitar, made in Japan. It was an accurate copy of a Gibson Les Paul, but at less than half the price of the Gibson. When I compared it with an authentic Gibson, it was apparent that Ibanez had closer manufacturing tolerances, neater workmanship, and a better finish. Japanese manufacturing had improved on the original. However, as nice as it looked, it wasn’t in the same league as the USA-built Gibson as a musical instrument. I wish I could have afforded the Gibson. In later years, Japanese manufacturers started to produce really nice playable instruments.
What I’m trying to say is that it’s not just the quality of the components that counts; it’s whether or not the designer really understands how to put the components together.