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size-O-meter
One of the least intuitive—but most important—methods of controlling image size is using the volume control. More volume, bigger image. If I am playing an easy to identify instrument, like...
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Music selections
If you want to hear how a system performs, really get a measure of what it's capable of, then you probably should select some music that shows off its best...
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A note about masks
I know this is perhaps the last thing in the world you want to read about. We've all heard enough about the pandemic and come here for a bit of...
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The Audiophile's Guide
I have been making steady progress in writing The Audiophile's Guide. This will be a new series of books, the first of which is The Stereo. The Stereo will be...
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Holograms
There are numerous aspects to the high-end audio system: tonality, resolution, inner detail, micro, and macro dynamics, and of course, the holographic image. Whether your system provides little more than...
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40 chief engineers
When reader Chris Kelley sent me this ad for the Harmon Kardon TA-120 receiver, an ear-to-ear smile flashed across my face. The ad's how they dealt with the move from...
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Setting an example
Whenever we do a tradeshow (remember those?) we always place the stack of electronics squarely between the two speakers—perhaps the worst place when good sound is at stake. I often...
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Nagging questions
I'm often asked the same question: If the ultimate goal is to perfectly recreate what was on the recording, then why wouldn't we be duplicating the monitoring systems in recording...
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The good old days
Everyone's so serious these days. You go to a channel like Fox with their mix of facts, opinions, and sensationalism, and it's all presented with such seriousness. It kind of...
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Room for change
It is comforting to feel our rooms are fixed and it's our equipment that must change. And while it's true that changing equipment has an immediate impact on what we...
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Unexpected magic
In order to keep up with our engineering load of 8 major ongoing projects our Director, Barry Solway—an accomplished software engineer, project manager, and gifted author—has hired a few interns...
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Gluten free peanuts
Ever notice how some products advertise meaningless features? I can recall companies in our industry touting magnetically isolated AC power, low ESR caps on housekeeping circuits, and rhodium plated knobs....
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Ear focus
As engineers, we focus our efforts on what we can quantify by measuring, evaluating, and finding some form of commonality we can all agree upon. Perhaps the easiest is the...
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Dealing in emotions
When we first started PS Audio some 46 years ago I really thought we were in the business of wringing every last drop of musical purity out of the music....
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In the moment
When Copper Magazine cover artist Bob DAmico forwarded me a video of Le Petit Chef I watched with utter fascination. What I found riveting was not just the brilliance of...
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Rocks and hard places
When designing a loudspeaker one of the most difficult problems turns out to be the crossover. Marrying the falling response of the woofer as it climbs higher in frequency to...
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Which sounds better?
Here are snapshots of two power amplifier's spec sheets. Would these two amplifiers sound different driving the same easy load? If different, which one would you choose? Why? I can...
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Listening to the room
The next time you walk into your living room, music room, or wherever you listen to your HiFi rig, have a listen not to the stereo but to the room...
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Sharpness vs. clarity
When reader Kyle Teal asked me to explain the difference between sharpness and clarity, I lit up. What a great question. Thank you, Kyle. Sharpness is characterized by its edges,...
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Juneteenth
On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." A brave beginning to...
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