Paul's Posts

In 1966, the year I graduated from high school, Mr. Spock pressed his fingers to the side of a man’s face and said, “My mind to your mind. My thoughts... Read more...

Good listeners

Last night, after everyone had gone home, I sat in the Listening Lab, closed my eyes, and let the music wash over me. I wasn't analyzing the sound. I was... Read more...

Old gear

When your spouse starts remodeling, you learn two things fast: nothing is safe, and you’re about to get a new job. In my case? Curator. Terri’s been giving PS Audio’s... Read more...

Time

Anything worth doing takes time. And the more it matters, the longer it usually takes. To wit: building a great hi-fi system isn’t a weekend project. It’s a journey—sometimes slow, often... Read more...

The battle

You can’t win an argument with a room. But you can learn how to make peace with it. Every audiophile hits this wall at some point (pun intended). You upgrade the... Read more...

It's not that simple

We don’t hear with just our ears. It's our ear/brain connection and training that makes it all work. Good to understand our ears are mere sensors. Microphones. It’s the brain that... Read more...

Quiet

It’s not the notes that make the music. It’s the space between them. That may sound poetic—even wrong—but any musician will tell you—it’s true. Silence isn’t just the absence of sound;... Read more...

Salt

You can tell how good a cook is by how they use salt. It’s the simplest ingredient—but also the easiest place to mess things up. Same goes for amplifiers. Big, powerful... Read more...

Convenience

Convenience always wins… until it doesn’t. We’ll trade almost anything for ease—until we remember what we lost in the process. That’s kind of how I feel about CDs and SACDs. Right... Read more...

Taking measures

Not everything that counts can be measured. And not everything that’s measured counts. That’s one of those cliches we audiophiles like to pull out when a piece of gear sounds magical—even... Read more...

First!

You never forget your first car, your first apartment, or your first stereo that made music feel real. That’s because “firsts” are the spark that starts the fire. For me,... Read more...

The clap

Nobody claps at a recording. We only clap when it feels live. That’s because what moves us isn’t just the sound—it’s the presence. The sense that someone is there, playing just... Read more...

Being moved

You don’t have to see wind to feel it, and you don’t need to hear a subwoofer to know it’s missing. That lowest octave—from 20Hz to 40Hz—is mostly felt, not... Read more...

Chasing the illusion

A photograph can be sharp and still feel lifeless, and a painting can be blurry and still move you to tears. That’s the strange truth we live with every day. A... Read more...

Words can get in the way

Language is a funny thing. It helps us get close to truth—but it rarely brings us all the way. We say a preamp is “direct coupled from input to output,”... Read more...

Looks can be deceiving

You can’t judge a book by its cover, and you sure can’t judge a house by how clean the living room is. Surface impressions might be tidy and impressive, but... Read more...

It Starts with the Engine

A car only goes as far as its engine takes it. No matter how sleek the design or how skilled the driver, if the engine’s weak or temperamental, the ride’s... Read more...

Who needs a preamp?

You don’t often find a tire shop recommending shoes. And that's human nature—if a company doesn’t make a certain product, they’re probably not going to champion its importance. Which brings... Read more...

Power IS the signal

It took me a long time to fully appreciate that the power we feed our systems is the signal. Think about it. Every sound that comes out of a loudspeaker... Read more...

Winning an argument

It’s hard to win an argument with a spec sheet. Digital trounces vinyl. Lower noise, wider dynamic range, flatter frequency response. In theory—and in measurement—digital wins every time. And yet,... Read more...

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