Paul's Posts

I run a pretty busy schedule. Which is often my lame excuse for failing to do something that deserved being done. It's not adequate as an excuse, but it's all... Read more...

Tipping point

The tipping point is when a whole lot of little things add up to big change. It is the point at which we move from one long-held state to a... Read more...

News cycles

The word "news" is defined as newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent or important events. We can get news from our family, neighbors, papers, radio, or on the... Read more...

Trading old for new

There's nothing better in my book than parting with older products for newer ones. It's exciting. It's a bit adventurous. It can sometimes be a bit of a nail-biter. But... Read more...

Design recipes

Our design process is like a recipe: 1 part inspiration, 1 part prior art, 1/2 a textbook circuit, a dash of proprietary technology, shake well, measure, then listen. If it... Read more...

Unsung heroes

When we think about audio electronics the emphasis is typically on the amplifier circuit itself: Class A, Class B, fully differential, tube, solid state. But what we rarely think about... Read more...

Chicanery

What a great word. It's used when a person sets out to deceive someone else. To win by deceit and dishonesty. To pull the wool over another's eyes in the... Read more...

Reality checks

When we attend a live concert we don't require a reality check. We know with our eyes and ears it's real. We see the musicians performing on the stage. The... Read more...

Harmonic riches

One of the reasons I love acoustic guitar is its wealth of harmonic richness. Contained in the pluck of a string or the strum of a chord is a treasure... Read more...

Healthy engineering

I am wired to be an engineer. From my earliest days, I was devising plans and schemes to work through problems in systematic ways. I built fantastic machines in my... Read more...

The artist

Japanese audio manufacturer Yamaha announced the release of their new 5000 series of audiophile products including a $15K pair of speakers, a $10K preamp and $10K amp. Their stated goal... Read more...

Other people

People like us do this; think and believe as we do. Other people do that; think and believe differently. Who exactly are the ones that don't think or act as... Read more...

Roughcut or polish?

Whether one is cutting a gemstone or building a high-performance music system, it's helpful to identify the order of work that brings the best results. You want to polish after... Read more...

Details, details, details

More than a few people have asked why their home theater systems seem to have more low-level details on music videos than their two-channel audio systems. Their conclusions are that... Read more...

Habits

There are good and bad habits. Some need to be broken, while others might benefit from tending and nurturing. It seems my bad habits outweigh my good ones, but that's... Read more...

The search for panaceas

Silver bullets kill werewolves. Penicillin cures all infections. Cod liver oil eases aches and pains. Aftermarket fuses always improve the sound. We're continuously in search of magic potions, silver bullets,... Read more...

How important is validation?

When my system choices hit the perfect sweet spot, and I know everything is just right, the first thing I want to do is share. "Come, you have to hear... Read more...

Why not both?

The best audio products in the world measure great and sound great too. At least that's what many of us want. What of the outliers? The ones that lean more... Read more...

Does polish hide perfection?

Much of modern music is perfect to the point of boredom: Singers not hitting the right notes are tone shifted. Drumkits are replaced by beat samples. Mistakes are corrected. Nothing... Read more...

Clearing the cruft

I was answering a New Zealand Hi-Fi Family member's question recently. Without warning, a question popped into my head. If he lives in New Zealand, where's the Old Zealand? The... Read more...

Country/Region

Country/Region