Paul's Posts

Octave Radio streams as MP3. That often raises eyebrows, especially from those who know how seriously we take sound quality at Octave Records. After all, we record at some of... Read more...

Wait…Octave Radio is compressed?

When I talk about Octave Records, I usually bring up how we record at some of the highest bit depths and sample rates in the world. We don’t compress the... Read more...

The elephant in the room

Yesterday, we talked about the preamplifier as the system's gatekeeper—and how, perhaps surprisingly, it's the power supply that makes or breaks the whole design. At its core, a preamp is... Read more...

The gatekeeper

While we’re on the subject of preamplifiers, let’s take a moment to consider the new PMG Signature Preamplifier—a revolution in preamp design. We’ve been building preamps for a long time.... Read more...

Being misled

While we're on the subject of words and how they impact our thought processes and opinions on high-end audio, another instance occurred to me. In our new PMG Signature 512... Read more...

The language trap

In yesterday’s post, I talked about cables and the common myth that they can “add” sonic flavors—like brightness, warmth, or thickness. The only reason that the additive myth even has... Read more...

The cable myth

Cables don’t add. They only take away. That’s the big myth we audiophiles often wrestle with—this idea that a cable has a sonic personality, a character it imparts onto the... Read more...

Sometimes…

…you just have to skirt the rules and step up to the plate (and I'll get to the meat of that comment in a moment), but what inspired this post... Read more...

Making sense

Some things in high-end audio don’t make sense—until they do. Or don't. Take burn-in. You’ve heard the arguments. Some folks insist it’s snake oil, others swear by it. Even after... Read more...

Ideas that change everything

If you're running your DAC straight into a power amplifier, and you're not using it at full volume, you're not hearing all it can do. Let’s revisit the problem we've... Read more...

Radical architecture

Yesterday, I told you about Chris Brunhaver's suggestion to replace the digital volume control in our new DAC, the PMG Signature 512, with an analog stepped attenuator at its output. ... Read more...

Off the cuff

Sometimes big things start with a throwaway line. We were deep in development on our upcoming reference DAC, the PMG Signature 512, working out the particulars every new technology demands:... Read more...

Audio and rabbits

Audio problems are like rabbits—solve one, and two more pop up. A few days ago, we were going on about balanced interconnects and why we don't need balanced speaker cables:... Read more...

The neutral myth

We audiophiles love to chase neutrality. We want our systems to be a perfect window into the recording, free of colorations or biases. But here’s the thing: true neutrality doesn’t... Read more...

Musical chairs

We all know that pulling the speakers away from the front wall improves imaging. But not everyone has the space—or the domestic negotiation skills—to do it. If your speakers must... Read more...

Getting lost

It’s easy to get lost chasing specs, topologies, and cable types. Happens to the best of us, right? Balanced or single-ended. Differential or ground-referenced. Small signal, big signal. It’s enough... Read more...

Equal amplifiers

Not all power amplifiers are created equal. In yesterday's post, we touched on the idea of a balanced power amplifier, known to us engineering nerds as a bridged amplifier. Here's... Read more...

When balanced doesn't matter

In the last couple of posts, I've explained why a balanced small signal from source to preamp matters. A balanced signal can enjoy the benefits of CMR (common mode rejection)... Read more...

Small vs. big

In yesterday's post, we discussed how balanced vs. single ended signals work. But what we are going to touch on today is where size matters. Balanced is important to small... Read more...

A question of balance

I've been an advocate of balanced audio connections for many, many years. Readers of my blog posts no doubt have heard me wax enthusiastically about the virtues of going with... Read more...

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