Paul's Posts

Fact or fiction? The very term luxury defines whatever it is added to as unnecessary. Air and water are necessities. Love and affection are luxuries. But while many would argue... Read more...

Power supplies are equal in importance to amplifier circuits

Fact or fiction? I've been designing electronic circuits for 50 years. It took nearly half that number of years for me to finally come to grips with the importance of... Read more...

Amplifier headroom matters

Fact or fiction: an amplifier with 10 times more power than the speaker needs sounds better than one more closely matched? The short answer is often yes, but it's worth... Read more...

Vinyl is more musical than digital

Fact or fiction? This fascinating concept has been around since 1982, the year of the Compact Disc's introduction. And, in 1982, it was true and remained so for nearly two... Read more...

Does expensive equipment always sound better?

Today's fact or fiction question is a little like the old chestnut: does throwing money at a problem always work? The answer's as old as the question: of course not... Read more...

Performance above 20kHz matters

Fact or fiction? Does amplifier performance above 20kHz matter? This question came first in our list of Fact or Fiction because it's a fairly easy one to answer but the... Read more...

Fact or fiction?

I thought it might be fun to start a mini-series called Fact or Fiction: dispelling or accepting audiophile beliefs. Not to get political, but when it has somehow become acceptable... Read more...

The midbass dilemma

Midbass is that all-important frequency range between 200Hz and 500Hz and covers the most important instruments in our musical libraries: voice, cello, viola, brass, tympani, woodwinds, bass, guitar. Just about... Read more...

Shooting down troubles

One of the hallmarks of a good technician is an ability to troubleshoot problems. It's an art, actually, but one that fortunately can be taught. When we are faced with... Read more...

The gift of learning

My oldest son, Lon, set up a fine little system in his office: a Sonos Connect, Sprout100, an optical cable, and a pair of Focal Chorus 706 bookshelf speakers. I... Read more...

Through a $99 boombox

I appreciate the wisdom of other voices, voices that don't always agree with my own but none the less have merit. Such is the case with my good friend Bill... Read more...

Guts vs. brains

Most of us like to imagine the choices we make are well thought out intelligent ones. But on closer examination, I wonder how often that's true? I don't know about... Read more...

Hitting the mark

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni or more commonly known by his first name Michelangelo is credited with saying: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim... Read more...

Importance is relative

We strive to handle important issues first to make way for follow up problems later. Like choosing the right blend of equipment vs. connecting it together. The first trumps the... Read more...

The magician's curse

Following yesterday's video of the isolation benefits offered by placing ISO feet on a pair of Focals—benefits clearly audible even on an iPhone microphone—my inbox was summarily flooded with a... Read more...

Does isolation really work?

We've all heard the claims that isolating a piece of equipment or a set of loudspeakers makes a noticeable improvement in the sound. But, is it true? While at RMAF... Read more...

Walking in other shoes

I remain flummoxed by the sound I heard in some rooms at RMAF: sound that was so bad it reminded me more of the noise a cat makes when you... Read more...

Journey or destination?

One of our forum posters asked an interesting question this morning. "Why don't you just copy the speaker Arnie Nudell built already? Why improve what has already been established as... Read more...

Different strokes

Audio shows like RMAF are wonderful venues for learning new things and seeing new products. I wander the show and poke my head in rooms new to me in the... Read more...

Contrasts

We judge music's loudness by its dynamic contrasts. Which is why a piece like Aaron Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man sounds so very loud despite the fact the majority... Read more...

Country/Region

Country/Region