Paul's Posts

You can make a digital copy of a vinyl record and lose nothing, but the other way around doesn't work. What does that say? Logically, I would suspect the conclusion... Read more...

The process

When we see new products come off the showroom floor, we're thrilled. Shiny, new, and ready for your living room. Rarely do we think about what went into their creation.... Read more...

Warm and comfy

In yesterday's post, I wrote about the "problem" of a revealing system. Great recordings sound amazing while poor recordings can wrinkle the nose. Would it make sense to reintroduce controls... Read more...

The Vaseline Filter

When photography in the 1940s got to the point of technological progress where films could capture the smallest of details, actors and actresses freaked out. Suddenly, every wrinkle, wart, and... Read more...

Taste buds

Do we ever question our taste buds? The subjective nature of our tastes—what I like versus what you like—is an easy concept to accept. It doesn't surprise us when a... Read more...

Steady Eddie

When we look at a loudspeaker's impedance spec, we see it's either 4Ω or 8Ω, right? Steady Eddie. 4Ω or 8Ω. Only that's not entirely true. With few exceptions, those... Read more...

Dream equipment

Ever wonder what your magic wand product would be? That's often how I start my internal process of imagining a new product. I figure out what would float my boat... Read more...

Coming out of the closet

Trying to make a 2-channel high-end system play in a closet is about as futile as playing it outside. Neither will work. That's because the room is a major component... Read more...

Depth

We've all heard it. A voice, an instrument, some sort of sound so far back in the soundstage that it appears to be outside the walls of the room. A... Read more...

Unintended consequences

From as far back as I can remember, I had a penchant for pushing buttons. I can still vividly recall the look of anger on a dozen faces after I... Read more...

Take a moment

In today's polarized environment, where it seems like you're either for or against one thing or another, I think it might behoove us to step back just a smidge and... Read more...

Owning music

"I don't want to own music anymore". What an interesting turn of events in this era of streaming. When I started in this field, fifty years ago, our collection of... Read more...

Feeling threatened

In one of my videos, which you can watch here, I take folks on a tour of the new Octave studio's control room. Octave Studios and Octave Records are passion projects... Read more...

Power supply phasing

How important is the AC phase to your connected equipment? And while we're on the subject, what about the actual audio signal itself? Swap red and black on your speaker... Read more...

Beer budgets

One of my more controversial YouTube videos seems to be one where a customer reached out and asked the proverbial question: "If I have champagne tastes but only a budget... Read more...

Simple

You don't want to eat raw potatoes. We cook potatoes for a couple of reasons: to eliminate the toxin solanine that causes nausea and headaches and to break down the... Read more...

Megan Burtt

How cool is it when an Octave Artist makes it to the big time? Megan Burt recorded one of our more popular albums on Octave, Shelter. It's a wonderful album... Read more...

Ordinary people

A common question confuses me. What equipment would be best for ordinary people? I don't know what that means. Are we speaking about non-audiophiles? The uninitiated? Someone who doesn't like... Read more...

A rose in spring

One of our HiFi Family members, Roy, wrote a beautiful note to us this morning and I wanted to share his thoughts on his new purchase. Those thoughts of his... Read more...

Reading about living

"I finally get it!" Aren't those amazing words? A light shines brightly. The answer's right in front of you. I watched with great pleasure as a guest new to our... Read more...

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