Paul's Posts

Watching a TV show the other day, and the main character turned to the other and said, "Ask yourself this question." Ask yourself? Who exactly is doing the talking here?... Read more...

Effortless

We're happiest when we aren't aware of the effort required to get somewhere. Years ago, I was driving an old VW bus with its standard "adequate" engine. If I wanted... Read more...

The how

When we capture and convert audio waveforms, how we do it matters. For example, if we're making a recording onto the old standard of magnetic tape, we're going to lose... Read more...

Making sense of the impossible

Take a pair of Stellar M1200 power amplifiers, connect both to a 15 amp 120-volt line, and play your system as loud as you dare. It'll sound amazing and it... Read more...

Up and over

When we want more of a good thing, it's important to understand which "more" matters. Take upsampling and oversampling: buzzwords tossed around like spare change. Both processes offer more but... Read more...

Disruption

PS Audio was founded on the idea of disrupting the marketplace. In 1974, we launched a $59.95 phono stage that challenged the 20X more expensive competition. And we didn't stop... Read more...

Finding your way

The first step in planning any journey is to know where you're going. That piece of wisdom might seem obvious but you'd be surprised how many folks make decisions of... Read more...

The sound of jitter

I am often asked what jitter sounds like. Hmmmm. On the surface, it's a pretty reasonable question. After all, we can say that large amounts of distortion like IM sound... Read more...

Progress and learning

Out of the more than 50 albums Octave Records had recorded, one of our proudest moments was when we got the chance to capture the performance of world-famous cellist Zuill... Read more...

Audio myths

I recently got a terse note explaining to me there is no such thing as a shielded power cable despite my saying there is. How dare I claim such a... Read more...

Winning the lottery

What would your HiFi system look like if you won the lottery? It's a question worth asking. If you could have anything you want, what might that be? Mine would... Read more...

Listening and hearing

The two words seem the same, but they are not. Listening is casual while hearing is with intent. I am listening all the time. My ears never go to sleep. ... Read more...

Skill and ingredients

As a reasonably competent photographic hack (you can see my photo gallery here), I can confidently say that Ansel Adams could take a better picture regardless of equipment. Give him... Read more...

Contradicitions

Contradictions are all around us. For a musical example, John Lennon's lyrics, "Happiness Is a Warm Gun" from The Beatles' 1968 White Album was a contradiction taken from a magazine ad... Read more...

I am an engineer…

…and I don't find this very convincing. Well, of course you don't. How could you? You've never given it the time of day. One of the classic traps we find... Read more...

The size of hardware

Hardware is getting smaller and smaller. The original computers were the size of small auditoriums, while today, they can fit on the head of a pin. This miniaturization has worked... Read more...

A badge of honor

I was recently referred to as a lunatic. The incident happened when I was attempting to explain the difference in recording techniques between Octave Records' new studio and the big... Read more...

The argument

Most arguments arise out of a basic misunderstanding. I declare the sky is blue; you argue it's gray, and we realize we're not in the same city. In one of... Read more...

It's easy!

Boy, how many times have you heard that tired line, "it's easy"? Lots of stuff is "easy" if you know how to do it. But, for the person standing on... Read more...

A far cry from "normal"

"I have had quite a number of younger people sit down in front of my high end system and literally weep. I think everyone just settles for Bose, Apple, Sonos,... Read more...

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