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Corners
Corners look harmless. A little molding, a houseplant, maybe a lamp. But sonically? They’re landmines. Corners reinforce bass. Every room mode—the low-frequency pressure waves that build up between walls, floor,...
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The perfect triangle
We all want that perfect triangle—speakers spread out just right, listening chair set back, toe-in dialed to a hair’s width. But what happens when your room doesn’t play nice? Maybe...
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Damper
We all want tight bass. That quick, punch-you-in-the-chest kind of bass that starts and stops on a dime. And somewhere along the way, a lot of folks started chasing big...
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Smearing
Negative feedback is one of those engineering tools that’s both brilliant and dangerous. It lowers distortion, flattens gain, extends bandwidth. It can also make things sound worse—if you use too...
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On or off axis
We all love that moment when the speakers disappear. A stage opens up between—and beyond—the boxes, and musicians snap into place like holograms. Pinpoint imaging and an expansive stage. But...
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Imaging vs. Soundstage
They’re not the same. Imaging is precision. That violin is right there, not two inches left or right. The voice stays put, locked in space. Soundstage is size. Width. Depth....
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The power of quiet
We talk a lot about volume—power, headroom, slam. But for me, the real magic often starts with quiet. Not silence. Music needs silence like a photo needs contrast. It’s the...
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Our kind of trouble
Yesterday I was reminded of my father's lie detector and how, as kids, we got into plenty of trouble. Orange fights. Dummy pranks. Jail time, even. But the kind of...
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The lie detector
When I was a kid, my dad built a lie detector out of a Heathkit. He tested it on me and my sisters, certain one of us was pilfering quarters...
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When wrong is right
Sometimes, being “wrong” sounds better. That was a tough pill to swallow when I fist started out on this audio journey. I’d spend hours chasing distortion figures only to sometimes...
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Chasing the illusion
What's the goal of high-end audio? Strip away all the technical talk and what are we really after? The answer is simple: we want to create an illusion so convincing...
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Mr. Spock
In 1966, the year I graduated from high school, Mr. Spock pressed his fingers to the side of a man’s face and said, “My mind to your mind. My thoughts...
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Good listeners
Last night, after everyone had gone home, I sat in the Listening Lab, closed my eyes, and let the music wash over me. I wasn't analyzing the sound. I was...
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Old gear
When your spouse starts remodeling, you learn two things fast: nothing is safe, and you’re about to get a new job. In my case? Curator. Terri’s been giving PS Audio’s...
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Time
Anything worth doing takes time. And the more it matters, the longer it usually takes. To wit: building a great hi-fi system isn’t a weekend project. It’s a journey—sometimes slow, often...
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The battle
You can’t win an argument with a room. But you can learn how to make peace with it. Every audiophile hits this wall at some point (pun intended). You upgrade the...
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It's not that simple
We don’t hear with just our ears. It's our ear/brain connection and training that makes it all work. Good to understand our ears are mere sensors. Microphones. It’s the brain that...
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Quiet
It’s not the notes that make the music. It’s the space between them. That may sound poetic—even wrong—but any musician will tell you—it’s true. Silence isn’t just the absence of sound;...
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Salt
You can tell how good a cook is by how they use salt. It’s the simplest ingredient—but also the easiest place to mess things up. Same goes for amplifiers. Big, powerful...
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Convenience
Convenience always wins… until it doesn’t. We’ll trade almost anything for ease—until we remember what we lost in the process. That’s kind of how I feel about CDs and SACDs. Right...
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