From the desk of Paul McGowan

Paul's Posts

Notes on music, gear, and the long pursuit of better sound. New most mornings.

Paul's Posts

More from Paul

  1. Turning wiggles into musicThe signal coming out of a phono cartridge is tiny—measured in millivolts for a moving magnet and microvolts for a moving coil. That's hundreds or even... Turning wiggles into music
  2. Wiggles into musicIf the turntable's job is to spin the record steadily, the cartridge's job is to turn the groove's tiny wiggles into music. And it's here, at... Wiggles into music
  3. Spinning the truthA turntable's job sounds simple: spin a record at exactly the right speed while a stylus traces the groove. Anyone who's set up a good turntable... Spinning the truth
  4. Making the conversionIf the transport's job is to deliver data cleanly, the DAC's job is to turn that data into music. And it's here, in the digital-to-analog conversion... Making the conversion
  5. Transporting the musicWhen I talk about digital sources, most people think of the DAC first. It gets the glory. But before any digital-to-analog conversion happens, something has to... Transporting the music
  6. It starts at the sourceToday marks the beginning of a new series. Over the next few weeks, I'd like to take a step back with you and revisit the full... It starts at the source
  7. Golden earsThe more you listen, the more you hear. I’ve learned to isolate aspects of sound—timbre, decay, dynamics—not just from technical training, but from focused listening. At... Golden ears
  8. Getting it rightIf you get the midrange right, everything else falls into place. The human ear is most sensitive between 300Hz and 3kHz. That’s where vocals live, where... Getting it right
  9. Color of silenceA quiet system isn’t just silent. It’s colorful. When noise disappears, music expands. The silence between notes becomes meaningful, full of tension or relief. That’s when... Color of silence
  10. ContrastsDynamics aren’t just about loud—they’re about contrast. I remember visiting a friend’s room where everything sounded big, but nothing stood out. It was as if the... Contrasts
  11. EmotionsSome systems are technically perfect—but emotionally flat. We always build systems focused on specs: low distortion, flat response, perfect alignment. But that's just the starting point.... Emotions
  12. The subwoofer secretThey're not about deeper bass. Most people add a subwoofer to get more bass or extend their speakers' low-frequency range. But that's backwards. The real reason... The subwoofer secret
  13. DecayThe end of a note tells you just as much as the beginning. Attack gets all the attention in audio reviews—how fast the transient is, how... Decay