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. The damping factor mythNumbers can look impressive, but they don’t always mean what we think they do. Audiophiles are often drawn to specifications because they seem like objective markers... The damping factor myth
  2. More about power suppliesA day or two ago, we were discussing power supplies, and I mentioned switched-mode devices. The high-end community has traditionally eschewed these, but over time, like... More about power supplies
  3. Magnets vs. wiresOne of the oldest debates in audio design is whether to couple signals magnetically, through transformers or inductors, or to pass them directly through wiring and... Magnets vs. wires
  4. Different siliconAt the heart of most amplifiers are transistors, and two of the most common types are field-effect transistors (FETs) and bipolar junction transistors (BJTs). On a... Different silicon
  5. Why Power Supplies MatterEvery component in an audio system is at the mercy of its power supply. The circuits may handle the signal, but the signal itself rides on... Why Power Supplies Matter
  6. The Truth About Signal-to-Noise RatioSignal-to-noise ratio is one of the most misunderstood specifications in audio. It’s supposed to tell us how much louder the music is than the background noise... The Truth About Signal-to-Noise Ratio
  7. ResolutionResolution and musicality are often set in tension, but they don’t have to be opposites. Resolution refers to how much detail a system can reveal—the ability... Resolution
  8. Warmth and coolnessHere are two terms we often use when describing the performance of a system, despite the fact they have nothing to do with temperature. Warmth and... Warmth and coolness
  9. Speed and transient attackSpeed in audio isn’t about tempo, it’s about how quickly a system responds to musical events. Every note begins with a transient, the initial burst of... Speed and transient attack
  10. CoherenceAs we continue our delve into the linguistic treasures of Audiophile-speak, one word comes up often. Coherence. Coherence is the sense that music flows as a... Coherence
  11. Pointing fingersPrecise imaging is what allows us to point to where each sound is coming from in a stereo field. It’s more than left, right, or center—it’s... Pointing fingers
  12. Presence and intimacyDon't get all excited about today's post's headline. We're on a roll about Audiophile terms, not the beginnings of a steamy novel.  Presence is the quality... Presence and intimacy
  13. TimbreNo, that's not the way we spell a cautionary yell that a tree is falling. Timbre is the essence of musical realism is timbre. It’s what... Timbre