Paul's Posts

How many of us would argue that the quality of a phono preamplifier doesn't matter? That we would hear little difference between an Amazon special and a Stellar Phono Preamplifier?... Read more...

The chain

In our brief examination of the recording chain front end, the microphone, it's good not to forget what follows the microphone. In the same way a phono cartridge requires a... Read more...

German microphones

You may have noticed that in my brief look at the microphones we use at Octave Records, the two I've focused first on are both German. In fact, the Germans... Read more...

Telefunken

Yesterday we talked about the classic German brand, Neuman. Today, another German stalwart, Telefunken. Telefunken was a German electronics company founded in Berlin in 1903. Originally named "Telefunken Gesellschaft für... Read more...

The Neumans

Perhaps the most famous microphones in the professional recording industry is the German brand, Neuman. Founded in 1928 by Georg Neumann in Berlin, Germany, the brand came to be known... Read more...

Different strokes

When it comes to high-end audio, we can all agree that there's a huge obsession with which pieces of gear sound the way we hope for. Some of us prefer the... Read more...

Waiting for right

One of the mistakes I have made over the years is waiting for that perfect solution. The piece of gear that will magically change everything. And, once in a great... Read more...

Differences that matter

Do I weigh less after a haircut? Logically, I have less mass so indeed, I must weigh less—though the resolution of my scale isn't fine enough to measure the difference.... Read more...

On and off again

When I am mixing a new track of music at Octave Studio I am moving between two distinctly different means of listening: a full Aspen FR30 system and a pair... Read more...

The reverse effect

We jump up and down enough about proof. This doesn't match up for me, so prove it! In other words, since it doesn't match my version of reality then it... Read more...

One way but not the other

It's easy to demonstrate our ability to digitally capture the sound of vinyl but we cannot do that in reverse. In other words, if you capture the output of your... Read more...

One extra day

Every four years, the calendar gifts us with an extra day—February 29th. It's a quirk of our timekeeping, a leap into a day that's both a rarity and an opportunity.... Read more...

Amplifying our emotions

Music that resonates with us generates emotional connection regardless of how it is reproduced. It doesn't matter to me if I am in the car, listening on earbuds, or live.... Read more...

Favorites

Seems to me most of us have one source of music we value more than the others. Some of us are turntable centric and have a digital system as number... Read more...

Almost as good

My friend, Jay Jay French, sent me a link to a very expensive high-end audio brand manufacturer. In that link they were touting the wonders of their new five figure expensive... Read more...

Barking up trees

When a hound figures he's got a critter cornered up a tree he places his front paws upon the tree's trunk and barks. Sometimes, he chooses the wrong tree or... Read more...

Kind of says it all....

HiFi Family member Steve sent me the most telling picture of all time. Have a look. I can see by the photo's time stamp that in August of 1955,... Read more...

Music or kit?

One of the classic circular arguments in our hobby is what's more important, music or kit? We can't enjoy our gear without music and we can't enjoy music without our... Read more...

What drives us nuts

It doesn't matter where I am. If I spot a crooked picture or something just a little out of order I cannot pull my eye off of it. Drives me... Read more...

The challenge of transitions

Over the past few days we've been reviewing a bit of HiFi history that amplified (pun intended) the observation that transitional improvements lead to better audio. The examples were moving from... Read more...

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