Paul's Posts

I can still remember when Uncle Arthur pulled up to the curb at my family home once each summer. He was always driving a brand new car. Arthur had a thing about... Read more...

The Dutch HiFi show

Today is opening day at the Dutch Audio Show in Veldhoven! Click here to see more information. Our distributor, and good friend, Guy Chanet of Aspera Audio is demonstrating in... Read more...

The RIAA curve

I am guessing most of my readers know what the RIAA EQ curve is—a 20dB boost to the high frequencies and a 20dB cut to the low frequencies when mastering a... Read more...

What's in a name?

While traveling the other day, Terri and I perused the breakfast menu. There it was, a fancy combination of heirloom tomato tartine with a labneh spread. Sounds pretty exotic until you break... Read more...

Unsung heroes

In any multi-person organization it's the combined effort of the many members that make it a success. Problem is, how do you effectively single out one person for praise? The... Read more...

Audiophile Day

Woo Hoo! It's here again. The day we celebrate who we are and relate to. Audiophiles. I don't know if it's just me or if the world really has changed, but... Read more...

The smell of space

Who knew? Heading home from PS Audio last week and listening to the radio, the subject moved to some billionaire who had bought himself a ride on one of Space X... Read more...

Lots of wires

And while we're marinating on yesterday's post about lots of boxes I am also wondering about lots of wire. I look at my reference system and see the maze of cables... Read more...

Lots of boxes

In the earliest days of reproduced sound we relied upon the single box speaker to deliver our music. Monophonic sound. Yet, Alan Blumlein invented and patented the idea of stereophonic sound in... Read more...

Where to draw the line

When it comes to figuring out what gets us to where we want to go with our HiFi systems, where's the best place to draw the line? Is it when... Read more...

How to listen

Yesterday I made the point that we're all golden eared "experts" if we want to be. What's that mean? Well, anyone can hear the striking difference between a high-end music... Read more...

Golden ears

With all due respect to my dear friend and founder of Golden Ear Audio, Sandy Gross, I would like to dispel a myth that seem rather pervasive out in the... Read more...

Our trust

What if I told you that McDonalds released a new entrée that rivaled the best you could get at a Michelin star restaurant? You, like me, would likely wonder if it's... Read more...

The VU Meter

If I had to guess, I'd put the percentage of audiophiles that openly or secretly love VU meters at around a solid 80%. McIntosh, anyone? VU stands for Volume Units... Read more...

dB and digital

I was recently asked how it is possible to relate Decibels (dB) to digital. This question makes sense when we consider that the decibel is an analog measurement—and we cannot... Read more...

Just because…

The top button on my short sleeve casual shirts really upsets me. I don't wear ties, I never button that top button, and yet it is there just because that's the... Read more...

Today is the day

Today's the opening day of the UK HiFi show. My son, Scott McGowan, and our resident loudspeaker genius, Chris Brunhaver are there at the show waiting to say hello... Read more...

Recording challenges

I am sometimes asked what's the most difficult instrument to record at Octave Records and I will have to say woodwinds. If you have a chance to spend time with... Read more...

If you're heading to the show and reviews

This Friday, the 20th, it's the UK HiFi Show at the prestigious Ascott Raceway. Our own Scott McGowan as well as Chris Brunhaver will be there waiting to meet... Read more...

Audiophiles and werewolves

One of my YouTube audience members commented that audiophiles are like werewolves: once bitten they never go back. That's surely what happened to me so many years ago. My first... Read more...

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