Paul's Posts

The best engineering lesson comes wrapped in failure. I used to cringe when someone proved me wrong. Now I get excited. Being wrong, especially in audio, means I’m about to... Read more...

Stories

We understand the world not as it is, but as the story we tell ourselves about it. These stories explain to us how everything works and how we fit in.... Read more...

Lively

A lively system engages us. It’s not about volume. It’s about pace, timing, and dynamics that feel natural. Liveliness is what makes your foot tap. When it’s missing, music feels... Read more...

Too much

More detail isn’t always better. We’ve all heard systems that sound hyper-detailed: every pick on a guitar string, every lip smack from a vocalist, every squeak of a chair. It’s... Read more...

It's show time!

Flying in to New Jersey yesterday morning to setup the Aspen FR20s and PMG equipment stack at the New York Audio Show, I had forgotten just how pretty this part... Read more...

Depth

Depth in a soundstage isn’t recorded as a measurement—it’s created as an illusion. What makes some recordings feel like they stretch back beyond the speakers, while others sound flat against... Read more...

Patience

A turntable only sounds as good as its setup. Vinyl is uniquely rewarding, but it’s also unforgiving. If the cartridge isn’t aligned properly, if tracking force is off, or if... Read more...

Sing

Some rooms just sound better than others. I’ve walked into empty living rooms where a stereo system almost sets itself up. You drop the speakers down, sit in the middle,... Read more...

Silence

Silence reveals everything. The quieter the system’s noise floor, the more detail emerges: microdynamics, spatial cues, and timing live in the quietest moments between notes. Noise comes from everywhere: the... Read more...

Specs

It’s tempting to judge gear by specifications alone. Low distortion, wide bandwidth, ruler-flat frequency response are great goals for an amp but some of the best performing amps don't sound... Read more...

Phantoms

Stereo is more than just two channels. There’s a third image—a phantom center—where voices, solos, and main instruments lock firmly in place between the speakers. Without it, music feels like... Read more...

Equality

Not all watts are created equal. Class A amplification is often described as smooth, rich, and natural. The reason is simple: the output devices never switch off. Unlike Class AB,... Read more...

The key

The best systems don’t sound like systems. And that's the key. If everything’s right you stop hearing speakers and electronics and start hearing performance. The illusion becomes real. Instruments hang... Read more...

Power

Before your system sees a note, it sees the power line. Everything you hear comes from power. Whether it’s spinning a platter, driving an amp, or decoding digital bits, it... Read more...

Accurate or engaging?

I’ve heard systems that measured beautifully yet left me cold: no air, little drive, no sense of the musicians reaching out. Sometimes, that’s the difference between accuracy and engagement. One... Read more...

Losing music

The wrong cables don’t just lose signal—they lose music. What? Copper is copper, right? Like everything in engineering, materials certainly matter, but it's how you put together those ingredients that... Read more...

Break in

Some components need time to sound right—and others just need us to adjust. We’ve all heard our share of skepticism about break-in, but let me assure you that it's real.... Read more...

Believability

Natural sound isn’t about warmth or brightness—it’s about believability. When people describe a system as sounding natural, they often mean it doesn’t draw attention to itself. Nothing sticks out. The... Read more...

Room to listen

Yesterday we discussed elephants and rooms. Perhaps it makes sense to keep on that path. Rooms control sound—peaks, dips, and nulls form based on size, shape, and materials—and what you... Read more...

The elephant

We all know the old saying about elephants and rooms, but sometimes that is the room itself. Sound doesn’t just travel in a straight line from speaker to ear. It... Read more...

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