Paul's Posts

When we look at progress we often use two metrics as yardstick of change: rate and magnitude. How quickly have we gone from one point to the next and how... Read more...

The musical connection

Terri and I were recently invited to our 5 year old grandson Leon's Christmas extravaganza. There, on the stage of the local high school, 100 or so kids from kindergarten... Read more...

Green Fires Burning

For those of you that have enjoyed my first two books in the Eemian series (a thriller centered around the idea we are not the first modern civilization), The Aurora Project... Read more...

Window dressing

It's hard to ignore window dressing. It's why I went for vegan leather seats in my car. Why McIntosh adds their beloved VU meters. Looks are important. I think it... Read more...

Computer masquerade

Despite all the years that have flown by since 1985, for many, the prospect of shifting from traditional mediums like CDs or vinyl to computer-based music still feels either daunting... Read more...

Impossible silence

Victor Hugo, the French novelist who wrote Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame said "Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent." I think... Read more...

Lo-Fi, Mid-Fi, Hi-Fi

In a recent review of the Octave Record's release of The Art Of Hi Fi, Soundstage by Ken Kessler, he scratched his head as to why we never seem to... Read more...

Negative progress

As I have mentioned to you in the past, I am a fan of well done SPAM, especially the kind that clearly uses some form of AI. So what's the... Read more...

When 2+2=6

Further to my earlier post about the impossible task of setting up your speakers to disappear is the oddity of smaller boxes making bigger sounds. We're rarely surprised when a... Read more...

The impossible task

I am always delighted at the quizzical look I get on a newcomer's face when I attempt to explain the goal of making the speakers disappear. It seems so counterintuitive and... Read more...

Proper order

I have noticed that when demonstrating a new piece of equipment it is much more effective to first play the standard, what folks are used to hearing, then the new... Read more...

The need for synergy

Our need for synergistic pairings of equipment, cables, and speakers is a failing. A necessary failing but, a failing none the less. I hope we can all agree that not... Read more...

Do numbers matter?

At what point do the measurement numbers matter? Are they valuable as an explanation tool when something sounds great? Or the opposite? If I use measurements as a history lesson,... Read more...

The art of art

One of the more delightful aspects of my job is when we get to travel to a cool place to shoot lifestyle photos of our products. It's a full day... Read more...

Stepping out into the unknown

One of the joys of going to a proper ice cream parlor is the ability to sample each flavor until you find exactly the one you want. Why does tasting matter?... Read more...

Repeating the "obvious"

Perhaps I sound like a broken record when I continue to emphasize the benefits—heck, the necessity—of proper setup. But, like my rants on the need for subwoofers in every system,... Read more...

Does anyone not struggle?

It seems to me that over the course of days, weeks, months, and years I experience waves of struggles and successes. And I suspect that is the same for us... Read more...

Who's counting?

I was thinking back over the years as to how many different pieces of equipment and pairs of speakers I have owned and it's a lot. Too many, in fact,... Read more...

Resonance

What's it mean for a piece of music to resonate with us? Is that a clue about the music or the way it was received? When something resonates with us... Read more...

That little voice

I can recall the first time I learned the little voice in my head was not unique to me. That, in fact, every one of us has an ongoing dialog... Read more...

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