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. Mix it upAt some point, most of us stopped discovering and started rotating. The same albums. The same artists. The same reference recordings we've been using since we... Mix it up
  2. Trust Your EarsIt's easy and reliable to measure that which we understand, but what happens when our senses uncover something new? For decades, doctors prescribed aspirin without knowing... Trust Your Ears
  3. Core beliefsFor most of us, our beliefs become fact. We develop ideas and stories that explain how the world works, what's possible, what's impossible, and after a... Core beliefs
  4. EnhacementsI receive a lot of letters asking for advice. More often than not, that advice request leans towards how to fix what the writer already has.... Enhacements
  5. Organic AudioStanding in the supermarket aisle looking at all the packaging proclaiming organic this and organic that, it occurred to me high-end audio is similar. We don't... Organic Audio
  6. Long and winding roadEver heard of a hedonic treadmill? The idea is simple: we adapt to improvements. Something that thrilled us becomes the new normal, and we return to... Long and winding road
  7. Fundamental challengesDynamic speakers are remarkable devices. They work on principles that haven't fundamentally changed in a century. And they carry a limitation baked into their basic physics.... Fundamental challenges
  8. Keep it aliveThere's a common misconception that treating a listening room means covering every surface with absorptive material until all the reflections are gone. The goal isn't to... Keep it alive
  9. Two vs. oneAlmost every high-end speaker has two sets of binding posts. Almost no one uses both of them. In practice, a simple jumper connects the two sets... Two vs. one
  10. MIcrophonesA microphone is not an ear, and that's important to remember since most of what we listen to on our systems passes through one. Your ears... MIcrophones
  11. Musical tearsHave you ever noticed that music is the only art form that can make you cry before you understand why? How does that work?  I am... Musical tears
  12. What's hiding in there?Every design decision we've ever made started with the same question: is there more music in there that we're not hearing yet? Not "can we measure... What's hiding in there?
  13. FamilySince day one of PS Audio, some 50 years ago, we knew our relationship with customers felt different from a typical business transaction. People wrote to... Family