Paul's Posts

I value more the opinions of people I am familiar with and trust. A stranger wearing earbuds, telling me it's the best sound they've ever heard, probably isn't going to... Read more...

HMV

More than 100 years ago, at London's 363 Oxford Street, a record shop opened with an interesting title. His Master's Voice. For years, that shop was an iconic staple until its closure in 2019.... Read more...

The sunk cost myth

I am guessing all of us have had to deal with dead end streets. We go down a hopeful road investing our time, funds, hopes, and dreams only to wind up realizing... Read more...

Mistakes and all

One of the joys of live recording and performing are all the mistakes and recoveries. They bring life to the stage. When an artist comes to record at Octave Record's... Read more...

Your first time

I still remember the time and place I first heard Dark Side of the Moon and Sgt. Peppers. These are indelibly etched in my head because these musical works were unlike... Read more...

Musical chairs

In yesterday's post, I discussed the two main methods of speaker setup: straight ahead and far and wide. There is another, simpler, way of changing the systems presentation: that is... Read more...

Chocolate or vanilla?

When setting up your stereo speakers there are two main approaches (and a handful of exotic different ones): straight ahead or far and wide. The straight ahead method is what most... Read more...

The investigator

One the easiest ways to add credibility to a point you're trying to make is to cite the work of "an investigator". The investigator doesn't have to be real. He could... Read more...

What are you looking at?

Find a great piece of music. Turn down the lights. Close your eyes, and let the music take you somewhere. What a treat! For many of us, we have the earned... Read more...

The leaking dilemma

If you have a leaky roof you've got a problem that crops up every time it rains. On the other hand, if you have a leaky listening room, you should feel... Read more...

The journey

Along the path from casual listener to discerning audiophile there are plenty of both roadblocks and milestones. What a wonderful road to travel down. A road most people don't even know... Read more...

Gospel

Over time and repetition opinions become gospel. We hear the same rant over and over and soon it becomes part of society's fabric. Even if it has no basis in... Read more...

Standing out

We all want our systems to be outstanding. That said, I am pretty sure we don't want different frequency regions standing out from others. One of the most difficult and telling... Read more...

Filling in the blanks

If you want to generate a convincing three dimensional sonic image, you need all the pieces in place. The more you add, the more convincing the illusion. For example, a... Read more...

Spring has sprung!

As soon as I find myself rubbing my eyes and reaching for the Flonase, I know it's time to change the tubes, disconnect and reconnect the system. It's spring and,... Read more...

Enjoying the icing too

We're always hopeful of a bite of cake and, if we're lucky, we get the icing too. Saturday night, Terri, Jessica, and I were eating both cake and icing. For... Read more...

Old vs. new

In yesterday's Paul's Post, Being good at bad, I put forth the idea that a properly resolving system shouldn't sweeten bad recordings to the point they sound good. Or, put... Read more...

Being good at bad

This might sound a bit harsh but it needs to be said. A bad recording should sound bad. If your system sweetens it up or makes it sound less bad... Read more...

Convincing images

One of the hallmarks of a great high-end audio system is a convincing image. How real does the soundstage come across? Is it believable or contrived? To know for sure,... Read more...

Monoblocks

A fair number of our power amplifiers are monoblocks. In fact, out of the 6 models of power amplifiers we offer, only 2 of them (the S300 and BHK250) are... Read more...

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