Paul's Posts

Everything we choose is based on a reference—a model in our heads of what we should expect. Each of our internal references have been honed over the years. We know... Read more...

Much improved

Over on the PS Audio forums, there's a thread about cable lifters. You can read it by clicking this link. Elevating the speaker cables off the floor works to improve... Read more...

Terminology Building Blocks

One of the easier ways to get on the wrong path is to build an understanding based on piecing together little-understood terms. A good example of this problem might be... Read more...

Raw Or Refined?

As an aspiring amateur hack of a writer, one of the first lessons in getting words on paper was to just start typing. Let whatever was in my head flow... Read more...

Advanced Judgement

It has been multiple decades—in fact, most of our adult lives—that neither Terri nor I have consumed meat or fish. To many Americans we encounter we are an anomaly, a... Read more...

A Special Day

Today, October 2nd is a special day. A day set aside to recognize and appreciate those of us who direct our passions to music and its home playback. Today is Audiophile... Read more...

Golden Ear Award

The day loudspeaker designer Chris Brunhaver joined the PS Audio team marked the 2nd to the last step on a lifetime journey (Octave Records would be the final step in... Read more...

The Art Of Mastering

When done correctly mastering, recording, and mixing are more art than technique. Just ask our own Gus Skinas. And the art is in the listening (perhaps nothing too surprising to... Read more...

Hearing Inside

Using only words, one of the more difficult concepts to explain is the idea of hearing into the music. It is easy to hear but hard to convey. When in Octave’s studio... Read more...

Originals

One of my readers, Blaine, forwarded me this wonderfully funny example of expressing visually the differences we imagine we hear. Good for a morning’s laugh. However, it did spark a... Read more...

Missing information

I am always fascinated to watch those slow-speed nature videos where you watch flowers open and plants grow. Or, the opposite. A high-speed camera that slows down the wing motions... Read more...

The funny thing about dynamics

It's somewhat of a mystery why vinyl can sound more dynamic when in fact it is more compressed. Much has to do with the technical measurement versus the perceived measurement.... Read more...

Copper

On March 7, 2016, the first issue of Copper Magazine was launched into the world with zero subscribers. Today, 171 issues later, Copper Magazine is read by nearly 50,000 subscribers.... Read more...

Temperament

Seems to me the more complex the system the more I tend to approach its operation as if it had a mind of its own. I often think of equipment... Read more...

Delivering the goods

When you download onto your local hard drive an Octave Records release the copy you store is bit-for-bit identical to the one sitting on the master hard drive at Octave... Read more...

Living in a vacuum

As much as our mental faculties like to focus on one thing at a time, the reality is we do not live in a vacuum. Everything affects everything else. When... Read more...

Another piece of the puzzle

I often tackle the same question multiple times. With each new answer to the same question, the different angle of attack seems to illuminate the lightbulb of understanding for at... Read more...

The setup dance

In my new book, The Audiophile's Guide, The Loudspeaker I liken the challenge of system setup to that of a dance. As in my earlier post about devilish details, the... Read more...

A Monday Treat

I had previously written about the great pipe organ project we were involved in for Octave Records. I still tingle with goosebumps every time I hear the playback of that amazing... Read more...

Know your enemy

I get a lot of flack for my dislike of USB as a medium between the computer and DAC. Truth is, it's not USB I don't like. It's what USB... Read more...

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