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. The nicest complimentThe best compliment a loudspeaker can receive has nothing to do with the speaker. It's when someone in the listening chair asks where the music is... The nicest compliment
  2. Standing outThere are hundreds of high-end audio companies. Hundreds of loudspeaker manufacturers. Good engineers everywhere. Good parts. Good measurements. Good intentions. So what are we actually all... Standing out
  3. WallpaperThere are two ways to have music in a room. One is wallpaper. The other is a performance. Wallpaper is what most of the world runs... Wallpaper
  4. Getting out of the wayEvery audiophile playback platform has one job — to hand your DAC the file that came out of the studio and stay out of the way.... Getting out of the way
  5. It isn't one or the otherWe Are All Analog Digital versus analog is the wrong debate. The right debate is well-done versus done the accepted way. Digital audio, in the hands... It isn't one or the other
  6. Airplanes and audioSomebody on a plane asked me what I do for a living. I told them I have a company that makes stereo equipment. "Oh, like Best... Airplanes and audio
  7. Out of balanceWe are not even in our listening abilities. For example, at low listening levels, we are dramatically less sensitive to bass than to midrange. As the... Out of balance
  8. ConesThe material a woofer cone is made from matters less than most of us think — and it matters differently than most speaker specs let on.... Cones
  9. VintageWhat would happen if we auditioned vintage PS Audio electronics from a few decades back, then swapped in the current gear? Would what we consider musical... Vintage
  10. A "bit" of a storyBoth coax and I2S carry the same bits from a streamer to a DAC. What makes them sound different is what happens to the clock along... A "bit" of a story
  11. Why new mattersIn yesterday's post, I mentioned finally seeing something that had always been there and discussed the idea of becoming more aware. My friend, John Nieuwenburg, added... Why new matters
  12. Right in front of youThere's a railroad crossing on my way to work that I've been driving over for years. The other morning, for the first time, I noticed a... Right in front of you
  13. The cashew caseBuy a bag of mixed nuts, and what's always inside? Cashews. But, here's the thing. Cashews aren't nuts. Botanically, a nut is a hard-shelled fruit where... The cashew case