Paul's Posts

Man oh man alive, have we got something amazing to delight your ears. World-famous Grammy-winning cellist, Zuill Bailey, sat down alone in the massive Mesa Arts Center's sonic wonder-hall and... Read more...

Little speakers and big rooms

There seems a common misconception that big rooms need big speakers. The truth can be very different. Aesthetically there's no doubt a small pair of stand-mounted bookshelf speakers may not... Read more...

Subwoofer connections

For more than three decades I have strongly advocated the high-level connection of subwoofers—where we connect the output of the power amplifier to the input of the subwoofer. What amazes... Read more...

All a matter of perspective

While on my morning constitutional walk I ran into my new neighbor, Jeff. As we chatted, the conversation turned to what we each do for a living. He's a programmer.... Read more...

Mechanical vs. solid state

When we need to switch inputs on an analog preamplifier we use a switch. The kind of switch we use affects sound quality. For years we had only mechanical switches... Read more...

Room suck

After writing The Audiophile's Guide I get lots of questions from folks who aren't getting all the sonic qualities they hoped for. They followed closely the steps in the Guide... Read more...

Cultures and communities

Most of us are born into a culture. Over time, we embrace other cultures and join the communities that support them. Take our group's choice of the culture known as... Read more...

Spiral journey

For many years I got frustrated in my sonic journey because it felt like I was moving in circles. In my quest for greater dynamics and realism, I would move... Read more...

Audio philosophy

My son, Scott, wrote to me. "I find that audiophiles can often get philosophical…but what I’ve never seen was a philosopher go audiophile. That’s a unique perspective. An educated outsider’s... Read more...

Sonic conspiracy

When I hear the word conspiracy my mind immediately jumps to a negative pole: nasty people with evil intent conspiring to take over the world like Pinky and the Brain.... Read more...

Transparent images

There's something very wrong with the idea of a transparent image. If it's transparent it means we can't see or hear it. And yet, the term has great meaning. Our... Read more...

It's ok to be different

I sense a growing aversion to being different and that concerns me. Of course, it's nothing new to seek acceptance. We all want to be part of the group of... Read more...

On the playground

As a kid in school, I was likely not alone in my favorite class, recess. The bell would ring and we kids were released onto the playground. Some kids liked... Read more...

Confirmation bias

Wikipedia describes Confirmation Bias as this: The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one's prior beliefs or values. People display... Read more...

Moods

Ever notice how our mood changes our hearing? How good or bad our system sounds? We may or may not be in a mood to listen to one kind of... Read more...

Peeling back the onion

It must have been a bit maddening as early researchers into the structure of the physical world kept finding smaller and smaller building blocks: molecules, atoms, electrons, protons, neutrons, and... Read more...

Passing judgment

Leafing through the latest Stereophile Magazine I ran across an interesting ad. Its question to me was whether I would get more excited about paying a high price for a... Read more...

Obsessed

It's been said that obsessed is a word lazy people use to describe dedication. I am not certain that's right any more than I believe to be obsessed is something... Read more...

Sonic fireworks

In a few days, the night skies around my town will be exploding with bursts of color as the country celebrates what we call Independence Day. Bad day for animals,... Read more...

Presumed excellence

I don't suppose that after all these years I should be surprised when a presumed expert shows off a system that sounds dreadful. It happens more than it should. How... Read more...

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