Paul's Posts

We 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 of engaged engineers who... Read more...

Airplanes and audio

Somebody 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 Buy stuff?" Sigh. For... Read more...

Out of balance

We 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 volume goes up, that... Read more...

Cones

The material a woofer cone is made from matters less than most of us think — and it matters differently than most speaker specs let on. The cone's job is... Read more...

Vintage

What 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 magic still be there?... Read more...

A "bit" of a story

Both 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 the way. A standard... Read more...

Why new matters

In 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 the name of the... Read more...

Right in front of you

There'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 small metal sign bolted... Read more...

The cashew case

Buy 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 shell doesn't split... Read more...

Audio gambling

Writing software is a lot like gambling. You study the situation, develop a strategy you believe in, put in the work, and then push your chips across the table. Then,... Read more...

Fireworks

I am writing this note near the end of June, but I thought I'd save it for the 4th of July—a day of fireworks—because that's what it is. Once in... Read more...

Life and code

Picture the simplest program imaginable: a square that toggles black to white and back. Two states. You can test both, prove it perfect, and walk away. It can be flawless... Read more...

Complexity

I've spent more than fifty years building audio equipment, and the last stretch of months pouring myself into Maestro, the music software I've been quietly obsessed with. People sometimes ask... Read more...

Ella

Of course, the greatest and most revered Ella in the world is Ella Fitzgerald...amazing even to this day. Which is one of the reasons I chose Ella for the name... Read more...

Expensive mistakes

The most expensive way to build an audio system is to ignore synergy. I've watched people spend serious money on components that don't work well together — an amplifier that... Read more...

Recording arsenals

Reference discs and playlists should be an important part of your arsenal. Without reference materials you'll never be able to set a standard for evaluating everything from system tweaks to... Read more...

Listening and learning

The albums we know best teach us the most about our systems. I have records I've listened to hundreds of times. Not because I couldn't find anything new — I... Read more...

Groovy

A vinyl record is a physical imprint of sound. Not an approximation. Not a code like digital. The actual shape of the sound wave — compressed into a groove cut... Read more...

Magical moments

Magic happens when you least expect it. Not a gradual appreciation. Not a slow dawning. One moment, in someone's living room or a hi-fi shop or a friend's basement, when... Read more...

Tired?

Some systems make you want to stay. Others make you reach for the volume control. Listening fatigue. The most common cause is distortion, but not the kind we easily measure.... Read more...

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