Archive for 'May,2012'
Cartridge damping
In yesterday’s post about amplifier damping we covered what it meant and what happens when a power amplifier loses control of the loudspeaker – you get differences in amplitude that are anything but accurate. There is another [...]
Damping factor
The damping factor of a power amplifier is a metric used to describe the amplifier’s ability to control the loudspeaker. It’s basically calculated by dividing the amplifier’s output impedance into the loudspeaker’s input impedance when the [...]
Two types of customers
I am convinced there are two main types of customers for high-end audio: dealers and end users. If you’re a manufacturer which customer do you design your product for? Both are absolutely valid. Dealers have constant [...]
Cameras and stereos
I am a photo buff. Have been shooting pictures both as a professional and an amateur for most of my adult life. I shoot with a fancy pro camera. I shoot because I love the process, the kit, the [...]
Visionary vs. engineer
My friend Mark Levinson, the man not the company, is a visionary not an engineer. In fact, I doubt Mark knows how to design anything electronic yet his namesake adorns some of the best loved products [...]
Give me a good reason
There are plenty of products worth owning but only a very few worth buying and even fewer worth switching. If you have something in your home that works you don’t have an itch to replace it [...]
New Old Stock
The best new classical music being created today isn't all that new. Or all that classical. [...]
Narrowing down the choices
If I walk into a restaurant and open the menu to be faced with 100 different choices: Italian, American, a little bit of this and a little bit of that I have learned it’s time to [...]
So sorry, we have no bananas
My little riff on power amplifiers and how I could tell I had a winner really sparked off a lot of comments and questions of where to buy or when it’s going to be available. One [...]
Slap in the face
Yesterday I wrote about a new power amp technology that simply blew my skirt up to the point where I have cleansed the listening room of anything but this product to amplify the Maggies. The decision [...]
Shaking your world
Not often I run into something that simply shakes up my world and when that happens it’s hard for me to not stop everything we’re doing and shout it out loud. Thank goodness for this little [...]
The best
After yesterday’s post about hearing the worst performance of a high-end system in a long time I would like to share with you the best which I encountered in the very same day here in Japan. [...]
The worst
I am visiting the high-end show in Tokyo at the moment and last night, between demonstrations of the system, I was wandering the halls of the show when the strains of one of my all time [...]
Weather report
To the uninformed, the term weather report would normally be associated with the Oxford Dictionary definition “the condition of the atmosphere at a certain place and time, with reference to the presence or absence of sunshine, [...]
Why I design with solid state exclusively
It may sound funny, the headline of this post. I love the sound of tubes, have owned tons of tube equipment and yet – I have never designed a tube piece ever. And add to that [...]
A bias right in the middle
How boring if you’re biased right in the middle eh? You don’t lean to the left or the right, you’re just middle of the road for everything – as if you don’t actually have an opinion. [...]
Best of both worlds
If you’ve managed to wade through this series of posts on tubes vs. transistors you’d know that while there are indeed fundamental differences between tubes and transistors that by themselves have a major impact on the [...]
Odd or even?
No doubt you’ve heard terms like class A, push pull, , SET, full complimentary, single ended etc. These terms all refer to how we use an amplification device rather than the amplification device itself (like a tube [...]
Solid state vs. fields
This post will most likely stand the hair up on the back of EE necks because it’ll be riddled with inaccuracies I will use to make a point about why devices sound differently in audio circuits. [...]
High voltage and linearity
In yesterday’s post we covered the fundamental differences between tubes and transistors and one of those we’re interested in is linearity. Tubes and transistors are only partially linear devices – which means they will not always [...]
The fundamental differences between tubes and transistors
In yesterday’s post we covered how the mysterious crystals used to make radio receivers first were spun off to the vacuum tube and later rediscovered to become transistors. Today let’s cover some of the fundamental differences [...]
From crystal radios to supercomputers
In yesterday’s post covering the invention of the vacuum tube and its principals of operation we learned that small crystals were used as the basis for radio receivers and that inventor Lee De Forest came up [...]
The Audion
This is the first post in our series on Tubes vs. Transistors. I’ll do my best to keep this fun, informative, not uber technical and to the point so we can all have something to look [...]
Tubes vs. transistors
Now there’s a hot subject for you, one that’s been debated for as many years as the two have coexisted in the world of high-end audio. First let me suggest that there can be no debate [...]
When is less more?
Good friend Bill Low, CEO of Audioquest Cables, sent me a note answering the question about purity and perfection in audio. “The answer seems obvious … Do No Harm … meaning that the inevitable compromises required [...]
The myth of the asynchronous DAC
Synchronous and asynchronous are two buzz words manufacturers realize gets people’s attention. We may not understand what they mean but we’ve figured out asynchronous is better than being synchronous. So a new class of DAC has [...]
The personality of equipment
Have you ever noticed that many dogs resemble their owners? I think the same is true for equipment and the personality of the designs. In our hand-crafted industry of the high-end many designs bear the sonic [...]
How do you describe truffle fries?
The language an artist uses to describe her work is by necessity vague and intentionally non-specific. How else could she describe the feeling of the work? The language a programmer uses to describe her work is [...]
In the garden of Eden
In the late 1960′s the way music was played over the airwaves was going through a major shift, much like it is today. For many years only songs of less than about 4 minutes were ever [...]
Pots in a box
In the early 70′s Stan (The “S” in PS) and I only made phono preamplifiers. They had no controls, just a turntable input and a set of RCA outputs. Designed to go into the auxiliary inputs [...]
How to explain the high-end
“The justification for a great music system is the same as for a great instrument: It makes possible a musical experience that cannot be duplicated by lesser means” My friend Jim McCullough who owns the Cello [...]
Should we support hoarding?
Yahoo is suing Facebook for violating some of its patents for technologies it both uses and doesn’t use. Yahoo waited years to take this action and it wasn’t until Facebook announced its IPO that they went [...]
It’s obvious
Ever notice how something is obvious only after someone points it out to you? In our post on Software Jitter I got several emails from folks telling me “that’s an obvious distortion path”. True enough but [...]
Recent Comments
- Tchaikovsky’s Fourth (5)
Lawrence Schenbeck: I had the same impression of the “fate” theme when I came back to the Fourth, to...
Soundminded: First impressions of the first movement, four ideas seem evident. Romeo and Juliet Overture stands...
Soundminded: This two disc set is from analog recordings originally made in 1975-1976. It’s DG 453 088 2....
Lawrence Schenbeck: You have to admit, though, the third movement seems a long ways away, expressively, from the...
Soundminded: I’ve got a set of the Karajan recordings of 4,5, and 6 on CD and I’ll be listening to...
- Andy Narell and Steelpans (3)
stimpy2: I believe that Andy Narell’s pans were crafted by Ellie Manette who is I believe the preeminent...
- Microphones (2)
Soundminded: I always like these postings that stand back and try to look at more than one or two trees but...
Bassman23: It’s important to remember that both microphones and loudspeakers are members of that class of...
- Pat Metheney (3)
stimpy2: I enjoyed reading reading this article very much and have been at several of his concerts and up close...
- Serving it up (11)
Paul McGowan: Sure. The idea is to build an active differential low pass filter whose rolloff is low enough to not...
Paul McGowan: No worries – but I don’t actually have any control over where these post or when,...
stimpy2: I just joined the group and was under the impression (notice that I am not using the word assumed) that...
Rick Dieterich: I have been searching for a new sub(s) for my system and one brand I’m considering is the...
Soundminded: Does your use of the term “servo” in this context mean frequency dependent negative...
- The best way to organize music files and folders (4)
Dan Gravell: Great comment! It comes down to how your music player works. Personally, I don’t see filenames...
countessouroboros: I realize this post is a bit old now, but for future viewers I feel I need to point out that...
- What’s all the fuss about? (2)
Paul McGowan: Thanks Scott!
sbrinck: Paul The Munich audio show was the bomb !! I am extremely envious ! If you ever decide to quit your day...
- Treat the cause or the symptoms? (13)
Paul McGowan: Yes the apertures are located in the 1/8 space corners so they should be as effective as possible....
Soundminded: I’m quite curious and I must admit somewhat skeptical about how effective these frequency tuned bass...
Paul McGowan: Aging memory Mark. I wrote what I remembered and then went back and actually measured it.
The Q...Soundminded: Paul, on April 27 you posted “The main listening room at PS Audio is approximately 16 feet wide...
oliver T. Finch: Simple. Treat the cause and there won’t be any symptoms.Regards.
- Get that mole! (5)
Paul McGowan: You’re certainly correct and I’ll do my best to give a full report.
Paul McGowan: Thanks! Glad you’re enjoying.
petewilson: As suggested above, it’s a Good Idea to fix the cause(s). But, in general with real-world rooms,...
Soundminded: In response to the question about treating the cause or the symptom in medicine it’s my...
jb4: Thank you for very interesting posts and video’s. I totally agree with your approach, cure the cause,...
- Jelly rolls (3)
oliver T. Finch: Excellent posts. I look forward to them everyday. Very informative too.I am being convinced more...
Paul McGowan: Oh my goodness yes, depending on the capacitor type the inductance is certainly an issue – for...
Tchaikovsky's Fourth
I had the same impression of the "fate" theme when I came back to the
Tchaikovsky's Fourth
First impressions of the first movement, four ideas seem evident. Rome
Andy Narell and Steelpans
I believe that Andy Narell's pans were crafted by Ellie Manette who is
Microphones
I always like these postings that stand back and try to look at more t
Tchaikovsky's Fourth
This two disc set is from analog recordings originally made in 1975-19