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Does it have to be expensive?

Paul's Posts — 29 September 2012

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Does it have to be expensive?

Yesterday’s post about high-end bikes and stereo systems got a few people talking and asking if you really need to spend so much on the system to get high-performance music from it.

No, you don’t.  You simply need to connect with designers and company’s who infuse passion into their designs.  It shows, or should I say “sounds” when they do.

Recently a friend gave me a pair of self-designed speakers that were perfectly flat and measured great.  They did not sound like music.  I tweaked the response such that they did – and he was amazed at how they then sounded.

“What equipment did you use to measure them?”  Nothing but my ears.

“Are they flat?”  I haven’t any idea.

I could listen and enjoy music on them for hours.

Do you want to stroke a meter or uncover the passion locked away in your music?  That’s what it’s all about and whatever that costs is worth it.

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About Author

Paul McGowan

Paul McGowan is the CEO and co-founder of PS Audio Inc. a Boulder Colorado design and manufacturing company of high-end audio products and services. McGowan has been designing and building high-end products for nearly 40 years. Hobbies include skiing, music, hiking, artisan bread baking, kick boxing and cooking. He lives in Boulder Colorado with his wife Terri and his 4 sons.

(7) Readers Comments

  1. Soundminded

    September 29, 2012 at 10:55 am

    “Recently a friend gave me a pair of self-designed speakers that were perfectly flat and measured great. They did not sound like music.”

    That comes as no surprise to me. The measurements that are made not just by DIYers but by the pros don’t even begin to address the realities of sound, acoustics, and hearing. Tweaking what they know to its absurd limit, cost be damned doesn’t solve the 90% of the iceberg that’s below the water you don’t see. It’s still there and it’s the part that’s going to sink even the Titanic. To anyone who can see the whole thing, watching the endless struggle from time to time has its amusing aspects.

    “Yes the old model had that coloration but wait ’til you hear our new model. That’s all been solved by a lot of hard work in the lab and our new model blows the old model away. Unfortunately it does cost a little more.”

  2. dr.goodears

    September 29, 2012 at 6:55 pm

    Hey Paul,

    Neil Young recently announced the development of a new audio and music service company Pono. The “Pono Music Service” will feature downloads of properly re-mastered music catalogs from companies such as Warner Bros, Columbia and Sony transferring the artists original master tapes i’m assuming to native 24/192 resolution to then enable playback on the portable high resolution Pono music player.
    Neil was quoted in a recent NY Times article stating that he is working with a British manufacturer to come up with a portable player and the prototype he displayed Thursday evening on The Letterman Show industrial design looks like something from the mind of Allen Boothroyd.

    My understanding is that FLAC cannot be supported for playback in portable audio devices and the difference between mp3 and 24/192 files is enormous. Neil has yet to mention anything about hosting Pono music files and also wondering if the Pono Music Service will be compatible with existing 24/192 digital music players.

    Any ideas as to what exactly he’s up to here?

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GrgTiqZCF0

    http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/magazine/neil-young-comes-clean.html?pagewanted=all

  3. dr.goodears

    September 30, 2012 at 7:56 pm

    Hey Paul,

    Neil Young recently announced the development of a new audio and music service company Pono. The “Pono Music Service” will feature downloads of properly re-mastered music catalogs from companies such as Warner Bros, Columbia and Sony transferring the artists original master tapes i’m assuming to native 24/192 resolution to then enable playback on the portable high resolution Pono music player.

    Neil was quoted in a recent NY Times magazine article stating that he is working with a British manufacturer to come up with a portable player and the prototype he displayed Thursday evening on The Letterman Show industrial design looks like something from the mind of Allen Boothroyd.

    My understanding is that FLAC cannot be supported for playback in portable audio devices and the difference between mp3 and 24/192 files is enormous. Neil has yet to mention anything about hosting Pono music files and also wondering if the Pono Music Service will be compatible with existing 24/192 digital music players.

    Any ideas as to what exactly he’s up to here?

  4. phatjbl

    October 2, 2012 at 5:32 am

    Hi Paul

    It does n’t have to be expensive to sound good. There are so many used and new things around be it amps, speakers or source components to choose from to get a decent sound. If you want to go for the penultimate sure its likely to cost you a load more. Famous makers of value gear like Marantz, Nad, Yamaha and Rotel still put out gear that is worth buying, glad to see these companies going back to stereo too.

    I have been a second hand junkie for a long time now. Even if you can buy new the used stuff can bring nearly as much enjoyment. If it is classic piece like some high quality JBL or B&W monitors or a real Luxman amp from the golden age you scored cheap or for free even wonderful . New components are in some ways better as cracking the tape and pealing off the foam on your new kit is awesome.

    Computer audio is new to me but interesting, I like the selection from Spotify etc. This I use as a real preview service as having the cd or the record is the ultimate if you deem the music worthy. I have too many cds for just one or two songs. I stream via a Macbbook and a cheap little DAC into a vintage Yamaha CR2020 receiver then to JBL L100 monitors. It sounds fairly good at 320kps. It is a long way short of cd let alone SACD or XRCD.

    You can go to the audio shows and hear speakers etc costing $100 000 and be wowed or not. Then you think, I could do nearly as good with some old studio monitors and the right amps. I think a lot of the exotic brand thing is bragging rights amount your audiophile mates. I have seen people buy on the strength of a review in certain magazines and not enough real listening to assess if that sound suites your taste.

    We all like different things in sound. One guy I know likes absolute clarity and insight, another friend likes a warm rounded sound at lowish volume. I like high thrills super loud music with no distortion like being front row at a concert. You get that sting of the high hats on the drums and the bass notes have power and edge. You need large drivers with lots of high quality watts for that. Not to everyones taste but it takes all types of audio nut to make a world. Then we can have the valve vs transistor debate that could go on for ever. Merits of each abound.

    I like your comments and column. I have the PS Audio phono stage GCPH, it is very good for the price. I have heard much higher priced units which are only a fraction better.

    Keep up the good work mate.

    Ben

  5. tonehead

    October 2, 2012 at 11:15 am

    Dear Paul,
    I look forward to your words each day. I have not, however, ever before read a collection of words forming such a concise as well as brilliant thought as that which you have provided me this morning.
    I refer to: Do you want to stroke a meter or uncover the passion locked away in your music?
    While I am about the specs to a degree, my mind works differently than most I have noticed. I am drawn to those components’ measures that complement one another. Certainly it is flawed logic as it is all on paper, however, it is merely a starting point for me.
    The decades of listening to RIAA curves on CDs have nearly driven me insane! Further, I had assumed that this was the case even before I had read that I was correct. Utilizing masters equalized for the vinyl format as the basis for a digital medium is senseless and irritatingly audible. It was also the case with some audio cassettes all those years ago. This is why I personally shunned that first decade of CDs and CD players. Naturally, those recordings were indeed the only selections available for some time and there still exist many many examples in the marketplace even today.
    But, back to my point. Spec wise, I have always paid great attention to measured freq response within the posted tolerances. For the longest time, our media was incapable of a true full representation of the recorded event, be that live or multi-tracked from various sessions. In the case of the latter, ordinary multi-tracked product, the event never DID occur, but was instead “constructed”. With this in mind, it is difficult for me to always appreciate recording techniques. My mind has difficulty visualizing the stage, if you will, of some recordings.
    That aside, it is with the deficiencies of my room in mind, as well as my equipment and those combined abilities or deficiencies for accurate representation, that I do look at the numbers in order to get a general idea of a component and it’s abilities. For the longest time it was the extremes that were unattainable. The air at the top sans noise, and the lowest frequency information seemed the most elusive. It is these extremes that I have always sought on paper, prior to in person listening. I understand that there exist many products that do indeed sound better than they measure. However, my formula has kept the number of returns to a minimum in this household. I have always shunned the glare and forward nature of peaky mids, as they appear on paper. I’ve done the best that I can with my listening room, and in my mind, it remains the limiting factor. LEDE in a cube can only accomplish so much…I do the best that I can. One’s room is indeed part of the system, as are the cables, the AC/time of day of the listening experience, height of ear level, placement, degree of toe, and the list goes on.
    It must also be said that along with the written word, I rely heavily on the advice of my two favorite dealers. After years of commerce, I am confident in their suggestions. You are among those two. For this and your morning posts, I thank you.
    Sincerely, tonehead

    PS tonehead is my tag, be it known that I have not used a tone control for thirty years…”tonalcharacterhead” and “tonalexperiencehead” were just too long, though much more accurate names to describe me.

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