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On the lower end of things

Paul's Posts — 22 June 2012

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On the lower end of things

My son wants a simple setup to go from one of the little $99 Apple Airport Express devices to a good sounding power amp to play music on a pair of bookshelf speakers he owns.  I offered him one of our small power amps but he declined because it’s a full piece of kit with chassis, power cord, connecting cables etc. – despite the fact it is small in high end terms.

What he wants is something tiny and unobtrusive and low cost – yet sounds good.  What’s fascinating to me is there really isn’t anything out there.  You go from a few weird boxes with bass and treble controls and chassis for $30 that you just know will sound dreadful, to a small half chassis product from one of the high end companies – in which case you’re investing four or five times more than the Apple device itself – or you have to got to a powered speaker instead.  What he wants is to power his good sounding bookshelf speakers easily and without compromise.  Sounds high end to me.

I wonder if the consensus amongst the consumer electronic companies is that people using $99 boxes don’t care about how it sounds?  I am absolutely certain they are wrong if that’s the case.

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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.

(5) Readers Comments

  1. alan

    June 22, 2012 at 7:18 am

    Paul, you didn’t say much about your son’s speakers or his requirements for hi-fi; does he own one of the little $40 Parts Express speakers, or are they more akin to the Wilson Duette?

  2. June 22, 2012 at 8:21 am

    He actually has a pair of really nice Era floor standing loudspeakers. He just doesn’t want a big amp or receiver, something tiny and good sounding.

  3. Nell

    June 22, 2012 at 8:55 am

    I believe companies like NuForce are trying to meet that price point with very decent sound.

  4. emfoods

    June 22, 2012 at 10:24 am

    Most people using a $99 ipod are using mp3′s anyway. No matter what you do with compressed music, it can’t sound high end. Yes, some of us have bigger units with lossless music on them and could benefit from a USB DAC and nice system. Doesn’t sound high end to me???

  5. oliver T. Finch

    June 22, 2012 at 9:19 pm

    I wonder how much good sound can be squeezed out of a $99 device.The younger generation has been convinced that these digital wonders are also sonic wonders which is absolutely wrong. Mediocre music goes in and mediocre music comes out. The younger generation has to first learn that good sound cannot be produced by mediocre portable sources.I read in a magazine that the late Mr.Jobs introduced either the I Phone or I Pad, I forget which, by saying that he got rid of his stereo system that morning and had replaced it with something superior which was that new gizmo he held in his hand. So much for sales pitch. His statement was greeted with thunderous applause. So much for our educated ears. Regards.

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