The Audiophiles Guide

Bass that booms in one spot and vanishes in another? You’re hearing room modes in action. In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, we dig into the invisible battlefield of standing waves, boundary effects, and the fight for consistent low-frequency performance. These powerful acoustic forces can shape or sabotage your system’s foundation. Learn how to identify problem areas, why subwoofers are part of the solution, and what it takes to win the bass battle in your own room.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, hosts Robert and Sandra take a momentary diversion from traditional two-channel audio to explore the world of transparent video screens. Once limited to commercial installations and sci-fi films, these emerging displays are finding their way into high-end home environments. What do they mean for system integration, acoustic transparency, and room aesthetics? It’s a glimpse into a future where visuals and sound might share the stage more gracefully than ever.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

Getting the most out of your system starts long before you press play. In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, we focus on speaker placement and room setup—the foundation of great sound. Discover how small changes in distance, angle, and symmetry can dramatically affect imaging, tonal balance, and depth. Learn how to work with your room, not against it, and unlock the full potential of your gear. When it’s right, the speakers vanish—and the music takes over.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

Forget the source, forget the amp—start with the speakers. This episode makes the case for putting loudspeakers first when building a high-end system, drawing from the principles in The Audiophile’s Guide. Why are speakers the most flawed—and most important—part of the chain? How do their limitations shape everything downstream? If you’ve ever wondered where to put your money first, this is a clear, no-nonsense look at why it all begins with the box (or the panel).

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

A centered vocal with no center speaker? That’s the magic of the phantom center channel. In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, we dig into how two speakers can convincingly create a stable, lifelike center image—when the setup is right. From precise speaker placement to room symmetry and listener position, every detail matters. When it locks in, the illusion is powerful: a voice suspended in space, as real as if someone were standing there.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, digital audio CODECs take center stage. What are they, how do they work, and why do they sound different? From lossless formats like FLAC and ALAC to lossy ones like MP3 and AAC, we break down how CODECs compress, preserve, or discard data—and what that means for musical detail, space, and realism. Whether you stream or store locally, understanding CODECs helps you hear more of what the music truly holds.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, hosts Robert and Sandra tackle the challenge of acoustic nulls—those frustrating dead zones where bass seems to vanish. Caused by wave cancellations from room boundaries, nulls can rob music of weight and impact. Learn how to identify them, why speaker and listener placement matters so much, and what can (and can’t) be fixed with treatment or EQ. Solving nulls is key to unlocking your system’s full low-frequency potential.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, the spotlight turns to the Rule of Thirds—not the photography rule, but the powerful guideline for speaker and listener placement. Discover how dividing your room into thirds can unlock surprising improvements in imaging, bass response, and depth. It's a simple starting point that often gets you closer to the magic: a wide, holographic soundstage where the speakers disappear and the music stands in their place.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

Vinyl isn’t just about the warmth of analog—it’s also about precision, especially when it comes to the RIAA curve. In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, we explore why records are cut and played back with intentional equalization, and how the RIAA curve preserves fidelity, lowers noise, and restores musical balance. Discover how your phono stage decodes this curve, and why getting it right is essential for hearing vinyl the way it was meant to sound.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

Often overlooked but never unimportant, the preamplifier plays a central role in the character and performance of a high-end system. In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, we explore how a great preamp shapes dynamics, preserves signal integrity, and brings life and dimensionality to the music. From gain structure to input stage design, discover why the preamp isn’t just a volume control—it’s the beating heart between source and amplifier, and a key to musical immersion.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, hosts Robert and Sandra dive into the soul of audiophilia—what drives us to chase perfect sound, and why it matters. Beyond specs and gear, this is a passion rooted in emotion, memory, and connection. They explore the moments that move us, the systems that disappear, and the music that keeps us coming back. For audiophiles, it’s not just sound—it’s something closer to truth.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

Is it better to invest in the source or the loudspeakers? In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, we take on one of the oldest debates in high-end audio. Speakers shape the final sound, but the source defines what gets there in the first place. Explore how each influences detail, dynamics, tone, and emotional connection—and why the best systems treat them both as critical voices in the same performance. The answer isn’t either/or—it’s how they work together.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

Which matters more—the speakers or the source? In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, we dig into one of high-end audio’s most debated questions. Speakers define what you hear, but the source determines what’s being heard. Explore how upstream choices shape detail, tone, and emotional impact—and why even the finest speaker can’t fix a broken signal. It’s not a competition, it’s a chain—and every link matters if the goal is musical truth.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, hosts Robert and Sandra explore the growing role of network streamers in high-end audio. More than just convenience, a well-designed streamer can rival or even surpass traditional disc players. They unpack how noise isolation, clocking, and software architecture affect sound—and what to consider when choosing one. Whether you're streaming from Tidal, Qobuz, or your own NAS, getting it right at the source makes all the difference.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, the conversation turns to loudspeaker crossovers—what they are, how they work, and why they matter so much to the final sound. From dividing frequencies between woofer, midrange, and tweeter to shaping phase and timing, the crossover is the speaker’s secret conductor. Get a clearer picture of how this hidden network defines tonal balance, coherence, and the magic of disappearing speakers.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, the conversation turns to soundstage—the illusion of a real, three-dimensional space unfolding between and beyond your speakers. Learn what it takes to achieve that magic: the sense of width, depth, and height that lets each instrument live in its own space. When soundstage is done right, the gear disappears and the music takes over.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

What is impedance, and why does it matter in a high-end audio system? This episode of The Audiophile’s Guide unpacks how impedance affects amplifier-speaker synergy, tonal balance, and control. It’s not just numbers—it's the hidden handshake that can make or break the musical connection.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

Welcome back to The Audiophile’s Guide podcast. Today, Sandra and Robert open with a quick question about Paul’s post this morning. Did you read it? It stirred up some interesting thoughts. From there, they dive into a lively discussion about the differences between passive radiators and ports—what they do, how they shape bass response, and why some designers swear by one over the other. It’s all about moving air, tuning enclosures, and chasing that perfect low-end clarity.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, our hosts explore the subtle but powerful art of speaker toe-in. How much is too much? What happens when you aim straight ahead versus crossing in front of the listener? Learn how toe-in affects imaging, tonal balance, and the illusion of space. When properly dialed in, speakers can vanish—leaving behind a soundstage so wide and precise, it feels like the walls fall away.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.

In this episode of The Audiophile’s Guide, hosts Robert and Sandra take a deep dive into the world of DACs—digital-to-analog converters—and why they’re one of the most important links in a modern audio system. From how they translate ones and zeros into lifelike music, to how architecture, filters, and power supply shape their character, they reveal what to listen for—and how the right DAC can breathe life into your digital collection.

The Audiophile’s Guide publishes daily. Want to learn more or join the HiFi Family? Visit PS Audio. To get your own copy of Paul McGowan’s The Audiophile’s Guide, get it on Amazon.