Thanks to Paul McGowan

@fertguy I have been watching Paul channel on YouTube for years, also have his audio book which is a fun listen.

To me that guy doesn’t not have a bad bone in him.

I am sorry, but to call him a racist is so wrong on so many levels, I think you should apologize too him and the community, calling people racist should be something one should not take lightly and just throw out there.

A person that so easily praises other people in his own company and the audio community has a lot of kindness, respect and understanding for other people.

Just a very good guy.

@fertguy @thyname Good to hear you enjoyed it.

noromance

I just finished Paul McGowans audio book. It was fun listening to all of his exploits. What a characer.

Thanks

noromance

8,589 posts

03-26-2023 at 06:46pm 

If you get a chance, read Paul’s autobiography, 99% True: Almost a National Bestseller.

Humorous and insightful—a very entertaining read.

Thanks for posting this. It prompted me to get the book. Audiobook rather, in Audible, I listen to during my commute to work.

Very well written AND read book. I did not realize Paul writes so well. He is definitely talented 

Per the comment from optimise regarding BHK and Paul McGowan. Maybe you noticed this week that Gregg Popovich made the NBA Hall of Fame. Pop never scored a single point, or grabbed a rebound or had an assist. All he did was build and cmaintain one of the best team dynasties ever. It takes a great coach to do that, and it takes a decision-maker at an audio supplier to seek better designs and accept the best design when they see it. That’s a credit to McGowan, not a liability. I suspect the late BHK would agree. Incidentally, everything you cited is either in Paul’s book or has been mentioned by Paul on his numerous podcasts. No secret.

 

kennyc

580 posts

04-01-2023 at 10:03pm 

My wife often gives me dirty looks, although I’m often clueless, I doubt it’s racist :)

@fertguy congratulations on your new component 

Yup!

@optimize Paul may not be a brilliant electronics engineer, but he has been able to attract strong talent and build a successful high-end audio company with some longevity. There are very few independent US hifi companies that have been as successful. 

I've only owned a couple PS Audio products (Powerplant 3 and now Powerplant 12), but I have a lot of respect for the company and I think Paul and his son have managed their business very well. 

I didn’t realize Filipinos tended towards racism.

@optimize 🙄

Like I said, My hat's off to Paul McGowan!

Thanks to Paul McGowan

My hat's off to Paul McGowan!

Why? Or why him?

The one that should get ALL the praise is Bascom King.

It is his name BHK.

Bascom King where the one with knowledge and made the design of the HW and a hired gun. In other words any other company could hire him and get that result.

Paul and PS Audio could not create those Bascom King design and sound quality, they tried and failed several times.

Paul failed every time when he thought he had something special and drove to Arnie Nudell with PS Audio amplifier that they tried several different amplifier creations/designs. Each time listening on Arnie Nudell system and they're not pleased with the amplifiers performance.

To that point that in the end Arnie Nudell suggested to Paul "why not hire someone that knows what they are doing." Like Bascom King..

Bascom saved the day for Paul range of amplifiers at PS Audio.

Actually Paul were forced by Bascom that if he should take the design job and put his name on it, then there should be a tube in the circuit!

Paul were not fond of the idea and up to this point PS Audio had no products with any tubes in the lineup.

They made a competition PS Audio they could build whatever input stage on a tube male socket they wanted. So they could swap in and out and shift between a tube or the PS Audio desecrate input stage.

So the opponent Paul lost and gave after when Bascom solution sounded better than PS Audio could create or do.

Bascom could design and do this as a hired gun at someone else company, but PS Audio were the one that needed to create a top of the line amplifier products and with the old connections to Bascom it got to be a natural choice.

So for me it is in practice it is Bascom King that we should lift our hats to. And Paul is contributing with a electronic manufacturing facility that is nothing unique in its self. And Paul were more in the way of Bascom design ideas.

Ha, had to laugh. I don’t know where that Troll came from.

Thanks!

My wife often gives me dirty looks, although I’m often clueless, I doubt it’s racist :)

@fertguy congratulations on your new component 

I’ve been thinking about getting a pair of the BHK 300 Mono Blocks. Wife says I can’t think of getting the 600’s. ☹️

I went from Odyssey Kismet stereo amp to PS audio M700s. It felt like for the first time I was really hearing what my Magnepan 1.7i could really do. Wish I could afford the 1200s but Im very happy with Pauls M700s. I don’t know Mr. McGowan but I’ve seen many of his videos and picked up on a few things that he’s said that makes me think that he is a genuinely nice person. I’d bet that there is not a racist bone in his body.

I have same combination of the BK Pre-amp and M1200 monoblocks.  I also have their new phono pre-amp.  Best setup I have had in the 45 years of being an audiophile.

I had a PS Audio BHK 250 and did not like the way it performed with my Magnepan 1.7i speakers. I traded it in for the M1200's. WOW, what a difference! These amplifiers are amazing and they make my Maggies sing! Highly recommended!!!

Fertguy perhaps he was just annoyed because you walked in front of the speakers.

I've got a Rotel CD player on the shelf somewhere. Maybe I'll hook it up sometime

In the early 1990s I bought a Rotel  RCD 855 compact disc player (retail price $399.99) which actually sounded pretty good on its own.  It was equipped with a coaxial output which allowed the 855 to be used as a CD transport.  Paul had recently introduced his P.S. Audio Digital Link dac (retail price $799.99), so I bought one to use with the 855.

That little dac rocked and was a noticeable improvement over the dac in the 855.  

To this day I miss the 855/Digital Link combo.  It had a really nice synergy and was affordable. 😊

My 1200's have sat in the rack for over two years now and they are in play every day I'm home. They love music as much as I do and they do everything so well.

At the end of 2022 a new set of Wharfedale Elysian 2's arrived with matching stands and the 1200's again displayed their adaptability and forceful ease presenting music in a clear, quiet way throughout the frequency range. I am a huge fan and praise Paul and Darren for their dedication to creating PS's version of Class D. Bravo

Good deal @fertguy . Thanks for sharing!

@tomcarr

You are correct. Ii have therm & I don't regret it. I've not heard the 700s but I'm sure they are a fine amp.

PS @markprice I like that the 1200s are stable down to 2 ohms.

Thank you @markprice that's great to hear. My speakers are B&W 803 D3 and they drop down to 3 ohms. They will benefit from more power than my current amp. Thanks for the info.

@tomcarr 

Hi, I bought the PS Audio M700's to run my big Kef Reference 5 speakers. I was really impressed with them given their size and weight. So impressed that I very quickly considered the M1200's as an upgrade. In the end I jumped straight to the BHK 300's which I bought used. There is a big difference, as you would expect but I was surprised at how warm sounding they are. I say this because the BHK's are fitted with Tubes on the Input stage as are the 1200's. I have not heard the 1200's personally, but I suspect they will offer a warmer, smoother sound than the 700's, not to mention lots more power.

I only have good things to say reference P S Audio so, If you do get them, I'm sure you won't regret it.

donavabdear

I'l bet his speakers.  sound really good  I bought my Focal Kanta 3s a couple yrs ago so I'm not in the market for his.

Per Chris Rock, I am eagerly awaiting Lululemon’s release of their $20 racist yoga pants. This is as opposed to their $100 non racist yoga pants. 

I have all of PS Audio's BHK line and their top other components (except speakers) I listen to other systems and am really surprised how good mine sounds. I think the components are noisy but not after the music starts, it is a very upsetting truth for me I can't make my system sound better with other equipment. 

After you watch the videos with Paul you get the feeling like he is doing his best, he seems like a genuine guy with a kind personality. He never says anything unkind on his forum.

I now own the Carver M350 tube mono blocks and have been impressed with them. Prior to the Carvers I owned Pass Labs, Atma-Sphere, and Krell.

ozzy

I’m surprised. There was nothing offensive mentioned in that post. 

@arafiq : I only had one post here in this thread, which was removed. Not sure why. Some of the usual characters must have reported it.

Why were @thyname ’s posts removed?

 @fertguy Wrote:

jimmyblues1959

It was more than subtle. It was a big difference. I thought I had my Carver fixed up where it was a great amp. Boy was I wrong. I’m just sorry I waited all these years to upgrade.

I agree. I will also add that true monoblock amps have better left and right channel separation plus lower IMD and the ability to keep the speaker cables very, very short like 12’’, plus each monoblock amp can have it’s own AC dedicated circuit. Lastly, the mono blocks do not take up any real estate in my listen room as I have each monoblock amp under each speaker and one behind each speaker. My speaker are actively bi-amped with 4 monoblock amps. I discover the sound quality benefits of true monoblock amps in 1977 when I purchase two new Luxman B-12 monoblock amps. 😎

Mike

Ya leave all posts up ! We are all supposed to be adults here and they are only words. Geez 

Not surprised that you heard a significant improvement going from the stereo Carver amplifier  to the PS Audio Monoblock amplifiers.  IMHO, a well designed mono amplifier will usually outperform a well designed stereo amplifier.

Even if the differences are subtle.  Glad that you are enjoying your system! 😊

Badhippie, it’s easy…..everything is racist now. Didn’t you know?

@fertguy 

How do you get racist from a dirty look ????

To be clear, he is a business man LOL  Every now and then his answers can be a bit vague, for example on cables. He sells one brand which is certainly his call. But that particular answer came up short on what aspect of that cable’s performance mattered to PS Audio. It’s a good brand, among the premium lines…but the $64,000 question on the subject is whether we hear dollars or specs, and Paul ever so slightly ducked.