EP 062 PS Audio with Paul McGowan. Behind the scenes at PS Audio

Sep 6

3 min read

Paul McGowan on the Evolution of PS Audio and High-End HiFi

After almost 50 years, today, PS Audio is an engineering-led company operating from a facility in Colorado which includes a world class recording studio. McGowan’s stories reveal how PS Audio developed from a small hands-on operation into one of the best-known American high-end audio manufacturers.

PS Audio living room with Aspen FR30 loudspeakers in white — PS Audio Aspen FR30

Is Class D Amplification the Future of High-End Audio?

PS Audio was an early adopter of ICEpower technology, following its own HCA-2 hybrid amplifier, and McGowan says modern Class D amplifiers have now reached the point where many listeners could not identify them by sound alone- and some may prefer them. The secret forthcoming Arpeggio range will use the new ultra-low-distortion ICEpower modules which will eventually replace the Stellar series. McGowan also discusses a fully digital amplifier that accepts a digital music signal and directly controls the pulse-width modulation stage, avoiding the repeated digital-to-analogue and analogue-to-modulation conversions used in conventional systems. The concept still presents major engineering challenges, but McGowan considers it a likely direction for future amplifier design.

PS Audio M1200 stack in black — PS AUDIO M1200 Stack

Room Acoustics, Subwoofer Placement and System Synergy. Paul McGowan goes behind the scenes of your HiFi system.

Around 80 percent of the acoustic treatment in rooms Paul McGowan has designed is diffusion, with absorption used more sparingly. A heavily damped listening room can remove the reflections and natural decay that help music sound open, spacious and involving. Bass requires a different approach because low-frequency room modes can create peaks and nulls throughout the listening space. McGowan recommends finding the location that produces the smoothest bass response - often using the familiar “subwoofer crawl.” However, he also makes an important distinction between critical listening and enjoying music: his home system uses PS Audio Aspen FR5 loudspeakers, a subwoofer, turntable, integrated amplifier and AirLens streamer in an untreated living room, where music is played almost every night.

PS Audio Foundry F12 three stack subwoofer in white in a living room — PS Audio Foundry F12 Subwoofer

QUOTE

“We crank it up and just see how it makes us feel, because that’s the kind of listening we do at home.” — Paul McGowan, PS Audio

PS Audio in house recording studio, planning for repairs and the Future of Audio Engineering.

PS Audio’s headquarters also houses Octave Studios, a 32-track DSD recording facility where live performances can be fed directly into the company’s reference listening room. This gives PS Audio’s engineers an unusually immediate comparison between a live instrument and its reproduced sound.

PS Audio commonly supports products through replacement circuit boards rather than component-level repairs in the field. The company aims to retain approximately ten years of replacement boards and parts after considering product failure rates and manufacturing life, potentially supporting equipment for 17 to 20 years. This includes a behind-the-scenes discussion of how modern HiFi products are designed, evaluated, recorded and kept working long after they leave the factory.

Thanks to these fine Global HiFi Brands for their Support.