Another Paul McGowan book and SACD

[AnotherJohnson]

https://www.psaudio.com/products/the-audiophiles-guide/

In my recent deep dive into Paul McGowan and PS Audio, I ran across this book and CD.

The book is mostly focused on guiding the newbie into a first two channel system, but the second half offers tips to advanced audiophiles.

It is a very easy read, and the test CD guides you through many system tweaks related to speaker placement, power conditioning, and interconnects.

One thing that hit me as I digested the advice is that a lot of the budget info, and order of importance of components, is so subjective as to be useless.

I note that from anecdotal evidence, many gravitate towards the recommendations naturally.

I agree with much of what he shares regarding panel vs box speakers. Also I find myself (surprisingly) in agreement on power conditioning.

I do not agree with the idea that the phono preamp is the most important part of a vinyl based front end, but I do agree that it is more important than many realize.

I have a lot of test CDs on the shelf. I like this one, partly because of Paul’s suggestions on its best use.