Very Honest. You are Highly respectable. Thank you for the videos I am learning a lot from them. I just happen to come across your channel by chance and am so glad I did. You have my subscription.
Paul, maybe your best video, to date. I have most certainly seen that happen in other industries. A person maybe a fantastic carpenter, electrician, designer, etc....but for those people to start their own business requires being more than "A good Mechanic" First and foremost they need to understand how to run the business to make it profitable, provide good cash flow, be able to write good contracts, etc....be a good businessman. And being a "good mechanic" and a "good businessman" are not mutually exclusive. Many times its knowing who to hire to do the things that person lacks the proper knowledge for to be successful.
Mr. McGowan, I’ve just recently started watching your videos and find them incredibly informative! I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share your wealth of knowledge and experience with us! ☮️🖖🏽
i thank you for share this with us, our own history some times may hurt us, but it always made us wiser and better, i can see that in you. Regards from Chihuahua Mexico
Paul, thanks so much for this video. I owned your PS IV H and PS II C+ until they were stolen decades ago; I would certainly have them yet today, if just for the pleasure of having a capable nostalgia system. I, too was a "one man band", in my first company. It made a lot of profit & nearly went bankrupt. To this day, I struggle to be a better listener (both musically and inter-personally), a better husband, drummer, guitarist, bass player and yes, businessman. One of the greatest steps one can take in life is to finally realize how little one actually knows. This, of course has nothing to do with one's intelligence; it's more an epiphany that reveals that you can enrich yourself by daring to trust others, and benefits those around you *and* yourself in the process. It broke my heart when you left PS Audio, but I had an idea you'd come back to it someday. PS Audio has always been my favorite electronics company, and remains so to this day. I'll never forget going to my good friend Rick Reed's Audio Salon and hearing an experiment he had set up in his 'Big Room', substituting a IV H & II C+ combo for an ARC amp & pre-amp combo (this was going on 40 years ago, but if memory serves it was an SP 6C & D-79*). Like I said; 40 years!!! The speakers were Acoustat 2+2 with the newly upgraded transformers. The sound of your little combo, at perhaps 10% of the more expensive kit's price just blew me away. Of course, it was fighting *WAY* out of it's weight class, and was in many ways inferior, but it still did so many things so well that I was floored, and will never forget that experience! Been a fan ever since & followed your progress ever since. I'm so glad to see you at the helm of PS where you belong, and PS to the point where it is today. Thanks for many years of great listening, and please keep these videos coming!!!
PS Audio stuff was good but I bought an Audio Research SP6 and Acoustat X's back in 1980 and while they have been through many modifications and repairs I still use them today and I don't think I've heard anything better.
Paul l have great respect for you and your company , hope the future treats you and your family Supper Well , kind regards from Australia and 50 years on loving hifi , but music first
I went through something similar in my journey to becomming an IT Director. The more I learned and knew... The more I knew I didn't know and needed to rely on specialists. I look at it like doctors. If you went to a doctor that said he was a Phycologist, Cardio Pulmary, Infectious Dissease and Podiatrist what would you do? RUN! Because its impossible to know it all. Paul youre an amazing person to be able to not only voice this but to actually internalize this.
I think that is the most honest and true/accurate video piece you have ever done. Here's to you and know when enough is enough and knowing your limits!
You''ve truly earned my respect with this video. I've just come across your channel, watched a heap and loving it all. I'm maybe a VR photographer now, but my roots are in hifi. Thanks for your candidness and sincerity Paul.
I was one of the few very lucky customers who owned a pair of Infinity IRSV's - regrettably I could not keep them as we re-modelled the house after moving to another one and the swimming pool I didn't want had to go somewhere - but now that the children have finally left home I am fairly certain I will be considering the new Genesis versions - in absolute fairness my ones were getting to the point where they needed some serious attention and were sold back to the guy I got them from originally - they were a surprisingly easy speaker to live with but you could not play them quietly - they demanded the best (Mark Levinson Monos, Krell CD and an Audio Research SP9 back in the day) and they demanded to be played loud - but now that things have moved on in this world I will have a good look around for alternatives before determining which way to go - greetings from UK
Every incredibly creative/ smart man I know says basically the same thing. “At last i’m smart enough to know how dumb I am “ Thanks Paul for sharing your wisdom with us...
Least your honest. Love these videos because Im just getting into vintage audio and love it. Watch you everyday almost. Learning something new everyday. Thanks man!
Paul, I am now 67 yrs of age and was in the clinical dental business both here in NZ & up in Ireland and I had the same problem .... it did my head in at times !!! I remember saying to my accountant early on .... if we are so profitable, how come we don't have any money !!!???
The 13 thumbs down in this video is proof that their are assholes in every crowd. A man can give the best honest answer to a reasonable question and some people still won’t be happy. There has been more than one occasion that Paul and I have disagreed on an issue involving HiFi audio, but this was about his life and his experience... I can’t see how anyone could fault his response here as fake or inadequate. Some folks are just impossible to please.
Thank you for sharing. It was pretty deep. Best wishes for PS Audio. I once owned a 4-way AC quintet way back then and it didn't bring magic to my system. My gear is so much better now and also my ears, so prob will give PS audio another try. I really want to support this Paul. Been watching him and bis videos...
Paul, as always, you gave a good honest answer to a question, I watch many of your videos and learn from them. I have what I think is a nice audio system, which includes a Jolida 502A tube amp (upgraded by the factory with KT 150 and Mullard pre amp tubes), Emotiva CD player, Onkyo receiver (used as a tuner) and Merlin Excalibur speakers. My interconnects and speaker wires are made by Mapleshade Records. I hope that one day I can visit your facility and hear your awesome system. I would like to see how mine compares to it and see where I could improve on mine. Thanks for all the vidros, they are enjoyable and informative. Julio A. Cruz II
I understand I was in the same situation in 2006 in computer consulting. I was doing well but it was stressful and also doing everything. I let all go but did very well after.
Wow..I love playing music..messing with DAW and recording in home or with friends. Going through divorce after 26 years plus losing the home, this lifted me! :) Music is better than meds it is cosmic and it is healing. PS I am happy to say I was 222 on thumbs up..lol. PEACE
I am more curious as to If Paul still stands behind Genesis products today. It appears they still produce the orig IRS style speakers like the set in listening room 1. We know how much he loves his IRS system, so what about the one Genesis still makes today?
I have owned an Aesthetix Calypso line stage amplifier for several weeks, which, as you know, sounds more than wonderful. The Calypso allows me to toggle absolute phase with the remote control. And, yes, I can hear a difference, more on some CDs than others. I can also detect a difference when listening to my FM tuner. About 90 percent of my CDs sound best with the absolute phase set in one particular position. When the absolute phase is correct, instruments sound more in focus and the sound stage is deeper. When the absolute phase is incorrect, the sound stage is slightly wider and the instruments are slightly diffused. (I hear no difference in the bass.) On rare occasion, I will listen with the absolute phase set 180 degrees out, because the image seems more realistic. Again, this is rare, usually I want the absolute phase to be correct. I get the feeling that with a little more practice, I can walk into the room with my system playing and determine whether the absolute phase is correct with most of my CDs without checking the status on the Calypso faceplate. The rest of my system is a Bryston 14Bsst power amplifier, an Ayre C-5xeMP universal CD/SACD player, and Acoustat 2+2 electrostatic speakers.
I can help you with the problems you had with PS audio because I have no idea what PS audio is, what is it, I am just now discovering what it is and what you do. I have been in high-end audio for years and never heard of you. Maybe advertising was the problem I don't know.
Boulder Colorado that's a ways over 5,280 feet isn't it. does the difference in air to about 500 ft make much of a difference density from 5200 feet to 500 feet make a difference on how your speaker systems sound
David G Perfectdaycalendar Very true.. As I get more involved in my career, I have become more and more an expert in certain areas.. I also have learned that I know much less that I once thought about other areas...
I still would love a RECOMMENDATION (front end only) on how digital can equal the punch, 3D sound and spatiality of a high-end Ekos/Dynavector Low MC front end....I have had Marantz, Oppo, DSD, Bluray, Philips, Parasound, GenesIs front end and the "reality" isnt even close!!! please help me understand why you are so high on digital?
"As the sphere of understanding grows ever larger, necessarily the surface area of ignorance gets ever bigger" - Dennis McKenna Isn't it funny how as our own knowledge increases, the more we realize how much larger the universe and it's unknown mysteries actually are? Perhaps also this analogy of a growing 3D sphere of knowledge could help to explain the common human cognitive bias known as the "Dunning-Kruger effect"?
According to Wikipedia, he sold it in 1990 and left. The company ceased operations in 1997 or 1998 (it's unclear which) due to financial problems, and shortly thereafter he bought back the name.
Wow dude, didn't know you were such an old fart. I started getting into audio in 1974 at twenty four years of age, NOT at your level. But I knew I wanted a decent hifi system. EPI (Winslow Burhoe), Advent, Roy Allison, Polk, Infinity Systems and Ohm Acoustics were just some of the (IMHO) great speaker manufactures. Then there was Genesis. Some of the nicest systems I ever heard were the models; two, three and even the inexpensive (cheap?) V-6. Nice heart-to-heart video sir. I'm impressed Paul, guess you know your stuff.
I'm confused now. So you sold PS Audio, and you mentioned you bought it back "for a while", yet you're still there? Do you mean you work there now but it was purchased again by someone else?
I was playing Pathworth Audio Power amp with a built in vol switch. The sound was beautiful. To upgrade, i got a PS Audio line Pre! OMG! The sound was worse off by 30 %. Only Cary Audio pre helped me to better the sound! That was 20 yrs ago, after that i dare not touch PS Audio again. I did hv their vintage cube power amp, lovely! Pual, care to comment?
Dear PAUL. I have RECENTLY BECAME YOUR FAN AS WELL AS PS audio. Is there elsewhere I can comunicate to ask about PS audion Products. Recently my CD player Marantz SA7 was spoiled and unrepairable. I noticed that your CD player does not have clock input builtin. Btw I have a DAC too. So I am looking at a CD transport. I am very impressed with PS audio after seeing many of your vidios. My email is dchang1899@gmail.com Thanks and regards! Keep up the good work.
Was happy i found a USA company, even tho it was pricey stuff ,untill i saw the bottom of a PS Audio Sprout amp. MADE IN CHINA. "Designed" in Boulder Colorado. So sad man.
A rare moment of honesty in the audio industry; well done Paul.
I’ve always enjoyed your videos Paul - thank you for your honesty
Truly enjoy hearing about the human side of audio pioneers such as yourself, and how you've overcome the obstacles. Thanks for sharing, Paul!
"All I know is I know nothing". I can relate to that. Thank you for your honesty and humility, it's so rare these days.
Hah! I had forgotten about saying that. It's still true! Thanks for the kind comment.
Very Honest. You are Highly respectable. Thank you for the videos I am learning a lot from them. I just happen to come across your channel by chance and am so glad I did. You have my subscription.
Me too...!
Paul, maybe your best video, to date.
I have most certainly seen that happen in other industries. A person maybe a fantastic carpenter, electrician, designer, etc....but for those people to start their own business requires being more than "A good Mechanic" First and foremost they need to understand how to run the business to make it profitable, provide good cash flow, be able to write good contracts, etc....be a good businessman. And being a "good mechanic" and a "good businessman" are not mutually exclusive. Many times its knowing who to hire to do the things that person lacks the proper knowledge for to be successful.
Paul, you are such a humble, honest and lovely person to chat to......hope for your success in business and your family .
Mr. McGowan, I’ve just recently started watching your videos and find them incredibly informative! I greatly appreciate you taking the time to share your wealth of knowledge and experience with us! ☮️🖖🏽
Thanks for your humbleness and honesty.
i thank you for share this with us, our own history some times may hurt us, but it always made us wiser and better, i can see that in you.
Regards from Chihuahua Mexico
The less you know the more you think you know, the more you know the less you think you know!
Such a good dude. Thank you for doing these Q&A vids and sharing yourself with the rest of the world. It really is a gift.
Paul, thanks so much for this video. I owned your PS IV H and PS II C+ until they were stolen decades ago; I would certainly have them yet today, if just for the pleasure of having a capable nostalgia system. I, too was a "one man band", in my first company. It made a lot of profit & nearly went bankrupt. To this day, I struggle to be a better listener (both musically and inter-personally), a better husband, drummer, guitarist, bass player and yes, businessman. One of the greatest steps one can take in life is to finally realize how little one actually knows. This, of course has nothing to do with one's intelligence; it's more an epiphany that reveals that you can enrich yourself by daring to trust others, and benefits those around you *and* yourself in the process. It broke my heart when you left PS Audio, but I had an idea you'd come back to it someday. PS Audio has always been my favorite electronics company, and remains so to this day. I'll never forget going to my good friend Rick Reed's Audio Salon and hearing an experiment he had set up in his 'Big Room', substituting a IV H & II C+ combo for an ARC amp & pre-amp combo (this was going on 40 years ago, but if memory serves it was an SP 6C & D-79*). Like I said; 40 years!!! The speakers were Acoustat 2+2 with the newly upgraded transformers. The sound of your little combo, at perhaps 10% of the more expensive kit's price just blew me away. Of course, it was fighting *WAY* out of it's weight class, and was in many ways inferior, but it still did so many things so well that I was floored, and will never forget that experience! Been a fan ever since & followed your progress ever since. I'm so glad to see you at the helm of PS where you belong, and PS to the point where it is today. Thanks for many years of great listening, and please keep these videos coming!!!
PS Audio stuff was good but I bought an Audio Research SP6 and Acoustat X's back in 1980 and while they have been through many modifications and repairs I still use them today and I don't think I've heard anything better.
Paul is amazing, what a fortune to found this channel to learn about HiFi and more important to learn about life, my respect and admiration for Paul.
Paul l have great respect for you and your company , hope the future treats you and your family Supper Well , kind regards from Australia and 50 years on loving hifi , but music first
Thanks for your honesty. Much respect.
I went through something similar in my journey to becomming an IT Director. The more I learned and knew... The more I knew I didn't know and needed to rely on specialists. I look at it like doctors. If you went to a doctor that said he was a Phycologist, Cardio Pulmary, Infectious Dissease and Podiatrist what would you do? RUN! Because its impossible to know it all. Paul youre an amazing person to be able to not only voice this but to actually internalize this.
Slowly making my way though all your content old and new. Thank you for sharing this story!
I think that is the most honest and true/accurate video piece you have ever done. Here's to you and know when enough is enough and knowing your limits!
Thanks for the honesty. Others can learn from our experiences.
You''ve truly earned my respect with this video. I've just come across your channel, watched a heap and loving it all. I'm maybe a VR photographer now, but my roots are in hifi. Thanks for your candidness and sincerity Paul.
So humble ... High character ... Win Win in life!
Wow an honest man in hi-fi! who'd have thought?
Very humble and honest, that says much about Paul and his company.
I was one of the few very lucky customers who owned a pair of Infinity IRSV's - regrettably I could not keep them as we re-modelled the house after moving to another one and the swimming pool I didn't want had to go somewhere - but now that the children have finally left home I am fairly certain I will be considering the new Genesis versions - in absolute fairness my ones were getting to the point where they needed some serious attention and were sold back to the guy I got them from originally - they were a surprisingly easy speaker to live with but you could not play them quietly - they demanded the best (Mark Levinson Monos, Krell CD and an Audio Research SP9 back in the day) and they demanded to be played loud - but now that things have moved on in this world I will have a good look around for alternatives before determining which way to go - greetings from UK
Every incredibly creative/ smart man I know says basically the same thing. “At last i’m smart enough to know how dumb I am “
Thanks Paul for sharing your wisdom with us...
You're a nice and open minded guy, Paul. It's a pleasure to listen to you.
Least your honest. Love these videos because Im just getting into vintage audio and love it. Watch you everyday almost. Learning something new everyday. Thanks man!
One word... Dignified.
Thanks Paul.
I owned a pair of Genesis V speakers. One of my favorite speakers and I miss them at times. Thanks for your honesty.
You must be a good mentor to younger people in the business. Very good to see.
just found your channel, and watched for a week. Love it.....thanks for sharing all of these....
Candor...and better, your trusting us with it. Thanks
What a good soul you are.
good work Paul...and thanks for all the good talk,,,THANKS
Hi, real interesting to hear your honest reaction.!!!
One of the more impressive QA’s. Thanks for your wisdom!
Thanks for sharing this Paul.
Love the honesty
Great story thanks for sharing it with us. I feel your pain. The older I get the less I know.
Paul, I am now 67 yrs of age and was in the clinical dental business both here in NZ & up in Ireland and I had the same problem .... it did my head in at times !!! I remember saying to my accountant early on .... if we are so profitable, how come we don't have any money !!!???
Thanks for sharing. Having started and run my own business, I totally get the part about discovering what I am not good at.
The 13 thumbs down in this video is proof that their are assholes in every crowd. A man can give the best honest answer to a reasonable question and some people still won’t be happy.
There has been more than one occasion that Paul and I have disagreed on an issue involving HiFi audio, but this was about his life and his experience... I can’t see how anyone could fault his response here as fake or inadequate.
Some folks are just impossible to please.
Much Respect ...
Thank you for sharing. It was pretty deep. Best wishes for PS Audio. I once owned a 4-way AC quintet way back then and it didn't bring magic to my system. My gear is so much better now and also my ears, so prob will give PS audio another try. I really want to support this Paul. Been watching him and bis videos...
Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Your videos are really inspiring.
Charming. As always.
Wow, You played in Genesis.
no, he played a sega genesis.
I loved my Genesis II. I still miss them. Paired with a Sansui 881, it was an outstanding pairing for under $600.
Always great videos. Love your avuncular erudition.
bravo sir
As a young business owner, I can related to this and appreciate it!
Paul, as always, you gave a good honest answer to a question, I watch many of your videos and learn from them. I have what I think is a nice audio system, which includes a Jolida 502A tube amp (upgraded by the factory with KT 150 and Mullard pre amp tubes), Emotiva CD player, Onkyo receiver (used as a tuner) and Merlin Excalibur speakers. My interconnects and speaker wires are made by Mapleshade Records. I hope that one day I can visit your facility and hear your awesome system. I would like to see how mine compares to it and see where I could improve on mine. Thanks for all the vidros, they are enjoyable and informative.
Julio A. Cruz II
Wow thank you this video we learn one or two something about life.
I admire the humility. It's not easy to discuss your limitations. But, we could use more of it to counter the seeming plague of megalomania.
My first serious speakers were Genesis Bookshelves and I loved them, hooked to a 35 wpc Yamaha
Thanks Paul
I understand I was in the same situation in 2006 in computer consulting. I was doing well but it was stressful and also doing everything. I let all go but did very well after.
Good man!
All the best Paul, genesis in the beginning a new beginning.
Paul McGowan for President!
Thank you.
Wow..I love playing music..messing with DAW and recording in home or with friends. Going through divorce after 26 years plus losing the home, this lifted me! :) Music is better than meds it is cosmic and it is healing. PS I am happy to say I was 222 on thumbs up..lol.
PEACE
I am more curious as to If Paul still stands behind Genesis products today. It appears they still produce the orig IRS style speakers like the set in listening room 1. We know how much he loves his IRS system, so what about the one Genesis still makes today?
You know. When to fold them when to walk away that's more than most people will ever know
Love your videos. Really aspire to buy a ps audio product. 🤘 love from India.
I have owned an Aesthetix Calypso line stage amplifier for several weeks, which, as you know, sounds more than wonderful. The Calypso allows me to toggle absolute phase with the remote control. And, yes, I can hear a difference, more on some CDs than others. I can also detect a difference when listening to my FM tuner.
About 90 percent of my CDs sound best with the absolute phase set in one particular position. When the absolute phase is correct, instruments sound more in focus and the sound stage is deeper. When the absolute phase is incorrect, the sound stage is slightly wider and the instruments are slightly diffused. (I hear no difference in the bass.)
On rare occasion, I will listen with the absolute phase set 180 degrees out, because the image seems more realistic. Again, this is rare, usually I want the absolute phase to be correct.
I get the feeling that with a little more practice, I can walk into the room with my system playing and determine whether the absolute phase is correct with most of my CDs without checking the status on the Calypso faceplate.
The rest of my system is a Bryston 14Bsst power amplifier, an Ayre C-5xeMP universal CD/SACD player, and Acoustat 2+2 electrostatic speakers.
Comments below just go to prove that ultimately, people like honesty when it is presented to them.
Almost philosophical and very honest
Kool Paul !!!!!
Awsome video paul
Same here and it has cost me dearly!
Do you have the dimensions for the stands that came with the Genesis Physics 410s? I have a set and no stands.
Genesis Physics was another company than Genesis Technolgies of which I was part of. Sorry about that.
Listened to 00:40 like five times and finally figured out that Paul tried to pronounce Lieshout ('Lees-howt), haha
You are a wise man, when you realize, how little you know. :)
Didn't know you were in Genesis, I love Lamb Lies Down
I can help you with the problems you had with PS audio because I have no idea what PS audio is, what is it, I am just now discovering what it is and what you do. I have been in high-end audio for years and never heard of you. Maybe advertising was the problem I don't know.
Boulder Colorado that's a ways over 5,280 feet isn't it. does the difference in air to about 500 ft make much of a difference density from 5200 feet to 500 feet make a difference on how your speaker systems sound
He does great with business but old school in audio
I once heard it said, 'an expert is someone, who over time, knows more and more about less and less.
David G Perfectdaycalendar Very true.. As I get more involved in my career, I have become more and more an expert in certain areas.. I also have learned that I know much less that I once thought about other areas...
3:16 i found to be Very true.
I still would love a RECOMMENDATION (front end only) on how digital can equal the punch, 3D sound and spatiality of a high-end Ekos/Dynavector Low MC front end....I have had Marantz, Oppo, DSD, Bluray, Philips, Parasound, GenesIs front end and the "reality" isnt even close!!! please help me understand why you are so high on digital?
"As the sphere of understanding grows ever larger, necessarily the surface area of ignorance gets ever bigger" - Dennis McKenna
Isn't it funny how as our own knowledge increases, the more we realize how much larger the universe and it's unknown mysteries actually are? Perhaps also this analogy of a growing 3D sphere of knowledge could help to explain the common human cognitive bias known as the "Dunning-Kruger effect"?
Why did Genesis break up? You were great with Phil Collins!
So you still own ps audio Paul?
According to Wikipedia, he sold it in 1990 and left. The company ceased operations in 1997 or 1998 (it's unclear which) due to financial problems, and shortly thereafter he bought back the name.
Wow dude, didn't know you were such an old fart. I started getting into audio in 1974 at twenty four years of age, NOT at your level. But I knew I wanted a decent hifi system. EPI (Winslow Burhoe), Advent, Roy Allison, Polk, Infinity Systems and Ohm Acoustics were just some of the (IMHO) great speaker manufactures. Then there was Genesis. Some of the nicest systems I ever heard were the models; two, three and even the inexpensive (cheap?) V-6. Nice heart-to-heart video sir. I'm impressed Paul, guess you know your stuff.
I'm confused now. So you sold PS Audio, and you mentioned you bought it back "for a while", yet you're still there?
Do you mean you work there now but it was purchased again by someone else?
Yup, I'm not young enough to know everything anymore either. 😄
wow...must be nice jamming with Phil Collins all the time
I was playing Pathworth Audio Power amp with a built in vol switch. The sound was beautiful. To upgrade, i got a PS Audio line Pre! OMG! The sound was worse off by 30 %. Only Cary Audio pre helped me to better the sound! That was 20 yrs ago, after that i dare not touch PS Audio again. I did hv their vintage cube power amp, lovely! Pual, care to comment?
Dear PAUL. I have RECENTLY BECAME YOUR FAN AS WELL AS PS audio. Is there elsewhere I can comunicate to ask about PS audion Products. Recently my CD player Marantz SA7 was spoiled and unrepairable. I noticed that your CD player does not have clock input builtin. Btw I have a DAC too. So I am looking at a CD transport. I am very impressed with PS audio after seeing many of your vidios. My email is dchang1899@gmail.com
Thanks and regards! Keep up the good work.
Dude your voice reminds me of bob ross the painter 👍
You can make a small fortune in the audio business, just gotta start out with a large fortune 😅
It's all about cash flow
Yeah, the superinflated ego I had 30 years ago was an air balloon.
Was happy i found a USA company, even tho it was pricey stuff ,untill i saw the bottom of a PS Audio Sprout amp. MADE IN CHINA. "Designed" in Boulder Colorado. So sad man.
Paul McGowen is an old man with old ideas about audio