PS Audio at AXPONA 2026: The joke was on me
Rogier van Bakel investigates the large PS Audio room at AXPONA 2026, and he has a special, unexpected listening experience while checking out the company's lineup of Aspen speakers.
PS Audio Goes Direct in the US
In a late-August newsletter, PS Audio announced a major change in how it does business. In the United States, its home market, the company stopped selling its products through dealers and opted for a direct, online-only sales model. Outside the US, it will continue to sell through authorized dealers.
PS Audio Reborn
We'd been playing phone tag for a couple of weeks, but Paul McGowan was finally tethered to a handset as he explained to me a product from his "new" company, the reincarnation of PS">http://www.psaudio.com">PS Audio. "Everything you've ever wanted in a power conditioner---times 10---with none of the drawbacks!" McGowan could hardly contain himself while pitching his latest brainstorm. He certainly had an intriguing idea, but the path from founder of PS Audio back in the late '70s to Genesis">http://www.gen-tech.com">Genesis Technologies and back again was nearly as interesting.
PS Audio's Power Plant P500
Over the past few years, PS">http://www.psaudio.com">PS Audio's P300http://www.stereophile.com//accessoryreviews/181/">P300; AC regenerator has been very well received by the audiophile community, winning praise (and a Stereophile "Recommended Components" listing) for its ability to lower the noise floor to vanishing levels and to extract unforeseen levels of performance from users' hi-fi systems. Good as it is, the P300 disappointed some because it can't supply enough current for power amps or other juice-hungry gear needing more than its 300W maximum. Some users also complained that despite the sonic improvement offered, the P300 was too bulky for its power rating, ran too hot, and drew too much current when simply idling.
PSB Launches "Imagine" Loudspeakers
PSB came to New York in late July to debut its new line of loudspeakers, giving journos an advance peek at them before the official launch at the CEDIA Conference in early September. Paul">http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/231/">Paul Barton, showing a lot of emotion for a normally reserved Canadian, was frankly in love with the four new loudspeakers.
PSB Speakers launches SubSeries BP7 powered subwoofer
PSB Speakers just launched the SubSeries BP7 powered subwoofer, a compact sealed model with a bipolar driver array and a 350W Universal class-D (UCD) amplifier. Pricing is $1199 USD (tariff adjusted) and $1399 CAD.
Public Broadcasting Makes Major Investment in "New Media Age"
In an "increasingly complicated and competitive media environment," public broadcasting intends to be there. So declared the Corporation">http://www.cpb.org/">Corporation for Public Broadcasting on March 30, when it announced an almost $2 million investment in projects for National">http://www.npr.org/">National Public Radio and Public Interactive. CPB has long held the intellectual high ground in broadcasting, and its new investments are intended to continue that tradition. The goal of the program is to create "new content and services which will broaden the public square of ideas and civic discourse," according to a corporate press release.
Pure Audiophile is Born
It's a brave group of souls who run today's audiophile music labels. Sane business minds would likely deem it foolhardy to start a new specialty label these days, but sometimes one's passion for music overrides the rational impulse to try something a little bit more secure (like perhaps an Internet company?).
Qobuz Connect comes to BluOS for direct high-resolution app-to-player streaming
BluOS, the multiroom platform from Lenbrook Media Group, announced upcoming support for Qobuz Connect. The integration will let listeners cast music directly from the Qobuz app to any compatible BluOS player.
Qobuz Hi-Rez Streaming Launches in the US
Qobuz, the French subscription hi-rez streaming and download service, finally launches in the US today, right before the start of CanJam NYC. Qobuz not only offers more than 40 million tracks, over two million of which are said to be hi-rez, but also includes liner notes for many albums. The service has also secured partnerships that enable it to position Qobuz as the "official" streaming service of CanJam and other US high-end audio shows.