Ethan Winer challenges Paul McGowan to a public debate

In this video I challenge Paul McGowan of PS Audio to debate me publicly about audio fidelity.
Comments that are insulting, off-topic, ignorant, combative, or add no value to the conversation, will be deleted.

And this is my Null Tester demo that proves the four wires I compared all pass audio identically:

[CraftAero]

Ethan: Paul, explain to me the objective benefits of your $1000 interconnects.
Paul: Aahhh, good question. I remember hiking in the woods north of my house. No, wait... it was south. Well, really more south-west. It was a warm sunny day. I remember this because it was unusual for September. The birds were singing and the squirrels were foraging for nuts, you know... like they do. Any-who... PS cables are the best.
Paul is a salesman, full stop.
His "opinions" are heavily greased with the very snake oil he SELLS.
Debating a salesman is akin to debating a politician. Obfuscation, non-answers, eluding the questions and, especially, clouding the issues with double speak and subject changes are stock & trade for both.

[FoxTick]

Back in the 90's, I used to work in a high-end HiFi shop, I was kind of a gopher and all-around doer of what needed to be done, dusting and keeping things clean, cleaning the bathroom, helping with setting up auditions, loading heavy gear, etc.

One day this guy comes in, he was purchasing a very high-end CD transport and a DAC to go with it. Of course, there were listening auditions to make sure this was what he wanted. After a few songs, he said "it sounds good, but it's a bit flat sounding", this is over $10, 000 (in 90's money) worth of gear we're talking about LOL. So, the sales weasel recommends an external clock source (another $3k) and has me do the setup. I connect the clock source to the DAC's word clock input and then we put on the same CD he was listening to before. About halfway through the first song, the customer says "WOW! the everything sounds so much more OPEN and the detail and sound stage are also improved, I'LL TAKE IT!". Cool, whatever, another sale! He even sprung another $250 for the high-quality BNC cable.

As I was boxing everything up, I then noticed the DAC had a small switch on the back panel labeled "Clock Source" with "Internal" and "External" being the two options. I didn't have the heart to say anything, but that switch was set to "Internal" the whole time. I kept my mouth shut, switched it to "External", boxed everything up and sent the customer on his way. I never said anything for fear of losing my job, but it just goes to show how easily perception can be influenced.

[golfhead]

This debate would never happen for the same reason that audio reviewers never do blind listening tests. It would show that these reviewers couldn’t identify which cable lifted the veil, widened the soundstage, and paid their salary even if their life depended on it.

[scottlowell]

The more educated I became in electronics and audio, the further it pushed me away from many in the high-end community. There is just too much magic and fantasy taking place of fact. They listen to audio jewellery, not music. The snobs dismiss those who measure as "tin ear meter readers" and claim to hear the unhearable. They make claims of cable that somehow gain (vs rolloff) is involved. They also violently dismiss null and abx/dbt testers as "Inconclusive, or polluting of the original signal." History is littered with the crushed egos of those that failed blind amplifier and cable comparisons. Dunlavy used to demo his flagship speakers with a fake cable swap out that totally fooled the cocksure audio snobs in attendance. They live in a world that is like religious fundamentalism in denial of science. They also lean heavily on higher price always = better sound. When it comes to being on the side of engineers or audio mystics (especially those who make products they tout) I choose the engineers perspective. Science FTW \o/

[Craig_Spurlock]

The debate should end with playing Ethan's "A Cello Rondo", on a PS Audio system.

[zeller]

Is Paul really the one to go after on cables? Go after Audioquest, Wireworld, Kimber etc

[H-]

If I were a manufacturer of preamplifiers and power amplifiers, I definitely would not be claiming that cables make a difference with my equipment since that implies some pretty serious design issues if small changes in the characteristics of the cable (probably capacitance) affect performance.

[rogerwalter]

The real difference between these cables and amplifiers is that Paul has to address (read sales) it to prospective customers and you have to address it at AES & university students.

[comeinchiesa]

I really love what Ethan is tryin to do. A lot of respect. We need more people like him.

[cinqo]

Even tube amplifiers vs solid state amplifiers would sound the same with then null tester?

[Bob.martens]

I'm an audiophile audio engineer and I can attest Paul McGowan is a clown.

[antoniov]

103+ people that bought $1, 000 Cables disliked this video.

[gotham]

I was okay with this video, until you decided to take an unnecessary cheap shot at Paul’s pronunciation of “timbre, ” in what is apparently a sad little attempt to assert what you see as your intellectual superiority. Paul is always gracious and understanding in his videos. You, clearly, are not.

[johnsmith]

This crazy thing called a "blind listening test" exists for anyone who want to know who the salesman is.

[AllenVanWert]

Timbre part makes me happy. You are the best!

[pascouramment]

I was really hoping that when I opened this the full title would read, “Ethan Winer challenges Paul McCartney to a duel.”

[rrho]

I watched about 8 PS audio videos before I got to the snake oil one.

[tootime]

I liked Paul at first, but then I heard him say things that quickly changed my mind. If I remember correctly from one video, he says swapping power cords is a great place to start in improving the sound you get from your system. I have limited electrical background, but I'm fully in the camp that says equipment sounds the same if it measures the same.

Maybe this will discredit me, but I have a set of studio monitors for my PC and another for my TV setup. I figure they're good enough for me if they're good enough for the people who mix and master.

[MichaelMalega]

Yes, if the amplifiers measure the same on numbers they should sound differently because of - Circuit board, Capacitors, Resistors., Power supply (how clean it is. etc). Would you think all of these will make the "exit" amplifier sound different?

[vwestlife]

So I'm guessing Paul never took you up on your offer? I heard he also said he was going to make a video demonstrating the audible difference between cheap and expensive cables, but that never happened either. In his response to you, he also laughably claimed that EMI isn't electrical. Then what the heck does he think the E stands for!?