The Audiophile Wiki gives sound answers
The audiophile lexicon goes way, way back, at least to the early 1950s hi-fi craze. Here's a place to get a grip on it.
The Audiophile Wiki was initiated by PS Audio's Paul McGowan to help answer questions about audio.
"For years, I have been on a personal crusade to put whatever effort I could into helping raise awareness of our industry," McGowan said. "I have spent hundreds (probably thousands) of hours answering questions about everything from how to connect a loudspeaker to how a transistor works, all in service to PS Audio customers and the high end."
The Audiophile Wiki logo
It's all in the Audiophile Wiki: audio companies, designers, analog, digital, tubes, transistors, reviewers, speakers, amplifiers, turntables, etc. For example, if you're just getting into vinyl, check out the entry for Phono Cartridge:
"A phono cartridge is a device that reads the grooves on a phonograph record. There are multiple types of phono cartridges, moving magnet, moving coil, strain gauge, ceramic cartridge, and many others through the years.
All phono cartridges share in common the conversion of mechanical movement into either sound (mechanical cartridge) or electrical energy for later amplification.
The Audiophile Wiki launched in May of this year, so there's lots of gaps. Feel free to fill in missing facts.
Steve Guttenberg is a frequent contributor to magazines and Web sites including Home Entertainment, Playback, and Ultimate AV. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
