PS Audio
Paul McGowan began PS Audio out of his Santa Maria, CA, living room in 1973, with financing from Stan Warren. The company is now based in Boulder, CO.
It all started with a phono preamp that McGowan built inside a cigar box to improve the audio performance at the FM station where he was program director after an FCC warning. A local audiophile gave him $500 seed money to produced more, and soon McGowan was selling $59.95 cigar box-sized preamps direct-to-consumer. In the almost 50 years since, PS Audio has expanded to making amps, DACs, power centers and connectors, and other accessories. Popular products include the DirectStream DAC, Stellar GainCell Preamp/DAC and BHK Signature Preamp.