We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Dennis and Brent discuss how spending money and seeing measurements can influence subjective listening impressions, take a weird vicarious trip to a Japanese Kissa, and listen to a direct comparison between the same digital master delivered on a variety of different media.

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s new album! CD normally costs $13 ($10 + $3 for shipping); use code audiounleashedepi42 for 40% off the CD. (Offer extended! Now expires 2/1/25.)

https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

📚 A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole: https://amzn.to/4h7kZwb

📚 Budget Travel For Dummies by Geoffrey Morrison: https://amzn.to/3uiIPlp

📚Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3ZlTLtE

📚Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0

📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET

Further Reading:

• “Was ASR right on the Power Plant?” by Paul McGowan, PS Audio: https://youtu.be/wAywgassj1Q?si=hvhFJwuaL_ToguSI
• “On Listening - Part 7: The Japanese Kissa” by OMA ǀ Oswalds Mill Audio: https://youtu.be/ZYb6AnGOJ0I?si=UqYPJQnZsKdXuLuV
• “Is Hi-Fi a Kink or a Fetish?” by Dennis Burger: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1305-is-hi-fi-a-kink-or-a-fetish
• “I Compared Vinyl vs Tape vs Cassette vs Streaming – Results were SHOCKING!” by Dom Sigalas: https://youtu.be/6iohmhZWDNo?si=kRUeHQxxTf7jZVbH
• “The New Standard That Killed the Loudness War” by Brent Butterworth: https://www.soundstagesolo.com/index.php/features/274-the-new-standard-that-killed-the-loudness-war

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, while the Audiophiliac (Steve Guttenberg) questions whether we can trust audio reviewers, Dennis and Brent decide whether we can trust Steve Guttenberg. Then they make the mistake of watching one the audio world’s cringiest videos, in which audio icon Mark Levinson tries to explain how PCM audio is stressing everyone out, or not stressing everyone out, or something. Or nothing. Or whatever the lawyers let him say. Last, Dennis and Brent check out a Stereophile column by John Atkinson that definitely is not stressing anyone out—except perhaps makers of gratuitously expensive audio gear.

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s new album! CD normally costs $13 ($10 + $3 for shipping); use code audiounleashedepi42 for 40% off the CD. (Offer extended! Now expires 2/1/25.) https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

📚 Budget Travel For Dummies by Geoffrey Morrison: https://amzn.to/3uiIPlp

📚Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3ZlTLtE

📚Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0

📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET

Further Reading:

• “POLL: Are AUDIOPHILE Reviews BS?” by Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac: https://youtu.be/as2IUMhxmJ0?si=kDLQIL7JUZdiAaj9
• “How Do You Know Whether You Can Trust a Review?” by Dennis Burger: https://soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1309-how-do-you-know-whether-you-can-trust-a-review
• “Can Daniel Hertz C-Wave ‘Fix’ PCM and Even Improve Your Health?” by Audiophile Junkie: https://youtu.be/kp2MmIqVjTA?si=p5AZvkScalmuEmNY
• “Taking Care of Business” by John Atkinson: https://www.stereophile.com/content/taking-care-business

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis dig into the latest drama surrounding a sus audio manufacturer trying to suppress bad press; riff on yet another article about the increasing appeal of vintage audio gear; and talk about king-of-all-audio-media John Darko’s experimentations with different amps driving KEF’s Q Concerto Meta speaker. Should you run screaming (or quietly exit) from any dealer who insists there's some perfect amp for your speakers?

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s new album! CD normally costs $13 ($10 + $3 for shipping); use code audiounleashedepi42 for 40% off the CD. (Offer expires 1/1/25.)

https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

📚 Budget Travel For Dummies by Geoffrey Morrison: https://amzn.to/3uiIPlp

📚Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3ZlTLtE

📚Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0

📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET

Further Reading:

• “We Answer Floyd Toole's Burning Question (And Yours, Too!)” by Audio Unleashed: https://youtu.be/x4w33TTgRpE?si=9R5mgwfGAIf8fwUn
• “Tom Evans audio proves that their $30,000 audio preamp is garbage by filing a bogus copyright claim” by Louis Rossmann: https://youtu.be/gJYIhLQJtTs?si=ghaXydj05zmCJzv7
• “The £ 25, 000 Pre Amp That Went Wrong Tom Evans Mastergroove SR Mk III” by Mend It Mark: https://archive.org/details/the-gbp-25-000-pre-amp-that-went-wrong-tom-evans-mastergroove-sr-mk-iii-rjbp-fsfzi-i
• “Why is vintage audio equipment booming?” by Suzanne Bearne: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyjvn658n6o
• “Amplifier matching with the KEF Q Concerto Meta” by John Darko: https://darko.audio/2024/12/amplifier-matching-with-the-kef-q-concerto-meta/

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis bemoan the sordid tasks mainstream tech journalists are forced to do these days; dig deep into the current state of audio recording methods as an excuse to promote Brent’s new album; and shine a light on a great review of FiiO’s new portable CD player, which really might change the way we consume music.

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s new album! CD normally costs $13 ($10 + $3 for shipping); use code audiounleashedepi42 for 40% off the CD. (Offer expires 1/1/25.)

https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

📚 Budget Travel For Dummies by Geoffrey Morrison: https://amzn.to/3uiIPlp

📚Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3ZlTLtE

📚Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0

📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET

Further Reading:

• “Apple’s headphone adapter for older iPhones sells out, possibly never to return” by Samuel Axon: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/apples-headphone-adapter-for-older-iphones-sells-out-possibly-never-to-return/
• “Fiio DM13 review: Get ready to fall in love with CDs all over again” by Derek Malcolm: https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/fiio-dm13-portable-cd-player-review-bluetooth/
• Plaid Pants by Cyger & Butterworth: https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis welcome headphone expert and friend of the podcast Lauren Dragan to answer the question: does the new hearing-aid functionality of Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 really work, or is it just another quickly tacked-on feature everybody else will have to copy? But before that: Some bloviating about Bose’ purchase of the McIntosh Group and some gushing about Erin’s Audio Corner’s review of the Børresen X3 speaker (and some not-so-gushing about a few other reviews of the same speaker).

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):

📚 Budget Travel For Dummies by Geoffrey Morrison: https://amzn.to/3uiIPlp

📚Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3ZlTLtE

📚Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0

📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET

Further Reading:

• “The Gift” by Twenty Thousand Hertz: https://www.20k.org/episodes/thegift
• “Bose buys McIntosh” by Kif Leswing: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/19/bose-buys-mcintosh-storied-maker-of-high-end-luxury-audio-equipment.html
• “Bose Corporation Snaps Up High-End Audio Brand McIntosh” by Mark Sparrow https://www.forbes.com/sites/marksparrow/2024/11/19/bose-corporation-snaps-up-high-end-audio-brand-mcintosh/
• “Bose Corporation Acquires McIntosh Group” by Mark Henninger: https://www.stereophile.com/content/bose-corporation-acquires-mcintosh-group

• “The Hidden Secrets of BØRRESEN X3 SPEAKER Audiophiles Need to Know” by Erin's Audio Corner: https://youtu.be/EfasOu928tQ?si=uHRVnbchWAKJ5sMN
• “RF: A Phantom Menace?” by Brent Butterworth: https://www.soundstagesolo.com/index.php/features/346-rf-a-phantom-menace
• “The Børresen X3 Floor Standing Loudspeaker Review” by The Absolute Sound: https://youtu.be/XD0ihyCGnmM?si=o-hCj0oMoHwZKjYZ
• “Børresen X3, You Gotta Hear These Speakers!” by Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac: https://youtu.be/mXloRt4pmN8?si=hbQtR2WPLkwEL6-o
• “Børresen X3 Loudspeaker” by Stuart Smith: https://www.hifipig.com/borresen-x3-loudspeaker-review/
• “Troubling Trend: 2024 CEDIA Expo Loses Hundreds of Attendees This Year” by Ted Green: https://www.strata-gee.com/troubling-trend-2024-cedia-expo-loses-hundreds-of-attendees-this-year/
• “CEDIA 2019 Report: A Tale of the Haves and the Have-Nots” by Dennis Burger: https://hometheaterreview.com/cedia-2019-report-a-tale-of-the-haves-and-the-have-nots/

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis learn a thing or four about how everything they thought they knew about modern class-D amps was totally wrong; discuss some new FTC rules that might actually affect the audio industry (or at least, the high-end audio industry), and dig into a review of a “magickal” new amplifier.

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):

📚 Budget Travel For Dummies by Geoffrey Morrison: https://amzn.to/3uiIPlp

📚Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3ZlTLtE

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/silicone-face-scrubber-review/

📚Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0

📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET

Further Reading:

• “Life on the Edge – A Personal Perspective on the Past, Present, and Future of Class D Audio Amplifiers” by Bruno Putzeys: https://hometheaterhifi.com/30th-anniversary/the-now/life-on-the-edge-a-personal-perspective-on-the-past-present-and-future-of-class-d-audio-amplifiers/
• “Audioholics Petition to Reopen FTC Final Amplifier Rule of 2024” by Gene DellaSala: https://www.audioholics.com/audio-amplifier/ftc-final-amplifier-rule-2024
• “The FTC Updates the ‘Amplifier Rule’” by John Atkinson: https://www.stereophile.com/content/ftc-updates-amplifier-rule
• “Trafomatic Audio Rhapsody Review” by Alan Sircom: https://hifiplus.com/articles/trafomatic-audio-rhapsody/
• “Trafomatic Rhapsody” by Ken Kessler: https://absolutesounds.com/pdf/main/press/HFN%20Dec%2023%20Trafomatic%20Rhapsody_Reprint-LOW.pdf
• “Marantz steps into the unknown w/ Horizon, Grand Horizon” by John Darko: https://darko.audio/2024/10/marantz-steps-into-the-unknown-w-horizon-grand-horizon/
• “Marantz - Toronto Audiofest 2024” by Robert Schryer: https://www.stereophile.com/content/marantz-toronto-audiofest-2024
• “DEVIALET Renegotiates Its Debt”: https://startup-in-europe.com/2024/10/between-financial-crisis-and-repositioning-strategy-devialet-renegotiates-its-debt/

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis finally lift the lid on the secret Audiophile Society project Brent has been teasing for months, dive deep(ish) into the subject of soundstage in headphones, and check out a new video from Audioholics’ Gene DellaSala about whether or not you should upgrade your speakers’ crossovers.

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):

📚 Budget Travel For Dummies by Geoffrey Morrison: https://amzn.to/3uiIPlp

📚Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3ZlTLtE

https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/silicone-face-scrubber-review/

📚Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0

📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET

Further Reading:

• “The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album”: https://theaudiophilesociety.com/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album
• “Soundstage Is (Much) More Complicated Than You Think” by Griffin Silver: https://headphones.com/blogs/features/soundstage-is-much-more-complicated-than-you-think
• “After Half a Century of My Skipping Skin Care, This $9 Scrubber Finally Got Me Washing My Face” by Brent Butterworth: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/silicone-face-scrubber-review/
• “Loudspeaker Crossover Upgrades - Are They Worth the Effort?” by Audioholics: https://youtu.be/3cbe7q2bnvA?si=rlrFePFKYGO9uWPn

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis are joined by industry legend Sandy Gross—co-founder of Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, and GoldenEar Technology—to reflect on the legacy of Sound & Vision and its forebear Stereo Review, following the news that S&V is ceasing print circulation. And in an Audio Unleashed first, Sandy sticks around for the second segment to talk about home theater, personally and professionally.

Next up: a discussion of John Atkinson’s Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature loudspeaker in this month’s Stereophile.

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):

📚 Budget Travel For Dummies by Geoffrey Morrison: https://amzn.to/3uiIPlp

📚Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3ZlTLtE

📚Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0

📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET

Further Reading:

• “Sound & Vision Magazine Takes a Bow” by Mark Henninger: https://www.soundandvision.com/content/internet-killed-magazine-star
• “Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature loudspeaker” by John Atkinson: https://www.stereophile.com/content/bowers-wilkins-805-d4-signature-loudspeaker
• “Do We Really Need All These Target Curves?” by Brent Butterworth https://soundstagesolo.com/index.php/features/354-do-we-really-need-all-these-target-curves
• “How Far Have Headphones Come?” by Brent Butterworth https://www.soundstagesolo.com/index.php/features/233-how-far-have-headphones-come