Audio Unleashed

“Not Only Clickbait, But Ragebait!”

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashedThis 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

“This Took a Turn for the Kinky!”

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashedThis 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/

“Celebrating Sonic Diversity!”

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashedThis 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/

“If Marc Maron Can Do It, So Can We!”

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashedThis 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

“The One with Sandy Gross!”

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashedThis 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

“Yub Nub, Baby!”

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashedThis week, Brent and Dennis discuss the death of music hard drives (and the inevitable doom of all music recordings?); riff on a  cut’n’paste review of a Coherence Systems… something or other, and worry whether a podcast they created about the Harman target curve using A.I. might actually be better than … well, not Audio Unleashed, of course, but much of what passes for audio journalism.
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: 
“Music industry’s 1990s hard drives, like all HDDs, are dying” by Kevin Purdy:https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/09/music-industrys-1990s-hard-drives-like-all-hdds-are-dying/
“New five pound note plays vinyl records” by Blowfelt: https://youtu.be/MtNXDTPBzB0?si=3nL6eNrKeVCbnE3X
“Coherence Systems/ADD Powr Sorcer Apprentice Review” by Alan Sircom: https://hifiplus.com/articles/coherence-systems-add-powr-sorcer-apprentice/
“Google is using AI to make fake podcasts from your notes” by Emma Roth: https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/11/24242138/google-notebook-llm-ai-fake-podcasts-research
“Segmentation of Listeners Based on Their Preferred Headphone Sound Quality Profiles” by Olive, Sean; Welti, Todd; Khonsaripour, Omid: https://aes2.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=20289
“We Used A.I. to Make a Fake Podcast About the Harman Target Curve for Headphones” by Audio Unleashed: https://youtu.be/H_rx7UMMYq4?si=tU_Wx4xPYi7PMol6

“Math UNLEASHED!”

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashedThis week, Brent and Dennis opine about whether or not an elaborate AI-powered streaming music scam is any worse than most of what Spotify does, pontificate about whether or not anyone needs to read amplifier reviews, and dig through the mid-year revenue report from the RIAA for clues about the future of music formats.
 
Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):
 
📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET
 
📚 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
 
Further Reading: 
“FBI busts musician’s elaborate AI-powered $10M streaming-royalty heist” by Benj Edwards: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/09/fbi-busts-musicians-elaborate-ai-powered-10m-streaming-royalty-heist/
“Eleven Predictions: Here's What AI Does Next” by Ted Gioia: https://www.honest-broker.com/p/eleven-predictions-heres-what-ai?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=296132&post_id=148502330&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=130q1&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
“Hegel H600 and H400: Unleashing the Power of the New Control App” by CE Critic: https://cecritic.com/news/integrated-amplifier/hegel-h600-and-h400-unleashing-the-power-of-the-new-control-app
“RIAA MID-YEAR 2024 RECORDED MUSIC REVENUE REPORT” Analysis by Matt Bass, RIAA Vice President, Research | Gold & Platinum Operations: https://www.riaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/RIAA-Mid-Year-2024-Revenue-Report.pdf
“Music Keeps the Groove in the First Half of 2024” by RIAA: https://riaa.medium.com/music-keeps-the-groove-in-the-first-half-of-2024-8844d6c9949d
The Tronosonic Experience: https://thetronosonicexperience.bandcamp.com/

“The Paradox of Punks”

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashedThis week, Brent and Dennis kick things off with everyone’s favorite: a vocabulary lesson! What’s the difference between decibels and SPLs, and how are those distinct from loudness? Also, what the heck are LUFS? Next: If EarFun’s new earphones are all that, why pay more? And can Sonos un-punch its own face?
Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):
📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET
📚 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
Further Reading: 
“EVerything Explained | Episode One: What Do ‘dB’, ‘Loudness’and ‘SPL’ Actually Mean? by Electro-Voice Official: https://youtu.be/SrOiveJvlFE?si=mvHVLeGBjZiaufMw
“For the Love of Music: Loudness Normalization” by Thomas Lund: https://audioxpress.com/article/for-the-love-of-music-loudness-normalization
Harry Styles - “As It Was” (Official Video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5v3kku4y6Q
“Spirit They've Vanished” by Avey Tare & Panda Bear: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_pyaRPzZ3A
“Earfun Air Pro 4 review: the best budget wireless earbuds on the planet” by Simon Cohen: https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/earfun-air-pro-4-review/
“The Sound Of Failure At Sonos” by Dan Pontefract: https://www.forbes.com/sites/danpontefract/2024/08/24/the-sound-of-failure-at-sonos/
“Apple’s War on Windows” by Dennis Burger: https://www.soundstagesimplifi.com/index.php/feature-articles/259-apples-war-on-windows
 

“The Microsoft of Really Cheap Turntables”

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashedThis week, Brent and Dennis ponder whether our objective measurement techniques are keeping up with the sorts of audio gear people are actually buying, talk more trash about Spotify, and dig into the pros and cons of single-driver speakers.  
 
Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):
 
📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET
 
📚 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
 
Further Reading: 
“New Ways to Measure Noise Cancelling, Transparency, and Other Modes in Headphones and Earphones” by Brent Butterworth: https://audioxpress.com/article/new-ways-to-measure-noise-cancelling-transparency-and-other-modes-in-headphones-and-earphones
“We're changing our scoring” by Christian Thomas: https://www.soundguys.com/were-changing-our-scoring-103635/
“Why I Finally Quit Spotify” by Kyle Chayka: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/why-i-finally-quit-spotify
“Why Crossoverless Single-Driver Speakers Are (Mostly) Crap! (Ep:84)” by soundstagenetwork: https://youtu.be/Uc7dtawhSVg?si=HLOhQknvyXbh-fE3
GR Research LGK 2.0 Speaker Review (A Joke): https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/gr-research-lgk-2-0-speaker-review-a-joke.34783/
“Voxativ Ampeggio 2024 loudspeaker Measurements” by John Atkinson: https://www.stereophile.com/content/voxativ-ampeggio-2024-loudspeaker-measurements

“I Bought My Lightsaber; Now I’m a Jedi!”

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashedApologies for the sound quality this week. We had some back-end technical issues and had to rely on our compressed cloud backup audio stream for editing. With that said, the conversation is one we hope you dig. We start by digging into the reader mailbag to address comments in support of and opposed to our take on the ASR v. GR-Research kerfuffle. Next up, we dig into why Sonos felt it needed to send out an apology letter to its customers,  then discuss a cool episode of Your Morning Coffee that breaks down how algorithms and pay structures affect what music we hear.
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
 
Further Reading: 
Audio Unleashed Ep. 32: “But... the Nakamichi Dragon!”: https://youtu.be/4_1NoCl_uzw?si=Sj_0ohv0Dnn69BLG
“What the HECK was Revel Thinking?! Revel Performa M22 Upgrades!” by GR-Research: https://youtu.be/JH1DrkqHatQ?si=4NLBuHevAogzefcJ
“Does a ‘high end’ name equal high end performance? Revel M106” by GR-Research: https://youtu.be/liNKOnNinSs?si=1aDAbEnTqvMiiHpC
“Sonos Apologizes for Widely Criticized App Redesign, Provides Progress Update” by Juli Clover: https://www.macrumors.com/2024/07/25/sonos-app-update-apology/
“The Best Multiroom Wireless Speaker System” by Dennis Burger: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/sonos-player/
YMC Special - Will Page's “A Case For Completion” by Your Morning Coffee: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ymc-special-will-pages-a-case-for-completion/id1529809478?i=1000662736677