We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis kick things off by investigating whether translating the words of non-English speakers in a way that suits your agenda might be a promising new business model for bad audio websites. Then they’re joined by SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider for a post-mortem on Dennis’ historic and fateful appearance on The HiFi Five. Wrapping things up for normies, they respond to a request from numerous Patrons to look into New Record Day’s power cable conversion testimony to answer the question: Is it worthwhile to do a deep dive into the testing procedures of people who haven’t themselves done a deep dive into the subject of testing procedures?

📖 Get your copy of the 4th edition of Floyd Toole’s legendary book, Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers, Rooms and Headphones with DISCOUNT CODE 25SMA4: https://www.routledge.com/Sound-Reproduction-The-Acoustics-and-Psychoacoustics-of-Loudspeakers-Rooms-and-Headphones/Toole-Olive-Welti/p/book/9781032761930

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

💿 tics by Flip City, mixed by Brent

https://davidaaron4.bandcamp.com/album/tics

Further Reading:

• Veteran Speaker Designer Reveals the Top 3 Reasons Why Designers Can’t Build Great Speakers Anymore: https://www.headphonesty.com/2025/11/veteran-designer-explains-why-speakers-declined/
• GPM Monitor One: il bookshelf di riferimento by G.P. Matarazzo: https://www.avmagazine.it/articoli/diffusori/2077/gpm-monitor-one-il-bookshelf-di-riferimento_index.html
• Test: Sonus Faber Lumina II by G.P. Matarazzo: https://www.avmagazine.it/articoli/diffusori/2051/test-sonus-faber-lumina-ii_index.html
• The HiFi Five Episode 6: Guest Dennis Burger of SoundStage! by The HiFi Five: https://www.youtube.com/live/OORvfQh_zjo
• The Most Pathetic Excuse in High-End Audio (Ep:94) by SoundStage! Network: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3e7dD-Yij0
• I Tried to Debunk Power Cords & Conditioners… and Failed Spectacularly by New Record Day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIWVDNiRCiM

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis once again stare the impending A.I. apocalypse in the face and ponder about what it all means, especially for audiophiles. As a palate cleanser, they then bring in their buddy Geoffrey Morrison of SoundStage! Solo to discuss some fancy new replacement ear tips and how they may affect the sound of your earphones. Then they ask why audio journalists don’t have methodological standards that measure up to a bass-playing comedian on the internet.

📖 Get your copy of the 4th edition of Floyd Toole’s legendary book, Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers, Rooms and Headphones with DISCOUNT CODE 25SMA4: https://www.routledge.com/Sound-Reproduction-The-Acoustics-and-Psychoacoustics-of-Loudspeakers-Rooms-and-Headphones/Toole-Olive-Welti/p/book/9781032761930

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

💿 tics by Flip City, mixed by Brent

https://davidaaron4.bandcamp.com/album/tics

Further Reading:

• 50,000 AI tracks flood Deezer daily – as study shows 97% of listeners can’t tell the difference between human-made vs. fully AI-generated music: https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/50000-ai-tracks-flood-deezer-daily-as-study-shows-97-of-listeners-cant-tell-the-difference-between-human-made-vs-fully-ai-generated-music/
• Azla SednaEarfit Mithryl and Flare Magic Tips Aftermarket Eartips by Geoffrey Morrison: https://www.soundstagesolo.com/index.php/equipment/accessories/473-azla-sednaearfit-mithryl-and-flare-magic-tips-aftermarket-eartips
• I bought the most EXPENSIVE Guitar Picks on the internet by Davie504: https://youtu.be/0JaOCZhjpaQ?si=5F-B3BgGktUWxIF3

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis weigh in on whether or not cheapaudioman is really telling the truth about tubes that nobody else is talking about, and answer the literally burning question: Is buying a McIntosh 275 really a death sentence for your chihuahua? Then they dive deep into the philosophy of intention-driven audio, whatever the heck that is, and ponder whether a monastery is really the best place to learn how to calculate standing-wave frequencies. Next, they engage with a LinkedIn post from Steve Temme of Listen, Inc., mostly as a backdoor excuse to talk about THD (total harmonic distortion) and how much it matters, or doesn’t.

📖 Get your copy of the 4th edition of Floyd Toole’s legendary book, Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers, Rooms and Headphones with DISCOUNT CODE 25SMA4: https://www.routledge.com/Sound-Reproduction-The-Acoustics-and-Psychoacoustics-of-Loudspeakers-Rooms-and-Headphones/Toole-Olive-Welti/p/book/9781032761930

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

💿 tics by Flip City, mixed by Brent

https://davidaaron4.bandcamp.com/album/tics

Further Reading:

• The Truth About Tube Amps Nobody Is Talking About by cheapaudioman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIGVeHUPg0g
• Synergistic Research: Cables, Power, and the Philosophy of Intention-Driven Audio by Michael Horne: https://tmraudio.com/blog/synergistic-research-cables-power-and-the-philosophy-of-intentiondriven-audio/
• Why Headphone Target Curves and THD Don’t Tell the Whole Story by Steve Temme: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-headphone-target-curves-thd-dont-tell-whole-story-steve-temme-strme/

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed Tony Stark once famously said, “We have a Hulk.” Brent and Dennis have a secret weapon much more powerful than that. We have a Floyd Toole! And this week, we sit in conversation with him about the release of the fourth edition of his legendary book, Sound Reproduction, and why it has a different subtitle this time: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers, Rooms and Headphones.

📖 Get your copy of the 4th edition of Floyd Toole’s legendary book, Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers, Rooms and Headphones with DISCOUNT CODE 25SMA4: https://www.routledge.com/Sound-Reproduction-The-Acoustics-and-Psychoacoustics-of-Loudspeakers-Rooms-and-Headphones/Toole-Olive-Welti/p/book/9781032761930

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

💿 tics by Flip City, mixed by Brent: https://davidaaron4.bandcamp.com/album/tics

Further Reading:

• Dr. Floyd Toole: An Oral History 1 on the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast: https://www.soundstage.life/e/dr-floyd-toole-an-oral-history-1-two-ears-and-a-brain-transistors-rules-and-data/
• Dr. Floyd Toole: An Oral History 2 on the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast: https://www.soundstage.life/e/dr-floyd-toole-an-oral-history-2-ab-tests-bass-athena-brains-rooms-hearing-listening/
• Read These 2 Books to Know More about Speakers than Most Hi-Fi Reviewers Do by the SoundStage! Network: https://youtu.be/YfIde7VTA7g?si=XjxdvEhY52wdzDvi
• The Biggest Lie in Audio by Brent Butterworth: https://www.soundstagesolo.com/index.php/features/246-the-biggest-lie-in-audio

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed First things first this week, Brent and Dennis wonder why Wired is doing pretty good blind panel testing when actual audio publications almost never dare, or bother. Then they have a conversation with their buddy Joe Mariano, aka Joe N Tell, about his new speaker measurement and target-curve-calculating app Magic Beans. How does it fare against Brent’s bazillion years of measurement experience and Dennis’s kazillion years of calibrating audio systems? Finally, Dennis asks Brent WTF a “notoriously musical” CD drive even is.

And for Patrons: Can Bowers & Wilkins and other former Sound United brands maintain their identity under their new Samsung/Harman umbrella? And should they?

💿 Michael Gaughn’s Jour et Nuit on Bandcamp: https://michaelgaughn.bandcamp.com/album/jour-et-nuit

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

💿 tics by Flip City, mixed by Brent

https://davidaaron4.bandcamp.com/album/tics

Further Reading:

• • We Asked Audio Pros to Blind Test Headphones. The Results Were Surprising by Chris Haslam: https://www.wired.com/story/we-asked-audio-pros-to-blind-test-headphones-the-results-were-surprising/
  • Joe N Tell: https://joentell.com/
  • Magic Beans: https://magicbeansaudio.com/
  • Gramophone Dreams #101: The Shanling ET3 CD transport by Herb Reichert: https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-101-shanling-et3-cd-transport

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed First, Dennis and Brent take a minute to praise a Stereophile article that harkens back to the good ol’ days of audio journalism. Before the dark times. Before … well, all sorts of unsavory developments in the publishing biz. Then they peruse a number of new articles about the state of Spotify, as well as one potential new alternative that’s pretty much just Bandcamp in a trenchcoat. Next, they run a serious risk of being tagged as “garbage” on YouTube by examining the claims of a young audio pundit who’s convinced he’s smarter than everybody else in the headphone industry. Finally, they rant against a Headphonesty scare piece about audio networking until they realize that Headphonesty completely misrepresented the views of the network engineer quoted therein.

💿 Michael Gaughn’s Jour et Nuit on Bandcamp: https://michaelgaughn.bandcamp.com/album/jour-et-nuit

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

💿 tics by Flip City, mixed by Brent

https://davidaaron4.bandcamp.com/album/tics

Further Reading:

• A Poor Man's Audio Show Review by Roy Midyett: https://stereophile.com/content/poor-mans-audio-show-review
• A random 1993 Corey Greenberg article: https://www.stereophile.com/content/sumiko-blue-point-blue-point-special-phono-cartridges
• Spotify Terms of Use: https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/end-user-agreement/
• Lossless audio finally comes to Spotify - here's how to enable it by Craig Donaldson: https://www.pocket-lint.com/spotify-lossless-audio-launch/
• AI-generated music is here to stay. Will streaming services like Spotify label it? by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento: https://www.npr.org/2025/08/08/nx-s1-5492314/ai-music-streaming-services-spotify
• The music industry is broken: OpenWav’s new app aims to change that by Sarah Perez: https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/11/the-music-industry-is-broken-openwavs-new-app-aims-to-change-that/
• The B&K5128 Is Garbage by Sharur: https://youtu.be/G2S-Agwxiy4?si=TPTGvDStmG2eYePU
• Tidal and Qobuz Connect Are Ruining Your Hi-Fi Sound Without Dropping a Single Bit, Warns Principal Network Engineer by Alexandra Plesa: https://www.headphonesty.com/2025/09/tidal-qobuz-connect-ruining-hifi-sound-engineer/
• Audiophile Streaming in 2025 - Zoom Event by Audiophile Foundation: https://youtu.be/z3VC65XOhxg?si=UNNCNA8tHIvo_8-F

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Dennis and Brent take a vicarious vacation to a couple of hi-fi hotels to discuss whether or not this is a trend worth taking seriously. (And, of course, judge the merits of their audio systems just by the brands.) Next up, they applaud John Darko’s efforts to make reviewing more legit, then ponder some ideas on how, exactly, we might do that. Then they venture halfway around the world in the company (figuratively speaking) of tech journo Geoffrey Morrison, who shares the ancient wonders of Tokyo’s Akihabara Electric Town while lamenting its apparent but perhaps inevitable soulsucking corporatification.

💿 Michael Gaughn’s Jour et Nuit on Bandcamp: https://michaelgaughn.bandcamp.com/album/jour-et-nuit

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

💿 tics by Flip City, mixed by Brent

https://davidaaron4.bandcamp.com/album/tics

Further Reading:

• Hi-Fi Hotels: The Audiophile Vacation Destination by Jacob Green: https://www.audioholics.com/news/hi-fi-hotels
• The Greatest Lie Never Told by John Darko: https://darko.audio/2025/09/the-greatest-lie-never-told/
• The Rise and Fall and Maybe Rise Again of Akihabara Electric Town by Geoffrey Morrrison: https://www.soundstagesolo.com/index.php/features/465-the-rise-and-fall-and-maybe-rise-again-of-akihabara-electric-town
• Ascendo Unveils HALO 10 Pro Active EXT Cardioid Speaker at CEDIA Expo 2025 by Alfred Moody: https://audioxpress.com/news/ascendo-unveils-halo-10-pro-active-ext-cardio-speaker-at-cedia-expo-2025
• World Premier Unboxing of Ascendo’s HALO – The WILDEST Speaker Design You’ve Ever Seen! by AV NIRVANA: https://youtu.be/A3ng4MASy4A?si=abi3pRMQ7F2QUqRh

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Dennis and Brent gaze deep into what they assumed would be the abyss of the EISA Hi-Fi Awards and see some pretty sensible selections gazing back. Then, Brent humors Dennis by letting him rant about video game music, and the two of them dig into the mechanics of how a guy made some of the world’s most memorable music with just a few bloops and bleeps. Then, they dig deep into the sometimes glorious, sometimes sordid history of Monster Cable by way of a cheapaudioman video essay, and recount their own decades of struggle in dealing with a company that makes your average rock band look like a well-run business.

And for Patrons: What goes through Brent and Dennis’ minds when they read a glowing review of an idiosyncratic speaker? Find out in real time…

💿 Michael Gaughn’s Jour et Nuit on Bandcamp: https://michaelgaughn.bandcamp.com/album/jour-et-nuit

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

Further Reading:

• A roundup of EISA Hi-Fi Awards for 2025-2026: https://stereophile.com/content/eisa-hi-fi-awards-2025-2026; https://hometheaterhifi.com/press-releases/eisa-awards-for-2025-26-announced/; https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/eisa/2025-2026-awards/2025-2026-hi-fi/2006-eisas-best-products-of-2025-2026
• “Super Mario Bros: Koji Kondo’s 8-Bit Masterpiece”: https://www.20k.org/episodes/super-mario-bros
• “8-Bit to Orchestras: Video Game Music Scores”: https://www.imaginaryworldspodcast.org/episodes/8-bit-to-orchestras-video-game-music-scores
• “The Truth About an Audio Empire That Almost Ruled” by cheapaudioman: https://youtu.be/6mmPkqVzhb4?si=mTWc-MU5VOOSSxWz
• “Audiophile Music Scandal EXPOSED! The UNTOLD Story…” by cheapaudioman: https://youtu.be/tPLsS6kCebw?si=TjbQJkIFSDQUj9gc
• “Monster Cable Correspondence”: https://www.bluejeanscable.com/legal/mcp/index.htm