Audio Unleashed

By Brent Butterworth & Dennis BurgerTechnology Arts

Audio Unleashed episodes

September 06, 2023”An Endless Well of Disappointment”
We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed

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/45BHROI

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

Getting Started in Electronics by Forrest M. Mims III: https://amzn.to/45CESFD

This week, Brent and Dennis discuss a valiant effort at blind testing and discuss what went wrong. They follow that with a discussion of two speakers: an insanely expensive one that sucks and a ridiculously cheap one that doesn’t. And for Patreon subscribers, a discussion about Sony Interactive’s purchase of Audeze.

Further Reading:
“Blind Listening DISASTER! And what we learned from it…” by Passion for Sound: https://youtu.be/-ZYGDysTeSk?si=V9u6hQHXtKpmd49i
"Lachlan from Passion for Sound does a blind test, finds 90% of people hear differences when nothing was changed": https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/15y804s/lachlan_from_passion_for_sound_does_a_blind_test/
"Eggleston Works, Really?" by GR-Research: https://youtu.be/XHq5BzQbDC4?si=cMYwmclJ6Myi89Uc
Monolith by Monoprice Encore T5 Tower Speakers: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=43152
Kudos Titan 808: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/kudos-titan-808.45178/
DAC blind test: NO audible difference whatsoever: https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/dac-blind-test-no-audible-difference-whatsoever.314762/
1 hr 1 min
August 23, 2023“The Play-Fi of Incense Burners”
We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):
Pink Floyd: Their Mortal Remains: https://amzn.to/3E47gEo
This week, Brent and Dennis are answering the questions that really matter in the world of hi-fi: Play-Fi wants into your TV; should you let it in? Does hi-fi belong in a museum? Can you hear deepfakes? And for Patrons, can you trust manufacturers’ measurements?

Further Reading:
“DTS Play-Fi Accelerates Expansion Into Smart TVs”: https://xperi.com/news/dts-play-fi-accelerates-expansion-into-smart-tvs/
“Devon Turnbull: HiFi Listening Room Dream No. 1 and other works”: https://www.lissongallery.com/exhibitions/devon-turnbull-ojas-hifi-listening-room-dream-no-1
OJAS Incense Burner £275 + VAT: https://www.lissongallery.com/shop/ojas-incense-burner
The Pink Floyd Exhibition : Their Mortal Remains: https://pinkfloydexhibition.com/
Innovative Audio – Canada's Largest Vintage Audio Emporium: https://www.iavscanada.com/
"Warning: Humans cannot reliably detect speech deepfakes" by Kimberly T. Mai, Sergi Bray, Toby Davies, and Lewis D. Griffin: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0285333
"Drake and The Weeknd AI song pulled from Spotify and Apple" by Nichola Rutherford: https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-65309313
1 hr 2 min
August 09, 2023“Oligarch-Fi”
We’re on Patreon now! Find us at www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed

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

Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change by W. David Marx: https://amzn.to/44R4Sgg

This week, we dig into a new app designed to help you find the optimal spot(s) in your room for a subwoofer or two. Then we’re joined by industry vet Steven Stone to discuss a trend that he refers to as “Oligarch Audio.” We also answer the question that everyone is asking: can Ethernet jumper cables EQ music you stream over your network?
Further Reading:
"SubZone Subwoofer Placement Optimizer App Now Available”: https://audioxpress.com/news/subzone-subwoofer-placement-optimizer-app-now-available
SubZone download: https://bau.me/subzone/
“Oligarch Audio” by Steven Stone: https://audiophilereview.com/reference-speakers/oligarch-audio/
"On Value" by Jim Austin: https://www.stereophile.com/content/value
"Is 'Trickle Up Tech the Future of Hi-Fi?" by Dennis Burger: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1243-is-trickle-up-tech-the-future-of-hi-fi
Audiophile B.S. on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1948235105492741/
1 hr 6 min
July 26, 2023“Is This Gonna Get Us Kicked Off Apple?”
We’re on Patreon now! Find us at www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed

Make no mistake about it: AI is going to make life suck for everyone but the uber-rich, but we’ve found a pretty good use of Chat-GPT in the form of Volumio’s new SuperSearch. On a more fun note, we also take a virtual tour of an anechoic chamber this week, and talk about Schiit Audio’s new CD transport with USB input and output.

Bonus for Patreon subscribers: an in-depth discussion of Denon’s directional bass setting in its newer flagship AV receivers.
Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):
Dave’s Picks on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3rz7SPo

Further Reading:
"Volumio AI Features Music Supersearch Discovery Powered by ChatGPT" by Ian White: https://www.ecoustics.com/news/volumio-ai-supersearch-chatgpt/
"Step Inside an Anechoic Chamber: Experience Silence Like Never Before!" by Audio University: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YI2l-ohdvVw
"Reverberant vs. Anechoic chamber" by Juan Negreira: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7JD87vomgs
"CD, REBOOTED: Schiit Introduces Urd CD Transport and Unison USB Hub": https://www.schiit.com/about/news/cd-rebooted
"CD sales just rose for the first time in almost two decades": https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/14/22976557/cd-sales-increase-2021-recording-industry-association-of-america
https://yourmorningcoffeepodcast.libsyn.com/
53 min
July 12, 2023“This Is Gonna Be Like That Norah Jones Tune”
We’re on Patreon now! Find us at www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed

Can AI chatbots replace product reviews written by meatsacks? Brent and Dennis debate! We also discuss the whole 432Hz tuning phenomenon and dig into the Dutch & Dutch 8c to discuss whether it really is a revolution in speaker design.
Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):
Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0
A Course in Miracles Hardcover by Foundation for Inner Peace (link provided for entertainment purposes only): https://amzn.to/3PIRQwz
Further Reading:
"Bing will now surface AI-generated buying guides" by Emma Roth: https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/29/23777557/bing-ai-generated-buying-guides-microsoft
"The Pastry A.I. That Learned to Fight Cancer" by James Somers: https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-pastry-ai-that-learned-to-fight-cancer
"When AI flags the ruler, not the tumor — and other arguments for abolishing the black box" by VB Staff: https://venturebeat.com/business/when-ai-flags-the-ruler-not-the-tumor-and-other-arguments-for-abolishing-the-black-box-vb-live/
“The Problem with Rotten Tomatoes” by Dennis Burger: https://www.cineluxe.com/the-problem-with-rotten-tomatoes/
"432 Hz? You Miiiight Want To Check Your Sources'' by Benn Jordan: https://youtu.be/Q3LVijzZAe4
Schiit Previews "The Gadget": https://www.schiit.com/news/news/schiit-previews-the-gadget
"432 EVO High End Reference Music Server" by Juan C. Ayllon: https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/432-evo-music-server/
"JVS's Best of PAF 2023: Dutch & Dutch 8c all-in-ones" by Jason Victor Serinus: https://www.stereophile.com/content/jvss-best-paf-2023-dutch-dutch-8c-all-ones
"A Fantastic Gateway: A Q&A with Paradigm's Zoltan Balla and Blake Alty on the New Monitor SE 8000F Loudspeaker" by Dennis Burger: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1186-a-fantastic-gateway-a-qa-with-paradigms-zoltan-balla-and-blake-alty-on-the-new-monitor-se-8000f-loudspeaker
Erin's Audio Corner on Dutch & Dutch: https://youtu.be/nYK77lbgorw; https://youtu.be/wV0Df84DBLM; https://youtu.be/j38gkS-Q8f8
1 hr 1 min
June 28, 2023“An Underserved Demographic of Lunatics”
We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed
We’re starting things off light this week with a quick discussion of Apple’s new Adaptive Audio feature, and how it relates to similar tech from other headphone manufacturers. Brent digs into how and why he plans to quantify the processing as objectively as possible.
Then the chains come off, and we dissect/deconstruct/demolish a particularly troubling editorial written by Alta Audio owner Michael Levy about why measurements are flawed. After a bit of technical discussion, we’re joined by our old friend, SoundStage! Founder Doug Shcnieder, who gives us his opinion from a publisher’s perspective about everything wrong with Levy’s anti-scientific screed.
Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):
Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0
Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms 3rd Edition by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3CTarOB
Flim-Flam! Psychics, ESP, Unicorns, and Other Delusions by James Randi: https://amzn.to/44goJ7M
Storm the Book by Tim Minchin: https://amzn.to/3JximVT
Further Reading:
"What is Apple Adaptive Audio? The new AirPods feature explained" by Harry McKerrell: https://www.whathifi.com/news/what-is-apple-adaptive-audio-the-new-airpods-feature-explained
"AirPods redefine the personal audio experience": https://www.apple.com/newsroom/2023/06/airpods-redefine-the-personal-audio-experience/
"The Problems with Electronic Testing of Audio Equipment" by Michael Levy: https://www.audiophilia.com/reviews/2023/6/4/g1c930jr4kbgvj7ea5ry5wfr6cp7cd
"Alta Audio Alyssa loudspeaker" by Jim Austin: https://www.stereophile.com/content/alta-audio-alyssa-loudspeaker-jim-austin-december-2020
"Alta Audio Adam loudspeaker" by Rogier van Bakel: https://www.stereophile.com/content/alta-audio-adam-loudspeaker
The SoundStage! Network: https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/
“Storm” by Tim Minchin: https://youtu.be/jIWj3tI-DXg
Tim Minchin's Storm the Animated Movie: https://youtu.be/HhGuXCuDb1U
@Daily HiFi on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/DailyHiFi
1 hr 9 min
June 14, 2023“Nobody Actually Ate Tide Pods”
Erin’s Audio Corner is back! This week, we dig into a new segment from Erin called “Off the Top,” in which he teaches you how to form a first approximation of a speaker’s performance without ever having heard it. It’s not quite the same as reading the new edition of the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook, but it’s a better speaker education than most audio reviewers have.

We also dig into some insanely expensive monoblock amps that were exhibited at High End 2023 and discuss the factors that contribute to their price and the justification for the same. Should we be treating uber-high-end audio gear as high-performance equipment or luxury goods? Should you believe a rave review of any amplifier?

Lastly, Brent schools Dennis about the rising trend of sped-up music, why it exists, how it’s being used, and who stands to benefit. Dennis also gives Brent a crash course on LoFi Beats and the communities cropping up around the genre.

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

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

Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 7th Edition by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/43tYPNI

Status and Culture: How Our Desire for Social Rank Creates Taste, Identity, Art, Fashion, and Constant Change by W. David Marx: https://amzn.to/43qZfVa

Further Reading:
"Off the Top: Genelec 8381A" by Erin's Audio Corner: https://youtu.be/djQx1g2IS_o
Voice Coil Magazine: https://audioxpress.com/page/Voice-Coil-Magazine
"Dan D'Agostino's Dazzling Unveil of the New Relentless Epic and Epic 800 Monoblocks and Momentum MxV Integrated" by Jason Victor Serinus: https://www.stereophile.com/content/dan-dagostinos-dazzling-unveil-new-relentless-epic-and-epic-800-monoblocks-and-momentum-mxv
Campfire Audio Trifecta ‘Astral Plane’: https://campfireaudio.com/shop/trifecta-astral-plane/
"The Rise of the Sped-Up Remix" by Reanna Cruz: https://www.vulture.com/2023/03/sped-up-remix-pinkpantheress-sza.html
Your Morning Coffee: https://yourmorning.coffee/home#weekly-podcast
"So Help Me God, I’m Going to Eat One of Those Multicolored Detergent Pods" from The Onion: https://www.theonion.com/so-help-me-god-i-m-going-to-eat-one-of-those-multicolo-1819585017
“Mighty Vibes Vol 1: Lo-fi Beats to Doodle To” by Critical Role: https://youtu.be/XVQVXDKKlHQ
"Loneliness on social media: LoFi Community + reflections" by Alice Cappelle: https://youtu.be/CaeHnUAYTSM?t=680
1 hr 1 min
May 31, 2023 “München! It Has Ümlauts on It!”
High End Munich 2023 just wrapped up, and although Brent and Dennis didn’t get to go, they took the opportunity to dig through everyone else’s coverage to find some of the best and most intriguing new products. They also discuss Dr. Sean Olive’s online crusade to get Atmos music mixers to do their jobs, and also peruse a new tech review website that was obviously written by a large language model similar to ChatGPT.

Further Reading:
"High End 2023 Listening Session: ESD Acoustic’s Biggest System in the World" by Jason Thorpe: https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/shows-events/high-end-2023-munich-germany/1094-he-2023-listening-session-esd-acoustics-biggest-system-in-the-world

High End 2023 - Munich, Germany: https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/shows-events/high-end-2023-munich-germany

Stereophile’s Munich 2023 coverage: https://www.stereophile.com/category/munich-2023

Munich 2023 coverage at HiFiPig: https://www.hifipig.com/category/high-end-munich-2023/

Dr. Sean Olive on Twitter: https://twitter.com/seanolive/status/1659958602290044929

Smart Carting About Us: https://smartcarting.com/about-us/

“Hasbro/ Wizards focusing on A.I. DMs is proof that they don't understand D&D” by u/peterpeterny on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/DnD/comments/10el42v/hasbro_wizards_focusing_on_ai_dms_is_proof_that/
1 hr 13 min
May 17, 2023 “Somebody Throws Foghat At You”
Welcome to the inaugural episode of Audio Unleashed, the new, independent podcast by Brent Butterworth and Dennis Burger. This week, Brent and Dennis discuss the utility of high-end audio reviews, opine on the demise of MQA, and ask whether our A.I. overlords are ready to replace us or not, at least in the domain of audio production.

Sources:
“Mastersound 845 Compact integrated amplifier Measurements” by John Atkinson: https://www.stereophile.com/content/mastersound-845-compact-integrated-amplifier-measurements

AMA w/ Jesse @ TIDAL: https://www.reddit.com/r/TIdaL/comments/12hr68f/comment/jfuo1ng/

MQA Enters Into Administration: https://www.hifipig.com/mqa-enters-into-administration/

Darko Audio Podcast #46 – AXPONA 2023 review + MQA goes into administration: https://darko.audio/2023/04/podcast-46-axpona-2023-review-mqa-goes-into-administration/

"A Comparative Study of Music Mastered by Human Engineers and Automated Services" by Mitchell Elliott and Song Hui Chon: https://www.aes.org/e-lib/browse.cfm?elib=21888
1 hr 18 min

About Audio Unleashed

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This is Audio Unleashed: the world’s only totally unfiltered, freewheeling, fearless discussion about the latest events in the world of audio, featuring veteran audio reviewers Brent Butterworth and…