This week, hosts Brent Butterworth and Dennis Burger kick off the discussion by digging into SoundStage!’s year-end coverage (3:17  to 26:06). In addition to discussing their favorite products of the year, they also talk about three people who deserve recognition for significant contributions to audio reproduction.

Next up (27:03 to 45:43), they dig into a piece from Stereophile about the ways in which audio distribution is changing, especially at the higher end. That leads right into a conversation (46:27 to 1:01:40) about JBL hitting an important milestone in the headphone market, and what implications that may or may not have for the validity of the Harman curve. 

Sources:

"The 2022 SoundStage! Network Awards for Outstanding Achievement and Products of the Year" by Doug Schneider: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1747-the-2022-soundstage-network-awards-for-outstanding-achievement-and-products-of-the-year

"Henry Kloss, Dead at 72" by David Lander: https://www.stereophile.com/news/11260/index.html

"Sivga SV023 Headphones Offer Outstanding Performance & Value for $450 - Take 2 Headphones" by Mike Perez: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUaDnqOEg6w

"Re-Tales #27: Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes in the hi-fi industry" by Julie Mullins: https://www.stereophile.com/content/re-tales-27-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes-hi-fi-industry

"JBL Hits 200 Million Headphones Milestone": https://news.harman.com/releases/jbl-hits-200-million-headphones-milestone