As audiophiles, we listen in many different styles and sizes of rooms. Our spaces to setup well-tuned systems are, more often than not, the only ones we're given to work with. On the other side of the coin, sometimes it's the gear we already have which tells us what kind of space it should be in, and more specifically, how close we should listen. In this episode, Darren and Duncan talk about the pros and cons of nearfield, midfield and farfield listening as it relates to speaker type and sonic presentation. And this being the thick of the holiday season, not one, but two album recommendations round out the show in the annual music genre we know and love so well.

Welcome back! In this episode, Darren, designer of an amplifier that TAS just named "2021 Product of the Year (huzzah!)," takes us patiently and steadily through a basic concept involving operational amplifiers, or amps-on-a-chip, explaining how feedback is heavily used in many modern op-amps to broaden what, in some cases, is a staggeringly low bandwidth to begin with. Don't worry - if Duncan can understand this by the end of the show, so can you. Don't miss more questions and a surprising yet completely amazing album recommendation to round out the show.

It's beginning to look a lot like winter (finally), the chestnuts- er, questions are piling up, and the guys thought it would be fun to try to answer them all. In this episode, questions about capacitor burn-in, DIY projects, tube noise, outriggers and more are answered, and the album of the week is not one, but TWO lovely albums which share a lot in common. They come by different origin -- from Great Britain and France -- each with their own unique vibe, and somehow they sound great together. Don't miss it.

In this episode, hosts Darren and Duncan discuss preamplifiers, starting with the "why" and continuing through the "what" and "how". Some preamplifier makers out there are aiming for a neutral sound... but is that really what we want in a preamplifier? Darren's opinion on this as one of the possible roles of the box in the middle of a system chain might surprise some. This week's album recommendation features an amazingly out-of-the-box young cello player and his debut album from a few years back. As always, several listener questions are answered, including an interesting excoriation for a curious misstep in last week's episode.

The HiFi podcast audience is in for a treat this week, as the guys sit down with their friend and mentor, Paul McGowan, for a wide-ranging discussion about HiFi audio and other things. Paul shares what's going on lately with his recording project, jumps in with the guys to answer a listener question about black backgrounds, and offers a look back at some periods of time in audio's recent past when things were really happening. The album of the week is the second one we've picked from famed drummer and composer Tony Allen, and everyone is going to have to be OK with that because this album is unbelievably lights out good.

We all started somewhere with this hobby, and we were all beginners at one point. But compare being a beginner now, after decades of the growth of the internet, to learning about the audiophile hobby in the 70s, 80s or 90s. There is almost too much information available now, and too many choices and paths to take. It's no wonder that some beginner audiophiles struggle to figure out where to start. In this podcast episode, the hosts go through their steps for the beginner and highlight where he or she might begin their personal audio hobby.

In this episode of The Hifi Podcast, the guys deliver a more focused and nuanced set of guidelines for evaluating gear, whether it be components, speakers or cables. The topic comes up on the podcast again and again, because it's the literal backbone of the audiophile hobby. The ability to listen and perceive subtle differences is so important, and it becomes easier over time, after lots of exposure. Following these rules will ensure the listener maximizes the evaluation process, truly getting to "know" a piece of equipment through and through.

This week, a listener question once again prompts the podcast topic, and while the guys don't exactly agree with the premise, its a great excuse to talk about the subject matter: How to optimize and get the best from a low-cost audio system. Questions about intermodulation and power round out the early segment, and this week's album pick features one of the best instrumental recordings the guys have heard in a long time.

In a recent episode, hosts Darren and Duncan talked about a system's ability to collect and drain RF interference through the connected enclosures and low-impedance paths to ground. In this show, the guys -- and Darren specifically -- drill down further into high frequency bogey man land. Are modern chassis boxes even good at being faraday cages? How do designers maximize effectiveness in removing RF from a circuit, and what about tubes? Lots of questions answered in this fairly geeky episode of The Hifi Podcast. Stay tuned, because the album of the week is jaw-dropping.

That's right, we're tackling it. The great debate, the great divide in audio. The most clear dividing line for audiophiles that exists is between the subjective listener versus the objective measurer. One side believes nothing happens in sound that can't be measured, and that measurements are the most trustworthy data. The other side can't believe why that bunch is so uptight, but they're also possibly exposed to biases from being such a quick believers in that which can't be measured. We're an interesting bunch.