Marc and Brian take on pt.AUDIO's coverage of the Florida Audio Expo in Tampa, held February 20-22. This episode reports back on all the showroom highlights and the latest hifi product releases from the Q1 event. Best of show, standout gear and plenty of weekend observations. From proper room etiquette to stranded HiFi writers, this episode tells you everything you need to know about the first big audio event of 2026.

S13E11 Sponsors:

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PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times

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WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated

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AXPONAdotCOM - North America's Audio Expo

A full breakdown of the history and ongoing legacy of one of, if not THE most iconic and legendary speaker of all time, the Quad ESL 57 Electrostatic Loudspeaker. In this informative and educational episode, we provide some context, impressions and observations about one of the most-longstanding reference HiFi speakers ever. What makes the ESL 57 so special? How did it earn its title in the pantheon of audiophile history books? Brian Hunter lays it all out in simple terms. Special thanks to pt.AUDIO Editor-In-Chief Marc Phillips for his help with the episode!

S13E10 Sponsors:

AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You

PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times

PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before

WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated

SVSOUNDdotCOM – Join the Sound R|Evolution

AXPONAdotCOM - North America's Audio Expo

An Interview With Brad Lunde, President of Lone Mountain Audio. This episode is packed with tons of amazing stories, tips, and advice - from both sides of the musical coin - Pro Audio and HiFi. Plenty of ink has been spilled on the differences between utilizing HiFi as a way to consume music, and the techniques for producing music using speakers and other production gear as "tools". However, the two are not as dissimilar as one might initially expect considering all this. Brad helps break down some of differences, but he really brings together a ton of common themes that exist for both goals. His commentary provides powerful insights on setting up systems, defining "perfection" and room acoustics. He even gives us a fantastic list of music from his favorite sound engineers to follow.

S13E9 Sponsors:

AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You

PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times

PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before

WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated

SVSOUNDdotCOM – Join the Sound R|Evolution

AXPONAdotCOM - North America's Audio Expo

19-year-old Lucca Chesky already has few speaker designs under his belt. The LC1 and LC2 Bookshelves have been touring the HiFi audio show circuit and earning some well-deserved accolades in the process. Implementing both 3D printing and a sub-$2k budget invites not only a younger crowd with more entry-level spending habits, but also some real HiFi intentions to a entirely new crowd of much-needed audiophiles. S13E8 also includes pt.AUDIO Editor-In-Chief Marc Phillips following up on the 2025 Buyer's Guide with a continuation of the pt.AWARDS season and the recipients of Product of the Year, Best Value of the Year and Best Bookshelf Speaker of the Year.

See the full 2025 Buyers Guide in written form at PT.Audio.

Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio

pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Copper

pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Gold

S13E8 Sponsors:

AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You

PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times

PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before

WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated

SVSOUNDdotCOM – Join the Sound R|Evolution

Our 2026 Buyer's Guide For Audiophiles. Marc and Brian go over some of the best and brightest audio products reviewed and heard for the upcoming year. Broken out into several HiFi categories, the buyer's guide provides some insight into the season's best audiophile products along with some general banter and tips for the hobby. See the full guide in written form at PT.Audio.

Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio

pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Copper

pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Gold

S13E7 Sponsors:

AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You

PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times

PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before

WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated

SVSOUNDdotCOM – Join the Sound R|Evolution

Coverage and impressions from Captial Audiofest 2025. Marc, Brian and Scot broadcast live from the big DC audio event. This show includes full impressions and observations on trends. What rooms sounded like perfection? What new products really impressed? All the details on a ton of new gear get annouced at this East Coast show and we have them all to share with you in this robust, boots-on-the-ground episode.

This episode's event sponsor is Doug White and The Voice That Is. Doug was showcasing the Tidal Piano G3 Loudpeaker, TIDAL Ferios G2 amplifier, Turnbull Audio Prestige Audio Cables and new Power Distributor, REL Carbon Special Black Label, and Equitech Model 2RQ at Capital Audiofest 2025.

CAF 2025 Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio

Season 12 Merch is now available!

The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram

Marc And Brian from pt.AUDIO run down all the latest gear hitting the HiFi and Audiophile market for the holiday season. From premium speaker products to headphones, IEMs and amplifiers, this episode discusses and dissects all the new product announcements for 4th quarter and beyond.

If you are attending Capital Audiofest next weekend, please swing by the Wilson Room and see our CAF 2025 sponsor, Doug White and The Voice That Is. Doug will showcasing his fine selection of brands including Tidal Audio, Turnbull Cables, Equitech, REL Subwoofers and more.

Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio

The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram

S13E5 Sponsors:

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WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated

THEVOICETHATISdotCOM - The Wilson Room At Captial Audiofest 2025

An interview with Ed Mullen and Nick Brown of SVS. In this detailed educational discussion, we explore all the things that you can do to improve the sound of your stereo through adjusting your listening room. An often overlooked, essential part of HiFi performance is condition of the ceiling, walls and floor of the room your rig is located in. Technical expert Ed Mullen joins us to dissect the subject including room treatments, standing/null waves, room gain, controlling floor boom, bass bleed, isolation and more.

Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio

The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram

S13E4 Sponsors:

AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You

SCHIITdotCOM - Audio Components Designed & Built in Texas, Starting At $49

PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times

PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before

WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated

THEVOICETHATISdotCOM - The Wilson Room At Captial Audiofest 2025

An interview with Peter Ledermann of Soundsmith. Peter has a very long history of research and development in audio. From his time at IBM to amps to turntable cartridges, Peter has long sought to educate and enlighten the twisting technicalities of HiFi. In this interview we chat about why audio is sometimes pros, cons and compromise. It is an evolution that attempts to help to solve a host of problems, while sometimes creating new ones. But most importantly, it's weeding out things that break over time so consumers have a lifelong product. We also chat about turntables and is analog better than digital? Do Turntables have sample rates? Measurements, cantilever material, why mono karts might be better, cable burn in and how "getting used to something" really effects how we can form preferences.

Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram

S13E3 Sponsors:

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PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times

PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before

This episode is a collection of interviews that help explore the idea of measurements as they relate to high fidelity audio reproduction from an audio product designer's perspective. Some of the most predominant makers of HiFi gear share their thoughts on measurements, discussing the usefulness, limitations, and greater impact on the market. Includes interviews with Peter Qvortrup of Audio Note UK, Andrew Jones of MoFi, Nelson Pass Of Pass Labs and First Watt, Axel Grell from Sennheiser, Bill Dudleston from Legacy Audio, Rob Watts Of Chord and Peter Comaeu of Quad and Wharfedale.

Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram

S13E2 Sponsors:

AUDIOVISIONSFdotCOM - San Francisco Oct 18-19 In-Store HiFi Celebration

AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You

MUSICHALLAUDIOdotCOM - No Nonsense, Just Great Sound

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