In this week’s first segment (2:54 to 13:57), hosts Brent Butterworth and Dennis Burger opine about a new report from Strata-gee.com about consumer trends in difficult economic times, and speculate about what all of this may mean for hi-fi, especially given how luxury-focused our hobby has become. 

Next up (14:27 to 28:28) they springboard off an article about the 60th anniversary of Stereophile to discuss how that publication changed the way we read and write about audio, how the industry has changed since the magazine launched, as well as how much it has changed since John Atkinson became editor in the late 1980s. 

Finally (29:09 to 47:43), they dig into SoundStage! Hi-Fi’s coverage of the 2022-2023 EISA Awards. What are these awards, how are they selected, who votes on them, and which of the awards resonates most with Brent and Dennis? 

Sources:

“Data Suggests Inflation-Impacted High-Income Consumers are ‘Trading Down’” by Ted Green: https://www.strata-gee.com/data-suggests-inflation-impacted-high-income-consumers-are-trading-down/

"60 Years of Stereophile!" by John Atkinson: https://www.stereophile.com/content/60-years-stereophile

"Do That Voodoo That You Do" by Brent Butterworth: https://archive.org/details/home-theater-october-1996/page/n120/mode/2up?view=theater

"EISA's Best Products of 2022–2023" by Doug Schneider: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/eisa/2022-2023-awards/2022-2023-hi-fi/1730-eisas-best-products-of-2022-2023-hi-fi

"Sonus Faber Omnia Wireless Music System review" by Gordon Brockhouse: https://www.soundstagesimplifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/203-sonus-faber-omnia-wireless-music-system

"EISA HI-FI AWARDS 2022-23" by Darko Audio: https://youtu.be/reAviL5aRk4