SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast

In this week’s episode, host Jorden Guth chats with T+A elektroakustik COO Conradin Amft to learn more about the value proposition of where components are manufactured, why German manufacturing still has value in and of itself irrespective of the financial considerations, and why the choice fo where to manufacture is different for products with and without software.

Closing music: “Leaf by Leaf” by Yoed Nir and Ziv Moran

Sources:

“...

This week, host Jorden Guth chats with Dynaudio’s Otto Jørgensen about the company’s manufacturing processes, its massive Jupiter speaker-measuring room and how it compares to anechoic chambers, and why some things must still be made locally from a practical perspective. They also dig into why you can’t look at the “Made in X” label on a component and truly tell where it’s made. 

Outro music: “Raising the Stakes” by T Bless and the...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by industry legend Sandy Gross to discuss his passion for hi-fi and his insider perspective on the three brands he co-founded and remains mostly closely associated with: Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, and GoldenEar Technology.  

Sources:

“The 2024 SoundStage! Network Awards for Outstanding Achievements and Products of the Year”: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1927-the-2024...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined once again by Dr. Sean Olive, senior fellow at Harman International, to dive deeper into the development of the Harman target curve for headphones, the reason why so many alternative target headphone curves have cropped up in recent years, and what it all means for music fans. 

Sources:

“Sound Researcher Dr. Sean Olive” on the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast: https://www.soundstage.life/e/sound-...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by Ole Siig to discuss his history in hi-fi and the development and design of Treble Clef Audio’s distinctive and much-ballyhooed TCA-M active loudspeaker, which the SoundStage! Network video team covered when they traveled to Denmark last year to cover.

Sources:

“Treble Clef Audio's TCA-M Loudspeaker—Danish, Active, Expensive, and Dazzlingly Original” by SoundStage! Network: https://youtu.be/T...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by hi-fi industry legend Peter Lyngdorf for a supplemental chat, following the release of SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider’s one-on-one video interview on the SoundStage! Network YouTube channel. Peter Lyngdorf is the founder of many hi-fi brands, including DALI, Lyngdorf Audio, Steinway Lyngdorf, and he is also the founder the the HiFi Klubben retail chain, which has nearly 100 stores throug...

Do discs matter anymore? This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by Rob Jones, president of Magnetar Audio North America, to discuss the brand’s high-performance universal disc players, the fuzzy lines between hi-fi and home theater, and the future of physical media.

Source:

“Magnetar UDP900 4K Ultra HD Universal Blu-ray Disc Player–DAC” by Roger Kanno: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1854-magnetar-udp900-4...

Axiom is a Canadian loudspeaker brand founded by Ian Colquhoun in 1980. It was one of the first companies to adopt the design principles based on the research Dr. Floyd Toole was conducting at Canada’s National Research Council (NRC). Today, Colquhoun not only owns Axiom Audio, but also Bryston and Magnum Dynalab. This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by Ian Colquhoun to discuss the value engineering that made the company’s new Per...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider to discuss the 2024 SoundStage! Awards for Products of the Year and Outstanding Achievements. Doug gives the insight on what the awards me and how they are chosen, as well as explain the special awards video SoundStage! created with singer Kellylee Evans.

Sources:

“The 2024 SoundStage! Network Awards for Outstanding Achievements and Products of the Year” by...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by podcast producer and SoundStage! Access editor Dennis Burger to discuss his latest editorial, “The Stuff in the Middle.” The premise: everyone understands what source devices are. They also know speakers. But these days, most normies doesn’t have a clue what black boxes go in between—if there’s anything between them at all.

Sources:

“The Stuff in the Middle” by Dennis Burger:  https://sounds...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by Jan Lassesen, founder of Norway’s Arendal Sound, to discuss the company’s origins and history, its distinctive philosophy, the benefits of direct-to-consumer sales, and the evolution of the product line that has led to the 1528 series. 

Sources:

EISA Awards: Home Theater Audio 2020-2021: https://www.soundstagexperience.com/testbed/mm4/index.php/eisa/2020-2021-awards/2020-2021-home-theater-au...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider and SoundStage! Ultra editor Jason Thorpe to discuss Warsaw’s Audio Video Show 2024, including what was different about this year, what was the same, and what it all means for the state of the hi-fi industry.

Sources:

SoundStage! Audio Video Show 2024 coverage from Warsaw, Poland: https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/shows-events/audio-video-show-2023...

Host Jorden Guth’s new baby finally made his debut, so we’re taking a break again this week and resharing one of our favorite season 2 episodes, in which Jorden was joined by legendary mastering engineer Bernie Grundman to discuss what mastering is, what it isn’t, how it differs from remastering, and why vinyl sometimes sounds better than digital.

“Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section” by Joseph Taylor: https://www.soundstageultra.c...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider to discuss all of the hot new speakers coming out right now, including models from DALI, Treble Clef Audio, Radiant Acoustics, Arendal Sound, and Focal. They dig deep into the specifics, and also touch on why so many new and noteworthy loudspeakers are coming out now.

Sources:

“DALI Epikore 11 Loudspeaker” by Jason Thorpe: https://www.soundstageultra.com/in...

Host Jorden Guth is expecting another child with his wife. Producer Dennis Burger has a few written reviews to catch up on for the SoundStage! Network. As a result, we decided it is a good time to take a quick break before we resume season 3 in a couple of weeks.

But we're not going to leave you hanging with nothing to listen to. Jorden Guth went through our archives and thought this was a good change to revisit the 12th episode fr...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by Trinnov Audio general manager Jon Herron to discuss the company’s history, the synergy between physical room acoustics and DSP room optimization, why different frequencies of sound require a different approach, and how the company’s new WaveForming technology is a whole new approach to perfecting bass performance in-room.

Sources:

“Trinnov Amethyst DAC-Preamplifier-Processor" by Al Griffin h...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by Pro Audio Technology owner/president L. Paul Hales to discuss his history in audio, how audio research has guided the development of his speakers over the years, what really matters in audio and what doesn’t, and why most consumer speakers fall short in one significant way.

Sources:

“Theory Audio Design Sys5.2.2.8515 5.2.2 Dolby Atmos Surround Speaker System” by Vince Hanada: https://www.sou...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by the SoundStage! Network’s Joseph Taylor, Jason Thorpe, and Dennis Burger to discuss records and turntables, from the perspective of two old pros and one recent convert to the format.

Sources:

“A Vinyl-Apathist’s Quest for His Perfect First Turntable” by Dennis Burger: https://soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1297-a-vinyl-apathists-quest-for-his-perfect-first-turntable

“Confess...

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined once again by Simaudio product director Dominique Poupart and marketing director Étienne Gautier to discuss how making its products locally affects the quality of the components, their serviceable life, rolling changes to production, and adapting to tough times like global pandemics. 

Sources:

North Collection: https://simaudio.com/en/product-category/north-collection/

“Simaudio’s North Collect...