SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast

This week, SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast host Jorden Guth is joined by Andrew Welker, Chief Product Officer at Colquhoun Audio Laboratories, owner of Axiom Audio, Bryston, and Magnum Dynalab, This podcast is a first for us: it is recorded entirely inside an anechoic chamber! The two discuss Welker’s history with hi-fi, as well as the importance of having a human element in quality control despite the fact that we’re living in an i...

This week, SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast host Jorden Guth is joined once again by Jack Oclee-Brown,  VP of Technology at KEF, to discuss the company’s new VECO technology, what inspired it, how it works, how it was developed, and the new products that rely heavily on it.

Sources:

“Xio with VECO: KEF’s Revolutionary Velocity Control Technology in Its First Soundbar Explained”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K842LVG1Ur0

“KEF's Brea...

This week, SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast host Jorden Guth is joined once again by Pro Audio Technology owner/president L. Paul Hales, who shares his unique perspective about manufacturing in America and overseas, why different products for his different brands are made where they are made, how the current trade war chaos is affecting manufacturing and business decisions, and what the future may hold. 

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“Marrying Hi-Fi with...

This week, SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast host Jorden Guth chats with SoundStage! Ultra editor Jason Thorpe about his adventures at High End 2025, the final year in Munich. Jason was there with SoundStage! Contributor Matt Bonaccio and SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider. They dig into the best gear Jason saw, his sense of larger trends, and what the upcoming move may or may not mean. 

Also, sandwiches.

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High End 2025 covera...

This week, SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast host Jorden Guth is sits down for a one-on-one with Gabi Rynveld, PR and brand ambassador for International Audio Holding, to discuss the history of Siltech and Crystal cable, the importance of manufacturing in the Netherlands, how distinct companies maintain their personality and brand identity under the umbrella of one manufacturer, and more.

Sources:

“The Rolex of Hi-Fi Cables - Siltech'...

This week, SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast host Jorden Guth is joined by Jack Oclee-Brown,  VP of Technology at KEF, to discuss the decisions that go into what products are made where, and the intricate relationship between measurements and manufacturing.

Sources:

“KEF’s Jack Oclee-Brown” on the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast: https://www.soundstage.life/e/kef-jack-oclee-brown-the-tangerine-waveguide-blade-loudspeakers-aspirational-...

This week, host Jorden Guth joins Martijn Mensink of Dutch & Dutch to discuss what aspects of the company’s beloved 8c speakers are made where, how the decision is made to craft some things in-house and outsource other elements, why driver manufacturing and DSP development are very different enterprises, and what the future holds for the design and manufacture of products of its type.

Sources:

“Martijn Mensink On the Magic of D...

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

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“...

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.

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“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...