We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed
First things first this week, Brent and Dennis wonder why Wired is doing pretty good blind panel testing when actual audio publications almost never dare, or bother. Then they have a conversation with their buddy Joe Mariano, aka Joe N Tell, about his new speaker measurement and target-curve-calculating app Magic Beans. How does it fare against Brent’s bazillion years of measurement experience and Dennis’s kazillion years of calibrating audio systems? Finally, Dennis asks Brent WTF a “notoriously musical” CD drive even is.
And for Patrons: Can Bowers & Wilkins and other former Sound United brands maintain their identity under their new Samsung/Harman umbrella? And should they?
💿 Michael Gaughn’s Jour et Nuit on Bandcamp: https://michaelgaughn.bandcamp.com/album/jour-et-nuit
Brent’s audio projects:
💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants
💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album
💿 tics by Flip City, mixed by Brent
https://davidaaron4.bandcamp.com/album/tics
Further Reading:
We Asked Audio Pros to Blind Test Headphones. The Results Were Surprising by Chris Haslam: https://www.wired.com/story/we-asked-audio-pros-to-blind-test-headphones-the-results-were-surprising/
Joe N Tell: https://joentell.com/
Magic Beans: https://magicbeansaudio.com/
Gramophone Dreams #101: The Shanling ET3 CD transport by Herb Reichert: https://www.stereophile.com/content/gramophone-dreams-101-shanling-et3-cd-transport
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1:10:28
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1:10:28
“Headphone Sty”
We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed
First, Dennis and Brent take a minute to praise a Stereophile article that harkens back to the good ol’ days of audio journalism. Before the dark times. Before … well, all sorts of unsavory developments in the publishing biz. Then they peruse a number of new articles about the state of Spotify, as well as one potential new alternative that’s pretty much just Bandcamp in a trenchcoat. Next, they run a serious risk of being tagged as “garbage” on YouTube by examining the claims of a young audio pundit who’s convinced he’s smarter than everybody else in the headphone industry. Finally, they rant against a Headphonesty scare piece about audio networking until they realize that Headphonesty completely misrepresented the views of the network engineer quoted therein.
💿 Michael Gaughn’s Jour et Nuit on Bandcamp: https://michaelgaughn.bandcamp.com/album/jour-et-nuit
Brent’s audio projects:
💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants
💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album
💿 tics by Flip City, mixed by Brent
https://davidaaron4.bandcamp.com/album/tics
Further Reading:
A Poor Man's Audio Show Review by Roy Midyett: https://stereophile.com/content/poor-mans-audio-show-review
A random 1993 Corey Greenberg article: https://www.stereophile.com/content/sumiko-blue-point-blue-point-special-phono-cartridges
Spotify Terms of Use: https://www.spotify.com/us/legal/end-user-agreement/
Lossless audio finally comes to Spotify - here's how to enable it by Craig Donaldson: https://www.pocket-lint.com/spotify-lossless-audio-launch/
AI-generated music is here to stay. Will streaming services like Spotify label it? by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento: https://www.npr.org/2025/08/08/nx-s1-5492314/ai-music-streaming-services-spotify
The music industry is broken: OpenWav’s new app aims to change that by Sarah Perez: https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/11/the-music-industry-is-broken-openwavs-new-app-aims-to-change-that/
The B&K5128 Is Garbage by Sharur: https://youtu.be/G2S-Agwxiy4?si=TPTGvDStmG2eYePU
Tidal and Qobuz Connect Are Ruining Your Hi-Fi Sound Without Dropping a Single Bit, Warns Principal Network Engineer by Alexandra Plesa: https://www.headphonesty.com/2025/09/tidal-qobuz-connect-ruining-hifi-sound-engineer/
Audiophile Streaming in 2025 - Zoom Event by Audiophile Foundation: https://youtu.be/z3VC65XOhxg?si=UNNCNA8tHIvo_8-F
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1:14:53
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1:14:53
“A Yankee Corndog”
We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed
This week, Dennis and Brent take a vicarious vacation to a couple of hi-fi hotels to discuss whether or not this is a trend worth taking seriously. (And, of course, judge the merits of their audio systems just by the brands.) Next up, they applaud John Darko’s efforts to make reviewing more legit, then ponder some ideas on how, exactly, we might do that. Then they venture halfway around the world in the company (figuratively speaking) of tech journo Geoffrey Morrison, who shares the ancient wonders of Tokyo’s Akihabara Electric Town while lamenting its apparent but perhaps inevitable soulsucking corporatification.
💿 Michael Gaughn’s Jour et Nuit on Bandcamp: https://michaelgaughn.bandcamp.com/album/jour-et-nuit
Brent’s audio projects:
💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants
💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album
💿 tics by Flip City, mixed by Brent
https://davidaaron4.bandcamp.com/album/tics
Further Reading:
Hi-Fi Hotels: The Audiophile Vacation Destination by Jacob Green: https://www.audioholics.com/news/hi-fi-hotels
The Greatest Lie Never Told by John Darko: https://darko.audio/2025/09/the-greatest-lie-never-told/
The Rise and Fall and Maybe Rise Again of Akihabara Electric Town by Geoffrey Morrrison: https://www.soundstagesolo.com/index.php/features/465-the-rise-and-fall-and-maybe-rise-again-of-akihabara-electric-town
Ascendo Unveils HALO 10 Pro Active EXT Cardioid Speaker at CEDIA Expo 2025 by Alfred Moody: https://audioxpress.com/news/ascendo-unveils-halo-10-pro-active-ext-cardio-speaker-at-cedia-expo-2025
World Premier Unboxing of Ascendo’s HALO – The WILDEST Speaker Design You’ve Ever Seen! by AV NIRVANA: https://youtu.be/A3ng4MASy4A?si=abi3pRMQ7F2QUqRh
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56:00
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56:00
“Kick! Punch! It’s All in the Mind!”
We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed
This week, Dennis and Brent gaze deep into what they assumed would be the abyss of the EISA Hi-Fi Awards and see some pretty sensible selections gazing back. Then, Brent humors Dennis by letting him rant about video game music, and the two of them dig into the mechanics of how a guy made some of the world’s most memorable music with just a few bloops and bleeps. Then, they dig deep into the sometimes glorious, sometimes sordid history of Monster Cable by way of a cheapaudioman video essay, and recount their own decades of struggle in dealing with a company that makes your average rock band look like a well-run business.
And for Patrons: What goes through Brent and Dennis’ minds when they read a glowing review of an idiosyncratic speaker? Find out in real time…
💿 Michael Gaughn’s Jour et Nuit on Bandcamp: https://michaelgaughn.bandcamp.com/album/jour-et-nuit
Brent’s audio projects:
💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants
💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album
Further Reading:
A roundup of EISA Hi-Fi Awards for 2025-2026: https://stereophile.com/content/eisa-hi-fi-awards-2025-2026; https://hometheaterhifi.com/press-releases/eisa-awards-for-2025-26-announced/; https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/eisa/2025-2026-awards/2025-2026-hi-fi/2006-eisas-best-products-of-2025-2026
“Super Mario Bros: Koji Kondo’s 8-Bit Masterpiece”: https://www.20k.org/episodes/super-mario-bros
“8-Bit to Orchestras: Video Game Music Scores”: https://www.imaginaryworldspodcast.org/episodes/8-bit-to-orchestras-video-game-music-scores
“The Truth About an Audio Empire That Almost Ruled” by cheapaudioman: https://youtu.be/6mmPkqVzhb4?si=mTWc-MU5VOOSSxWz
“Audiophile Music Scandal EXPOSED! The UNTOLD Story…” by cheapaudioman: https://youtu.be/tPLsS6kCebw?si=TjbQJkIFSDQUj9gc
“Monster Cable Correspondence”: https://www.bluejeanscable.com/legal/mcp/index.htm
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1:07:40
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1:07:40
“Monkeys Farting Into Metal Trash Cans”
We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed
This week, Dennis and Brent do some sleuthing work to ascertain whether a crackpot article about Tom Waits is A.I. slop or just straight-up plagiarism, and whether or not Dr. Sean Olive has a substance-abuse problem. Then they sort through two lists of speakers that audiophiles all either love or hate to find which speakers are on both lists, wonder why it seems like every audiophile who’s ever “polled” must be over 70, then (sort of) fondly reminisce about the (mostly) lousy speakers from the days of their youth—many of which are on one or both of these lists.
💿 Michael Gaughn’s Jour et Nuit on Bandcamp: https://michaelgaughn.bandcamp.com/album/jour-et-nuit
Brent’s audio projects:
💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants
💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album
Further Reading:
“Why Tom Waits’ “Martha” Is the Ultimate Emotional Litmus Test for Hi-Fi Systems”: https://inews.zoombangla.com/tom-waits-martha-hi-fi-test-track/
“Why this iconic Tom Waits song is a regular in our test rooms – and can unveil the true essence of hi-fi” by Harry McKerrell: https://www.whathifi.com/streaming-entertainment/music-streaming/why-this-iconic-tom-waits-song-is-a-regular-in-our-test-rooms-and-can-unveil-the-true-essence-of-hi-fi
“Why Do Audiophiles Hate These 9 Legendary Speakers?” by Skylabs Audio: https://youtu.be/gR_s3dfDiHw?si=3MaZLz9D4oEbnpv_
“25 Best Speakers of All Time, as Voted by Thousands of Audiophiles Worldwide” by Andy G.: https://www.headphonesty.com/2025/08/best-speakers-voted-thousands-audiophiles
This is Audio Unleashed: the world’s only totally unfiltered, freewheeling, fearless discussion about the latest events in the world of audio, featuring veteran audio reviewers Brent Butterworth and Dennis Burger. With decades of experience, a modest grasp of science and logic, and a marginal degree of financial security, they can tell the good from the bad, and the proven from the preposterous — and they’re not afraid to tell you what’s what.
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