Hi-Fi: Too Expensive, Too Exclusive, Too Many Speakers?
This week, SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast host Jorden Guth is joined by SoundStage’s Doug Schneider and Dennis Burger to discuss three issues holding hi-fi back and how we’d fix them. Is there too much emphasis on astronomically priced products? Is the industry ignoring potential new customers? Are there just too darned many speaker companies? .
Sources:
The Record Centre: https://therecordcentre.com/
“The Dynaudio Contour Comeback: Legacy and 20 Black Edition Loudspeakers”: https://youtu.be/xJ1GvkM6ats?si=ZCjvuqvH-piOB90m
“The Most Dangerous Myth in Audio”: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1174-the-most-dangerous-myth-in-audio
Chapters:
00:00:00 Announcement
00:00:31 Introductions and the obsession with oligarch audio
00:16:49 What even is an audiophile?
00:19:52 Record shops as the new nexus of hi-fi?
00:27:05 Part of the problem or part of the solution?
00:30:22 Are there just too many speaker companies?
00:35:17 Why bother?
00:58:19 What we’re listening to
00:59:31 Outro music: “Chasing a Hurricane” by Leva & Patric Lemieux
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Rock-Solid Sound: Acora Acoustics’ Luxury Stone Speakers
This week, SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast host Jorden Guth is joined by Valerio Cora, founder and CEO of Acora Acoustics Corporation, to discuss the manufacturing of stone speakers (no, you read that correctly), how relying on exotic materials affects decisions about where and how to manufacturer, and what it means to deliver a luxury experience.
Sources:
“What’s Fresh at the Florida Audio Expo? Acora Acoustics . . .” by Jason Davis: https://youtu.be/_q7pMJ3LSjs?si=6CuOUDp72lZLX-h0
Acora Acoustics: https://acoraacoustics.com/
Chapters:
00:00:00 Announcement
00:00:31 Introductions
00:02:44 Acora Acoustics’ origin story
00:10:37 Would off-shoring be more or less expensive?
00:16:45 Working with truly unique materials
00:22:33 A question of burn-in
00:27:38 Heavy metal thunder?
00:30:35 What defines a luxury experience?
00:32:55 Outro music: “The Ice Cream Booth” by Ziv Grinberg
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From Cars to Hi-Fi: Toyota Principles Drive the Paradigm Group's Premium Sound
In this episode, host Jorden Guth talks with Badar Qureshi, president of PML Sound International—the company behind Paradigm, Anthem, MartinLogan, and GoldenEar Technology—about how his years at Toyota shaped his approach to building world-class audio gear. They discuss where and how each brand’s products are made, why lean manufacturing matters in today’s unpredictable world, how the pandemic affected production, and the surprising parallels between crafting high-performance cars and high-fidelity speakers.
Sources:
“Paradigm's Prestige Series | SoundStage! InSight” by SoundStage! Network: https://youtu.be/_q7pMJ3LSjs?si=6CuOUDp72lZLX-h0
Chapters:
00:00:00 Announcement
00:00:31 Introductions and getting to know Badar
00:03:14 How to decide what gets made where
00:10:17 GoldenEar enters the chat
00:12:11 The ABCs of supply chains
00:17:31 The chaos of COVID and its lingering effects
00:25:34 Applying the lessons of the past to the future
00:35:11 Long-distance quality control
00:43:38 Outro music: “Nuevos Colores” by Tomas Novoa
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On the Water (Literally) with Ian Colquhoun of Axiom, Bryston, and Magnum Dynalab
This week, SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast host Jorden Guth is is once again joined by Ian Colquhoun, founder of Axiom Audio. This time, they’re on Ian’s boat having a conversation about the ins and outs and what-have-yous of hi-fi manufacturing in the 21st century, with topics including the current trade war, as well as the unconsidered logistics of this sort of work. Ian’s company, Colquhoun Audio Laboratories, owns the Axiom Audio, Bryston, and Magnum Dynalab audio brands.
Sources:
“Axiom Audio’s Ian Colquhoun and NRC”: https://www.soundstage.life/e/axiom-audio-s-ian-colquhoun-and-nrc-origin-dr-floyd-toole-music-types-twin-tweeters-measurements/
“Axiom Audio’s Ian Colquhoun and NRC” on the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast: https://www.soundstage.life/e/axiom-audio-s-ian-colquhoun-and-nrc-origin-dr-floyd-toole-music-types-twin-tweeters-measurements/
Chapters:
00:00:00 Announcement
00:00:31 Introductions and a history lesson
00:06:02 A revolution in manufacturing
00:10:17 Making stuff in the current geopolitical climate
00:13:02 Tariffs and such
00:26:11 The unconsidered logistics
00:29:23 Outro music: “Get Outta Way” by Where’s Lulu?
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Silence Speaks: Hi-Fi Truths from an Anechoic Chamber with Andrew Welker
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 increasingly automated world.
Sources:
“Axiom Audio’s Ian Colquhoun and NRC”: https://www.soundstage.life/e/axiom-audio-s-ian-colquhoun-and-nrc-origin-dr-floyd-toole-music-types-twin-tweeters-measurements/
Chapters:
00:00:00 Announcement
00:00:31 Introductions and a personal history with audio
00:04:23 The Paul Barton connection
00:05:44 A fortuitous education
00:11:55 Ian Colquhoun enters the chat
00:13:52 The basics of quality control
00:27:06 Problem solving and preparedness
00:31:55 Outro music: “How We Fell in Love” by Tom Meira Armony
Ireland