SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast

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
“Confessions of a Recent Vinyl Convert” by Dennis Burger: https://soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1301-confessions-of-a-recent-vinyl-convert
“Record Store Day and Vinyl Culture” by Joseph Taylor: https://www.soundstagexperience.com/index.php/features-menu/pulse-menu/1151-record-store-day-and-vinyl-culture
“Read the Instructions! The Perils of Cartridge Setup” by Jason Thorpe: https://soundstageultra.com/index.php/features-menu/opinion-menu/1231-read-the-instructions-the-perils-of-cartridge-setup
Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:31 Introductions00:15:01 Tea ceremony for music 00:26:39 Music Break: "Homecoming" by Rex Banner00:27:27 How much difference do cartridges make?00:36:34 The psychology of sound quality01:03:08  "Afternoon Dissection" by Chameleon Treat

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 Collection: The Future of Hi-Fi?” on the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast: https://www.soundstage.life/e/simaudio-s-north-collection-the-future-of-hi-fi/
“Simaudio’s Moon 791 Streaming Preamplifier: Uncompromised” by Doug Schneider: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1841-simaudio-s-moon-791-streaming-preamplifier-uncompromised
“Moon by Simaudio Has Exited the Echo Chamber” by Dennis Burger: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1201-moon-by-simaudio-has-exited-the-echo-chamber
“Simaudio’s Étienne Gautier & the Art of Marketing Moon” on the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast: https://www.soundstage.life/e/simaudio-s-etienne-gautier-the-art-of-marketing-moon-baumgartner-restoration-taskmaster/
Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:31 The origins of Simaudio00:04:03 How manufacturing at home keeps a company nimble 00:22:03 Music Break: "Threads of Smoke" by Tamuz Dekel00:23:14 Local manufacturing’s impact on repairability00:49:24  "Alice Loses Her Temper" by Maybird

This week, host Jorden Guth continues his conversation with Dr. Floyd Toole, exploring the origins of the Athena project at Canada’s NRC, the reasons for and details of his move to Harman International, some of the most misunderstood aspects of his research, the origins of his legendary book Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms, his legacy, and the music that moves him.
Closing credits music: “Longitude” by Rowan Hudson's Passing Ships
Sources:
“Canada’s NRC: A Forthcoming Look at Its Role in the Advancement of Canadian Loudspeaker Design” by Doug Schneider: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1849-canadas-nrc-a-forthcoming-look-at-its-role-in-the-advancement-of-canadian-loudspeaker-design“The Loudspeaker Class of ’74: A Canadian Reunion” by Doug Schneider: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1866-the-loudspeaker-class-of-74-a-canadian-reunion
“Floyd Toole, NRC, SoundStage!—Filming of Our Upcoming Documentary” by the soundstagenetwork on YouTube: https://youtu.be/k8ykCTEOhZI?si=BfcmIAWg1s6BKyQm
Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:28 Introductions00:01:19 The limits of A/B testing00:04:59 Why you have to measure everything00:15:42 All about that bass00:18:40 Athena, assemble! 00:23:47 How our brains make sense of rooms 00:27:28 “Emahoy” by Rowan Hudson's Passing Ships00:28:45 Working with the CBC00:31:14 How hearing loss impacts judgment00:37:48 Another fateful phone call00:41:20 L.A. is no place to live00:44:02 The hint of a corporate target00:46:22 Herding engineers00:51:13 Listening tests at Harman00:53:22 Publishing the Harman research00:55:55 A feature, not a bugbear00:58:47 “Horse Latitudes” by Rowan Hudson's Passing Ships01:00:10 Evolution or revolution?01:02:35 The two-sub solution01:07:54 The birth of Sound Reproduction01:11:05 Rewriting the book01:13:42 Unanswered questions and Dr. Toole’s legacy01:45:59 The music that moves Dr. Toole

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by the loudspeaker legend himself, Dr. Floyd Toole, whose research at Canada’s National Research Council (NRC), followed by his tenure at Harman International, resulted in arguably more improvements to the fidelity of audio we hear at home than anything attributable to any one person. In this first of our two-part discussion, Dr. Toole discusses his path from university to the NRC and right up to the onset of the Athena project, where we’ll pick up in the second part.
Sources:
“Canada’s NRC: A Forthcoming Look at Its Role in the Advancement of Canadian Loudspeaker Design” by Doug Schneider: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1849-canadas-nrc-a-forthcoming-look-at-its-role-in-the-advancement-of-canadian-loudspeaker-design
“The Loudspeaker Class of ’74: A Canadian Reunion” by Doug Schneider: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1866-the-loudspeaker-class-of-74-a-canadian-reunion
“Floyd Toole, NRC, SoundStage!—Filming of Our Upcoming Documentary” by the soundstagenetwork on YouTube: https://youtu.be/k8ykCTEOhZI?si=BfcmIAWg1s6BKyQm
Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:28 Introductions00:04:39 The dawning of the age of the transistor00:11:05 Two ears and a brain00:21:28 A fateful interview00:27:58 Music break: "Turkish March” by T. Bless & the Professionals00:29:24 Friday afternoon experiments00:33:54 The differences between musicians and audiophiles00:38:54 An industry operating without rules00:49:45 What can we learn from a set of data?00:54:01 “When I Get Home” by Brian Claxton

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by Dr. Sean Olive, senior fellow at Harman International, to discuss his time at NRC with Dr. Floyd Toole, his move from there to Harman, the development of the Harman target curves for headphones and earphones, and his thoughts on the future of immersive audio and more.
Sources:
Dr. Sean Olive on 35 Years of “Fast Car” by Dennis Burger: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1259-dr-sean-olive-on-35-years-of-fast-car
Audio Musings by Sean Olive: https://seanolive.blogspot.com/ 
Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:28 Introductions00:04:27 What is a Tonmeister?00:12:19 Sponsored by Canada’s best and brightest00:18:10 All roads lead to California00:24:54 Music break: "Paris Café” by Wesly Thomas00:26:13 Manager of subjective evaluation00:36:03 The origins of the Harman target curve00:42:41 How to train your listeners00:49:09 “I Will Always Remember You” by Marek Jakubowicz

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by SoundStage’s Doug Schneider, Jason Thorpe, and Matt Bonaccio to discuss the biggest audio show in the world, what’s new, what’s different, and what were their favorite sights and sounds this time around.
Sources:
Coverage of High End 2024 - Munich, Germany: https://soundstageglobal.com/index.php/shows-events/high-end-2024-munich-germany
High End Society: https://www.highendsociety.de 
Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:28 What’s Munich all about?00:20:01 Music break: "Scapes" by Gray North00:20:48 Favorite sights and sounds00:46:30 “Diagrammatic” by Oliver Michael

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by James Tanner, CEO of Bryston Ltd., to discuss the company’s origins in the medical industry, the design of its original amplifiers, how the company has evolved over time, and how he eventually joined forces with Axiom Audio’s Ian Colquhoun.
Sources:
“Canadian Hi-Fi Trilogy: Axiom Audio, Bryston, and Magnum Dynalab—All Under One Expanding Roof”: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1785-canadian-hi-fi-trilogy-axiom-audio-bryston-and-magnum-dynalab-all-under-one-expanding-roof
Bryston: https://bryston.com/
Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:28 Introductions00:01:52 Bryston’s origin story 00:16:11 Expanding product lines00:25:40 Music break: "Deadman Pass" by The Talbott Brothers00:27:32 Bryston in the 2000s and beyond00:53:25 “Pirate Blues” by Leon Laudenbach

This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by sound engineer, educator, and content developer Marcela Rada to discuss her obsession with sound, her personal history, how she became involved with the recording industry, and what’s different about mixing for immersive formats like Dolby Atmos.
Sources:
Marcela Rada: https://marcelarada.com/
“Audiophile Atmos—Dominique Fils-Aimé Surrounds with ‘Our Roots Run Deep’”: https://www.soundstagexperience.com/index.php/encore/1120-audiophile-atmos-dominique-fils-aime-surrounds-with-our-roots-run-deep 
Chapters:00:00:00 Announcement00:00:28 Introductions00:04:12 An education in audio 00:09:05 Experimentations with immersive audio00:20:37 Music break: “You Won't Be the Last” by Moon00:21:29 Maxing mixes that translate well00:33:06 Different flavors of immersive audio00:45:39 “Smile” by Aves