In this episode, Darren and Duncan trade stories related to audio that are either funny, uncomfortable or just plain unexpected. A great listener question about where to go after a component breaks is answered, and the album of the week was chosen in part because Duncan could not get the songs out of his head.

In this episode of The Hifi Podcast, Darren and Duncan explore what they see as several misconceptions in the audio hobby. Class D amps, recording quality and audiophile cables are included the discussion, which is by no means a comprehensive list but a first pass at the common audiophile subject matter. A few listener questions are also answered, and this week's album recommendation is a fantastic full-length debut from an L.A. based group that offers spacious imagery and a stunning,...

In this episode, the guys explore the reasons behind why some products -- mostly preamplifiers -- invert the signal phase. Darren explains that it's a decent reason behind the practice, and how to adjust to it in your system if you've got a piece of gear that does this. Earlier on, a question about a difficult room setup is fully discussed, offering reasons behind why the space is challenging, and options for mitigating its problems for best sound. The album of the week is a strange one to be...

After the usual intro segments, this is another hefty episode of listener questions. Topics covered include finding speakers that jibe with a hyperacusis condition, locally served music files versus streamed, updates on Darren's server experience, and more. In the middle of the podcast somewhere, hosts Darren and Duncan point folks who want to contribute to the 'cast toward a local audiophile in need, who experienced a recent loss. The album of the week comes by way of France, and features a...

It's been a hell of a week here in Colorado, and after the fires and the fallout, the idea of how to protect your hifi system from danger and disaster seemed like an appropriate topic for this week's podcast. In this episode, Darren and Duncan discuss inrush currents and voltage spikes associated with some of the problems Mother Nature can throw at you, as well as flooding and more, and they offer ways to protect your beloved gear in the event that the worst comes to reality. The album of the...

Just about a year ago, a listener in Brooklyn, NY reached out with some ideas about building an all-Klipsch-Heritage-based dancehall and party space in the basement of his new house. In the year since, he got right to it, wasting no time and creating a space that his producer friends and he believe puts on some of the best-sounding dance parties in the whole region. In this episode, he checks back in with a few more questions and a ton of information about the year of parties that has Darren...

As audiophiles, we listen in many different styles and sizes of rooms. Our spaces to setup well-tuned systems are, more often than not, the only ones we're given to work with. On the other side of the coin, sometimes it's the gear we already have which tells us what kind of space it should be in, and more specifically, how close we should listen. In this episode, Darren and Duncan talk about the pros and cons of nearfield, midfield and farfield listening as it relates to speaker type and...

Welcome back! In this episode, Darren, designer of an amplifier that TAS just named "2021 Product of the Year (huzzah!)," takes us patiently and steadily through a basic concept involving operational amplifiers, or amps-on-a-chip, explaining how feedback is heavily used in many modern op-amps to broaden what, in some cases, is a staggeringly low bandwidth to begin with. Don't worry - if Duncan can understand this by the end of the show, so can you. Don't miss more questions and a surprising...

It's beginning to look a lot like winter (finally), the chestnuts- er, questions are piling up, and the guys thought it would be fun to try to answer them all. In this episode, questions about capacitor burn-in, DIY projects, tube noise, outriggers and more are answered, and the album of the week is not one, but TWO lovely albums which share a lot in common. They come by different origin -- from Great Britain and France -- each with their own unique vibe, and somehow they sound great...

In this episode, hosts Darren and Duncan discuss preamplifiers, starting with the "why" and continuing through the "what" and "how". Some preamplifier makers out there are aiming for a neutral sound... but is that really what we want in a preamplifier? Darren's opinion on this as one of the possible roles of the box in the middle of a system chain might surprise some. This week's album recommendation features an amazingly out-of-the-box young cello player and his debut album from a few years...

The HiFi podcast audience is in for a treat this week, as the guys sit down with their friend and mentor, Paul McGowan, for a wide-ranging discussion about HiFi audio and other things. Paul shares what's going on lately with his recording project, jumps in with the guys to answer a listener question about black backgrounds, and offers a look back at some periods of time in audio's recent past when things were really happening. The album of the week is the second one we've picked from famed...

We all started somewhere with this hobby, and we were all beginners at one point. But compare being a beginner now, after decades of the growth of the internet, to learning about the audiophile hobby in the 70s, 80s or 90s. There is almost too much information available now, and too many choices and paths to take. It's no wonder that some beginner audiophiles struggle to figure out where to start. In this podcast episode, the hosts go through their steps for the beginner and highlight where...

In this episode of The Hifi Podcast, the guys deliver a more focused and nuanced set of guidelines for evaluating gear, whether it be components, speakers or cables. The topic comes up on the podcast again and again, because it's the literal backbone of the audiophile hobby. The ability to listen and perceive subtle differences is so important, and it becomes easier over time, after lots of exposure. Following these rules will ensure the listener maximizes the evaluation process, truly...

This week, a listener question once again prompts the podcast topic, and while the guys don't exactly agree with the premise, its a great excuse to talk about the subject matter: How to optimize and get the best from a low-cost audio system. Questions about intermodulation and power round out the early segment, and this week's album pick features one of the best instrumental recordings the guys have heard in a long time.

In a recent episode, hosts Darren and Duncan talked about a system's ability to collect and drain RF interference through the connected enclosures and low-impedance paths to ground. In this show, the guys -- and Darren specifically -- drill down further into high frequency bogey man land. Are modern chassis boxes even good at being faraday cages? How do designers maximize effectiveness in removing RF from a circuit, and what about tubes? Lots of questions answered in this fairly geeky episode...

That's right, we're tackling it. The great debate, the great divide in audio. The most clear dividing line for audiophiles that exists is between the subjective listener versus the objective measurer. One side believes nothing happens in sound that can't be measured, and that measurements are the most trustworthy data. The other side can't believe why that bunch is so uptight, but they're also possibly exposed to biases from being such a quick believers in that which can't be measured. We're...

In this episode, hosts Darren and Duncan get way off into the deep end about different kinds of resistors before getting back on track with a podcast singing the praises of the budget state of the art in hifi audio. The guys also tackle a listener question about -- you guessed it -- power cables, and this week's recommended album is an incredible debut from a rising UK star.

Over the years, hosts Darren and Duncan have DIYed just about anything and everything in the audio hobby, and they've learned a ton of lessons from boatloads of mistakes. In this episode of The Hifi Podcast, the guys share all the best tips and tricks they've learned, in order to help the beginner or intermediate DIYer avoid the same pitfalls and achieve quicker success.

Audiophiles should be familiar with the concept of measuring THD (total harmonic distortion) in audio gear by playing a tone and watching for similar activated tones called "harmonics" rise up on the spectrum analyzer. But what happens when we use two or more tones? Beyond the associated THD products, we also will see artifacts created by the two interacting, and usually these are happening down in the bass region. In this episode, engineer Darren Myers breaks down IMD and explains how it...

In this episode the guys take a look at why we are audiophiles, and they examine how the hobby interacts with our physical and mental makeup. A specific perspective on the whys of hifi audio sees audiophiles as having more in common with hippies than scientists, and the guys may have to agree. Also in the episode are great questions about subwoofer crossover points and DIY vibration dampening.

When it comes to RF (radio frequency) loitering around our music like a nuisance, audiophiles aren't completely out of luck -- we have a couple of tools at hand to deal with it. In this episode of The Hifi Podcast, the guys begin the main topic answering a question about shields and grounds in power cables, and parlay that into the larger topic about eradicating RF. Ultimately when the best course is to "move" the energy, the most effective tools will make the ground return the easiest...

Darren and Duncan live in Colorado, and the recent news of the cancellation of this year's Rocky Mountain Audio Fest hits hard. Sadly, the bigger announcement wrapped in the recent memo about canceling this year's show is that the group putting on the show is hanging up their hats for good. RMAF is no more, and in this episode the guys reminisce and pay tribute to those who have kept this special event alive for so long.

Speaker expert Chris Brunhaver is back, although this week, the guys aren't jawing about squawk boxes. Rather, in this guest appearance Chris joins the discussion about the old aphorism that "there's no free lunch in audio." Turns out, there are several ways the truth of this statement shows up in the hifi hobby, and the guys explain why it's truer now than ever before.

In this episode, Darren and Duncan talk about where they are with one of the many audio DIY projects that are in the queue. A listener's question prompts reflection on what makes the project unique, and the guys explain why changes to the plans were made. Another great question about bass traps is asked, and the album of the week is a posthumous work from an influential figure in African music.

In the '80s, it was trashed. No, we're not talking about Motley Crue, but we are in fact talking about harmonic distortion - you know, the villain of audio. During the "specs wars," watts ruled and distortion was the fool, and as we look at the landscape and the modern audiophile takes on the matter, not a ton has changed. With curious, useless specs like THD+Noise floating around out there, we wonder if the understanding of distortion has matured along with much of our technology in the last...