We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis dig into the latest drama surrounding a sus audio manufacturer trying to suppress bad press; riff on yet another article about the increasing appeal of vintage audio gear; and talk about king-of-all-audio-media John Darko’s experimentations with different amps driving KEF’s Q Concerto Meta speaker. Should you run screaming (or quietly exit) from any dealer who insists there's some perfect amp for your speakers?

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s new album! CD normally costs $13 ($10 + $3 for shipping); use code audiounleashedepi42 for 40% off the CD. (Offer expires 1/1/25.)

https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

📚 Budget Travel For Dummies by Geoffrey Morrison: https://amzn.to/3uiIPlp

📚Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3ZlTLtE

📚Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0

📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET

Further Reading:

• “We Answer Floyd Toole's Burning Question (And Yours, Too!)” by Audio Unleashed: https://youtu.be/x4w33TTgRpE?si=9R5mgwfGAIf8fwUn
• “Tom Evans audio proves that their $30,000 audio preamp is garbage by filing a bogus copyright claim” by Louis Rossmann: https://youtu.be/gJYIhLQJtTs?si=ghaXydj05zmCJzv7
• “The £ 25, 000 Pre Amp That Went Wrong Tom Evans Mastergroove SR Mk III” by Mend It Mark: https://archive.org/details/the-gbp-25-000-pre-amp-that-went-wrong-tom-evans-mastergroove-sr-mk-iii-rjbp-fsfzi-i
• “Why is vintage audio equipment booming?” by Suzanne Bearne: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyjvn658n6o
• “Amplifier matching with the KEF Q Concerto Meta” by John Darko: https://darko.audio/2024/12/amplifier-matching-with-the-kef-q-concerto-meta/

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis bemoan the sordid tasks mainstream tech journalists are forced to do these days; dig deep into the current state of audio recording methods as an excuse to promote Brent’s new album; and shine a light on a great review of FiiO’s new portable CD player, which really might change the way we consume music.

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s new album! CD normally costs $13 ($10 + $3 for shipping); use code audiounleashedepi42 for 40% off the CD. (Offer expires 1/1/25.)

https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

📚 Budget Travel For Dummies by Geoffrey Morrison: https://amzn.to/3uiIPlp

📚Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3ZlTLtE

📚Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0

📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET

Further Reading:

• “Apple’s headphone adapter for older iPhones sells out, possibly never to return” by Samuel Axon: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/11/apples-headphone-adapter-for-older-iphones-sells-out-possibly-never-to-return/
• “Fiio DM13 review: Get ready to fall in love with CDs all over again” by Derek Malcolm: https://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/fiio-dm13-portable-cd-player-review-bluetooth/
• Plaid Pants by Cyger & Butterworth: https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

We’re on Patreon now! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis welcome headphone expert and friend of the podcast Lauren Dragan to answer the question: does the new hearing-aid functionality of Apple’s AirPods Pro 2 really work, or is it just another quickly tacked-on feature everybody else will have to copy? But before that: Some bloviating about Bose’ purchase of the McIntosh Group and some gushing about Erin’s Audio Corner’s review of the Børresen X3 speaker (and some not-so-gushing about a few other reviews of the same speaker).

Buy-now links for products mentioned herein (As Amazon Associates, we may earn a small cut from qualifying purchases):

📚 Budget Travel For Dummies by Geoffrey Morrison: https://amzn.to/3uiIPlp

📚Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers and Rooms by Floyd Toole: https://amzn.to/3ZlTLtE

📚Loudspeaker Design Cookbook 8th Edition: Volume 1 by Vance Dickason: https://amzn.to/42pdwk0

📚 The Loop: How Technology Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight Back by Jacob Ward: https://amzn.to/4cyzSET

Further Reading:

• “The Gift” by Twenty Thousand Hertz: https://www.20k.org/episodes/thegift
• “Bose buys McIntosh” by Kif Leswing: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/11/19/bose-buys-mcintosh-storied-maker-of-high-end-luxury-audio-equipment.html
• “Bose Corporation Snaps Up High-End Audio Brand McIntosh” by Mark Sparrow https://www.forbes.com/sites/marksparrow/2024/11/19/bose-corporation-snaps-up-high-end-audio-brand-mcintosh/
• “Bose Corporation Acquires McIntosh Group” by Mark Henninger: https://www.stereophile.com/content/bose-corporation-acquires-mcintosh-group

• “The Hidden Secrets of BØRRESEN X3 SPEAKER Audiophiles Need to Know” by Erin's Audio Corner: https://youtu.be/EfasOu928tQ?si=uHRVnbchWAKJ5sMN
• “RF: A Phantom Menace?” by Brent Butterworth: https://www.soundstagesolo.com/index.php/features/346-rf-a-phantom-menace
• “The Børresen X3 Floor Standing Loudspeaker Review” by The Absolute Sound: https://youtu.be/XD0ihyCGnmM?si=o-hCj0oMoHwZKjYZ
• “Børresen X3, You Gotta Hear These Speakers!” by Steve Guttenberg Audiophiliac: https://youtu.be/mXloRt4pmN8?si=hbQtR2WPLkwEL6-o
• “Børresen X3 Loudspeaker” by Stuart Smith: https://www.hifipig.com/borresen-x3-loudspeaker-review/
• “Troubling Trend: 2024 CEDIA Expo Loses Hundreds of Attendees This Year” by Ted Green: https://www.strata-gee.com/troubling-trend-2024-cedia-expo-loses-hundreds-of-attendees-this-year/
• “CEDIA 2019 Report: A Tale of the Haves and the Have-Nots” by Dennis Burger: https://hometheaterreview.com/cedia-2019-report-a-tale-of-the-haves-and-the-have-nots/