The Hifi Podcast with Darren and Duncan Duncan Taylor, Darren Myers
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- Science
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Hi-Fi engineer Darren Myers (Parasound) and marketing guy Duncan Taylor (YG Acoustics) discuss all things HiFi audio, covering such audiophile topics as speakers, amplifiers, DACs, preamplifiers, vinyl, cables, music, stereo soundstages, tweaks, adjustments and a whole lot more.
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Philips Hue & Other Noisy Things | Bonny Light Horseman
When someone named Spammy emails you, you have a choice: flag as a phishing threat, or read in entirety? Well, we do get a kick out of seeing the moniker appear in our mailbox, from a listener whose skewering takes leave us chuckling every time. While most emailers use the show email to send questions, Spammy mostly offers witty commentary with no indication of a need for help and gives off the sense that he's seen it all. But this week, we've got a real honest-to-goodness question from the man. We're assuming it's a man. So the guys take on a comment/question related to the Philips Hue light bulbs and bars that have been mentioned previously on the show, which leads to a longer discussion about switch-mode and other noise in the listening room. The album recommendation this week comes from Darren's library as an old favorite.
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The New Lost Dunlavy Episode | Blake Mills
By popular demand, we present the new lost Dunlavy episode. Longtime listeners know that Darren and Duncan originally recorded 10 podcasts before publishing the very first one, as practice. One of those, referenced in early talks about the guys' dearly beloved Dunlavy speakers, was a thorough explanation of how they landed them for free, and insights gleaned from owning them. As requested, the guys do another complete Dunlavy-focused episode, but this time with new insights and a lot more info about the eponymous designer, John Dunlavy. The album recommendation pulls out a gem from a very talented young person's already swelling discography.
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Searching for the Highest Value | Mighty Poplar
With apologies for the delay, and for the audio which was nearly impossible to fix, the guys are back to answer a question from listener Rob Shrode. This episode is about the idea of a special price point threshold in each product category above which one can expect substantial performance improvement compared to below the threshold. As usual, it's not as simple a topic as it seems. The recommended album of the week is the eponymous debut from a brand new, hotshot-laden folk and bluegrass troupe assembled by the always impressive Chris Eldridge.
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The Beauty of FM | Fabiano do Nascimento
The HiFi Podcast is back with a tech-centric take on FM Radio, answering a listener question and delving into why so many audiophiles gravitate toward it as a favorite source. As so many conversations do, this one meanders toward noise and distortion, but Darren's take on the loveliness of the sound of FM may surprise you. Brazilian musician Fabiano do Nascimento joins an elite group of artists with more than one album recommended.
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Room Treatment As We See It | Voces8
In this episode, a listener requests a deeper dive into room treatment for optimizing sound in a HiFi listening space, and the fellas oblige. In fact, Darren and Duncan leap at the chance to talk about the curious look of some commercial treatment products, bemoan the high prices of some seemingly cheap-to-develop elements, and generally touch on many important elements of the entire equation. The Album of The Week this time hits a different genre than usual, with a record from one of the top modern choral groups recording today.
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All About GaN FETs | Mitski
Welcome to the new season and new format for The HiFi Podcast. This time, the boys are back and apparently recording under a popular confluence of flight paths, but if you can get past the air traffic noise, this episode is one you don't want to miss. Darren dives deep into the makeup and uses and pros and cons of Gallium-Nitride Field Effect Transistors, or GaN FETs. This is thanks to a listener question, and if you would like to prompt a podcast topic, be sure to contact us via our website. This episode's Album of the Week recommendation is an intimate date with a very creative and nuanced artist named Mitski.
Customer Reviews
Learn how to get better sound from experts
I've heard thoughts and insights about ways to improve sound quality from Darren and Duncan that I have never seen or heard from any other source. With their hands-on experience with designing and setting up audio equipment. they bring a wealth of knowledge that few other people have to their podcast.
This is excellent!
Everything you’d ever want to learn about HiFi is a fun format with incredible insider insight. I am so excited to have the newest season available!
Glad the podcast is back
I'm happy the podcast is back with Duncan. Even solo, Duncan communicates his enthusiasm and knowledge of stereo equipment. Also, the most recent interview with Garrett Hongo was excellent. I'm surprised there haven't been more interviews with Mr. Hongo. Thanks for the great shows and I also have no problem with long podcast episodes.
My original review is below:
I've developed an interest in hifi and am happy I found this podcast via their Instagram account today. I've already blown through half the podasts and look forward to more. The hosts present the information in a down to earth manner. They offer their opinions without being opinionated. There are plenty of audiophile podcasts out there that have promising starts, but eventually lose momentum with infrequent posts. I hope the hosts keep this up because there are a lot of topics out there.