Episode 86

In this episode, Darren and Duncan reflect on their experiences with friend and mentor Bascom King, whose recent passing has taken a great mind from the HiFi community. Bascom was an audiophile engineering legend and responsible for many incredible amplification designs over a long career. Hear about how he inspired so many, and learn a little about his upcoming posthumous amplifier release, the BHK 600 amplifiers. The guys also read a couple of emails, and this week’s album recommendation comes by way of Australia and is one to not miss.

Episode 87

In this episode, the pros and cons of the integrated amplifier are covered in typical Hifi Podcast style. Darren shares impressions and experience from the perspective of a designer, and both guys try to frame the situations where the integrated approach is either better or… not better. This week’s questions share a common theme which takes Duncan back into recording engineer jibber jabber, and the solo viola de gamba performance as the album of the week is a can’t miss.

Episode 88

In this episode, PS Audio design engineer Darren Myers takes us through the process of designing printed circuit boards, which are known as PCBs. It turns out there are tons of considerations in play when selecting the material of a PCB, and determining the position of components and the makeup of the traces. Listener questions about tweaks and credibility are answered, and this week’s album recommendation is a fascinating release from a pair of producers who craft sonic landscapes only from recordings of one instrument — in this case the upright double bass.

Episode 89

After a visit to chez Tweak to hear the always-improving desktop system, Darren decided to push Duncan into a project the best way he knew how: by giving him a pair of Seas Excel tweeters and posing the question, “what if you had state-of-the-art soft domes in that thing?” Talking, of course, about Duncan’s improbably excellent 2-day speaker project, and in this episode the guys talk about the next possible iteration of the silly little first-order gems. Listener questions are answered, a blind study on network switches is shared, and the album of the week ventures into Brazilian tradition.

Episode 90

Well, it’s finally happened. Your favorite podcast has dusted off the microphone and is getting itself back in gear after a few months shy of a yearlong hiatus. For new listeners, this should serve as a fine guide for ingesting the nearly 200 hours of previously published audio talk. For long-timers, you’ll find out why we took a break, and what’s ahead for the show. This episode’s album recommendation comes from a familiar name to podcast listeners, an artist who traveled to Cuba to record this stunning duet which Duncan considers already to be 2023’s best recording.