Audio Unleashed

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed

This week, Dennis and Brent kick things off with a discussion of the audio technology our electeds are most familiar with—AM radio—before pivoting into a long diatribe about whether this newfangled spatial-audio stuff is ever going to catch on. The real question on everyone’s lips this week, though, is whether a SanDisk Extreme Pro flash drive is the real road to audio Nirvana.

💿 “The Audiophile Society's Speaker Test and System Optimization Album”: https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album. Use code AudioUnleashed25 for 25% off. 

📖 Get your copy of the 4th edition of Floyd Toole’s legendary book, Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers, Rooms and Headphones with DISCOUNT CODE 25SMA4: https://www.routledge.com/Sound-Reproduction-The-Acoustics-and-Psychoacoustics-of-Loudspeakers-Rooms-and-Headphones/Toole-Olive-Welti/p/book/9781032761930

Dennis’ relaunched YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AdventureswithCPAP

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 The Audiophile Society's Amazing Fabulous Magnificent Speaker Test Album (engineered by Brent with VO by Dennis): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

Further Reading:

H.R. 979: AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2025: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/119/hr979/text#google_vignette

Down the Rabbit Hole with the Nirvana Audio Chronos by Tom Gibbs: https://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/down-the-rabbit-hole-with-the-nirvana-audio-chronos-optimizer/

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed

This week, Dennis and Brent get caught  in the trap of being forced to discuss Apple’s big new thing—improved open-ear noise cancellation—and how it might compare to that of the Cleer ARC 3 Open Wireless Earbuds. Then they riff yet again on the subject of AI music, largely centered on UMG’s recent deal with the devil, as well as 404 Media’s intentional hacking of Lathe of Heaven’s Spotify page to inject it with lazy AI slop. Last up for most people, they dig into Brent’s thoughts on several recent one-small-driver speakers, as well as Steve Temme’s first published measurements for Stereophile in the dystopian post-Atkinson world we hi-fi heads find ourselves living in. The real question, though, is: how many mic adapters can Brent manage to string together before the end of the episode?

💿 “The Audiophile Society's Speaker Test and System Optimization Album”: https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album. Use code AudioUnleashed25 for 25% off. 

📖 Get your copy of the 4th edition of Floyd Toole’s legendary book, Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers, Rooms and Headphones with DISCOUNT CODE 25SMA4: https://www.routledge.com/Sound-Reproduction-The-Acoustics-and-Psychoacoustics-of-Loudspeakers-Rooms-and-Headphones/Toole-Olive-Welti/p/book/9781032761930

Dennis’ relaunched YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AdventureswithCPAP

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 The Audiophile Society's Amazing Fabulous Magnificent Speaker Test Album (engineered by Brent with VO by Dennis): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

 

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

 

Further Reading:

Apple AirPods 5 Improve Open‑Ear Active Noise Cancellation by Joao Martins: https://audioxpress.com/news/apple-airpods-improve-open-ear-active-noise-cancellation

Fresh From the Bench: Cleer ARC 3 Open Wireless Earbuds with Noise Cancelling by Brent Butterworth: https://audioxpress.com/article/fresh-from-the-bench-cleer-arc-3-open-wireless-earbuds-with-noise-cancelling

Universal Music Group and ElevenLabs Announce Multi-Year Strategic Agreement, Beginning with a New Licensed AI Music Creation Platform: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/universal-music-group-and-elevenlabs-announce-multi-year-strategic-agreement-beginning-with-a-new-licensed-ai-music-creation-platform-302875284.html

I Hijacked a Real Artist's Spotify with AI Music. It Was Disturbingly Easy by Emanuel Maiberg: https://www.404media.co/spotify-ai-music-scam/?ref=weekly-roundup-newsletter

Salad Line Compact Speakers: https://apos.audio/products/salad-line-compact-tower-speakers?_pos=1&_sid=ea2192066&_ss=r&variant=46955751669996

Pearl Acoustics Model One loudspeaker review by Robert Schryer: https://stereophile.com/content/pearl-acoustics-model-one-loudspeaker

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed

This week, Dennis and Brent spend a lot of time and a lot of words riffing on the same fundamental theme: are we making this hi-fi stuff entirely too complicated? And if so, why? Does REL need to make stuff up about mysterious disappearing bass harmonics to sell its gorgeous subs? Does Benchmark have to make stuff up about audible distortion to sell its excellent amplifiers? And perhaps most importantly: does cheapaudioman have to make stuff up about 4K Blu-ray players to sell ED drugs?

💿 “The Audiophile Society's Speaker Test and System Optimization Album”: https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album. Use code AudioUnleashed25 for 25% off. 

📖 Get your copy of the 4th edition of Floyd Toole’s legendary book, Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers, Rooms and Headphones with DISCOUNT CODE 25SMA4: https://www.routledge.com/Sound-Reproduction-The-Acoustics-and-Psychoacoustics-of-Loudspeakers-Rooms-and-Headphones/Toole-Olive-Welti/p/book/9781032761930

Dennis’ relaunched YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AdventureswithCPAP

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 The Audiophile Society's Amazing Fabulous Magnificent Speaker Test Album (engineered by Brent with VO by Dennis): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album

 

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

 

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

 

Further Reading:

REL S/850 Review by Chris Frankland: https://hifiplus.com/articles/rel-s-850/

How Loud is the Distortion from Your Power Amplifier? by John Siau: https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/videos/how-loud-is-the-distortion-from-your-power-amplifier-1

Don't Buy a CD Player in 2026!? Buy This Instead by cheapaudioman: https://youtu.be/nnBwdMuGa_0?si=eME1ZvTkTjZQ06eK

CEDIA Expo 2026 Looks to be Another Scaled-Back Show by Ted Green: https://www.strata-gee.com/cedia-expo-2026-looks-to-be-another-scaled-back-show/

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed

This week, Dennis and Brent kick things off with a bit of a different segment: a deep dive into some of the wackier (and cooler) IEMs Brent has found on Facebook, and a look into the psychology of the people buying and reviewing them. Then they investigate what sort of “intimate machines” Stereophile’s Jim Austin is into, and whether we should care if “normal” people can afford them. They wrap the regular episode’s discussion with a read-through of Darko’s review scorecard, and what kind of score Darko deserves on his own test.

💿 “The Audiophile Society's Speaker Test and System Optimization Album”: https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album. Use code AudioUnleashed25 for 25% off. 

📖 Get your copy of the 4th edition of Floyd Toole’s legendary book, Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers, Rooms and Headphones with DISCOUNT CODE 25SMA4: https://www.routledge.com/Sound-Reproduction-The-Acoustics-and-Psychoacoustics-of-Loudspeakers-Rooms-and-Headphones/Toole-Olive-Welti/p/book/9781032761930

Dennis’ relaunched YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AdventureswithCPAP

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 The Audiophile Society's Amazing Fabulous Magnificent Speaker Test Album (engineered by Brent with VO by Dennis): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

Further Reading:

Some of the crazy IEMs Brent has discovered:

Artpical Raphael

Palavox Steel Heart and Akasha

AME Gnome

Brise Audio Fugaku

Faith Audio U1000

Unique Melody Mason Asahi

“Intimate Machines” by Jim Austin: https://stereophile.com/content/intimate-machines

“Darko’s hi-fi review scorecard” by John Darko: https://stereophile.com/content/intimate-machines

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed

This week, Dennis and Brent get the party started by pondering the deep question of whether or not a “loom” of anything is automatically sus. Next up, they split hairs over the distinction between a clone and an homage by way of Erin’s Audio Corner’s new video about a Chinese McIntosh knock-off. Then they wrap up the main show by answering a listener’s question about Darko.

💿 “The Audiophile Society's Speaker Test and System Optimization Album”: https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album. Use code AudioUnleashed25 for 25% off. 

📖 Get your copy of the 4th edition of Floyd Toole’s legendary book, Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers, Rooms and Headphones with DISCOUNT CODE 25SMA4: https://www.routledge.com/Sound-Reproduction-The-Acoustics-and-Psychoacoustics-of-Loudspeakers-Rooms-and-Headphones/Toole-Olive-Welti/p/book/9781032761930

Dennis’ relaunched YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AdventureswithCPAP

Brent’s audio projects:

💿 The Audiophile Society's Amazing Fabulous Magnificent Speaker Test Album (engineered by Brent with VO by Dennis): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album

💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album

💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants

Further Reading: 

“Most Audiophiles Upgrade in the Wrong Order Why the System — Not the Component — Is the Unit of Analysis: A Response to the Acurus/Aragon Upgrade Pyramid” by Theodore Walton Denney III: https://positive-feedback.com/audio-discourse/most-audiophiles-upgrade-in-the-wrong-order-why-the-system-not-the-component-is-the-unit-of-analysis-a-response-to-the-acurus-aragon-upgrade-pyramid/

“Most Audiophiles Upgrade in the Wrong Order” by u/Goooooner4Life: https://www.reddit.com/r/audiophile/comments/1v7vqwx/most_audiophiles_upgrade_in_the_wrong_order/

“Fake Mcintosh Audiophile Tube Amplifier vs the Real Deal” by Erin's Audio Corner: https://youtu.be/7wMTjeYVYXQ?si=KwWbl2Q_7lxxjGu2

“Five dongle DACs for your consideration” by John Darko: https://darko.audio/2026/07/five-dongle-dacs-for-your-consideration/

“The great DAC distraction 🌶️” by John Darko: https://darko.audio/2026/03/the-great-dac-distraction/

“KEF Coda W review: real hi-fi for less than a Sonos Arc Ultra” by John Darko: https://darko.audio/2026/02/kef-coda-w-review-real-hi-fi-for-less-than-a-sonos-arc-ultra/