The Occasional Podcast

Hosted by Brian Hunter

TechnologyInterviews guests

Website RSS feed LinkedIn Facebook Instagram YouTube

Episodes

160

Latest episode

Oct 2026

Language

EN-US

About the show

Join us in an audio-centric exploration of high fidelity listening. Gear talk, recommendations, interviews and plenty of interesting insights into high-end and personal audio, manufacturing and the people that make up the pastime. Our discussions primarily focus on music, music production, HiFi, audiophile speakers, headphones, amplifiers, turntables (record players), tubes, CD players, digital streaming, DAC and other digital sources.

Listen to episodes

60 recent

October 14, 2026Episode 31 hr 6 min

What Is A Transient? What Is Pre-Ringing? Rob Watts Of Chord Returns!

An interview with Rob Watts of Chord Electronics. Rob drops by the studio to help educate, inform, and explain some of the finer points of digital audio. In this episode, we discuss ladder DACs, the tenure of the CD and upcoming products from Chord Electronics. In an effort to recreate the most natural and organic sounds, Rob focuses on leading-edge transients to help form the most natural signal to the ear. He provides a little history, technical detail, and his unique take on the art of the digital signal. A fantastic, entertaining listen for anyone interested in some new learnings and observations about this complex, but vitally important aspect of the audiophile hobby. We are now on Patreon! Please support the show directly on Patreon for extra bits, behind-the-scenes and direct contact with The Occasional Podcast's creators. TOP supporters on Patreon also have the opportunity to download the show before it goes public to the rest of humanity. Support us here: PartTimeAudiophile On Patreon S15E3 Sponsors: JMF-AUDIOdotCOM - Instruments For The Music SCHIITAUDOdotCOM - Audio Components Designed & Built in Texas, Starting At $49 AUDIOVISIONSFdotCOM - San Francisco Oct 17th-18th In-Store HiFi Show WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - The New Elysian R Series

October 1, 2026Episode 254 min

Jazz Musician Miki Yamanaka Discusses Her New Album Breathe

An interview with Miki Yamanaka. As an accomplished jazz musician and pianist, Miki joins the show this week with her sparkling personality, some great humor and thoughtful insights into how artists think about sound, listening, recording and performing. We further explore some of the unique value of Jazz, Vinyl and even Japanese influences across both HiFi and the music scene. Her new album titled Breathe is a excellent specimen of both top-tier performance and sonic pleasantries. A real season highlight. Special thanks to co-host Bryan Beasley - don't forget to check out his new film Crossroads Of America: Oklahoma's Route 66 . Miki Yamanaka: On Instagram | Buy The Album Breathe | Stream We are now on Patreon! Please support the show directly on Patreon for extra bits, behind-the-scenes and direct contact with The Occasional Podcast's creators. TOP supporters on Patreon also have the opportunity to download the show before it goes public to the rest of humanity. Support us here: PartTimeAudiophile On Patreon S15E2 Sponsors: PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times SCHIITAUDOdotCOM - Audio Components Designed & Built in Texas, Starting At $49 AUDIOVISIONSFdotCOM - San Francisco Oct 17th-18th In-Store HiFi Show WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - The New Elysian R Series

September 16, 2026Episode 11 hr 13 min

Raising The Floor With Jason Stoddard Of Schiit Audio

An interview with Jason Stoddard of Schiit Audio. A long time friend of the show, Jason returns once again to chat about keeping things real on the entry-level of high fidelity. We talk about how Jason finds direction for raising expectations at the "floor" of HiFi, rather than continually adding dollars to the price to push the ceiling even higher. We dabble in his latest updates for the Schiit Audio brand, weather another CD player is in the mix, and if robots will every take over the Texas warehouse. A great listen for anyone interested in what is going on in the budget arena of gear, both headphones and two-channel speakers. We are now on Patreon! Please support the show directly on Patreon for extra bits, behind-the-scenes and direct contact with The Occasional Podcast's creators. TOP supporters on Patreon also have the opportunity to download the show before it goes public to the rest of humanity. Support us here: PartTimeAudiophile On Patreon S15E1 Sponsors: PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times JMF-AUDIOdotCOM - Instruments For The Music AUDIOVISIONSFdotCOM - San Francisco Oct 17th-18th In-Store HiFi Show WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - The New Elysian R Series

July 28, 2026Episode 1150 min

Top 10 Best Party Speakers Plus Wharfedale Denton 1S Impressions

A verbal get-together with John Klima of the Post And Beam podcast. In this episode we run down the top 10 best party speakers as recommended by the pt.AUDIO staff. John co-hosts the show and gives us his impressions of the brand new Wharfedale Denton 1S bookshelf speakers. What speakers are known for getting the party to rock? What transducers will impress most at your next wine and cheese party? All this and a pre-review of the latest from Wharfedale in the Denton line. Bonus: Are cassettes having a comeback? Post And Beam Podcast S14E11 Sponsors: PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times JMF-AUDIOdotCOM - Intstruments For The Music AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You

July 13, 2026Episode 1052 min

John Siau Of Benchmark Media Systems

An interview with Director Of Engineering of Benchmark Media Systems, John Siau. The brains behind much of Benchmark's gear in recent years can be credited to John. Between pro and consumer DACs, analog to digital converters and a wide array of HiFi gear, Benchmark has been on quite a run the past 10 years in terms of product development. In this episode, John offers up some really sound advice and information. We tackle some talk about design elements, feedback error correction and help shed light on questions like - have we been slowly losing fidelity over the years? S14E10 Sponsors: PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You

June 25, 2026Episode 931 min

Top 10 Best Speakers For 2026 - Cheapest To Most Expensive

Our picks for the top 10 best sounding speakers from 2026. Marc and Brian rundown their favorite loudspeakers from cheapest to most expensive. Fresh back from a run across the country listening to the world's hottest hifi gear, pt.AUDIO's Editor-In-Chief Marc Phillips joins host Brian Hunter for a full breakdown of the best sounding bookshelf and floor-standers in the known universe. S14E9 Sponsors: VAC-AMPSdotCOM - When Music Matters PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times JMF-AUDIOdotCOM - Intstruments For The Music AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You

June 11, 2026Episode 838 min

HIGH END Vienna 2026 - HiFi Highlights and Best Of Show

Marc is back from his travels abroad and he returns with all the good news, highlights and best sound from the HIGH END Vienna show. Hosted for the first time at its new location in Austria, HIGH END 2026 found a new home for one of the biggest international audio shows on the planet. Marc and Brian dive deep into the best parts of the Hifi event, with all the audio goodies and tasty sounds from the massive high end convention. S14E8 Sponsors: VAC-AMPSdotCOM - When Music Matters PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times JMF-AUDIOdotCOM - Intstruments For The Music AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You BORDERPATROLdotNET - For Music Lovers, Not Scope Jockeys

May 28, 2026Episode 71 hr 0 min

Julie Mullins (Stereophile/Analog Planet)

An interview with Julie Mullins of Stereophile Magazine, Analog Planet and many more endeavors. This week we chat with Julie about her long history in audio (which includes all the major HiFi publications) and her epic history as a freelance writer for the arts. From audiophile roots growing up to her high-paced journalism, Mullins has been both listening and writing for most of her life. We discuss music, the arts, AI and writing in this episode - along with some interesting conversations about listening and some of the unique hurdles HiFi faces as a community. S14E7 Sponsors: VAC-AMPSdotCOM - When Music Matters PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times JMF-AUDIOdotCOM - At Hi-Fi Deluxe Show In Vienna, June 5-7 AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You

May 14, 2026Episode 61 hr 4 min

William Low From AudioQuest

A very special interview with Bill Low of AudioQuest. This week's episode is a much more cerebral experience, and one of our favorites to tackle. Joined by AudioQuest founder William Low, we talk about some great topics for anyone interested in high fidelity, critical listening and all the possibilities around hearing. What is realism in audio? Why does our hearing focus on certain things and not others? How have we evolved as a species to hear things a certain way? Bill and host Brian Hunter jump in to the fray with these and plenty of other audio tips, tricks and passing thoughts for this mid point of Season 14. A real highlight for the season so far. S14E6 Sponsors: VAC-AMPSdotCOM - When Music Matters PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times BORDERPATROLdotNET - For Music Lovers, Not Scope Jockeys WOOAUDIOdotCOM - The New WA300-BAL Speaker Amp

April 29, 2026Episode 548 min

Steve Guttenberg And Andrew Jones - Live Recording From AXPONA 2026

A huge show this week with both Steve "The Audiophiliac" Guttenberg and legendary speaker designer Andrew Jones. The Reviewer and the Designer was recorded live at AXPONA 2026 in Chicago this year. In a keynote session on Friday, The Occasional Podcast had a live audience for the first time. The three way banter was a great variation for the format, with some great conversations and educational bits alike. We pulled out some interesting stories from both Steve and Andrew, along with some unique perspectives on both measurements and design philosophy. Andrew's new speaker is the field-coil concentric Jones And Cerreta Troubador. And Steve Guttenberg has a new book coming out titled "The Blind Projectionist" but you can also follow his HiFi commentary on his regular YouTube channel "The Audiophiliac". S14E5 Sponsors: VAC-AMPSdotCOM - When Music Matters AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times AUDIOVISIONSFdotCOM - San Francisco May 16th-17th In-Store HiFi Celebration