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The Occasional Podcast

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Rating
★★★★★
4.6
from
88 reviews
This podcast has
145 episodes
Language
English
Publisher
Brian Hunter
Explicit
No
Date created
2018/01/06
Latest episode
2026/01/28
Average duration
47 min.
Release period
19 days

Description

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.

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Check latest episodes from The Occasional Podcast podcast


The History And Continuing Legacy Of The Quad ESL 57 Loudspeaker
2026/01/28
A full breakdown of the history and ongoing legacy of one of, if not THE most iconic and legendary speaker of all time, the Quad ESL 57 Electrostatic Loudspeaker. In this informative and educational episode, we provide some context, impressions and observations about one of the most-longstanding reference HiFi speakers ever. What makes the ESL 57 so special? How did it earn its title in the pantheon of audiophile history books? Brian Hunter lays it all out in simple terms. Special thanks to pt.AUDIO Editor-In-Chief Marc Phillips for his help with the episode! S13E10 Sponsors: AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated SVSOUNDdotCOM – Join the Sound R|Evolution AXPONAdotCOM - North America's Audio Expo
Pro Audio Vs. HiFi - Why They May Be More Alike Than You Think - An Interview With Brad Lunde Of Lone Mountain Audio
2026/01/15
An Interview With Brad Lunde, President of Lone Mountain Audio. This episode is packed with tons of amazing stories, tips, and advice - from both sides of the musical coin - Pro Audio and HiFi. Plenty of ink has been spilled on the differences between utilizing HiFi as a way to consume music, and the techniques for producing music using speakers and other production gear as "tools". However, the two are not as dissimilar as one might initially expect considering all this. Brad helps break down some of differences, but he really brings together a ton of common themes that exist for both goals. His commentary provides powerful insights on setting up systems, defining "perfection" and room acoustics. He even gives us a fantastic list of music from his favorite sound engineers to follow. S13E9 Sponsors: AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated SVSOUNDdotCOM – Join the Sound R|Evolution AXPONAdotCOM - North America's Audio Expo  
An Interview With Teenage Speaker Designer Lucca Chesky and 2025 Product Of The Year Awards!
2025/12/23
19-year-old Lucca Chesky already has few speaker designs under his belt. The LC1 and LC2 Bookshelves have been touring the HiFi audio show circuit and earning some well-deserved accolades in the process. Implementing both 3D printing and a sub-$2k budget invites not only a younger crowd with more entry-level spending habits, but also some real HiFi intentions to a entirely new crowd of much-needed audiophiles. S13E8 also includes pt.AUDIO Editor-In-Chief Marc Phillips following up on the 2025 Buyer's Guide with a continuation of the pt.AWARDS season and the recipients of Product of the Year, Best Value of the Year and Best Bookshelf Speaker of the Year.  See the full 2025 Buyers Guide in written form at PT.Audio.  Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Copper pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Gold S13E8 Sponsors: AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated SVSOUNDdotCOM – Join the Sound R|Evolution
The Best Hi-Fi Products For 2026: Speakers, Amps, DACs & Turntables Reviewed
2025/12/08
Our 2026 Buyer's Guide For Audiophiles. Marc and Brian go over some of the best and brightest audio products reviewed and heard for the upcoming year. Broken out into several HiFi categories, the buyer's guide provides some insight into the season's best audiophile products along with some general banter and tips for the hobby. See the full guide in written form at PT.Audio. Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Copper pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Gold S13E7 Sponsors: AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated SVSOUNDdotCOM – Join the Sound R|Evolution  
Capital Audiofest 2025 - HiFi Highlights And Best Of Show
2025/11/19
Coverage and impressions from Captial Audiofest 2025. Marc, Brian and Scot broadcast live from the big DC audio event. This show includes full impressions and observations on trends. What rooms sounded like perfection? What new products really impressed? All the details on a ton of new gear get annouced at this East Coast show and we have them all to share with you in this robust, boots-on-the-ground episode. This episode's event sponsor is Doug White and The Voice That Is. Doug was showcasing the Tidal Piano G3 Loudpeaker, TIDAL Ferios G2 amplifier, Turnbull Audio Prestige Audio Cables and new Power Distributor, REL Carbon Special Black Label, and Equitech Model 2RQ at Capital Audiofest 2025. CAF 2025 Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio Season 12 Merch is now available! The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram
All The New Audiophile & HiFi Product Announcements For The Holiday Season - What You May Have Missed!
2025/11/05
Marc And Brian from pt.AUDIO run down all the latest gear hitting the HiFi and Audiophile market for the holiday season. From premium speaker products to headphones, IEMs and amplifiers, this episode discusses and dissects all the new product announcements for 4th quarter and beyond.  If you are attending Capital Audiofest next weekend, please swing by the Wilson Room and see our CAF 2025 sponsor, Doug White and The Voice That Is. Doug will showcasing his fine selection of brands including Tidal Audio, Turnbull Cables, Equitech, REL Subwoofers and more. Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram S13E5 Sponsors: AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You SCHIITdotCOM - Audio Components Designed & Built in Texas, Starting At $49 PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated THEVOICETHATISdotCOM - The Wilson Room At Captial Audiofest 2025
Rooms! Treatments, Correction And Everything You Can Do Optimize Performance For Your Stereo
2025/10/22
An interview with Ed Mullen and Nick Brown of SVS. In this detailed educational discussion, we explore all the things that you can do to improve the sound of your stereo through adjusting your listening room. An often overlooked, essential part of HiFi performance is condition of the ceiling, walls and floor of the room your rig is located in. Technical expert Ed Mullen joins us to dissect the subject including room treatments, standing/null waves, room gain, controlling floor boom, bass bleed, isolation and more. Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram S13E4 Sponsors: AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You SCHIITdotCOM - Audio Components Designed & Built in Texas, Starting At $49 PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - Legendary British Sound – Elevated THEVOICETHATISdotCOM - The Wilson Room At Captial Audiofest 2025
Is Analog Better Than Digital? An Interview With Peter Ledermann Of Soundsmith Plus The Status Of HiFi Design In Education
2025/10/08
An interview with Peter Ledermann of Soundsmith. Peter has a very long history of research and development in audio. From his time at IBM to amps to turntable cartridges, Peter has long sought to educate and enlighten the twisting technicalities of HiFi. In this interview we chat about why audio is sometimes pros, cons and compromise. It is an evolution that attempts to help to solve a host of problems, while sometimes creating new ones. But most importantly, it's weeding out things that break over time so consumers have a lifelong product. We also chat about turntables and is analog better than digital? Do Turntables have sample rates? Measurements, cantilever material, why mono karts might be better, cable burn in and how "getting used to something" really effects how we can form preferences. Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram S13E3 Sponsors: AUDIOVISIONSFdotCOM - San Francisco Oct 18-19 In-Store HiFi Celebration AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You MUSICHALLAUDIOdotCOM - No Nonsense, Just Great Sound SCHIITdotCOM - Audio Components Designed & Built in Texas, Starting At $49 PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before
Measurements - What Do Audio Designers Think? Interviews With Pass, Jones, Grell, Watts, Qvortrup, Comeau and Dudleston
2025/09/24
This episode is a collection of interviews that help explore the idea of measurements as they relate to high fidelity audio reproduction from an audio product designer's perspective. Some of the most predominant makers of HiFi gear share their thoughts on measurements, discussing the usefulness, limitations, and greater impact on the market. Includes interviews with Peter Qvortrup of Audio Note UK, Andrew Jones of MoFi, Nelson Pass Of Pass Labs and First Watt, Axel Grell from Sennheiser, Bill Dudleston from Legacy Audio, Rob Watts Of Chord and Peter Comaeu of Quad and Wharfedale. Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram S13E2 Sponsors: AUDIOVISIONSFdotCOM - San Francisco Oct 18-19 In-Store HiFi Celebration AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You MUSICHALLAUDIOdotCOM - No Nonsense, Just Great Sound SCHIITdotCOM - Audio Components Designed & Built in Texas, Starting At $49 ZMFHEADPHONESdotCOM - Traditional Craft, Modern Acoustics PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before  
Top 10 Turntable Carts Of 2025 - The Best Cartridges Available For Your Turntable/Record Player
2025/09/08
Our recommendations for the top 10 best sounding Turntable Carts from the past 12 months. Marc and Brian run down their best turntable cartridges for record players available to buy today. Released in conjunction with the pt.AUDIO Buyer's Guide Summer 2025. You can check out all the "best of" gear from every HiFi category here: https://pt.audio/category/audio-gear-reviews/buyers-guide/ In this epsiode we also discuss the pros and cons of Moving Magnet vs. Moving Coil cartridges and how to properly budget a cart vs. the total price of the turntable and components.  Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram S13E1 Sponsors: AUDIOVISIONSFdotCOM - San Francisco Oct 18-19 In-Store HiFi Celebration AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You MUSICHALLAUDIOdotCOM - No Nonsense, Just Great Sound SCHIITdotCOM - Audio Components Designed & Built in Texas, Starting At $49 ZMFHEADPHONESdotCOM - Traditional Craft, Modern Acoustics PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before  
Top 10 Turntables Of 2025
2025/07/11
Our recommendations for the top 10 best sounding turntables from the past 12 months. Marc and Brian run down their best turntable picks from 2025. Released in conjunction with the pt.AUDIO Summer Buyer's Guide. You can check out all the "best of" gear from every HiFi category here: https://pt.audio/category/audio-gear-reviews/buyers-guide/ Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio Season 12 Merch is now available! The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram S12E10 Sponsors: ZMFHEADPHONESdotCOM - Traditional Craft, Modern Acoustics NORDOSTdotCOM - A Clear Choice For The Best Connection PASSLABSdotCOM - Rediscover Your Music Like Never Before PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times  
Vince Bruzzese Of Totem Acoustic
2025/06/27
An interview with Vince Burzzese of Totem Acoustic. Vince has been developing speakers for many years, and his longtime brand Totem Acoustic has carved out its audience in the HiFi realm since 1987. We sit down with him to chat about his design philosophy, audio journey, and more in this very unique interview. Vince is a rare Canadian designer based out of Montreal, Quebec. His goals and mission in audio are made clear and help provide an interesting insight into the how and why he has dedicated his professional life to audio. It is a really fun listen for anyone interested in high-end audio, high fidelity, and speaker design philosophy in general. Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio Season 12 Merch is now available! The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram S12E9 Sponsors: ZMFHEADPHONESdotCOM - Traditional Craft, Modern Acoustics NORDOSTdotCOM - A Clear Choice For The Best Connection DEVOREFIDELITYdotCOM - Nothing Brings You Closer To The Music PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times  
Peter Comeau Of IAG (Wharfedale, Mission, and Quad)
2025/06/11
An intervew with Director of Acoustic Design at IAG, Peter Comeau. Peter helps manage the sound design for IAG brands, including Wharfedale, Mission, Quad, Castle and Audiolab. We chat him up and discuss his outlook on listening, reproducing sound and more. Peter gives his take on several audiophile myths, including how far a speaker should really be placed from a wall for the best bass response. He also sheds a little more light on the idea of "British" speaker designs and some of the pros and cons of two-way vs three-way approaches. This includes some insights into the new (and very popular) Super Linton sub-$3k standmount that we got a chance to review.  Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio Season 12 Merch is now available! The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram S12E8 Sponsors: ZMFHEADPHONESdotCOM - Traditional Craft, Modern Acoustics NORDOSTdotCOM - A Clear Choice For The Best Connection DEVOREFIDELITYdotCOM - Nothing Brings You Closer To The Music PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times
Top 10 Integrated Amplifiers - Cheapest To Most Expensive
2025/05/28
Our recommendations for the top 10 best sounding integrated amplifiers from the past 12 months. Marc and Brian run down their best amp picks from cheapest to most expensive. Released in conjunction with the pt.AUDIO Buyer's Guide Summer 2025. You can check out all the "best of" gear from every HiFi category here: https://pt.audio/category/audio-gear-reviews/buyers-guide/ Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio Season 12 Merch is now available! The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram S12E7 Sponsors: ZMFHEADPHONESdotCOM - Traditional Craft, Modern Acoustics NORDOSTdotCOM - A Clear Choice For The Best Connection DEVOREFIDELITYdotCOM - Nothing Brings You Closer To The Music PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times
KT88 Vs. 300b Tube - Kevin Hayes Of VAC Educates!
2025/05/14
An interview with Kevin Hayes Of VAC. The KT88 and the 300b tube are some of the most popular options for HiFi amplification. But what are the differences and why do some amp designers choose one over the other? Kevin explains the situation and also discusses Class A, if amplifiers "warm up", and if tubes sound better in the pre amp or power amp. A very educational and inspirational interview with a tube designer that has been in the business for over 35 years.  Video coverage: https://www.youtube.com/@PT-Audio Season 12 Merch is now available! The pt.AUDIO Record Weight In Walnut : 230 Gram S12E6 Sponsors: ZMFHEADPHONESdotCOM - Traditional Craft, Modern Acoustics NORDOSTdotCOM - A Clear Choice For The Best Connection DEVOREFIDELITYdotCOM - Nothing Brings You Closer To The Music PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times    

Podcast reviews

Read The Occasional Podcast podcast reviews


4.6 out of 5
88 reviews
★★★★★
DCNYer 2022/10/02
Dave McNair interview deserves 5 stars, by itself
The October 13, 2021, interview with mastering engineer and Part Time Audiophile writer Dave McNair is the most eye-opening audiophile interview I've ...
★★★★★
kshkval 2021/12/25
Great Podcast… topical, varied, expert, revealing
I’ve listened to several of the podcasts and they’ve all been useful and worthwhile. But the podcast about how records are made gobsmacked me with so ...
★★★★★
24VoltFlamingo 2018/01/29
Loved it!
Great to hear the words of the great modern hi-fi alchemists in a spontaneous, off the cuff stream. hope to hear more soon!
★★☆☆☆
Sampras270 2021/04/22
Get a new host
I love listening to hi-fi talk and really enjoy the people that he has interviewed. I just barely can’t stand listening to it because of the host, he ...
★★★★☆
StylerB 2020/06/19
Love but..,
More episodes please!
★☆☆☆☆
sadiecaptain 2020/01/23
Too cool, no class
Sound affects with your mouth? A visit host who refers to “f...... CDs? Wait, why would I listen to this? I don’t any longer.
★★★★★
illusivedmg 2018/01/27
Great!
One of my favorite podcasts.
★★★★★
kfrazier1000 2018/01/27
Great Podcast!
I accidentally stumbled upon this podcast, and I'm happy to find it. If you're an audiophile like myself, you'll enjoy the interviews with audio indu...
★★★★★
Minor.mist 2018/01/25
Great audiophile podcast
Solid podcast giving great updates for audiophiles. It's a nice change of pace to listen to audiophile news as opposed to reading it!
★★★★★
Nickname626 2018/01/25
Listen up
Fun podcast for audiophiles or people just interested in gear and audio tech.
check all reviews on apple podcasts

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