Dr. Sean Olive on the Harman Target and Its Myriad Alternatives
This week, host Jorden Guth is joined once again by Dr. Sean Olive, senior fellow at Harman International, to dive deeper into the development of the Harman target curve for headphones, the reason why so many alternative target headphone curves have cropped up in recent years, and what it all means for music fans.
Sources:
“Sound Researcher Dr. Sean Olive” on the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast: https://www.soundstage.life/e/sound-researcher-dr-sean-olive-tonmeister-nrc-harman-and-floyd-toole-target-curves/
“Dr. Sean Olive on 35 Years of ‘Fast Car’” by Dennis Burger: https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/feature-articles/1259-dr-sean-olive-on-35-years-of-fast-car
Seong-Jin Cho: https://seongjin-cho.com/
Chapters:
00:00:00 Announcement
00:00:30 Introductions
00:02:09 A deeper dive into the origins of the Harman target curve
00:18:26 Music Break: “Rush Hour” by Peter John
00:19:24 Everybody and his brother has a target headphone curve
00:38:02 Outro: “Piano Concerto (Ravel)” by Ohad Ben-Ari
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41:16
A Completely Different Speaker—Ole Siig of Treble Clef Audio
This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by Ole Siig to discuss his history in hi-fi and the development and design of Treble Clef Audio’s distinctive and much-ballyhooed TCA-M active loudspeaker, which the SoundStage! Network video team covered when they traveled to Denmark last year to cover.
Sources:
“Treble Clef Audio's TCA-M Loudspeaker—Danish, Active, Expensive, and Dazzlingly Original” by SoundStage! Network: https://youtu.be/TNV6U9H1Rcc?si=62GFmSq_6iQs5Nw0
“January Snow Days—Treble Clef Audio and the David Chesky Trio” by Doug Schneider: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1933-january-snow-days-treble-clef-audio-and-the-david-chesky-trio
Chapters:
00:00:00 Announcement
00:00:30 The origins of Treble Clef
00:21:00 Music Break: “Heavy Traffic” by Amos Ever Hadani
00:22:20 What makes the TCA-M different?
00:53:00 Outro: “Baker St” by Duffmusiq
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56:21
Hi-Fi Entrepreneur Peter Lyngdorf—The Follow-Up Interview
This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by hi-fi industry legend Peter Lyngdorf for a supplemental chat, following the release of SoundStage! founder Doug Schneider’s one-on-one video interview on the SoundStage! Network YouTube channel. Peter Lyngdorf is the founder of many hi-fi brands, including DALI, Lyngdorf Audio, Steinway Lyngdorf, and he is also the founder the the HiFi Klubben retail chain, which has nearly 100 stores throughout Europe.
Sources:
“How Peter Lyngdorf Became Denmark's Most Prolific and Successful Hi-Fi Entrepreneur” by SoundStage! Network: https://youtu.be/QxTsEqlnEC0?si=LcSCeuGEZ2AAzESR
Chapters:
00:00:00 Announcement
00:00:30 Origin stories
00:20:12 Music Break: “Less Than Tomorrow” by Raphaël Angelini
00:22:44 A different approach to room correction
00:54:09 Outro: “The Desert” by Patrick Ussher
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58:29
All-Disc Playback: Rob Jones, President of Magnetar Audio North America
Do discs matter anymore? This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by Rob Jones, president of Magnetar Audio North America, to discuss the brand’s high-performance universal disc players, the fuzzy lines between hi-fi and home theater, and the future of physical media.
Source:
“Magnetar UDP900 4K Ultra HD Universal Blu-ray Disc Player–DAC” by Roger Kanno: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1854-magnetar-udp900-4k-ultra-hd-universal-blu-ray-disc-player-dac
Chapters:
00:00:00 Announcement
00:00:30 The road to Magnetar
00:23:23 Music Break: “IDK” by Modern Aquatic
00:24:15 The intersection of home theater and hi-fi
00:37:47 Outro: “Let's Not Rush Out and Tell Everyone” by Glories
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39:52
Back to Speaker Basics: Axiom Audio’s New Performance44 Series
Axiom is a Canadian loudspeaker brand founded by Ian Colquhoun in 1980. It was one of the first companies to adopt the design principles based on the research Dr. Floyd Toole was conducting at Canada’s National Research Council (NRC). Today, Colquhoun not only owns Axiom Audio, but also Bryston and Magnum Dynalab. This week, host Jorden Guth is joined by Ian Colquhoun to discuss the value engineering that made the company’s new Performance44 loudspeaker line possible.
Sources:
“Axiom Audio’s Ian Colquhoun and NRC” on the SoundStage! Audiophile Podcast: https://www.soundstage.life/e/axiom-audio-s-ian-colquhoun-and-nrc-origin-dr-floyd-toole-music-types-twin-tweeters-measurements/
“Axiom Audio's M100 v4 Loudspeaker”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7cdPUHJKx70
“Canadian Hi-Fi Trilogy: Axiom Audio, Bryston, and Magnum Dynalab—All Under One Expanding Roof” by Doug Schneider: https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/opinion/1785-canadian-hi-fi-trilogy-axiom-audio-bryston-and-magnum-dynalab-all-under-one-expanding-roof
Chapters:
00:00:00 Announcement
00:00:30 What makes Performance44 different?
00:15:00 Music Break: “My Bet” by RocknStock
00:16:12 Why now?
00:30:41 Outro: “Batteries Are for Flashlights, Not for Pickups” by Art Against Agony
Sverige