The HiFi Hobbyist Podcast

Why doesn’t active loudspeaker technology play a bigger role in domestic Hi-Fi systems?

This podcast explores the role and history of active speakers in domestic hi-fi systems. Although their use is on the increase in the smart speaker market and in some popular hi-fi speaker ranges such as the KEF LS series, many hi-fi hobbyists remain unconvinced, so we seek to answer the question "Why doesn’t active loudspeaker technology play a bigger role in domestic Hi-Fi systems?"
This week’s music is from a bluegrass instrumental created by Nicholas Panek and used under a Pixabay licence.

Two AIs debate alternative approaches to manufacturing for British HiFi companies

Following on from last week's podcast on alternative approaches to manufacturing for British HiFi companies, this week's takes the form of a generated debate about the merits of the two principal approaches as exemplified by IAG and Rega

Do British HiFi manufacturers need to outsource manufacturing to survive?

This podcast examines whether British HiFi manufacturers need to outsource manufacturing to survive. It has been inspired by the challenges to free trade and global supply changes, which have been caused by the UK leaving the EU, closely followed by a global pandemic, and most recently geopolitical upheavals and the imposition of import tarffs by key countries

Two AIs debate which modern audio paradigm truly represents the highest fidelity audio

This bonus podcast is a generated discussion that took a rather unexpected turn, which I found interesting so we have published it as a bonus episode.
Charged with generating a debate about last week's podcast, the debate quickly moved to a rather more philosophical discussion about the nature of high-fidelity audio itself. Do we value the purest signal in terms of freedom from noise, or do we instead seek to create a 3-D sound picture, majoring on placement and position? The move from mono to stereo represented the first major development into spatial audio, but modern object-based immersive audio take this to a whole new level. Listen and enjoy!

Two AIs discuss the historical journey to provide pictures with high fidelity audio without compromising sound quality

This week's podcast is a generated discussion, following on from last week's podcast. It discusses the historical progression of audiovisual technology convergence in the United Kingdom, tracing its evolution from early broadcast limitations to modern immersive experiences. It begins with the initial analogue mono television era established by the BBC and ITV, followed by the temporary simulcasting solutions that paired TV with FM radio. A significant portion of the discussion examines the impact of the BBC's internal digital audio research, which was necessitated by the failings of analogue infrastructure and led directly to the consumer-facing NICAM digital stereo standard. The discussion then shifts to the era of physical digital media (DVD and Blu-ray), which democratised multi-channel and lossless audio formats, before concluding with an analysis of the contemporary landscape dominated by streaming services and the widespread adoption of object-based spatial audio like Dolby Atmos.

The history of audiovisual technology in the UK from early TV to modern immersive digital audio

The podcast tracks the history of audiovisual technology in the UK from the earliest TV services nearly 100 years ago to modern digital technology, with a view to answering the question: does high fidelity audio benefit from accompanying video?

Two AIs walk into a bar and debate the top 10 Springsteen albums

This week's generated discussion looks at last week's podcast and the HiFi Hobbyist Top 10 Bruce Springsteen studio albums

The HiFi Hobbyist Top 10 Bruce Springsteen Studio Albums

Although the title of this podcast is the hi-fi hobbyist, hi-fi is only ever a means to an end.  The purpose of improving my Hi-Fi setup is to improve the quality of the sound reproduction and therefore the enjoyment obtained from music. Music has always played an important part on the hifi hobbyist site with syndicated record reviews featured prominently from the beginning.
One of the artists prominently featured on that site is Bruce Springsteen. This week’s podcast explores my top 10 favourite Springsteen albums, explores what makes them special and considers other people's views of the material.

Two AIs walked in a bar and discussed Hi FI racks

Welcome to this week’s generated discussion about last week’s podcast about the not-so-humble Hi-Fi rack.   This week’s music is once again a mix of big band swing tracks created by Nicholas Parnek, and used under a Pixabay licence.    I hope that you enjoy the discussion! 

HiFi Racks – furniture or audio enhancing equipment?

Welcome to this week’s podcast about the not-so-humble hifi rack.  The podcast discusses the history of specialist hifi funiture, and the technical aspects of providing a solid foundation and controlling unwanted vibrations. The research for this podcast informed my own hobby project to replace my own hifi rack. You can read more about this at the main HiFi Hobbyist website 
This week’s music is big band swing, created by Nicholas Parnek, and used under a Pixabay licence.  I hope that you enjoy the podcast, and the music, too!