The HiFi Five Podcast

The HiFi Five Episode 43:  Solid-State Versus Tube Amplifiers Guests David Berning -- Founder and Designer of The David Berning Company  John Curl -- Founder and Designer of Vendetta Research, Designer for Parasound and for Mark Levinson Michael Fremer -- Founder and Editor of Tracking Angle and the Editor at Large of The Absolute Sound Ralph Karsten -- Founder and Designer of Atma-Sphere

The HiFi Five Episode 42:  Truths About Cables Guests: Matthew Bond -- Founder and Designer, Matthew Bond Audio; formerly Founder and Designer at Tara Labs Galen Gareis -- Designer at Iconoclast Cables; formerly Principal Engineer at Belden Wire & Cable  Ralph Karsten -- Founder and Designer of Atma-Sphere tube and solid-state electronics William Low -- Founder and Chief Designer of Audioquest...

This is the most actionable, answer-packed discussion about set-up issues and conundrums we all face ever recorded! Guests: Frank Doris --  Editor, Copper Magazine; Senior Associate Editor, Positive FeedbackPeter Noerbaek -- Founder and Designer, PBN Audio Lee Scoggins -- Reviewer, Positive Feedback Norman Varney -- Founder, A/V RoomService Topics: What are the most common setup mistakes audiophil...

The HiFi Five Episode 40:  Are HiFi Influencers Breaking the Rules? This episode shines a bright line on many questionable practices in the industry, and proposes a remedy. Guests: Frank Doris --  Editor of Copper Magazine, Senior Associate Editor at Positive Feedback Mike Powell -- OCD HiFi Guy and founder of the audio brand Verastarr and online dealer 11Stereo Stu McCreary -- attorney and Senior...

The HiFi Five Episode 39:  Is Vinyl All That? Guests: Jefferson Douglas -- CEO of Tubelandia Music Mike Lavigne -- audiophile hobbyist Amadeus Meitner -- Managing Director, EMM Labs and Meitner Doug Schneider -- founder of SoundStage! Topics: Which is the best sounding format, and what does best sounding mean? When great vinyl beats state-of-the-art digital, what are we really hearing -- the forma...

The HiFi Five Episode 38:  Buying Used Components and Repairs Guests: Morrison Agen -- Hardcore HiFi, a dealer and component repair and restoration business  Jay Caceres -- Jay’s Audio Lab, a dealer in used components  Peter Glenn -- Director of Quality Assurance at The Music Room, a dealer in used components Jim Yager -- audiophile hobbyist Topics: Is buying used actually the smartest way to buil...

The HiFi Five Episode  37:  Southwest Audio Fest 2026 Show Report Guests: Chad Crawley -- audiophile hobbyist Gary Gill -- founder and organizer of the Southwest Audio Fest and Capital Audio Fest Matt Philpot -- YouTube channel Everyday Audiophile Keith Rochelli -- audiophile hobbyist Joey Veloso -- President of the DFW Audiophile Club Topics: Was Southwest Audio Fest better than last year—or did...

In this The HiFi Five Special Episode Ron Resnick interviews Mr. Roger Hwang, the CEO of Crystal International Group Inc. and Crystal Claire Cosmetics Inc., who explains the many recent corporate and personnel developments at Audio Research Corporation and at Acora Acoustics.

The HiFi Five Episode 35:  Dynaudio Withdrawal and Distributor Life Today Guests: Brian Ackerman -- Founder of Aaudio Imports Bill Leebens -- CEO of Leebens Marketing and Management Doug Schneider -- Founder of SoundStage! Hiram Toro -- Founder of Supreme Acoustic Systems and of Decibel+ Topics: Is this an isolated case, or the first major warning sign that the economics of importing high-end audi...

In this Episode 34 the guests and Ron explain thirteen full system recommendations from $500 to $100,000! The HiFi Five supports budget and student audiophiles! Guests: Erin Hardison -- Erin’s Audio Corner Danny Kaey -- Sonic Flare Eric Neff - Reviewer for HiFi+ Magazine Andrew Quint -- Senior Writer at The Absolute Sound Additional Topics: How should audiophiles divide their budget among speakers...

The HiFi Five Episode 33:  Axiss Lawsuit Guests: Chad Crawley -- audiophile hobbyist Erin Hardison -- Erin's Audio Corner Kerry Harvey -- commercial transactions attorney who has litigated dozens of cases and served as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and audiophile hobbyist Doug Schneider -- founder of SoundStage! Steven Stone -- Senior Reviewer at The Absolut...

The Hi-Fi Five Episode 32:  Getting Kids into Music and Audio Guests: May Anwar -- Scientist, college educator, co-founder of M101 Audio and the creator of “Passport to Sound” Steve Lefkowicz -- Senior Associate Editor at Positive Feedback Joe Pavel -- audiophile hobbyist parent Max Pavel -- audiophile hobbyist kid Topics: • Are headphones and earbuds creating tomorrow’s audiophiles -- or replacin...

THE HIFI FIVE Episode 31:  High End Vienna 2026 Show Report Learn what really happened at the show, best sounding exhibits, most exciting component debuts and industry discussions! Guests: Edgar Kramer -- Editor-in-Chief of SoundStage! Australia Mikhail Kuzemchenko -- audiophile hobbyist Carlo Lo Raso -- Editor-in-Chief of Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity Greg Weaver -- The Audio Analyst...

The owners of MSB and veteran reviewers tackle some of the biggest -- and most divisive -- questions in digital audio: Guests: Daniel Francis -- Co-owner and Industrial Designer of MSB Technology Jonathan Gullman -- Co-owner and CEO of MSB Technology Doug Schneider -- Founder of SoundStage! Steven Stone -- Senior Reviewer, The Absolute Sound Topics: Why are some experienced audiophiles still obses...

The HiFi Five Episode 29:  Field Coil Loudspeakers GUESTS Frank Doris --  Editor of Copper Magazine, Senior Associate Editor at Positive Feedback Rich Pinto -- Founder and Designer, Treehaus Audio Peter Qvortrup -- Founder and Managing Director, Audio Note UK Ken Songer -- Founder and Designer, Songer Audio TOPICS Why are field coil drivers something special sonically? Permanent magnets and electr...

The HiFi Five Episode 28:  Multi-Channel for Audiophiles Guests: Ulrike Schwarz — Grammy award-nominated co-founder of multi-channel recording firm Anderson Audio New York Andrew Quint — Senior Writer at The Absolute Sound  Arian Jansen — founder and designer of Sonorus Audio Danny Kaey — Sonic Flare, hifi reviewer

The HiFi Five Episode 27:  AXPONA 2026 Show Report with Jeff Dorgay, Erin Hardison, Lee Scoggins and Dave Solomon

The HiFi Five Episode 26:  How to Select a Loudspeaker and Room Placement Shanon McKellar, audio and music reviewer for Analog Planet Steven Norber, founder and designer of PranaFidelity dynamic driver loudspeakers, and Director of Audio Engineering of Von Schweikert Audio Greg Roberts, founder and designer of Volti Audio horn loudspeakers Florian Wiegand, founder and designer of Clarisys Audio ri...

Episode 25:  Measurements for Subjectivist Audiophiles Ron Resnick (host/moderator):  WhatsBestForum Brent Butterworth:  Wirecutter, Audio Unleased, Audio Journalist Danny Kaey:  EMM Labs, Sonic Flare, HiFi Reviewer Ralph Karsten:  Atma-Sphere

Episode 24:  Component Selection and System Building Ron Resnick (moderator):  WhatsBestForum Danny Kaey:  EMM Labs, Sonic Flare, HiFi Reviewer Doug Schneider:  SoundStage Peter Noerbaek:  PBN Audio Mike Lavigne:  prominent audiophile hobbyist Welcome to The HiFi Five -- a weekly news and roundtable discussion show about all things high-end audio. This show is a candid, freewheeling, behind-the-sc...

Welcome to The HiFi Five -- a weekly news and roundtable discussion show about all things high-end audio! Featuring: Ron Resnick (moderator) - WhatsBestForum; audio reviewer Our other chairs will feature co-hosts and one-time guests and recurring guests. This show is a candid, freewheeling, behind-the-scenes look at the high-end audio industry.  We're going to give you insight, opinions and p...

This is a Special Episode in which we respond to Robert Harley's editorial, "Magazine Ethics," in the April 2026 issue of The Absolute Sound. Welcome to The HiFi Five -- a weekly news and roundtable discussion show about all things high-end audio! Featuring: Jay Caceres - Jay's Audio Lab; pre-owned dealer; audio reviewer  Elliot Goldman - Bending Wave USA; high-end audio distri...

Welcome to The HiFi Five -- a weekly news and roundtable discussion show about all things high-end audio! Featuring: Jay Caceres - Jay's Audio Lab; pre-owned dealer; audio reviewer  Elliot Goldman - Bending Wave USA; high-end audio distributor and retailer Danny Kaey - EMMLabs Advisor Sonic Flare; audio and music reviewer R on Resnick (moderator) - WhatsBestForum; audio reviewer Our fifth cha...

What has been your experience on the show so far?  Where would you like us to take the show from here? How does the Florida Audio show compare to other shows in the U.S. or Canada? Is it true that Stereophile boycotted the Florida Audio show? Do dealers do a disservice to their customers by telling customers that every new version of a component, every upgrade, every update will get them closer to...

This week saw the announcement of the industry's first seven figure component — the Borresen M8 at $1,200,000.  Is the race for eye-popping MSRPs good or bad for the industry?  Why do manufacturers hire a distributor, instead of managing a network of dealers directly? How difficult is it to find qualified retailers for high-end brands in the USA? Can high-end products be properly represented...