The Occasional Podcast

An Interview With Jazz Musician Jacob Wendt. What does an all-analog sound like in 2026? As part of our musician series The Beaside, The Occasional Podcast is joined by co-host Bryan Beaseley and drummer/composer/bandleader Jacob Wendt. Jacob's latest album The Gallery on Kevin Gray's Cohearent Records label was produced entirely in analog, along with minimal mic'ing techniques. During recording, musicians were all in the same room together, with few effects and no overdubs.  For our second installment of The Beaside, we chat with Jacob about what it's like to record in this vintage-inspired fashion, the beauty of analog and the pros and cons of releasing a vinyl record in the digital age. Wendt explains how room dynamics, minimal microphones, and the pressure of rolling tape shape a performance. Along the way, we explore his Blue Note influences, writing original music, the importance of groove, and the photography and typography behind his album covers. Wendt also shares his objections to streaming economics, his commitment to physical records, and why the early Beatles still hold a special place in his listening. Special thanks to co-host Bryan Beasley - don't forget to check out his new film Crossroads Of America: Oklahoma's Route 66. Jacob Wendt:  On Instagram | Web | Pre-Order "The Gallery"  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

Interviews with Scot Hull and Grover Neville of pt.AUDIO, Randolph Johnson of AudioVisionSF (brick-and-mortar dealer), Jazz Musician Jacob Wendt and Rob Watts of Chord Electronics. In this episode, we shoot to the core of the audiophile hobby: How Do We Listen? What Do We Listen For? We walk through the review and/or critical listening process for each of these sacred professions.  We are now on Patreon! Please support the show directly on Patreon for extra bits, behind-the-scenes content, 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 and have access to exclusive episodes. Support us here: PartTimeAudiophile On Patreon S15E4 Sponsors: SCHIITAUDIOdotCOM - Audio Components Designed & Built in Texas, Starting At $49 THEVOICETHATISdotCOM - The Wilson Room At Capital Audiofest 2026 WHARFEDALEUSAdotCOM - The New Elysian R Series PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times If you are attending Capital Audiofest Nov 13-15 at The Hilton Rockville, please swing by the Wilson Room and see this show's sponsor, Doug White and The Voice That Is. Doug will showcasing the new Tidal Piano Classic loudspeakers and the Helmut-Thiele IWD01 Turntable in its North American debut.

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

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

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  

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

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

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

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

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