S01E00: Introducing the 3 Sad Bastards

Join the 3 Sad Bastards as they finish off Season 2 with a proscriptive perspective on the year that was (inside episode joke), and consider where to focus next. If you're getting that itchy feeling of what's next in your audio journey, thinking of going up the hifi ladder, or considering a change of direction, you're not alone! Wonders of wonders, somehow each of the Sad Bastards comes to the same conclusion on what Season 3 will be all about - listen in and get ready to be part of the next step of the journey. HINT: Around 18:20 into the podcast.

After all the blood, sweat and tears of making a pair of DIY loudspeakers, the moment of truth is how they sound! But first you have to make sure they are not connected out of phase. The Sad Bastards find out if the pain was worth the gain, or the gain was worth the pain, and whether selling a top notch commercial loudspeaker before completing the DIY build results in a happy ending. If you're thinking of taking the plunge and trying your hand at DIY loudspeakers, then listen along and find out how we think it worked out for SB1 (hint: F A N T A S T I C).

Special Guest Edition! The 3 Sad Bastards are joined by Roger Sanders from Sanders Audio Systems in this first ever episode where someone has been brave enough to come on and engage in witty, respectful and engaging repartee! As a completely unconstrained episode, the 3 Sad Bastards are schooled by one of the audio industry great thinkers and innovators - listen in as Roger articulates his philosophy on amplifiers, speakers and hifi in general!

Why are valves (vacuum tubes) still being used in hifi audio equipment? The 3 Sad Bastards decompose the arguments (and have a few of their own along the way) as to the intrinsic characteristics of valves and why valve audio equipment is seeing a resurgence in the market. For anyone that's wondered what all the valve fuss is about, why some audiophiles prefer amplifiers that can triple up as incandescent bulbs,  heaters or even toast your crumpet, join in and find a voice to vent your inner valve audio obsession. Spoiler alert: The podcast ends with the conclusion that valves are clearly superior at toasting crumpets.

If there’s one aspect of audio hifi that divides the audio world it’s cables! If you believe that cables make a difference, are you a hifi wizard, or a cable clown? Are speaker, interconnect, USB, Ethernet and power cables the hidden secret sauce to making a hifi system go to the next level or is it just a load of snake-oil that you rub on to alleviate the sting of how much you’ve spent? Listen in as two of the Sad Bastards goad each other with their fact based approach (i.e. unsubstantiated ambit claims) and almost come to fisty-cuffs. In fact SB3 had to tie SB2 and SB1 virtually up with the (inferior) kettle-cord that came with his amplifier to keep the show moving along.

The allure of shiny and new goodness vs. crufty and dated oldness proves too much for the 3 Sad Bastards. In this episode they come clean that they really, really, really only consume hifi porn for the photos and videos online, and that generally hifi porn is harmless and does  harm to none. If you protect your hifi browser history like the last chocolate biscuit in a zombie apocalypse, then this is the episode you have been waiting for - a safe place where the obsessed and afflicted can share their love of hifi.

The 3 Sad Bastards take a pair of pliers and blowtorches to the fine art of audiophile hifi reviews. Superlatives are used LIBERALLY, and this episode is without doubt the best and most awesome 3SB episode of ALL TIME. Come and join the 3 Sad Bastards deconstruct how to (not) write a hifi review, how to get paid (or in our case, not - and now never likely to be) as we take a look at how bad audio hifi reviews can be, and just how sad we are for reading them, over, and over, and over again. After you listen to this episode, your hifi will sound SO MUCH BETTER. Trust us.

One of the 3 Sad Bastards has started a project to build to build a pair of loudspeakers. How hard could it be, right? Listen to the other Sad Bastards rip into SB1's naiveté, rose-coloured, wishful thinking belief that making your own loudspeakers could rival commercial quality. In Part 1, we consider  the design process, from drivers, cabinets, cross-overs (active vs. passive) and wife-acceptance-factor considerations. In a forthcoming Part 2, SB1 will reveal his new creation, and suck it up when the other Sad Bastards finally realise that SB1 was right all along. If you've ever considered making your own speakers, join us to see how we tackle the problem in our unique style of ignorance and discovery, laughing all the way...  

Back by popular demand, the 3 Sad Bastards kick off Season 2  with an episode dedicate to headphones. Finally! SB3 is vindicated after years of trying to convince SB2 and SB1 that headphones are awesome. Blending their unique style of education, irritation, and pissing each other off, the 3 Sad Bastards consider whether closed or open headphones are better, do you really need an amplifier for your cans, and revisit whether DACs really do matter, or whether buying randomly is the best option. A must listen for any audiophile interested in headphones!

Why did three audio, hifi, enthusiast audiophiles decide to create a podcast? Why should the world care, and what can other sad bastards expect as a return after 10 episodes? In this bonus podcast, recorded last, the 3 Sad Bastards come clean and reveal the real reason behind the podcast. Or you might have to wait until Season 2.