The Occasional Podcast

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

A very special interview with Bill Low of AudioQuest. This week's episode is a much more cerebral experience, and one of our favorites to tackle. Joined by AudioQuest founder William Low, we talk about some great topics for anyone interested in high fidelity, critical listening and all the possibilities around hearing. What is realism in audio? Why does our hearing focus on certain things and not others? How have we evolved as a species to hear things a certain way? Bill and host Brian Hunter jump in to the fray with these and plenty of other audio tips, tricks and passing thoughts for this mid point of Season 14. A real highlight for the season so far. 
S14E6 Sponsors:
VAC-AMPSdotCOM - When Music Matters
PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times
BORDERPATROLdotNET - For Music Lovers, Not Scope Jockeys
WOOAUDIOdotCOM - The New WA300-BAL Speaker Amp

A huge show this week with both Steve "The Audiophiliac" Guttenberg and legendary speaker designer Andrew Jones. The Reviewer and the Designer was recorded live at AXPONA 2026 in Chicago this year. In a keynote session on Friday, The Occasional Podcast had a live audience for the first time. The three way banter was a great variation for the format, with some great conversations and educational bits alike. We pulled out some interesting stories from both Steve and Andrew, along with some unique perspectives on both measurements and design philosophy. 
Andrew's new speaker is the field-coil concentric Jones And Cerreta Troubador.
And Steve Guttenberg has a new book coming out titled "The Blind Projectionist" but you can also follow his HiFi commentary on his regular YouTube channel "The Audiophiliac".
S14E5 Sponsors:
VAC-AMPSdotCOM - When Music Matters
AUDIOQUESTdotCOM — High-Performance Cables & Power Products — Made for You
PTdotAUDIO - Great Sounds Meet Good Times
AUDIOVISIONSFdotCOM - San Francisco May 16th-17th In-Store HiFi Celebration