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