the ecoustics podcast

eCoustics Vintage Editor Eric Pye and Producer Mitch Anderson sit down with Dave Kelley, President of KLH, for a grounded conversation on loudspeaker design, KLH’s history, and how a legacy brand operates in today’s market without leaning on nostalgia as a crutch.The discussion traces the influence of Henry Kloss, the shared DNA linking Klipsch, Kelley, Kyocera, and KLH, and how those ideas continue to inform real-world speaker engineering. Attention turns to KLH’s current lineup—specifically the Model Three, Model Five, and Model Seven—with the Five and Seven competing for Eric’s eCoustics 2025 Editors’ Choice Floorstanding...

Fresh off a week in Las Vegas, the eCoustics team breaks down the CES 2026 Best in Show award winners across speakers, soundbars, wireless audio, TVs, home theater projectors, and headphones, explaining who stood out, why these products impressed us in controlled demo booth conditions, and what those design and performance choices are likely to cost you when they hit the market later in 2026.  View all Best in Show CES 2026 Awards:https://www.ecoustics.com/articles/best-ces-2026/Panel:Brian Mitchell, Host and eCoustics FounderChris Boylan, Editor at LargeRobert Silva, News C...

If you want music in every room without juggling multiple apps, this is your episode. HEOS isn’t just in Denon and Marantz gear — it’s built into a growing ecosystem of speakers, AVRs, soundbars, and components across the Harman Lifestyle portfolio. It’s become a serious multi-room, multi-zone streaming platform with Hi-Res audio, major music services, stereo pairing, and full Alexa/Google voice-assistant support.Phil Jones of Harman Lifestyle joins us to lay out what HEOS can really do — including the tricks Sonos, BluOS, and WiiM would probably prefer you didn’t mention. Simple to run, surprisingly deep, and absolu...

In this episode, the eCoustics team cut through a year of hype, delays, and eyebrow-raising price hikes to talk about the products that genuinely moved the needle across hi-fi, head-fi, and home theater. We cover the TVs and projectors that finally earned their bragging rights, the headphones and earbuds that didn’t just chase trends, and the loudspeakers and portable gear that reminded us why good engineering still matters.It’s a wide-ranging, candid discussion about what impressed us.And because the timing couldn’t be better, the ink is barely dry on our massive eCoustics Editors’ Choice awards l...

This episode examines the results from the 2025 Ultra-Short Throw (UST) Projector Showdown with event organizer, Brian Gluck of ProjectorScreen.com and emcee, Phil Jones of ProjectorReviews.com. The UST Projector Showdown allowed 6 judges to rate 9 UST projectors side-by-side with identical 100-inch screens, which underwent testing 15 different categories.  The models in the competition included the:• Epson QS100 3-Chip Laser-Lit LCD Projector – 4,500 Lumens ($4,999)• Formovie Theater Premium Triple Laser DLP Projector – 2,200 Lumens ($2,799)• Hisense L9Q Triple Laser DLP Projector – 5,000 Lumens ($5,999)• Hisense PT1 Triple Laser DLP Projector – 2,500 Lumens ($2,999)• Hisense PX3 Pro Triple Laser DLP Projector – 3,000 Lumens ($3,499)• JMGO O2S Ultra Triple Laser...

Confused by the Denon vs. Marantz AVR maze? Join eCoustics Founder Brian Mitchell, Editor at Large Chris Boylan, and Phil Jones, Global Director of Training at Harman International, as they break down 19 AVRs ranging from $400 to $7,200. Though Denon and Marantz have been under the same corporate roof for over a decade (now Harman International, owned by Samsung), not all AVRs are created equal.Discover the subtle—and not-so-subtle—differences, what really matters for your Dolby Atmos setup, and which brand might make your wallet sigh. Perfect for home theater enthusiasts ready to cut through the hype and make a sma...

Back in the 80s and 90s, earplugs at a concert were a one-way ticket to dweeb status. Protecting your hearing? Please. You might as well have stayed home with a VHS and some Tang. These days it’s the opposite—walk into any venue and half the crowd is rocking hi-fi earplugs that make the music sound better and keep your ears intact.Etymotic’s new Music Pro Elite are at the front of that shift, and Tim Monroe, Sr. Director of Engineering, along with Chris Roth, Principal Engineer at Etymotic Research, join us to break down why and ho...

The Bowers & Wilkins 801 isn’t just another loudspeaker—it’s the one Abbey Road Studios trusted when the music actually mattered. For 45 years, the 801 has been part of legendary recordings that shaped how we hear music, and now it’s back in the spotlight with the 801 Abbey Road Limited Edition. Andy Kerr, Director of Marketing and Communications at Bowers & Wilkins, joins eCoustics CEO and Founder, Brian Mitchell to dig into how this speaker became the reference at the world’s most famous studio, why Abbey Road didn’t exactly choose it by accident, and what makes this anniversary edition more than just a...

A/V industry expert and custom integrator John Sciacca joins the eCoustics team to break down our top picks from CEDIA Expo 2025, held September 3–6. The annual trade show covers everything from home theater and soundbars to architectural speakers and outdoor A/V systems—gear designed for the pros who install and recommend solutions for luxury homes and yachts. We’ll highlight this year’s “Best in Show” winners across multiple categories—and call out a few products that didn’t quite live up to the hype.Panel:John Sciacca, Partner at Custom Theater and AudioChris Boylan, eCoustic...

The Rhino in the room can’t be ignored: after decades in the vault, Buckingham Nicks is finally getting a reissue. eCoustics Editors Eric Pye, Jeremy Sikora, and producer Mitch Anderson team up with mastering engineer Kevin Gray (Cohearent Audio) to dig into why this cult classic vanished, why it’s back now, and what it means for fans who’ve been chasing scratched LPs for years. Along the way, we get into the bigger picture—the state of the reissue market, the future of vinyl cutting, and why Fleetwood Mac drama still drives the mythology around this record. Chaos may have...

The eCoustics team discusses their "Best In Show" picks from Audio Advice Live 2025 -- the largest home theater show open to consumers. With over 1,700 attendees and more than 60 experience rooms featuring hifi and home cinema systems from $5,000 to over $250,000, it was a virtual Disneyland for audiophiles, videophiles and home theatre aficionados.View a list of all award winners here:https://www.ecoustics.com/articles/best-audio-advice-live-2025/Thank you to SVS and HEOS for sponsoring this episode! On the panel:Brian Mitchell - eCoustics Founder (and host)Chris Boylan - eCoustics Editor-at-Large<b...

Our friend and popular YouTube tech reviewer, B The Installer, joins us on the podcast to discuss the results of the 2025 TV Shootout, where the top-of-the-line 65-inch 4K OLED TVs all went head to head. The four models in the competition included the LG G5, Panasonic Z95B, Samsung S95F, and Sony Bravia 8 II.Find out how it all went down with B The Installer who was in attendance, along with eCoustics Editor-at-Large, Chris Boylan, who was one of the 9 judges at the event.With two different perspectives, each offers some surprisingly candid thoughts on t...

In this episode, William Jennings, our Senior Headphones and Portables Editor, dives deep into the wireless headphone and earbud game. He'll name-drop his top picks for 2025 and share his thoughts on where this market is headed.The good news? Bluetooth and noise cancellation are finally living up to their promises, and the sound gap between wired and wireless is closing fast—especially in the high-end stuff. Whether you're stuck on Sony or Bose, or willing to drop some serious cash on Focal or Bowers & Wilkins, or just wondering if wireless really can stack up to the wired heavyweights—this...

The eCoustics podcast has made it to our 100th episode! Let's rewind and check in with our top contributors and editors to recap the highlights - and lowlights? - in the HiFi and home theater industry over these past four years.Huge thank you to all of our subscribers, listeners, collaborators, friends, and sponsors for helping to keep us going!Special thank you to SVS & Q Acoustics for being such longstanding supporters of our podcast messaging. www.svsound.comwww.qacoustics.comCredits:• Original intro music by The Arc...

Qobuz, the leading audiophile-quality music streaming service, just got even better with the introduction of Qobuz Connect. Now subscribers can play their favorite lossless and high resolution audio tracks and albums directly from the cloud to their playback gear of choice, bypassing the phone, PC or tablet for elevated performance, improved functionality and even better sound quality.We chat with Qobuz VP of business development and Hi-Res Music Evangelist David Solomon on where Qobuz came from, what its mission is and where it’s going in 2025 and beyond. Note: eCoustics readers, listeners and viewers can get...

Caleb Denison, formerly of Digital Trends, joins eCoustics Editor at Large, Chris Boylan and eCoustics Founder, Brian Mitchell to discuss the best 2025 televisions. In addition, Caleb shares his thoughts on the state of the 2025 TV market and the latest flagship TVs from Sony, Samsung, LG, Panasonic, TCL and Hisense, along with buying advice when shopping for a new OLED or Mini LED TV this year.Caleb also discusses the launch of his new YouTube channel called CalebRated. But after recording this episode, Digital Trends has claimed ownership of Caleb's new channel forcing YouTube to take down his videos. F...

On April 25, 2025 Shure celebrates the company's 100th Anniversary, and we take a deep dive into the company's 100 year history with resident historian, and nearly longest tenured employee (since 1976), Michael Pettersen. Michael recounts the various jobs he held, company milestones, as well as his time that intersected with its founder, Sidney N. Shure.For more information on Shure please visit their website at https://www.shure.comPanel:Michael Pettersen, Shure Resident HistorianMitch Anderson, Co-Host & eCoustics Podcast ProducerBrian Mitchell, Co-Host & eCoustics FounderCredits:• Original intro music by The Ar...

In the episode Nick Brown, SVS VP of Marketing speaks with eCoustics Podcast Producer, Mitch Anderson about various ways to get the best sound from your home audio setup. Whether you’re buying your first hi-fi or approaching your endgame system, Nick offers up some surprising tips on subwoofer placement, system building, and even room acoustics. Before you spend another dime on audio gear, you’ll want to hear where this conversation leads.Hosted by:Mitch Anderson, Producer Thank you to our sponsors Q Acoustics & SVS!https://www.qacoustics.comhttps://www.svsou...

Hot on the heels of CES and NAMM, we asked YouTube's TechnoDad himself, Channa De Silva to chat with us about the cool audio/video gear and technology we've seen at the shows and will be coming to consumers this year. Topics include Dolby Atmos in cars, Google's new Eclipsa immersive audio format, new TV tech from Samsung, Hisense. LG, and TCL and so much more.More information can be found on TechnoDad via his YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/TechnoDadMore on our eCoustics NAMM coverage can be found here: https://www...

While Apple Music, TIDAL and Amazon Music are all pushing spatial audio and immersive sound as the next big thing, the current reality is that, to get the best, most immersive effect, you need speakers: lots and lots of speakers. Of course, you *can* listen to immersive sound formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X on headphones, but the current processes to render a multi-channel recording into a 2-channel binaural signal, suitable for playback on headphones, leave room for improvement.APL (Advanced Psychoacoustics Lab) is dedicated to fixing this problem. The company's Virtuoso software can convert any 2-channel or m...