“Effort is a Little Passé These Days”

We’re on Patreon! Find us at https://www.patreon.com/AudioUnleashed This week, Brent and Dennis dig into a review of Sonarworks’ SoundID Virtual Monitoring PRO system, which aims to go toe-to-toe with the Smyth Realiser for a tenth of the cost. Is this, at long last, a practical and effective way to simulate speakers through headphones? Then they dig into the coverage of High End Vienna to discuss the venue change and the coolest new products shown at the show, and confidently opine about the current relevance (or not) of B&W and JBL. After that, they talk about sound systems as an aesthetic vibe completely divorced from their function as sound systems. Are audiophiles suddenly hip? (Spoiler: No.) 💿 “The Audiophile Society's Speaker Test and System Optimization Album”: https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album. Use code AudioUnleashed25 for 25% off.  📖 Get your copy of the 4th edition of Floyd Toole’s legendary book, Sound Reproduction: The Acoustics and Psychoacoustics of Loudspeakers, Rooms and Headphones with DISCOUNT CODE 25SMA4: https://www.routledge.com/Sound-Reproduction-The-Acoustics-and-Psychoacoustics-of-Loudspeakers-Rooms-and-Headphones/Toole-Olive-Welti/p/book/9781032761930 Dennis’ relaunched YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AdventureswithCPAP Brent’s audio projects: 💿 The Audiophile Society's Amazing Fabulous Magnificent Speaker Test Album (engineered by Brent with VO by Dennis): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-speaker-test-and-system-optimization-album 💿 The Audiophile Society's Headphone Evaluation and Spatial Audio Test Album (engineered by Brent): https://theaudiophilesociety.com/collections/albums/products/the-audiophile-societys-headphone-evaluation-and-spatial-audio-test-album 💿 Plaid Pants, Brent’s latest album! https://cygerbutterworth.bandcamp.com/album/plaid-pants Further Reading:  “Sonarworks: SoundID Virtual Monitoring PRO” by Adam Kagan: https://tapeop.com/reviews/gear/173/soundid-virtual-monitoring-pro “High End 2026 coverage fromVienna, Austria” on SoundStage! Global: https://www.soundstageglobal.com/index.php/shows-events/high-end-2026-vienna-austria “10 of the most exciting hi-fi products we saw at High End Vienna 2026” by Kashfia Kabir: https://www.whathifi.com/hi-fi/turntables/10-of-the-most-exciting-hi-fi-products-we-saw-at-high-end-vienna-2026 “Why is everyone suddenly obsessed with sound systems?”: https://www.instagram.com/reels/DYqMiX4v_6c/