Bluetooth LE and the Low Complexity Communications Codec (LC3) are going to make huge improvements to the Bluetooth standard. This will include hearing aids, broadcast communications, audio sharing, multistream audio and more. We met up with Ken Kolderup at CES 2020 and got the low-down of what’s coming. It’s going to make people’s lives better, an…

2020 arrives, and we’re excited to see what the new year has in store. But we also have a few wishes along the way. Are true wireless earbuds bad, and even harmful? Will Google’s Pixel Buds 2 be great? What about gaming headsets? Will they ever get their stories straight? We’re hopeful, and cautiously optimistic. And we’re breaking it all down and …

Lily Katz has this month’s Sound Bite and she has something to say about your precious headphone jack. She doesn’t need a headphone jack in her phone and she lays out her reasons for it. But how can a true “SoundGuy” (well SoundGirl) not care about the best audio possible? Well, she does. But she doesn’t necessarily get it from her phone. Home is w…

There is a problem brewing in the world that has festered for too long. It’s time we all spoke out against this evil that hurts us every day. Of course, we’re talking about hand dryers in the bathroom. What else would we be talking about? The fact is, hand dryers are less sanitary than paper towels - but this isn’t the Disease Guys Podcast, so why …

When you hop into a modern car and close the door, the outside world just fades away. Great insulation, right? That gets you part of the way, but sound technology similar to what you might already have in your headphones contributes to the serenity in surprising ways. How does a car get so quiet that you can kick back, relax, and enjoy your music? …

The headphone jack is controversial, but ditching it means more than just forcing customers to buy new headphones. It’s actually forcing customers to buy your new headphones. Chris Thomas takes a deep dive into why the headphone jack is disappearing on our phones, and it goes a lot deeper than you might think. We have all that and a few more surpri…

Lily Katz takes us on a journey filled with exhaustion and endorphins to examine if music can really improve your workout. How can a simple song motivate you to go harder, faster, and stronger and push through the pain? Will this podcast help you become a better you? You’ll find out! We have all that and a few more surprises along the way in this e…

Today, we take sound in video games from granted. But how did sound evolve from the pings of pong to the toe-curling growls of The Last of Us? What innovations now allow us to slash boxes to the beat in Beat Saber, and what music genres have grown out of the video game community? It’s a wild ride with the SoundGuys, and they’ve brought a friend for…

Sometimes when you’re on a call, the person on the other end has no idea what you’re trying to say. Fortunately, we have some experience in that realm, and Adam breaks down the four most common reasons why your microphone might suck, and how to fix the problem. So check it out! SoundGuys is: Chris Thomas - @CThomasTech Lily Katz - @KatzGame Adam Mo…

Sometimes your headphones come with an app to help get the most out of your cans. But what happens when your headphones want to know more about you than just what the next track is? Privacy is becoming a huge issue all around the internet, and our experience with privacy recently intersected with an episode from our sister podcast, the DGiT Daily. …

Since digital music became popular, audio engineers have been pushing the idea that louder is better. Unfortunately, that just isn’t true. As music gets louder, fine details within the music become undetectable, and the experience is ruined. This all came to a head in 2008 when the game Guitar Hero had to remix some tracks for the game. Most notabl…

We love sound here at the SoundGuys, and after a year of podcasting, we've come across a lot of great topics that are super interesting, but there isn't enough there for a full episode. So we're introducing a new kind of episode called Sound Bites. Sound Bites will be short, to the point, give you something really neat, and then let you go about yo…

When most of us think of sound, we think about music that gets our foot tapping, or maybe a pleasant background noise like birds chirping or waves washing up against a shoreline. It’s soothing, and calming. But, like most everything else in life, it can also have a darker side. What if you wanted to use sound… ...to harm? Adam Doud fills in for Chr…

This round table discussion of CES 2019 was recorded at the Blue Microphone podcasting suite at Treasure Island. Jonathan Feist of Dronerush.com led our discussion for our laryngitis-laden podcast hosts. We break down the hows and whys behind The SoundGuys Best of CES awards. It’s a great look inside the tech from one of the the largest consumer el…

You always know when the holidays are approaching because of the music you hear. From stores to radio stations to shopping malls, you are awash in the spirit of the season. There’s a very good reason for that, but there are also reasons why it can be migraine inducing. Holiday music has a real psychological effect on you - for better or for worse, …

When shopping for a nice set of headphones for yourself or someone on your holiday list, you might run into codecs, and you might not be sure what to do with them. What are they? Do they matter? Help us SoundGuys! Fortunately, we’re here to do just that. Including a special appearance by Gary Sims, we break it all down for you. We have that and a f…

Three tales that will surprise and shock you. These spooky audio myths come straight from the cult of audiophilia, and we’re here to help you sort through fact and fiction. Are Monster cables any better than coat hanger wire soldered together? What is jitter? And how far does one need to go to break in those headphones and get them just right? Thes…

You might be surprised to find out that before we had fiber optic cables linking the world, we had to reply on other means of communication. Those older means almost always involved sound. You know about the dots and dashes of the telegraph, and the screeching handshake of the modem. But did you know computer geeks in the 80’s used to transmit vide…

If you do a Google search for “Is Bluetooth Dangerous?” you are met with page after page of disinformation about the supposed dangers of Bluetooth radiation, and non-ionizing radio frequency radiation. This is part of a campaign by a few organizations to capitalize on your fear, and sell you some worthless trinkets on the side. Don’t be taken in. T…

Drones are becoming more and more common in today’s society. Consumer products can be seen zipping around our parks. Commercial applications range from civil engineering projects to search and rescue. Drones are enhancing our society every day, at least our human society. But are we forgetting about those with more than 2 legs? Drones are aptly nam…

Whether you realize it or not, you deal with technology based on sound every day. From ultrasound machines, to music in your favorite stores, to hovering objects in mid air, the sounds you work with everyday can be subtle, but they make your lives easier and more interesting. First, Chris Thomas discusses how home-roasting coffee requires sound cue…

What led us to relying on USB Type-C connectors for audio? Why don’t they work very well or at all? The SoundGuys break down the loss of the headphone jack, and the difficulties surrounding USB-C audio with the help of Robert Triggs of Android Authority. Why is this universal standard not universally standard? It turns out, there are a lot of reaso…

If you listen to music today, chances are you’re doing it on a smartphone. So, we decided to take a look at smartphone audio and see where it is today. There have been some polarizing changes made to the medium in the last few years - do the changes matter? Can an audiophile still get a great experience even if a smartphone lacks a headphone jack? …

Smart Speakers are taking the world by storm, but is that opening up new, legal cans of worms that we’re not prepared to deal with? What happens when your entire life is recorded from within the sanctity of your home? Do you have a reasonable expectation of privacy when your every word is recorded, transcribed and stored? Does this create a constit…

The .MP3 is arguably one of the most important innovations in digital media. Without MP3s we don’t have iPods, Podcasts, or P2P file sharing. Arguably, the smartphone looks completely different today if not for the MP3 format. And it all started with a woman in a diner waiting for a cup of coffee. Join us on the SoundGuys Podcast as we explore the …