A few weeks ago, we looked at the the difference between valves and solid-state components such as transistors or integrated circuits in hi-fi amplifiers. One of the issues that emerged from that podcast was the question of amplifier topology or class. It appeared from the research undertaken that the amplifier topology could have as much impact on the ultimate sound as the nature of the devices doing the amplification. In this podcast, we will consider the most common amplifier classes, the characteristics of the sound with which they are associated and some examples of highly regarded amplifiers within each class. The very fact that there are highly regarded amplifiers in each class suggests that no one class is best, but rather each has its own characteristics, and in conjunction with the loudspeakers used will generate its own particular sound quality.

In last week's podcast, I selected my favourite five Jethro Tull albums.

The selection was based on musical and lyrical quality, rather than the sound quality of the original releases, but as this was a Hi-Fi Hobbyist podcast, sound quality was raised, especially in relation to the Steve Wilson remixes where available.

For this week's podcast, we have generated a debate between two AI protagonists, one set the task of defending my ranking, the other required to oppose it in classic debating fashion.

We have reused the version of Bourrée from J.S. Bach's Lute Suite in E minor, BWV 996, that inspired Jethro Tull’s famous Bourrée track when Ian Anderson heard Martin Barre play it on his guitar. This version is by Jakob Lindberg, and the recording is in the public domain.

Jethro Tull have been producing music since 1968, and therefore selecting 5 favourite Jethro Tull albums for this podcast is a difficult task.

This week's podcast is the Hifi Hobbyist's attempt to select a Top Five Jethro Tull albums. Only five in the list in order to try to explore the merits of each title in some detai,l particularly with reference to the sound quality of each album. The Jethro Tull catalogue has been well served by a series of remixes by Steve Wilson, often on the 40th anniversary of the original release. Many of Jethro Tull’s early albums, in particula,r push the boundaries of what was then technically possible, and this perhaps explains why the quality of some of the original releases was less than ideal.

In selecting my favourite 5 albums, I have taken into account that some of the Jethro Tull albums can be seen as companion pieces. Thus, a Passion Play and a Thick as a Brick both represent concept albums and share a common tongue-in-cheek approach. Heavy Horses and Songs from the Wood represent a more rural and folksy approach to music. Stormwatch whilst musically similar to Heavy Horses and Songs from the Wood looks forward lyrically to the more apocalyptic themes of A.

Crest of a Knave and Rock Island represent a harder rock sound, whilst Minstrel in the Gallery and Too old to Rock'n'Roll, Too Young to Die can be seen as concept albums based around relatively short individual tracks.

In order to reduce my options, I elected to set the criteria that no two albums that represent companion pieces could appear in my top five. The selection is based on musical and lyrical quality, rather than the sound quality of the original releases, but as this is a hifi hobbyist podcast, we will certainly discuss sound quality, especially in relation to the Steve Wilson remixes where available.

As usual, we cannot use Tull’s music for copyright reasons, so the music featured is a version of Bourrée in E minor from J.S. Bach's Lute Suite in E minor, BWV 996. This is the piece that inspired Jethro Tull’s famous Bourrée track when Ian Anderson heard Martin Barre play it on his guitar. Our version is by Jakob Lindberg, and the recording is in the public domain.

Welcome to this week’s podcast, which is a generated debate about the different approaches to performing and recording Handel’s Messiah, as discussed in last week's Christmas podcast.

The AI protagonists debate the merits of the newer authentic or "historically informed" performances compared to the more traditional larger scale performances popular in the early years of vinyl LP records.

The selections of Messiah that accompany the podcast are again supplied from Wikimedia Commons. They are used under a Creative Commons 2.0 licence. Given the topic and the availability of the recordings, some of the musical clips are longer than usual.

I do hope that you enjoy the podcast!

Happy Christmas from the HiFi Hobbyist!

This week’s podcast considers Handel's Messiah, which has become a staple at Christmas.

We shall consider its origins, its impact, and the HiFi Hobbyists favourite recordings

The selections of Messiah that accompany the podcast are supplied from Wikimedia Commons. They are used under a Creative Commons 2.0 licence

I hope that you enjoy the podcast!

This week’s generated discussion iis about last week’s podcast about the relative merits of valve and solid-state (transistor) circuitry in high-fidelity audio amplification.

It takes the form of a debate about the merits of each technology with each participant championing one of the technologies

This week’s music is entitled Digital Sunset by Nver Avetyan and used under a Pixabay licence.

I hope that you enjoy the discussion.

This week’s podcast which considers the relative merits of valve and solid-state circuitry in high-fidelity audio amplification. We use the term “solid state’ because the discrete transistors of early designs have now largely been superseded by integrated circuits incorporating many transistors

Transistors largely replaced valves in the 1960s, but have retained a niche market in high-end, and also some budget enthusiast products, and we will try to understand why.

As valve amplification is often associated with fans of acoustic music, this week’s music is a piece of acoustic jazz entitled Fast Jazz by WaveMaster and used under a Pixabay licence.

I hope that you enjoy the podcast!

This week’s generated discussion uses the evidence gathered for last week’s podcast about Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd to debate the merits of each album with each AI participant championing one of the titles. Will they agree with the (human) HiFi Hobbyist?