An Interview With Nelson Pass – Part 2

It may have taken a little longer than originally intended, but the second half of The Occasional Podcast interview with amp design legend Nelson Pass is up this week.

The return of TOP kicks off with the backstory of Nelson’s “other” company, First Watt. Diving into more audiophile-centric subjects, the episode takes a interesting look though the eyes of a man who has seen high fidelity audio change over the years, but in some ways stayed much the same.

Recorded at 2019’s Burning Amp Festival, the interview and introduction spins up much of Nelson’s resume in the industry. He is a speaker at the San Francisco-based event, and treated with almost reverence-like appreciation from the DIY community with which he donates much of his time to.

In the episode Nelson also comments on the current state of digital. He mentions that he is an analog designer for the most part and currently has no interest in producing a DAC himself. In many ways some might find the nostalgia and traditions in this line thinking not only admirable, but one path to expertise within a constantly changing market. It definitely sounds like he has a broad vision for products and design, and was able to reach a level of success that many attempt to reach but unfortunately don’t always achieve.

You can check out Part One of the interview in the embed located here.

The Occasional Podcast is wrapping up their 3rd season, with interviews from Sonus Faber, Joseph Audio, ZMF Headphones, and Dan D’Agostino providing interesting highlights from the season and a peek behind the backdrop of high end audio and hifi in general. You can also check out this season’s educational drop with a beginner’s primer to Reel-To-Reel.

You can stream it all direct from the embed below or subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform including iTunes, Android, Google, Deezer, Spotify, iHeartRadio and more.