Hi-Fi Audio: Capturing the Heart & Soul of Music with Heaven 11's Itai Azerad

Hi-Fi Audio: Capturing the Heart & Soul of Music with Heaven 11's Itai Azerad

Author: BLISTER March 19, 2025 Duration: 1:03:41

There are more ways to listen to music than ever these days, and cheap Bluetooth speakers are everywhere: hanging in your shower, sitting on your kitchen counter, and on tailgates at football games. Unfortunately, these kinds of speakers often cultivate an experience where the music very much takes a backseat to whatever else we're doing. 


In today's conversation, Heaven 11 Audio’s Itai Azerad offers a different perspective, one that puts a premium on really listening to music and feeling an emotional connection to it — and his company Heaven 11 Audio produces amplifiers to do exactly that. Their Billie amp blends old-school vacuum tubes with cutting-edge class D amplifier technology to capture the heart and soul of music, and with a stunning industrial design, it invites you to just listen to the music, and nothing else. Itai also talks about his inspiration to start an audio company, his unconventional path in industrial design, vacuum tubes, circuit boards, wooden knobs, and a whole lot more.

RELATED LINKS:

Check out the Blister Craft Collective

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Heaven 11 Audio

TOPICS & TIMES:

Bauhaus (2:45)

Itai’s Audio Journey (5:22)

Music is a Ritual & the Stereo is the Shrine (8:38)

Starting a HiFi Company (10:22)

The Billie Amp (12:34)

Why use Vacuum Tubes (14:04)

Why use a Class D Amplifier (16:55)

Chasing Perfect (31:38)

Beautiful Design is as Important as Sound (38:12)

The New MK3 Billie Amp (40:47)

Music Matters (43:00)

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There's a particular kind of conversation that happens when someone has dedicated their life to making something tangible, driven by obsession over details most of us overlook. CRAFTED, from BLISTER, is built on those conversations. Each episode moves beyond a simple product review to explore the entire ecosystem of creation, whether the subject is a meticulously roasted coffee, a complex whiskey, a precision timepiece, or a bold new wine. You'll hear directly from the individuals who define these fields-brewers, distillers, founders, and artisans who started their ventures not because it was easy, but because they couldn't imagine doing anything else. This podcast digs into the raw materials, the failed experiments, the business risks taken on a principle, and the quiet triumphs that happen long before a product reaches a shelf. It’s about the philosophy embedded in the process as much as the technical skill. Tuning in feels less like listening to an interview and more like pulling up a stool in a workshop or a tasting room, offering an intimate look at the patience, setbacks, and unwavering standards that transform a simple idea into a crafted object. The stories are specific, but the themes of creativity, resilience, and entrepreneurial spirit are universal, connecting anyone who appreciates the depth behind a well-made thing.
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