Journalist travels the U.S. in search of the perfect sound

In his quest, the Washington Post’s Geoff Edgers spoke with more than fifty music legends and audiophiles.

a person sits in a recording studio surrounded by audio equipment

It’s a question that’s obsessed musicians, audio producers, engineers and fans since recorded music first began: what exactly is the perfect sonic experience, what is the perfect sound?

It’s a question that obsessed journalist Geoff Edgers so much that he went on a year-long search for it, aiming to answer this question by traveling all over the country to capture the way music and quality of sound have evolved.

In his quest, Edgers spoke with more than fifty people — including music legends Neil Young and rapper Chuck D, musician and filmmaker Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, and Talking Heads founder David Byrne, as well as global audiophiles and many more.

Edgers is the Washington Post’s national arts reporter. He spoke with CultureShift about this immersive saga he undertook, called “The Search for the Perfect Sound.”

Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.

WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.

Donate today »

Author

  • Amanda LeClaire
    Amanda LeClaire is an award-winning host and producer of CultureShift on 101.9 WDET-FM Detroit’s NPR station. She’s a founding producer of WDET’s flagship news talk show Detroit Today, and a former host/reporter for Arizona Public Media. Amanda is also an artist, certified intuitive and energy healer, and professional tarot reader.