I've been listening to the show much less this previous year, so I can't mark exactly when the change happened. It's been a few weeks now that every time I listen to the show with my earbuds, the sibilance (S noise) is very harsh. I know my earbuds are somewhat sensitive to this issue, which is a common audio issue, but I listen to many podcasts and audiobooks without issue, so it's not the earbuds. I suspect Stefan either uses a Mic that's harsh on sibilance, or just the post-editing should have at least some de-essing done, which is a common post-production edit these days. Especially with audiobooks.
Are others using earbuds suffering from this too?
I find myself having to listen to the show only when in private, through speakers, sadly. Thanks for the consideration.