Factory Tour of Japanese Boutique Speaker Company

[amirm]

Pretty neat documentary of a small company in Japan building speakers:

That CNC machine with multiple tools is pretty fancy for such a small operation!

No mask during CNC operation is concerning to see. MDF dust is not something you want to mess with.

 

[amirm]

Forgot to mention you need to turn on subtitles unless you understand Japanese.

 

[wwenze]

Predicted panther rating?

 

[respice finem]

Panther coughing up MDF dust?

 

[Keith_W]

He tests the speaker ... by playing music. Not by taking a sweep. Oh boy.

 

[DSJR]

He tests the speaker ... by playing music. Not by taking a sweep. Oh boy.

But that's how it is on the dark side, I'm sorry to say. Vinyl only too?

 

[somebodyelse]

Vinyl only too?

I assumed digital as there was some messing with a laptop just before.

 

[somebodyelse]

I was surprised they used the speaker chassis and terminal panel as the jig for drilling the mounting holes instead of doing that with the same jig they used for routing their cutouts. There didn't seem to be any gasket material for either.

 

[kma100]

in case you were wondering: https://hasehiro-audio.com/

 

[respice finem]

He tests the speaker ... by playing music. Not by taking a sweep. Oh boy.

The daily sweep sure is obligatory

 

[ernestcarl]

He tests the speaker ... by playing music. Not by taking a sweep. Oh boy.

A dying breed in this modern age...

The speakers are probably fairly flattish. Design is a simple "full-range" with no need for crossovers. Although, I'd be more confident if we actually had measurements.

I'm fine with purchasing such a speaker if it really fit the room aesthetics, but still most definitely would be applying equalization.

 

[Keith_W]

The speakers are probably fairly flattish. Design is a simple "full-range" with no need for crossovers. Although, I'd be more confident if we actually had measurements.

I thought they sounded rather tinny in that YT video that Amir posted. Then I went to their webpage, there are some videos of their speakers there. They sound tinny as well.

I know better than to judge sound quality from a Youtube video, especially if my playback speakers are desktop speakers without much bass extension. But 3-4 Youtube videos with tinny sound does not inspire confidence.

 

[JeffS7444]

Niigata is reknown for the quality of it's rice, so it's great to see rice fields just across the street.

 

[ernestcarl]

I thought they sounded rather tinny in that YT video that Amir posted. Then I went to their webpage, there are some videos of their speakers there. They sound tinny as well.

I know better than to judge sound quality from a Youtube video, especially if my playback speakers are desktop speakers without much bass extension. But 3-4 Youtube videos with tinny sound does not inspire confidence.

While doing a cursory search for one or two of the single "full-range" drivers used, I saw some blurry pics of what looked like fairly flat frequency responses -- the highest range was unevenly peaky which is why I would like more detailed measurements on- and off-axis -- but it's also not too surprising. I'd purchase these speakers more as oriental furniture (perhaps even play around by swapping with other drivers) rather than as fully ASR approved and "certified" neutral studio monitors or home theater loudspeakers.

 

[diddley]

There is IMHO a certain kind of honesty about these sort of producing compagnies.
The whole family is working for decades and the product looks nice.
Admiration i got.

 

[BeeKay]

I thought they sounded rather tinny in that YT video that Amir posted. Then I went to their webpage, there are some videos of their speakers there. They sound tinny as well.

I know better than to judge sound quality from a Youtube video, especially if my playback speakers are desktop speakers without much bass extension. But 3-4 Youtube videos with tinny sound does not inspire confidence.

Panther coughing up MDF dust?

… and soldering fumes. A far more wholistic approach.

 

[ernestcarl]

I searched the web a bit more and found some "better" graphs for some of the drivers -- though not all. Personally, I'd go for the smaller speaker models paired with a mini sub.

*Dunno for sure if the DIY measured response here is the exact same driver model as measurements look quite a bit different in places esp. the if you check out the older PDF spec sheet:

Audio Nirvana Super8 Cast Frame Fullrange Loudspeaker Measurements Data and Information Full Range

 

[CDMC]

How does one decide whether to buy the “jazz audio fans only” or “romantic healing sound” model. I wonder is they make a model for metal?

 

[Mnyb]

While doing a cursory search for one or two of the single "full-range" drivers used, I saw some blurry pics of what looked like fairly flat frequency responses -- the highest range was unevenly peaky which is why I would like more detailed measurements on- and off-axis -- but it's also not too surprising. I'd purchase these speakers more as oriental furniture (perhaps even play around by swapping with other drivers) rather than as fully ASR approved and "certified" neutral studio monitors or home theater loudspeakers.

Put a KEF coax driver in the horn I think that fr curves you saw are inevitable with full range drivers, that’s why almost no one uses them .

Utterly charming company, but not for me .

They are true audiophiles focus on solving the problem of making a smooth horn curve, but not evaluating why backloaded horn and full range drivers in the first place fixation on one issue while ignoring others are take them as a given premise.

And the artisanal manufacturing process ( even if there is a CNC machine ) .

With another mindset they could have been making complex speaker cabs to order and other complex wood working task as a bussiness as They are setup to do this and can make small batches .

Nice looking product anyway, but surely in need of a subwoofer ? I think I’ve never seen such small bass horns ? Midbass at best ?

 

[ernestcarl]

Put a KEF coax driver in the horn I think that fr curves you saw are inevitable with full range drivers, that’s why almost no one uses them .

Utterly charming company, but not for me .

They are true audiophiles focus on solving the problem of making a smooth horn curve, but not evaluating why backloaded horn and full range drivers in the first place fixation on one issue while ignoring others are take them as a given premise.

And the artisanal manufacturing process ( even if there is a CNC machine ) .

With another mindset they could have been making complex speaker cabs to order and other complex wood working task as a bussiness as They are setup to do this and can make small batches .

Nice looking product anyway, but surely in need of a subwoofer ? I think I’ve never seen such small bass horns ? Midbass at best ?

Well, if I'm going to buy a KEF speaker driver, I'd rather buy the whole KEF speaker itself. I personally would not go for the most expensive "boutique" models in their (or any else's) lineup either way.

The only single driver speaker I have currently is the Fostex 6301 (active and sealed). That one is running in my small townhouse living room probably between 10-16 hours daily in the background even though I have a perfectly fine pair of stereo JBLs that's also Toole and ASR "approved" speakers in the same TV area. The latter almost never has to be turned on as the 6301 in mono mode is perfectly sufficient for most use cases in that living space.