80s and 90s Japanese Speakers

[MikeO]

I know there are a couple of people here with truly high end Japanese market speakers. I have really taken a liking to Technics speakers and Sony ES amplifiers/ receivers recently and am curious about trying a high end Japanese speaker from the 80s or 90s. My Technics speakers are SB-X700s and SB-F1s. Neither are what I would consider high end stuff, but both sound great. However, especially with the SB-X700s, the veneer is likely some kind of vinyl or paper rather than nice wood. In other words, sounds great, looks cheap.

I really like the beautiful wood finishes on many I see in the Japanese market, but they rarely seem to be available in Canada, or even the US. Sony also makes some beautiful APM model speakers for the ES line. But often the ones in North America are black vinyl wrap.

I'm in no rush to upgrade but really curious about these types of speakers. I imagine that many of those who got them, bought them directly from Japan.

 

[S0und Dragon]

Paging @Ds2000 for a primer if he is up to it! Some of the crème de la crème of Japanese speakers are either in his possession or have passed through his system over the years.

I just recently sold off my beloved Onkyo Monitor 2000X which where an absolute joy to own. Still have my Onkyo Scepter F1, which will likely stay put as long as the Grand Integra stack does. I have a pair of Victor tiny book shelf speakers that sound way better than they have any right to.

All that said, there are a few in the states and I would seek those out if at all possible. The major expense of shipping them stateside has already been paid. Despite what most of us Japanese speaker fans seem to think, rarely do we recoup these costs and all but the highest level of Japanese Ultra speakers can command a price that makes it a zero loss venture. It took me a long time to find a buyer for the Monitors and the F1's just languished for sale. Lucky for me, I was in no hurry to sell either.

Other models have such a cult like status about them that they practically form their own market. The Yamaha NS series falls into this category. Well, primarily the 1000 and 2000. That said, having owned both, the above Onkyo was the better speaker to me. Do not get me started on the Victor speakers that never made it out of Japan or the Diatone speakers for that matter.......

 

[MikeO]

Paging @Ds2000 for a primer if he is up to it! Some of the crème de la crème of Japanese speakers are either in his possession or have passed through his system over the years.

I just recently sold off my beloved Onkyo Monitor 2000X which where an absolute joy to own. Still have my Onkyo Scepter F1, which will likely stay put as long as the Grand Integra stack does. I have a pair of Victor tiny book shelf speakers that sound way better than they have any right to.

All that said, there are a few in the states and I would seek those out if at all possible. The major expense of shipping them stateside has already been paid. Despite what most of us Japanese speaker fans seem to think, rarely do we recoup these costs and all but the highest level of Japanese Ultra speakers can command a price that makes it a zero loss venture. It took me a long time to find a buyer for the Monitors and the F1's just languished for sale. Lucky for me, I was in no hurry to sell either.

Other models have such a cult like status about them that they practically form their own market. The Yamaha NS series falls into this category. Well, primarily the 1000 and 2000. That said, having owned both, the above Onkyo was the better speaker to me. Do not get me started on the Victor speakers that never made it out of Japan or the Diatone speakers for that matter.......

Curious about the small victor speakers in your collection. Do you know the model number off hand. I also really love small bookshelf speakers.

 

[Deli]

I remember the TAD speakers- I think a Pioneer division? Incredible looking, and I assume equally impressive sonically.

A bummer some of the best product never was imported.

 

[S0und Dragon]

Curious about the small victor speakers in your collection. Do you know the model number off hand. I also really love small bookshelf speakers.

 

[Ds2000]

Place holder for a longer answer and a few pics of what I have and have had.

There are others.

 

[MikeO]

Place holder for a longer answer and a few pics of what I have and have had.
View attachment 50198View attachment 50199View attachment 50200View attachment 50201View attachment 50202View attachment 50203View attachment 50204View attachment 50205
There are others.

Very curious about the Sony APMs although all of them look incredible.

 

[Ds2000]

Very curious about the Sony APMs although all of them look incredible.

Ah the APM 4 above, the worst of the bunch. They are a novel design, but the sound was less than I’d hoped for. I also had the 6, it’s the best of the bunch but they still suffer midrange issues as honeycomb with sound deadening glue layers just doesn’t make for a magical middle band. With the 6 you must also have the optional stands Sony sold. They had superb bass though. The 4, seen here had awful and lumpy bass but looked wonderful.
Don’t waste one cent on the APM-8 without the ESPRIT 900 electronic crossover and proper modules. You’ll need four TA-N88 amps to go along.
Without these items, they sound like what they are, a pair of SS-G9 with a different baffle but only oh so much worse.

Sony’s best offerings were less square and flat, but no less exotic. The SS-G777ES above uses SiC for the mid and tweet, it’s crazy light and fast, and a huge carbon fiber woofer, all air core inductors, film and poly caps, and AlNiCo mags.
Later the GR1 added a biocellolose tweeter but arguably they may just match the 777.

 

[MikeO]

Ah the APM 4 above, the worst of the bunch. They are a novel design, but the sound was less than I’d hoped for. I also had the 6, it’s the best of the bunch but they still suffer midrange issues as honeycomb with sound deadening glue layers just doesn’t make for a magical middle band. With the 6 you must also have the optional stands Sony sold. They had superb bass though. The 4, seen here had awful and lumpy bass but looked wonderful.
Don’t waste one cent on the APM-8 without the ESPRIT 900 electronic crossover and proper modules. You’ll need four TA-N88 amps to go along.
Without these items, they sound like what they are, a pair of SS-G9 with a different baffle but only oh so much worse.

Sony’s best offerings were less square and flat, but no less exotic. The SS-G777ES above uses SiC for the mid and tweet, it’s crazy light and fast, and a huge carbon fiber woofer, all air core inductors, film and poly caps, and AlNiCo mags.
Later the GR1 added a biocellolose tweeter but arguably they may just match the 777.

thanks for such a detailed summary. Very interesting.

 

[Ds2000]

The top Japanese “golden era” speakers are all pretty well-known now, but there are deals to be had.
Finding them takes time and sometimes connections.
Don’t snub the vinyl clad daddies tho, my 777 here uses a vinyl wrap on the cabinet, despite some incorrect information online. I had suspected as much and took a loupe to see that indeed it was a printed pattern. However, the baffle is wood and the enclosure is a fancy composite under that wrap. And then the drivers and crossover...the vinyl was just cost savings. Sony has a few of these, one has a biocell tweet, they sell for middle hundreds in Japan but sound like middle thousands...if you can live with the contact paper.
Ditto for many other of the Japanese speakers. Wood is nice, but don’t eschew those less pretty ones.
Sony SS-G55 above, these sell for around $250...for now.

 

[Jn229]

Interesting thread, have an outright fetish for bookshelf speakers on sturdy stands. The in country TOTL Japanese bookshelves can easily flare up my audio viruses. Came very close to purchasing SoundDragon's Onkyo 2000x's, a family illness the only thing holding me back (read not travelling). Not acquiring the 2000's will be one of my long term audio regrets.

In my living room I have a pair of Pioneer S-101 Customs. Small simple speaker I do not believe was sold in North America. They are built like a tank and go about their daily chores with little effort or complaints. An excellent example of a speaker from Japan with little exposure here.



Note: The small Mark on the woofers dress ring does not show cause the grills are mint.

 

[MikeO]

Interesting thread, have an outright fetish for bookshelf speakers on sturdy stands. The in country TOTL Japanese bookshelves can easily flare up my audio viruses. Came very close to purchasing SoundDragon's Onkyo 2000x's, a family illness the only thing holding me back (read not travelling). Not acquiring the 2000's will be one of my long term audio regrets.

In my living room I have a pair of Pioneer S-101 Customs. Small simple speaker I do not believe was sold in North America. They are built like a tank and go about their daily chores with little effort or complaints. An excellent example of a speaker from Japan with little exposure here.

View attachment 50284

Note: The small Mark on the woofers dress ring does not show cause the grills are mint.

Very nice. Did you have to get these from Japan? I think the US may be an option for some of this but Canada seems to be pretty dry. At least, I never seem to see any in my normal Canuck Audio Mart or Kijiji ads.

 

[Jn229]

Mike O

Back a couple of years a Canuck Audio mart member had a number of Pioneer components for sale. Pioneer S-3000, Pioneer Exclusive 2402, Pioneer S-101 and I believe the same member listed Pioneer Exclusive preamplifier, Exclusive power amplifier (want to say mono's but not sure).

It would be educational to hear these components work together in a kit. Sometimes I wonder how far has home audio advanced.

 

[Ds2000]

The Japanese perfected all of the rare metal and carbon fiber drivers. They also had a good diamond driver way before the brittle B&W nonsense 20 years later.
Their ultra offerings have tended to be my favorite for many years now. I mean hell Diatone understood gap non linearity in the coil movement and dropped woofer distortion in their drivers in 1978!

 

[Ds2000]

Inert cabinets, and TAD drivers. Their version of a Be mid.

 

[S0und Dragon]

The Japanese certainly kept the best of their stuff to themselves. Even companies that you would never guess had skin in the game.

 

[Ds2000]

The Diatone Professional 4S-4002 Monitor 1.
Might be the last speaker I need. Will know after I get the doping compound later this week. There’s six surrounds I’d like a little more compliant. Good now, better later.
Forget the weight, my poor movers.

I really like the simple looking linear crystal copper wiring and the screw terminals on the drivers. They avoided solder in these as much as possible.