[TomHuffman]

It's always fascinated me that asian manufacturers market some truly great consumer electronics, but all of the really good speakers I'm aware of are of North American or European origin. By way of example, has Sony EVER manufactirered a speaker wasn't basically unlistenable?


Does anyone have a theory as to why this would be the case? It's a mystery to me.

 

[Roman74]

One reason may be that asian music is different from american music.

 

[bob53]

Norh, Silverline - both of Asian/SE Asian origin and both sound very nice

 

[Karp]

Sony has made good (and expensive) speakers in the past.


My thoughts are that they figured that they can make more $$ by building speakers made from inexpensive materials, make them sound half-decent, and sell lots of them to Joe consumer based on their reputation as an electronics giant. They don't even have to spend any money on marketing.

 

[Rysa4]

Silverline is awesome. Usher is very good as well ( Taiwan)

 

[erick granato]

these are large corporations that don't invest the man hours of testing and refining and fine tuning that these independent speaker only manufacturers do. in the case of canadian speakers, the designers have in the past used the national research laboratory in ottawa for testing and refining. these speaker only companies in the states and canada as well as in europe are headed by perfectionists that usually put their names on the front of the box so they care what is sold to the public. these people are most often classically trained musicians or experienced audio engineers and not bean counters.

but more and more of the "mom and pop" companies are being gobbled up by large corporations where the bottom line is more important than the final product. the passion and inspiration has always come from the west but if you need something made on the cheap, look to the east.

 

[Poncho]

Quote:

Why do asian speakers suck?

Because they try to copy Bose.

 

[Grond]

My first system was a Yamaha just over 20 years ago. I had studied specs fanatically and wanted Pioneer but the salesman convinced me to listen to them both and then decide. I ened up with a great system and a great lesson. The strength of the system was the speakers imo, I agree though that none of the mid-fi companies seems to be interested in making a quality speaker anymore. I guess the materials cost has gotten to high for them.

 

[Tex-amp]

Do a search for the "where are speakers made thread?" You might be surprised how many high end speakers are made in Asian countries.

 

[Gaius Caligula]

Not only do I agree with the above poster, but Yamaha makes very good speakers--especially for the price. Their current NS line receives rave reviews from any audiophile that I know of who has heard them, not to mention from professional reviewers (FWIW).


I have the NS-333s; I'm quite pleased with their performance. And the NS-777s are, probably, the very best speaker you can buy in their price range. Moreover, they compete well with many quality speakers above their price range.


(See http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/s..._NSsystems.htm .)

 

[Ja Phule]

Many of the hi end asian speakers, stay in asia. I believe many of the big asian companies have hi end speakers that aren't sold outside of japan/china/hk.

 

[Kpt_Krunch]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tex-amp Do a search for the "where are speakers made thread?" You might be surprised how many high end speakers are made in Asian countries.

Hey tex - I don't want to put words in Tom's mouth, but he isn't asking why or if speakers made in Asia suck - a lot of components are made in Asia today - but they are not designed there! I believe Tom's comments are why do Asian DESIGNED & MANUFACTURED speakers suck.


And to me, the only way to respond would be proof of quality - i.e. what is the failure rate of the speakers? We all know and agree the 'sound' of the speakers are subjective, so I am not taking his post as what a speaker sounds like either. Judging from the responses on this thread already, the 'why do Asian speakers suck' if meaning designed as well as manufactured in Asia has already been shot down big time as subjectively people have posted that they like their 'Asian' speakers just fine.


So Tom, are you referring Asian speakers to white van speakers that blow their drivers or crossovers after a month or two, or where the cabinets fall apart after 6 months? If so, do you have imperical data of the % of the failure rate? Or, are you stating a purely subjective comment based on all your experience of listening to Asian designed and manufactured speakers?


See, I could just as easily ask why do all American made cars suck? And I do have the imperical data for that comment! But I would just get in trouble if I did that (doh - did I type that or think that - doh!)

 

[Rysa4]

Quote:

Originally posted by Ja Phule Many of the hi end asian speakers, stay in asia. I believe many of the big asian companies have hi end speakers that aren't sold outside of japan/china/hk.

I'd be interested in some examples of this.

 

[Grond]

I think horns and tubes are really big in Asia. I'm not sure if they use horns because they like tubes or the use tubes because they like horns, probably the former.

 

[Billped]

Quote:

Originally posted by Rysa4 I'd be interested in some examples of this.

I'll meet you in Akihabara and we'll walk around. There are definitely some items that don't seem to make it to our shores.


However, I generally agree with the observation. For a LONG time, Asia has excelled at bringing some darn good mass-market electronics and DVD players to the world, but just hasn't had the same degree of success with speakers. Yes, there are great electronics designed elsewhere, but they tend to be high-end stuff. Yes, there some good Asian-designed speakers, but even the fans of Yamaha or nOrh have to admit that they are few and far between.


BTW, I don't think this thread was intended as a slam on anyone, any nation, or any race, just an observation that is deserving of debate.



Bill

 

[jheoaustin]

Try this link!

www.icassiopeia.com

 

[rich wu]

My guess is that it has something to do with wood. Good speakers require heavy enclosure. Asia doesn't have much trees left and shipping wood to Asia and then shipping the finished product back here would cost too much.


There are lots of good speaker manufactueres in Canada and there is plently of natural resources there.


Just my guess.

 

[Karp]

My take on the original post was that he was referring to the large industrial conglomerates such as Sony, rather than the country of origin. My earlier response was a reply in that vein.


That said, (and I do not mean to pigeonhole), my observations are that while the East excels at refining items using engineering principles, it does not seem to do as well at innovation as the Western world. I believe that it is a cultural phenomenon rather than a racial one. People tend to take fewer risks (and thus make fewer discoveries) in societies that are more socially restrictive. Innovation seems to occur more frequently in "less polite" cultures.

IMO, speaker design is half engineering and half (for lack of a better word) voodoo. A great speaker is more than the sum of its parts. That is something that is difficult to engineer.


(Stepping off soapbox now)

 

[Roman74]

If you notice most good speakers are made by companies that only make speakers. Some of these speaker companies are divisions of larger corporations such as Harman Kardon.

 

[Tom Brennan]

The Japanese can make speakers as well as anyone, this is old technology and well understood.


Older hi-fi fans will recall the excellent Yamaha NS-1000. Sony makes a line of very high quality compression drivers, woofers and horns that Americans never see. Japanese brands known to American horn speaker enthusiasts are Onken, Goto, TAD (a branch of Pioneer) and AER.


Fostex and Diatone are also known to American audiophiles with an interest that goes beyond conventional "high-end" as advertised and promoted by the American audiophile media.


I'd say that those unaware of high quality Japanese speakers need to broaden what they're reading and who they're talking to.