Japanese/Asian Speakers???

Visit the Calix Technology website for another speaker mfg from Taiwan. The press on the top of the line Phoenix series has been VERY positive (CES and Stereophile Show a month or so ago). Unique in appearance, sonics are superb and on pair with the best speakers available, cost no object.

in japan,the god of all speakers is jbl. hartsfields,4312's and others are still being built in the u.s. today by jbl and shipped to japan for exclusive distribution...the vision of true hi fi in japan is more closely linked to companies with a long history of significant achievement and an an absolute reverence for history..period.....small living spaces don't stop anyone who can afford them. others of note are klipsch duntech and tannoy...all others are wannabes.....

Update:
1) I hadn't seen Ultrakaz' comment yet but he is right.
2) Exclusive is made by Pioneer. They still make speakers which are not as megabuck as I thought (though from memory, some of the older ones are about twice as large as the ones shown). The website, unfortunately only in Japanese, is here.
3) I forgot to include in the previous note that Murata and Pioneer (and undoubtedly others) both make high-end ribbon super-tweeters and that both Fujitsu ("Eclipse" models) and Murata make speakers as well.

Like other posters mentioned, there are lots of "mid to hi-end" speakers in Japan by major brands. The reason why you don't see them in US is that those Japanese mfrs don't market products unless they think they can sell them overseas. Japanese mfrs, I guess, are focusing on "small room" "near field" speakers, which would not be so popular in US, where large listening room is more affordable.

When I was in Japan during my youth, Diatone (Mitsubishi Electric), Onkyo, SONY, Yamaha, Pioneer were all "big hit" in the mid-fi to hi-end speaker market. Some of them, I heard, have terminated the speaker lines or audio business entirely, however. Really hi-end audiophiles were using HUGE JBL, Tannoy, or DIY speakers in their relatively small rooms, while there were and still are many fortunate audiophiles who own huge "theater" in the house!

I still see a lot of speakers by major Japanese brands advertised on Japanese audio mags as well as BOSE (by the way, Japanese audio mag DOES seriously review BOSE speakers from time to time - different line-up of BOSE is marketed there, like JBL, and they seem to be considered "hi-end").

Also, I believe Usher is a Taiwanese brand, and Swan is completely made in China. I may be wrong as always....

As Twl mentioned, the Japanese market is different than the U.S. market. I have lived in Japan for 12yrs and note that the Japanese speakers available here are entirely different than those available elsewhere. I have not found that many single-driver speakers in Japan, and almost all of those tend to be home-made (and there is quite an industry built around DIY tube amps and speakers). It is true that most Japanese homes are small but you should see how audiophiles (mostly older men) will cram a room full of stuff, including HUGE speakers (think giant old cabinet speakers and horns from JBL, Tannoy, and Wharfedale).

Stax made full range electrostatic speakers at one point (along with a whole host of other products) but now only makes headphones. Audio-Technica and SONY also make 'decent' headphones.

Currently, there are several major brands which make mid-fi to high-end speakers for home use in the Japanese market. They include (but are not limited to) SONY, Victor, Pioneer, Kenwood, Onkyo, Diatone, Denon, Yamaha. In the low 4-figure range (USD terms), Pioneer, Victor, and Sony offer eminently respectable speakers. At the very high end, Sony makes some very good super-dollar speakers and studio monitors which are extremely sought after (and even well used, still command megabuck prices). The SONY speakers which were part of the reference system which came out with the SCD-1 were pretty good and someone I know says the best speakers he'd ever heard were massive megabuck SONY electrostats (I've seen them but cannot remember the model number off the top of my head). Among smaller companies, there are a few which make high efficiency designs and are generally considered to be pre-built 'DIY'. I know of but have not heard the Yamamuras. A brand called 'Exclusive' (I think it's somehow tied to a major mfr but can't remember which), probably better known in Japan for their super high-end TTs, made at least one megabuck horn and driver design which has an excellent reputation.

A lot of audiophile clubs in Japan build their own speakers. They meet each week to compare and critique each others projects. My friend who is somewhat of a tech was in one of these clubs for a couple of years. He said that the majority of the craftsmanship was unbelievably good (woodworking, soldering, etc.). They favor DIY full range speakers such as Diatones and vintage horns that TWL referred to. They also like old Tannoys and JBLs. They would even buy a portable cd player and modify it by changing parts on it and the sound surpassed expensive Sonys.

I also found out that there is a Japanese cult following for various british speakers made by small boutique companies. Royd Audio is one these companies.

Dave

The Yamaha 500M and more so the 1000M are Japanese speakers that are able to compete with the monitor speakers made in any other part of the world. They are, however, in my opinion the only Japanese speakers that have been marketed here in the U.S.A. that are worthy of consideration as against the rest of the field. These are fine speakers, and the 1000M has a cult following. They are becoming relatively rare collectors items and do hold their value.

Certainly. There are a number of them. Quite often, you don't hear about them, because many are of the single-driver type, or horn type that is very popular in Japan. Probably the most common types that are known here are Fostex. They are used in many of the same applications as Lowther and AER single-drivers. Diatone, which I think was taken over by Pioneer, has a nice model called the 610 Memorial. I think the Coral Beta line was also Japanese. Stax made electrostatic loudspeakers for many years, but I don't know if they are still making them. Yamamura Churchill makes some single-driver and horn types. Most of the Japanese export products are not the same items that are sold in Japan. Most of the Japanese home-market products are of a very different design, and are often much higher quality than is exported to the US. Most of the well-known brands like Pioneer, Denon, etc, have high-end lines that are never even seen in the US.

Also, since the Japanese home environment is often quite different than the US homes, the speakers tend to be much smaller, and more delicate. The Japanese homes are generally very small apartments because of the high property costs in Japan. They typically use very small single-driver speakers that often only have one 3" or 4" driver in each enclosure.

However, there is a strong market in Japan for vintage US gear like JBL Hartsfield and Altec vintage speakers. They buy them here and send them back over to Japan.