Japanese Audio

bjesien,

Speakers that are locally sourced (USA), small, and efficient is a tall order.  By far, the best I've heard in that category are Charney Audio speakers.  The "Companion " models I heard (with AER or Voxativ drivers) were among the best speakers I've heard at any price apart from custom builds).  Volti makes a few models that are not that compact, but, they also sound good.  In my local area (Washington DC), Deja Vu Audio makes custom built speakers; some are surprisingly compact (not really compact, but small for the kind of sound they deliver).  

I suspect that serious Japanese audiophiles like high efficiency speakers, including giant horn systems, because they sound much more lively at low volume levels than other types of speakers.  This is important in apartments with thin walls and in a culture where being polite and considerate of neighbors is important.  The natural consequence is a proclivity toward low-powered amps because they are the best sounding amps.  I own three a reasonably efficient speaker system (99 db/w) and three low-powered tube amps; the most powerful amp I own is rated at something like 8 w/ch, and my favorite amp does not even have a rating, although the builder guessed it puts out 5.5 w/ch.

robertrs,

A friend of mine thought about Onken cabinets for his Great Plains 604 drivers, but, the Hiraga design and others recommended for this driver are enormous and extremely heavy; he went for a more conventional bass reflex cabinet. 

I personally like Onken cabinets; my speaker has twin 12" woofers in an Onken cabinet.  I got my Western Electric 713b midrange compression drivers from Japan (most of the best vintage American gear is now located in Japan, Korea or Vietnam).  I am a big fan of the same kind of gear prized by the Japanese and I particularly like their old school speakers inspired by US brands, such as the compression drivers and horns that use to be made by Yoshimura Laboratories; they are consistently terrific sounding even though they are made in a crazy array of sizes and configurations.  The current manufacturer G.I.P. Laboratories still turn out terrific Western Electric clones, but the prices are unfortunately crazy high.

I have also liked Japanese electronics from Kondo, Shindo and Zanden.  Many years ago, I bought a pair of Stax Omega II 007 electrostatic headphones (still own and use them with the Amercian-made Blue Hawaii SE headphone amp).  When I took them home, they just did not sound as good as when I heard them at the dealer.  When I asked the deal why that was the case, he pointed out that I auditioned the headphones through a Kondo M 10 linestage and I could never realistically achieve the sound I heard with anything less.