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Inside Japan’s
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SPECIAL REPORT:The Japanese Audio Industry
Alan TaffelS
The ever-effusive Sheen Uchidaof Taiyo International.

Old-school craftsmanship at
IT Industry, which builds Lyra
cartridges.

omething is definitely afoot in theJapanese audio industry. For a country whose
culture encourages cautious evolution, there
have been a whole lot of big changes in a shorttime. The first was in 2011, when Sony, that quintessential mass-market brand, released the SS-AR1 speaker. At$27,000, this product was decidedly not intended for themasses. Shortly thereafter Panasonic, another company
traditionally focused on the heart of consumer electronics,
revived its premium Technics line, which had been dormant since 2000. Its inaugural offering was the $53,000
R1 Reference Series, pointedly launched in the hallowed
high-end halls of the Venetian during CES.
These unexpected moves represented a dramatic increase in interest and investment in the high end from twoof Japan’s largest corporations. In the same timeframe,
additional investment was coming from outside the country. In 2013, for instance, guitar giant Gibson purchased
TEAC along with its Onkyo and Esoteric subsidiaries.

PLACING SUCH A HIGH PRIORITYON TECHNOLOGY REPRESENTSA SEISMIC SHIFT.
Another area where Japan’s audio landscape has changed
is market positioning. Recently, all three of Japan’s highend stalwarts—Esoteric, Accuphase, and Luxman—introduced lower-priced models. Esoteric simultaneously
pushed further upmarket with its cost-no-object Grandioso series. In another context, these expansions would bebusiness as usual. But when the companies involved havespent literally decades cultivating a much narrower market
niche, such changes take on greater significance.
Perhaps the industry’s most intriguing tack lies deep
within the new components themselves: a focus on technical innovation. Consider the aforementioned Technics
R1 Reference series, which deploys a bevy of technical advances to grapple with some of audio’s most entrenchedchallenges. In an industry that built its reputation on traditional design and quality production, placing such a highpriority on technology represents a seismic shift.
I’ve been wondering for some time what’s behind thesedevelopments, and I knew that the only way to find out for

18 January 2018 the absolute soundA sliver of the extensive selection at Tokyo’s Dynamic Audio.

The Esoteric management team.

the absolute sound January 2018 19

SPECIAL REPORT: The Japanese Audio Industry

A worker in Esoteric’s high-tech factory.

sure was to visit Japan. Besides understanding why large companies were suddenly
so interested in the high end, why established players were breaking out of their
comfort zones, and why innovation had become not only permissible but encouraged, I hoped to learn whether there was some overarching technical or sonicphilosophy that translates to a Japanese “sound.”To cover all that ground, I’d clearly need considerable in-country support. So I
began looking for a host company willing to guide me through Japan’s labyrinthine
corporate structures (and city streets), arrange meetings, and handle other logistics.
To my delight, not one but two firms, Technics and Esoteric, stepped up to support this project. As a bonus, both companies have spearheaded the changes I’dobserved, making them valuable information sources. I can’t thank Technics andEsoteric enough for offering their time, people, facilities, and knowledge. Everyone I met was genuinely intent on helping me get the answers I sought. You can’t
ask for more than that.
And so my Japanese audio odyssey began. I allotted one week, which wasn’t
enough time, but was the most I could spare. Still, with the help of my hosts, I
packed in visits to corporate HQs, factories large and small, a museum dedicatedto audio, several elaborate listening rooms, a “dojo” (training center), and a Tokyohigh-end dealer. I met with founders, executives, designers, storeowners, importers, trainers, and factory supervisors. Going into the trip, I thought the answers tomy questions would come quickly and easily. As it turned out, I needed every oneof those site visits and meetings to fully grasp the remarkable complexities of theJapanese audio industry.

20 January 2018 the absolute soundEast Meets WestMy first meeting was a breakfast interview
with Sheen Uchida, President of Taiyo International. Uchida-san, who prefers the lessformal Sheen, is a Japanese native educatedin the U.S. He left Japan’s steel-import business 30 years ago, switching to audio. “Iwanted to open the country’s eyes to othersonic possibilities,” Sheen told me. By “other possibilities” he was referring to famous
U.S. and English audio brands that, at thattime, were rare imports.

THE ANSWER LIES IN JAPAN’S
TRADITION OF PROVIDING
LIFETIME EMPLOYMENT.
Sheen was the ideal person to explain tome how the highly nationalistic Japanesemarket views Western brands. He related
that, due to high safety regulations and otherbarriers, imports have always been at a priceSPECIAL REPORT: The Japanese Audio Industry

The Konosuke Matsushita Museum traces Panasonic’s 100-year history, including Technics.

disadvantage compared to domestics. Yet whereas Japanese products typically represent a team effort among designers, imports tend to reflect a single vision. This,he said, leads to Japanese components that are “sonically well-rounded but less distinctive” than their Western counterparts. By the mid-90s, those more-distinctive
imports had caught on. Sheen’s business boomed. Today, his roster includes dCS,
Jeff Rowland, Avalon Acoustics, and Rockport.
I asked Sheen why, given that the West’s individualistic design philosophy had
proven appealing to at least a portion of the Japanese market, more Japanese firms
didn’t simply emulate it. He told me that the answer lies in Japan’s tradition ofproviding lifetime employment. In that situation, he explained, employees are always aware that they may be working with their present colleagues for a very longtime. Thus, every incentive is toward group cooperation rather than making waves
with a contrary position. That doesn’t mean that Japanese audio companies don’ttake design risks; rather, it means that individuals rarely take such risks. Instead, by
working as a team, any risks are shared.
However, according to Sheen, this situation is changing. Japan’s economy has
been riven by a decades-long recession. “The social safety net is dwindling,” hetold me. As part of that trend, lifetime employment is no longer guaranteed.
One result is a populace that’s increasingly anxious about its retirement years
and that has become more intent on saving than spending. This, in turn, has led toa backlash against what many perceive as the “outrageous” prices of many highend brands. Of course, similar economic anxiety is occurring around the globe,
which explains why Japanese brands like Accuphase, Luxman, and Esoteric, which
depend on both the domestic and export markets, have felt compelled to introduce
more affordable products. The need for more value-oriented offerings is also why
Sheen’s Taiyo International has started importing the German T+A line.
My talk with Sheen ended there, but his observations reverberated throughout
my trip. In particular, I would learn later on that the waning of lifetime employment has had much more profound—and, ironically, beneficial—implications for
the Japanese audio industry.

22 January 2018 the absolute sound

THE WANING OF LIFETIMEEMPLOYMENT HAS HAD
MUCH MORE PROFOUND—
AND, IRONICALLY,
BENEFICIAL—IMPLICATIONSFOR THE JAPANESE AUDIOINDUSTRY.
Old School vs. New School
My next stop was Lyra, a renowned Japanese
cartridge manufacturer whose products arefamiliar to TAS readers. The company was
founded and is run by Stig Bjorge, Managing Director and CEO, and Jonathan Carr,
who heads design and engineering. Stig,
who started his Japanese career by launching
Ortofon Japan, kicked off our meeting byrelating a tale that exemplifies the country’s
conservative culture. When Lyra entered
the cartridge market as Scan-Tech in 1986
(the Lyra brand was launched in 1991), it
understood that, as a newcomer, it had tohonor and respect entrenched players. Lyra
demonstrated this respect by treating the latter as “sensei,” which roughly translates tomentors. Lyra also took pains not to copy oroverlap established products or designs. This
last tactic wasn’t difficult, because Jonathan

SPECIAL REPORT: The Japanese Audio Industry

Tetsuya Itani (CTO) and Michiko Ogawa (Director) of Technics.

had a new and rather radical cartridge design
THE CONCEPT OF
in mind.
CARTRIDGE BUILDING
Initially, Lyra sought to cement long-term
AS CRAFT IS TAKEN
camaraderie by outsourcing the manufacture
TO THE EXTREME
of its new cartridge to Supex. But that plansoon ran aground. Supex viewed Jonathan’s
IN LYRA’S FINAL
designs with wariness. As Jonathan explained
ASSEMBLY PROCESS.
to me, echoing some of Sheen’s themes,“the Japanese are meticulous, precise, andgroup-oriented. The result is very careful execution of not-so-radical themes.”
Supex wasn’t game, but they didn’t flat-out turn Jonathan down. That would’ve
run counter to the Japanese business culture, which strives to accommodate every
customer and partner request. Instead, Supex opined that Jonathan’s ideas would
be “difficult” to implement. That meant “no.” Thus, Lyra had no choice but totake manufacturing in-house.
Much of that work was—and still is—carried out by IT Industry. The small
manufacturing firm, tucked away on a residential street just outside downtown
Tokyo, fabricates Lyra parts and bodies, and does some sub-assembly. As I entered
the plant’s unassuming door, I expected an ultra-modern manufacturing facility.
Instead, what I encountered was decidedly old-school. Most of the work at IT
Industry is done by hand, with machines in a supporting role. Workers, many ofthem obviously employees of long standing, clearly consider themselves craftsmen.

24 January 2018 the absolute soundThe concept of cartridge building as craft
is taken to the extreme in Lyra’s final assembly
process. As with other Japanese crafts, fromsushi preparation to bonsai pruning to tea ceremonies, Lyra’s final assembly is meticulous andpersonal. The work is carried out by a single
man, the nearly mystical Yoshinori Mishima.
Mishima-san adjusts and voices every single
cartridge Lyra builds. If he gets a cold, production halts for a week to ten days. That’s a price
Lyra is happy to pay for the results it attains.
Over a post-tour lunch with Stig and Jonathan, the conversation veered once again
to Japan’s relationship with the West. Stig
explained that the country’s defeat in WorldWar II was followed by a national adulationof all things American. Combine that with areverence for long-lived brands, and it’s easy
to understand the popularity in Japan of
iconic American companies like McIntosh,Western Electric, JBL, and Altec Lansing.
I also learned that Japan has a vital live
music scene. Tokyo alone boasts no fewer

SPECIAL REPORT: The Japanese Audio Industry

New-world technology meets old-world craft at the Technics plant.

than seven symphony orchestras—all thriving. Jazz and blues clubs are also extremely popular. I was beginning to appreciate how much the country cherishes
music, and I realized that a high proportion of its citizens must know what thereal thing sounds like. Perhaps this is one reason why the Japanese are among theworld’s most avid consumers of high-end audio gear.
I came away from my visit with Stig and Jonathan impressed that, through respect and deference, they had been able to integrate themselves and their new
ideas into Japan’s old-school cartridge community. Proof of their success in thatregard came one year during a boron shortage, which brought stylus assembly to a
standstill. Benz Micro’s Japanese distributor came to the rescue, playfully sending
Jonathan a supply of boron—in a pizza box.
A High-End Playground
That night, Esoteric whisked me to Dynamic Audio 5555, the largest high-end
store in Tokyo. The facility, which has been in business for fifteen years, consists ofseven jam-packed floors of equipment and listening rooms. Each floor has its own
autonomous manager with discretion over matters such as the brands that floor
will carry. Consequently, Dynamic Audio reflects a variety of tastes and philosophies as represented by the dazzling selection of equipment.
For my visit, the store’s Senior Managing Director, Toshiaki Kawamata, arranged a demo of some of its most bespoke gear. Four massive Esoteric Grandioso M1 monoblocks bi-amped a pair of Japanese Hiro speakers. The latter are
custom-made, built to order, take five months to deliver, cost $220,000 a pair, and26 January 2018 the absolute sound

THUS, IT FALLS TO EVEN
MODEST AUDIO SYSTEMSTO CREATE A CONVINCING
REPRESENTATION OF THE
ORIGINAL SPACE AND
ATMOSPHERE.
are not exported. Also visible from my vantage point in the demo room was equipmentfrom dCS, Mark Levinson, TAD, Sonus
faber, Genesis, and an Air Force One turntable.
On other floors, just as Sheen had foretold,
I saw healthy dollops of Western brands, especially JBL, McIntosh, Tannoy, and Altec
Lansing. According to Kawamata-san, thesebrands sell briskly. He also told me that despite the Japanese market for high-end audio
being sluggish overall, business at Dynamic
is strong. He attributes this good fortune tothe store’s bustling location near the famousSPECIAL REPORT: The Japanese Audio Industry
Tokyo Tower, its proximity to multiple upper-class neighborhoods, a selection thatoffers something for everyone, and a dedicated, passionate customer base. Whatever the reasons for this store’s existence and success, my advice to audiophiles
visiting Tokyo is to put Dynamic Audio on your must-see list.
The Growth Imperative
I began my time with Esoteric in the company’s Sound Room, located deep within
its Tokyo headquarters. The space pulls out all the stops to create an ideal environment for evaluating gestating products. During my visit, the setup included
Grandioso Series electronics driving the ginormous Avantgarde Trio XD hornspeakers. Through this rig a live, solo voice-and-piano recording of Diana Krall
was skin-crawlingly realistic. I also spun up my trusty Michael Wolff 2am jazz CD,
which on this system had the best string bass rendition I’ve ever heard: deep, dark,
and tight as a drumhead.
I could have listened to music all day, but there was much to learn from Esoteric’s perch as one of Japan’s foremost high-end producers. The company, which
before expanding into electronics made its reputation building what many consider
the world’s best disc transports, recently broadened its lineup. Indeed, Esoteric has
moved in both upward and downward directions. I wanted to understand thesemoves, but the question foremost on my mind was why Gibson had bought thebrand.
Part of the answer, related by Hiroshi Oshima, TEAC’s Business Unit Manager for the Audio Products Division, involves Gibson’s new mission statement.
Though historically focused on musical instruments, Gibson decided it wanted toprovide solutions for the entire musical chain—from creation to recording to playback. Together, TEAC, Onkyo, and Esoteric gave Gibson a strong and immediate
presence in both the middle and back end of the chain.
But I suspect there is more to it. The sad fact is that guitar sales, Gibson’s breadand butter, have declined steadily for several years. In reaction, the company has
undoubtedly sought to shore up revenues through diversification and new markets.
TEAC and its subsidiaries fill that bill as well.
The relationship between Gibson and Esoteric, according to Esoteric President
Haruji Katsumura, is largely hands off. Esoteric has total independence when it
comes to product development, marketing, and sales. In return, Gibson expects
its new subsidiary to be self-supporting and to generate growth. That’s where theproduct-line expansions come in.
To meet its new parent’s mandate for growth, Esoteric began offering bothmore affordable and more costly versions of its core products. In addition, thecompany has started moving into new product categories. The first of these is
the N-05 network player, designed to ward off revenue erosion as physical media
fades. (Though bustling Tower Records stores attest that Japan is behind the U.S.
in transitioning from physical media, the trend has begun and will inevitably accelerate.) The goal of this portfolio expansion is not mere revenue protection but, as
Katsumura-san put it, to “break through high-end audio’s revenue ceiling.” This
imperative has overridden any inclination to remain within a carefully cultivatedniche market.
During my visit to Esoteric, I was fortunate to meet Motoaki Omachi, the company’s semi-retired founder and a luminary within the Japanese audio industry.
I asked him whether he thought there is a “Japanese sound.” He responded byreminding me that in Japan quality raw materials—or raw ingredients, in the caseof food—are highly prized. These ingredients—like the fish in sushi, the exquisite
fruit exhibited by Tokyo street vendors, or the wood used in lacquerware—aredeemed to need no hyping. Rather, their quality should be allowed to speak for
itself. In the audio world, music, as captured in a recording, is the “ingredient”
that must be preserved. The Japanese “sound,” therefore, is more of a philosophy
whereby audio’s goal is to provide a vessel through which music’s inherent sonic

28 January 2018 the absolute soundand emotional virtues can flow unimpeded.
Every designer I met subscribed to thephilosophy so elegantly expressed by Omachi-san. Naturally this perspective has sonicramifications. Tetsuya Kato, Esoteric’s VP
of R&D, ranks neutrality and low distortion
as his highest priorities. Anything that adds
flash and hype are anathema to him—justas overwhelming sauces are anathema to agood sushi chef. In addition, I learned, theJapanese place great importance on a system’s spatial capabilities. This is because
most Japanese homes are too small to accommodate gear capable of producing fullorchestral scale. Thus, it falls to even modest
audio systems to create a convincing representation of the original space and atmosphere.

MY VISIT TO ESOTERIC MADEIT PLAIN THAT, FAR FROMRESISTING AN IMPOSEDGROWTH, THE COMPANY HASEMBRACED IT.
Moving from meetings to manufacturing
facilities, I saw first-hand just how serious
Esoteric is about its philosophy of purity.
The immaculate plant is a “clean” environment. To enter, I was obliged to don footsies (too small for my American feet), a haircap (too tight for my American head), anda smock (too snug for my American belly). Once inside, I encountered the hightech, streamlined facility I had expected at
Lyra—along with a mind-bending degreeof meticulousness.
For instance, unhappy with the soundof every commercial solder it could find,Esoteric developed and now exclusively
uses its own version. Discrete components
such as resistors do not rest on a PCB, as
they normally do; rather, they “float” above
the board. Esoteric feels this results in lesselectrical interference. The plant even has
machines that smooth the insides of the
PCB holes through which components aremounted, which reportedly improves conductivity.
My visit to Esoteric made it plain that,far from resisting an imposed growth, thecompany has embraced it. The atmosphere
there is one of liberation and excitement. A
fortuitous combination of investment andindependence has given Esoteric an oppor-

SPECIAL REPORT: The Japanese Audio Industry
tunity to more broadly apply the same philosophy and attention to detail thatelevated its transports, and it’s doing so with verve.
Drivers of Innovation
Panasonic is nearly one hundred years old. The company’s epic history is told at
the Konosuke Matsushita Museum outside Tokyo. I’ve been to many company
HQs that have a wall or a room devoted to product evolution, but I’d never before
toured an entire museum devoted to the subject. In walking through the exhibits, I
could trace Panasonic’s evolution from a maker of humble electrical plugs, sockets,and fittings to the global consumer-electronics colossus it is now.
Much to my surprise, I also discovered that many of today’s most advanced
management practices—social consciousness, employee profit sharing, an emphasis on customer service, succession planning, MBWA (Management by Walking
Around), and separate P&L centers to better manage growth—were pioneered
long ago by Panasonic’s founder, Konosuke Matsushita.
The museum doesn’t neglect the 1965 launch of the original Technics. The
brand was introduced as part of a then-new corporate focus on “pure sound.”Thus, from its very inception, Technics reflected the Japanese audio industry’s
philosophy of music without adulteration.
After my museum visit, I traveled to Osaka to meet Michiko Ogawa, who is Director of the Technics business unit. Interestingly, she is also a popular pianist andsinger in Japan. Ogawa-san gave me her perspective on why big companies are taking new—in the case of Sony—or renewed—in the case of Panasonic—interest in
the high end. She told me that during Japan’s long depression consumer electronics
sales went flat. In response, both Sony and Panasonic, like Gibson, began seeking
new markets with growth potential.
Yet it’s no secret that high-end audio has always been a cottage industry. So why
invest there? The impetus, according to Ogawa-san and echoed by Sony executives I’ve met, can be summed up in two words: high resolution. To elaborate, theJapanese view is that the recent widespread availability of hi-res source material
can serve as a promising catalyst for high-end audio growth. Hi-res audio also fits
into Panasonic’s (and Sony’s) involvement in the ongoing development of Blu-ray
and other hi-res video technologies. As Technics’ CTO Tetsuya Itani put it: “Itmakes sense for Panasonic to offer audio that can deliver a level of resolution andinvolvement similar to high-end video.”
Like Esoteric, Technics is deliberately independent of its parent. The management team is completely separate from Panasonic’s, as is R&D. Yet the parent company is investing generously, giving Technics the wherewithal to push technologicaladvancement. Technics also gets to piggyback on Panasonic’s expansive manufacturing and training facilities. What does Panasonic get out of the deal? Technologythat may prove useful elsewhere, “halo” audio products, and a new revenue stream.
Because the Technics R1 References Series is so chock-full of technical advances, I asked Ogawa-san if she has seen a change in that regard. She told me thatTechnics views innovation as a means of competing against boutique brands that
can’t afford a similar level of R&D. Culturally, this innovation is made possible
because, as Sheen had noted in our meeting, lifetime employment is fading—andwith it the cultural proscriptions against independence and individuality. Indeed,
Ogawa-san encourages her engineers to pursue any ideas that will allow Technics
to blaze technology trails.
Craftsmanship Goes High-Tech
Despite its audio industry’s newfound enthusiasm for innovation, Japan’s culture ofcraftsmanship and honoring the past isn’t going away. These disparate forces areleading to products that are both innovative and traditional. Examples were everywhere on my trip. Lyra cartridges are highly advanced designs but are built in a
decidedly low-tech environment. They’re voiced by ear by one man. The drivers

30 January 2018 the absolute soundand crossovers in Sony’s speakers are similarly progressive; yet they’re mounted in a cabinet built with maple harvested in November(that being the month in which the wood is
the hardest) from a single forest in Hokkaido.
Technics’ new SL-1200G turntable features astate-of-the-art direct-drive motor but looks
identical to the venerable SL-1200 it replaces—S-shaped tonearm and all.
To get a sense for how Technics converts
this duality of old and new into componentry, I visited Panasonic’s Manufacturing
Innovation Center, or MIC, a one-hour bullet train ride north of Tokyo. Here, on aneight-building campus, the company builds
Panasonic TVs, set-top boxes, LCD products, and the top Technics components.
Established in 1967, the MIC is the only remaining Panasonic TV factory in Japan (therest are overseas). As such, it’s reserved forthe highest-end models, such as 4K HDR
sets. In 2014, the facility took on productionof the Technics R1 Reference Series and SL1200G turntable. (Other Technics products
are made in non-Japanese factories, but
Technics always has its own line and staff.)

ALTHOUGH PANASONICBUILDS BOTH ITS TOP TV AND
TOP AUDIO COMPONENTS
UNDER ONE ROOF, THE TWOPRODUCTION OPERATIONS ARE
PHYSICALLY SEPARATE AND
STARKLY DIFFERENT.
As with sushi chefs, training is taken very
seriously here. One of the campus’ buildings
is a dedicated “dojo,” or training center, thatteaches new employees everything from therequisite skills and safety procedures to company etiquette. Once graduates have completed their training, they’re rated on skill
level. This rating is indicated by their belt
color, with red being the most skilled.
Although Panasonic builds both its top TV
and top audio components under one roof,
the two production operations are physicallyseparate and starkly different. Those distinctions begin in the training regimen. Employees destined to work on the TV assembly line
receive two to three days of training; those
who will be building Technics components
receive a month. Further, only red-belted employees may work on Technics gear.

SPECIAL REPORT: The Japanese Audio Industry
The TV assembly area is exactly what you’d expect from a volume-oriented
facility: lots of machinery making quick, efficient movements. Humans play a supporting role—for instance, lining up sub-assemblies properly so that the machines
can do their thing. Everything in this area is designed for repeatability, quality, andspeed.
The Technics assembly area is a contrast in every way. Here, speed isn’t a priority; the pace is leisurely. As at IT Industry, most of the work is done by people,
and those whom I saw worked carefully and convivially. Machines provide support.
For example, I saw a worker, whose job it is to fashion SL-1200G platters, use amachine only to identify minute imbalances that would escape a human eye. He
exemplified how Technics is melding the seemingly mutually exclusive: craftsmanship and advanced production techniques.
In Retrospect
What did I learn on my journey? I learned, first and foremost, that Japan’s culture
affects its audio industry every bit as muchas American culture and Swiss culture
impact their respective industries. Just as
America’s audio industry reflects the U.S.’s
independent spirit and the Swiss audio industry adheres to the country’s emphasison high-priced quality, the Japanese audio
industry is a microcosm of Japan itself.
Specifically, the Japanese conviction thatprized ingredients need very little enhancement translates directly into a desire to create audio components that showcase rather than “enhance” the music. And whenthose self-effacing designs are ready to bebuilt, the production process reflects thesame meticulous execution practiced by sushi chefs, bonsai pruners, and lacquerware
artisans.

every industry in Japan, is looking for ways
to recover from and move beyond the country’s long recession. In audio, that means big
companies moving into the high end are insearch of new revenue streams, while smaller companies expand into new markets tosuit the populace’s changing spending habits.
All these factors are molding the Japanese audio industry into one that preserves
long-enshrined cultural virtues while finding
ways to move aggressively forward. We’re already reaping the results, and there is much
more to come.

THE JAPANESE AUDIOINDUSTRY PRESERVESCULTURAL VALUES WHILE
FINDING WAYS TO MOVEFORWARD.
Another cultural imperative, borne ofhigh population density and a historical
corporate commitment to long-term employment, is the need for cooperation. In
audio, this has led to team-based design
decisions and sonics that don’t stray far
from an emphasis on neutrality and musicality. Lately, however, the social safety net
has been loosening. And while this hasn’t
altered the goal of self-effacement, it has
had the unexpected consequence of encouraging technical risk-taking as a meansof achieving it.
Finally, the Japanese audio industry, likethe absolute sound January 2018 31

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As is the case with the amplifiers frombenchmark Swiss brands such as Soulution
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about 15 percent of Alan Taffel’s reference CH Precision C1/A1 combo and offers soundthat is almost indistinguishable from that of CH. (260)48 January 2018 the absolute soundthe absolute sound January 2018 125