SET Amp History in Japan

[Steve Eddy]

Joe Roberts of Sound Practices is most often credited with starting the SET movement here in the US, and Jean Hiraga of L'Audiophile in Europe.

But who's credited with getting it started in Japan and when?

Thanks!

se

[Bas Horneman]

Jean Hiraga I suppose. He's of Japanese descent.

Nah. Just kidding. It was Douglas MacArthur in 1946.

[Steve Eddy]

Hey Bas!

Yeah, I know Hiraga's of Japanese descent, and that's probably why he came to know of the SET movement in Japan, but I don't think he's the one who got it started over there.

se

[Bas Horneman]

Hey Steve,

I'd be interested to know as well. I'm going to send an email to the Japanese Audio Society which was founded in 1952.

Cheers,
Bas

EDIT: Just sent them an email. I doubt I'll get a reply.

[Steve Eddy]

Great! Thanks, Bas!

se

[kevinkr]

I have Hiraga's book (in French) and will have a look. Sakuma, Kondo, Sishido, and Asano, not to mention many others certainly played a role, but my impression is that the Japanese never really entirely abandoned tubes from a hobby perspective at least. There is a smooth continuum of Japanese hobbyist tube based designs from the early 1950s right to the present time.

Hiraga's biggest contribution IMHO was to bring the Japanese passion for exotic tube audio to the West. His books published in French got the French audiophile community interested, and from there it spread to the rest of the West. I'd say the French were roughly about 10yrs ahead of us. Incidentally an awful lot of it revolves around appreciation of tubes, technology and brands that were ignorantly cast off here in the United States. There is a reason why the Japanese revere Western Electric, RCA, and Altec Lansing, and why JBL still builds models only for the Japanese market that we should perhaps be drooling over..

Panomaniac ran with the Le Cleach/Hiraga crowd in Paris a few decades back, could be he might have something to add as well to this discussion.

[Steve Eddy]

Thanks, Kevin!

se

[Bas Horneman]

Just sent them an email. I doubt I'll get a reply.

No reply yet...don't think we'll get an answer from them.

[Pano]

I did run with the Hiraga crowd back in the 80s. Jean Hiraga was tight with the Japanese crowd and got a lot of his inspiration there. But I don't remember the history.

I'll look back thru some of my French documentation to see what turns up. Hiraga was always good about citing his sources. As best I recall, the SET fad got started in France very early 80s, maybe late 70s.

[Steve Eddy]

Thanks!

se