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Updates to follow shortly . . .
-- Chris
The answer to the question, Bronze Urushi vs. Aluminum
Just in case you thought things weren't going forward... Just in case you thought it couldn't get any better... Sorry...They are...It is..
The bronze Urushi frame defines the term solid. Every sound has more integrity than you thought possible.
I know, more hyperbole from Joe. Whatever the opposite is... as far as you can go in terms of "that's an understatement"...You might get close. Definitely jaw hanging open territory.
Just in case you thought things weren't going forward... Just in case you thought it couldn't get any better... Sorry...They are...It is..
The bronze Urushi frame defines the term solid. Every sound has more integrity than you thought possible.
I know, more hyperbole from Joe. Whatever the opposite is... as far as you can go in terms of "that's an understatement"...You might get close. Definitely jaw hanging open territory.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Here is a different look at bronze urushi frames . . . I'm pretty sure the urushi is a different color from that in Joe's driver shown above:
The above photo and my next several posts will be mostly lifted from the Japanese language blog of Feastrex's president, Mr. Akiyama.
-- Chris
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
The above photo and my next several posts will be mostly lifted from the Japanese language blog of Feastrex's president, Mr. Akiyama.
-- Chris
Here is something you don't see every day -- a pair of one-off drivers made in response to a customer's request. On the left is a field coil Naturflux motor milled from a special purer grade of iron, with a Permendur ring and Permendur tip on the pole piece. On the right is a standard NF5ex motor for comparison:
A closer look at what might be called a "Type II NF5ex":
A true "Type III" NF5ex driver -- one with a motor milled entirely from Permendur -- is currently beyond Feastrex's technical abilities, even if anyone could afford it.
This is currently one of the favorite drivers, if not the very favorite driver, of Feastrex's president Akiyama. (And Hal Teramoto loves it too.) I have heard this driver and I also fell in love with it. There really is some special magic in the Naturflux design, and there is also something magic in the improved, higher grade materials. So when you combine those two elements -- the better materials with the Naturflux design -- the result is, well, an even more "magical" sounding speaker. I'm not very good at describing the sound of audio equipment, but I'll give it a go. You know, "distortion" is one of the last words that comes to mind when I listen to any Feastrex driver. But when I listen to a driver like this, I am struck by a sense that the distortion is noticably reduced. To me, that's really odd. I don't get a sense of distortion from any Feastrex driver, and yet, when I listen to the higher end drivers, I get the clear impression of "less distortion." Anyway, this driver is wonderfully clear, natural, and efforless in its presentation, and yet is able to really dig down deep and kick butt when it needs to. It's NOT a regular Feastrex product, but it should be of interest to anyone who might be considering one of the "ultimate" Field coil drivers (i.e., the Type II or Type III). I couldn't afford any of them in any case, but if I could, I think I would have a hard time choosing which one to get. Heck, buy one pair of each type and listen to them on alternating days. Or in different rooms. Or one pair for you, one for the wife, and one for the girlfriend . . . you get the idea.
-- Chris
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
A closer look at what might be called a "Type II NF5ex":
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
A true "Type III" NF5ex driver -- one with a motor milled entirely from Permendur -- is currently beyond Feastrex's technical abilities, even if anyone could afford it.
This is currently one of the favorite drivers, if not the very favorite driver, of Feastrex's president Akiyama. (And Hal Teramoto loves it too.) I have heard this driver and I also fell in love with it. There really is some special magic in the Naturflux design, and there is also something magic in the improved, higher grade materials. So when you combine those two elements -- the better materials with the Naturflux design -- the result is, well, an even more "magical" sounding speaker. I'm not very good at describing the sound of audio equipment, but I'll give it a go. You know, "distortion" is one of the last words that comes to mind when I listen to any Feastrex driver. But when I listen to a driver like this, I am struck by a sense that the distortion is noticably reduced. To me, that's really odd. I don't get a sense of distortion from any Feastrex driver, and yet, when I listen to the higher end drivers, I get the clear impression of "less distortion." Anyway, this driver is wonderfully clear, natural, and efforless in its presentation, and yet is able to really dig down deep and kick butt when it needs to. It's NOT a regular Feastrex product, but it should be of interest to anyone who might be considering one of the "ultimate" Field coil drivers (i.e., the Type II or Type III). I couldn't afford any of them in any case, but if I could, I think I would have a hard time choosing which one to get. Heck, buy one pair of each type and listen to them on alternating days. Or in different rooms. Or one pair for you, one for the wife, and one for the girlfriend . . . you get the idea.
-- Chris
Here are some photos of some recent visitors to the Feastrex listening room:
First is a Universal Amplifier . . . RS237 thoriated tungsten filament.
Next up is Telefunkun RV25 x 8 pcs . . .
I wasn't there, and I don't know what it was all about, but I'm glad I'm not in the position of having to explain to my wife why such large amplifiers deserve a place in our living room. (Although perhaps the sound is self-explanatory.)
-- Chris
First is a Universal Amplifier . . . RS237 thoriated tungsten filament.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Next up is Telefunkun RV25 x 8 pcs . . .
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I wasn't there, and I don't know what it was all about, but I'm glad I'm not in the position of having to explain to my wife why such large amplifiers deserve a place in our living room. (Although perhaps the sound is self-explanatory.)
-- Chris
Anyone reading this blog who visits Japan should try to visit Feastrex in Yamanashi Prefecture. (It is within reasonable striking distance from Tokyo.) But if time prevents you from going any farther than Akihabara, you can now hear the Feastrex D5nf at the main branch of Koizumi Musen in Akihabara.
I don't know if they will be there permanently, but they will be there for a while.
Here are some other reasons to visit Koizumi Musen:
Koizumi Musen also has a website (Japanese only):
http://www.koizumi-musen.com/
-- Chris
P.S. There are also a few other places around Tokyo where Feastrex speakers can be heard. However, if at all possible, it is worth making the trip to Yamanashi Prefecture to Feastrex's listening room.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
I don't know if they will be there permanently, but they will be there for a while.
Here are some other reasons to visit Koizumi Musen:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Koizumi Musen also has a website (Japanese only):
http://www.koizumi-musen.com/
-- Chris
P.S. There are also a few other places around Tokyo where Feastrex speakers can be heard. However, if at all possible, it is worth making the trip to Yamanashi Prefecture to Feastrex's listening room.
Now here is an amplifier more to my liking (i.e., more manageable size-wise) -- Mr. Teramoto's personal EL-38 push-pull monobloc amplifier:
Those have Finemet (nanocrystalline) core OPTs and chokes, and a very nice "ultimate" custom-wound R-core power transformer. Those are film caps in the cans there. I heard an earlier version of these amplifiers and I absolutely loved them. Really, really nice.
-- Chris
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Those have Finemet (nanocrystalline) core OPTs and chokes, and a very nice "ultimate" custom-wound R-core power transformer. Those are film caps in the cans there. I heard an earlier version of these amplifiers and I absolutely loved them. Really, really nice.
-- Chris
The folks at Feastrex are very gung-ho about the extreme high grade of custom-wound R-core transformers they have been getting recently. Here Mr. Akiyama is mucking around inside his EMT 981 CD player:
He is replacing the original 60VA toroidal transformer with an 80VA R-core transformer, which also has a winding to power an exotic clock that he is going to be putting into it. Here are the two transformers for comparison:
The new transformer won't fit inside so he will need to have it as an outboard transformer, connected by an umbilical cord. The things we do for love!
-- Chris
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
He is replacing the original 60VA toroidal transformer with an 80VA R-core transformer, which also has a winding to power an exotic clock that he is going to be putting into it. Here are the two transformers for comparison:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
The new transformer won't fit inside so he will need to have it as an outboard transformer, connected by an umbilical cord. The things we do for love!
-- Chris
Yeah, it's amazing what an unlimited budget and an open mind can produce, just look at the level of performance the pioneers of audio accomplished with relatively Stone Age technology and no preconceived notions beyond the physical limitations of mass, compliance and electron flow......
So amazing we're still re-inventing the 'wheel' over a century later, merely refining their designs in detail thanks to all the accrued knowledge gains in materials, manufacturing technology. Finding a work-around Motor Nature to achieve a true breakthrough in wide BW speaker system performance is proving to be a real b!tch.
GM
So amazing we're still re-inventing the 'wheel' over a century later, merely refining their designs in detail thanks to all the accrued knowledge gains in materials, manufacturing technology. Finding a work-around Motor Nature to achieve a true breakthrough in wide BW speaker system performance is proving to be a real b!tch.
GM
I once met a girl
I once met a girl who uttered the words "thoriated tungsten".
But did I have the good sense to marry her?
Of course not.
I did, however read her column in Absolute Sound.
She has disappeared form view but when she whispered "thoriated tungsten" I still hear it.
Acoustic memories
I once met a girl who uttered the words "thoriated tungsten".
But did I have the good sense to marry her?
Of course not.
I did, however read her column in Absolute Sound.
She has disappeared form view but when she whispered "thoriated tungsten" I still hear it.
Acoustic memories
Nelson, I wondered the same thing; however, it is not urushi but rather a lacquer containing what the Japanese call kakishibu or "persimmon tannin."
This astringent substance taken from unripe persimmon fruit, has been much studied and variously defined as knowledge of tannins and other phenols has unfolded. To put it simply, it is classed as a condensed tannin (proanthocyanidin) of complex structure.
It has applications Japanese sake brewing, in dyeing and as a wood preservative. Juice of small, inedible wild persimmons, crushed whole (calyx, seeds and all) is diluted with water and painted on paper or cloth as an insect- and moisture-repellent. It also makes the paper tougher. In the West I think this highly useful traditional material is probably known best to people who are "into" Japanese washi.
Here is an English language website with more information:
http://www.kakishibui.com/
-- Chris
This astringent substance taken from unripe persimmon fruit, has been much studied and variously defined as knowledge of tannins and other phenols has unfolded. To put it simply, it is classed as a condensed tannin (proanthocyanidin) of complex structure.
It has applications Japanese sake brewing, in dyeing and as a wood preservative. Juice of small, inedible wild persimmons, crushed whole (calyx, seeds and all) is diluted with water and painted on paper or cloth as an insect- and moisture-repellent. It also makes the paper tougher. In the West I think this highly useful traditional material is probably known best to people who are "into" Japanese washi.
Here is an English language website with more information:
http://www.kakishibui.com/
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
-- Chris
And although it is off-topic, here are some speakers made using washi that has been treated with "kakishibu" persimmon tannin --
http://www.german-vintage-loudspeak...urou-maruo-photos-supplied-by-yuji-suzuki.htm
-- Chris
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
http://www.german-vintage-loudspeak...urou-maruo-photos-supplied-by-yuji-suzuki.htm
-- Chris
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