Looking for entry / midrange speakers, but limited to Japanese brands

[Sfsicko]

Hi all. I’m in Japan and have a budget around 1.5-2k. Unfortunately speaker selection here is limited to Japanese brands, and prices aren’t exactly cheap. Most of the suggestions I’ve found are for brands that are not available here (SVS, Klipsch, etc.) For a basic 5.1 set up, what are some Japanese speakers I should be looking at? I’ll be using a Denon 4700 AVR. Cheers for any advice!

 

[Pogre]

It would be easier for you to tell us what's available to you as opposed to us guessing. I don't often see Japanese brand speakers recommended here and am unfamiliar with most outside of maybe Yamaha?

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Pioneer Corp is Japanese. They make some decent choices in your budget

 

[Sfsicko]

It would be easier for you to tell us what's available to you as opposed to us guessing. I don't often see Japanese brand speakers recommended here and am unfamiliar with most outside of maybe Yamaha?

The main Japanese brands are Yamaha, Sony, Denon, Pioneer, and Onkyo. Yeah unfortunately I don’t really ever see suggestions outside of AVRs for these brands, so not exactly sure which speakers are good options. In Japanese isn’t much help either, very few people are actually consumers of these products here. Denon SC-T37 series speakers are maybe the most popular but I have no idea about their quality.

 

[TLS Guy]

Hi all. I’m in Japan and have a budget around 1.5-2k. Unfortunately speaker selection here is limited to Japanese brands, and prices aren’t exactly cheap. Most of the suggestions I’ve found are for brands that are not available here (SVS, Klipsch, etc.) For a basic 5.1 set up, what are some Japanese speakers I should be looking at? I’ll be using a Denon 4700 AVR. Cheers for any advice!

That is a bad pickle to be in. Unfortunately Japanese speakers are in the main really awful, and strangely voiced. The only ones I ever liked where the Pioneers with the dual concentric, but the designer has moved over to Elac.

After that, Yamaha are the best of a bad lot, but I have never heard a Yamaha speaker I could live with.

Is there any chance you could build your speakers, or have them built?

 

[ryanosaur]

What about the JBL Studio 6 line? If they share any of the qualities of the Studio 5s which are popular over here, they should be good Speakers.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

@ryanosaur
JBL is American-owned by H&K which in turn is owned by South Korean Samsung.
to OP (see TLS Guy comment)
There are some interesting DIY folded horn designs using Fostex (Japanese brand) speakers.

Recommended Enclosures : Speaker Components : Fostex

 

[ryanosaur]

@ryanosaur
JBL is American-owned by H&K which in turn is owned by South Korean Samsung.

The Studio 6 line was Japanese release, not available in US. I think it is also available in other countries outside of Japan, as I think I stumbled on a site selling them in Singapore and have seen an Aussie comment on owning some. Still... the point is, these should be available to OP in Japan. I do not know their cost, but it doesn't hurt him any to research.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The main Japanese brands are Yamaha, Sony, Denon, Pioneer, and Onkyo. Yeah unfortunately I don’t really ever see suggestions outside of AVRs for these brands, so not exactly sure which speakers are good options. In Japanese isn’t much help either, very few people are actually consumers of these products here. Denon SC-T37 series speakers are maybe the most popular but I have no idea about their quality.

If those are the only options, I would get Yamaha. Yamaha has some very good high-end speakers, so the less expensive ones should also be good.

 

[Verdinut]

In your planned budget, the Pioneer Elite series of speakers were well rated at first listening by Audioholics staff:

Pioneer Elite Dolby Atmos Speakers Preview and Demo Results

Preview: Pioneer Elite Dolby Atmos speakers SP-EFS73/SP-EBS73-LR/SP-EC73,include a concentric driver and true three way design. A top mounted driver also means the speakers are Dolby Atmos enabled.

www.audioholics.com

Pioneer Elite SP-EFS73 review: Best floor-standing speakers under $1,500

Pioneer's top-end speakers are primed and ready for the latest and greatest surround sound you can throw at them.

www.cnet.com

 

[Eppie]

Hi all. I’m in Japan and have a budget around 1.5-2k. Unfortunately speaker selection here is limited to Japanese brands, and prices aren’t exactly cheap. Most of the suggestions I’ve found are for brands that are not available here (SVS, Klipsch, etc.) For a basic 5.1 set up, what are some Japanese speakers I should be looking at? I’ll be using a Denon 4700 AVR. Cheers for any advice!

How hard have you looked for other brands? Are you limited because of your particular location in Japan? I found video tours of stores in Japan that carry JBL, Dali and Focal, all good speaker companies. Are you unable to travel to another city for purchase? For $2000 I would want more options than Pioneer and Yamaha (the best of the above choices).

 

[Sfsicko]

How hard have you looked for other brands? Are you limited because of your particular location in Japan? I found video tours of stores in Japan that carry JBL, Dali and Focal, all good speaker companies. Are you unable to travel to another city for purchase? For $2000 I would want more options than Pioneer and Yamaha (the best of the above choices).

Hiya! I’ve found JBL, Dali, Focal and KEF. Of those, KEF is probably the closest to US pricing. Q150s are about $650 (no sales here). However the rest of them are probably 2-3x MSRP compared to the US.

I’m actually mostly thinking of going for KEF just because it’s (very loosely) somewhat similarly priced to the US. But, I still haven’t been able to find a subwoofer that doesn’t seem like a total rip off. KEF Kube12 is available for about $1200 but I’d almost rather just pay the $500 to ship an SVS sub here for that price.

 

[Eppie]

Hiya! I’ve found JBL, Dali, Focal and KEF. Of those, KEF is probably the closest to US pricing. Q150s are about $650 (no sales here). However the rest of them are probably 2-3x MSRP compared to the US.

I’m actually mostly thinking of going for KEF just because it’s (very loosely) somewhat similarly priced to the US. But, I still haven’t been able to find a subwoofer that doesn’t seem like a total rip off. KEF Kube12 is available for about $1200 but I’d almost rather just pay the $500 to ship an SVS sub here for that price.

I would take a pair of KEFs over the Yamaha or Pioneer offerings if you are going to add a subwoofer. I'm surprised the Focals would be that much more, as they ship from Europe. Checked the Kube12 specs and it looks to perform like a sealed SVS SB1000, their cheapest sub. Do you have room for a ported sub?

Forgot that you're looking for 5.1. Five KEFs and a sub will likely be over your $2k budget. How flexible are you on that?

 

[TLS Guy]

Hiya! I’ve found JBL, Dali, Focal and KEF. Of those, KEF is probably the closest to US pricing. Q150s are about $650 (no sales here). However the rest of them are probably 2-3x MSRP compared to the US.

I’m actually mostly thinking of going for KEF just because it’s (very loosely) somewhat similarly priced to the US. But, I still haven’t been able to find a subwoofer that doesn’t seem like a total rip off. KEF Kube12 is available for about $1200 but I’d almost rather just pay the $500 to ship an SVS sub here for that price.

You won't be disappointed with KEF. I would avoid the sub though. If you ship from the US don't forget HSU either. Their subs are a really good value.

I do see subs are not common in Japan. This is probably because of close living quarters like Europe. Sub woofers are very much an American obsession.

What I would suggest it the you buy a Dayton Raw driver, which are available in Japan, and have a cabinet shop build it for you. I have quite a few designs worked up. If I know your size constraints, I can easily design you a sub. Sub designs are not difficult, and perform exactly like a model will predict. So I don't have qualms about designing subs for people.

 

[Mark E. Long]

From what I’ve seen and read jbl is huge in Japan the studio 6 series has great reviews as does the other choices he found . But I wouldn’t get the other brands pioneer, etc .

 

[Sfsicko]

I would take a pair of KEFs over the Yamaha or Pioneer offerings if you are going to add a subwoofer. I'm surprised the Focals would be that much more, as they ship from Europe. Checked the Kube12 specs and it looks to perform like a sealed SVS SB1000, their cheapest sub. Do you have room for a ported sub?

Forgot that you're looking for 5.1. Five KEFs and a sub will likely be over your $2k budget. How flexible are you on that?

I’m pretty flexible I think (maybe up to 3k), and don’t mind spending that on a 3.1 and getting other components later.

I do have room for a ported sub!

 

[ryanosaur]

I’m pretty flexible I think (maybe up to 3k), and don’t mind spending that on a 3.1 and getting other components later.

I do have room for a ported sub!

JBL ホームエンターテイメントスピーカー: スタンダードモデルスピーカー

音楽再生だけでなくマルチチャンネル再生のホームシアターにも対応し、部屋の大きさや楽しみ方に合った最適なシステムを組むことが可能です。

jp.jbl.com

The Studio 6 line is priced similarly to the full price of our Studio 5s when not on sale. Are there other charges not included? (I don't read Japanese.)

 

[Danzilla31]

I’m pretty flexible I think (maybe up to 3k), and don’t mind spending that on a 3.1 and getting other components later.

I do have room for a ported sub!

I'm actually jealous if you get the JBL 6 line. A lot of us over here in the states would love to have a chance to buy them.

The studio 5 lineup I own and it's pretty awesome

 

[ryanosaur]

I'm actually jealous if you get the JBL 6 line. A lot of us over here in the states would love to have a chance to buy them.

The studio 5 lineup I own and it's pretty awesome

Imagine that 3-way beast , the 698!

 

[Danzilla31]

Imagine that 3-way beast , the 698!

I know bro I was so excited when that lineup was announced then so heartbroken when it was revealed they weren't going to be sold over here