Soavo-3

Soavo-1 (BP)
Soavo-3

Tobise: Rather than that, this was the speaker that we wanted to make (laughs). The worldwide mainstream is now a dual woofer, but a single woofer is characterized by good low-range response like a two-way bookshelf type, and if we aim in an audiophile direction, the single is worth mastering. We thought it would be interesting if there was a single woofer model with a large volume cabinet.

Tobise: People who say this sound is good are true HiFi enthusiasts. It could also be said that they are big fans of Yamaha (laughs).

Tobise: The basic designs of the Soavo-3 and the Soavo-1 (BP) are both based on that of the current Soavo-1, but technically the drivers should be regarded as second generation, and the sound tuning has changed quite a lot. If we liken them to automobiles, we obtain images of the Soavo-1 (BP) as smoothly polishing the sound with fine tuning such as balancing a crankshaft or port polishing, and of the Soavo-3 as a model created by pursuing response as a way of reducing its body weight.

Tobise: Do you think so? (Laughs.) Certainly compared with a normal floorstanding three-way, the space between the midrange and woofer may appear to be too wide. In fact, this is a result of the search for the acoustically best position. Because of this position, the woofer responds smoothly.

Tobise: We could not aim for that kind of sound from the beginning, and it may be correct to call it the result of properly combining various elements and directions in sound creation.

Okazaki: This is an abstract way of putting it, but I feel that it is no longer the shape of the singer, but rather a way of listening that draws one close to the spirit of the singer.

Tobise: In the future, we want to create speakers that seem to eliminate the existence of the speaker, so when it is a song, the singer is in front of you, and when it is classical music, you are in the concert hall.

Okazaki: No, there is not very much technological progress. Rather, in terms of our speaker design, it may be that the way development is done has changed little by little.

Okazaki: In the world of cuisine for example, don't chefs go out to the fields to search for vegetables in order to achieve the taste they want? The situation somewhat resembles this. We went out to each factory where parts are produced, to increase the precision of all parts cooperatively with the people who actually manufacture them. We made extremely difficult demands, but they responded to them well, successfully tilling the fields with us. I think that the sound of the new Soavo is a result of these small accumulated efforts producing big output.

Okazaki: It was done for the drivers, and also for the cabinet. The directions of the sounds that were the aim for these two models appeared clearly from the beginning, so it was neither very laborious nor confusing to develop them. The only matter was the process of how best to achieve our goals, so the only choice was to again set out for the fields.

Tobise: When the Soavo Series began, because they were the first HiFi speakers in some time, we went to various parts of Japan to assess the technical capabilities of manufacturers with whom we had temporarily suspended relations. Taking this opportunity, we returned production of the woofer and midrange voice coils, the tweeter DC-diaphragm windings and other parts from overseas to Japan.

Okazaki: Yes, even though we searched the world, they only remained here. Because we asked them to perform tasks more difficult than in the past, we had to use the world's top makers in that field.

Okazaki: When we began development, others at Yamaha said things like, "Why is it such a difficult task to change the finish or take out one woofer", and it was hard to overcome the differences in our understanding, but when they heard the sound, they definitely were able to understand the ideas incorporated into each model.

Soavo-1

Soavo-1(BP)

Tobise: Thank you. When we first put it on the market, we were worried about how well a luxury HiFi speaker would sell on the Japanese market in particular, but fortunately, the Soavo sound has been highly praised both inside and outside of Japan, so the recognition of it as a new HiFi speaker brand has gradually spread.

Tobise: That's so. It may be true that the piano finish model, Soavo-1 (BP), which we are now introducing, was created against the background of such market stimulation. At any rate, it is also true that we have newly designed about 70% of the parts, including the drivers.

Tobise: In fact, I am afraid that people may think the same way you do (laughs). During the past few years, speakers with piano finish have become increasingly popular worldwide. The Soavo-1 (BP) is also a model which was planned because people wanted a model with Yamaha-like piano finish added to the Soavo Series, but the person in charge of product planning at first casually assumed that we would only change the exterior finish color.

Okazaki: But inversely, the speaker engineers thought that would be a high hurdle to clear. The piano finish is a hard and thick coating that completely covers the cabinet, so acoustically, very little cabinet reverberation occurs.

Okazaki: That is true. In terms of musical instruments, the current Soavo-1 was tuned with the image of a warm tone like a wood bass or oboe, but no matter how we tried, it was unreasonable to aim in the same direction. Because the piano finish holds down cabinet reverberation and increases the S/N ratio, the Soavo-1 (BP) inversely takes advantage of this feature, aiming for sound suitable to a piano finish that is clear and highly detailed through the use of better quality parts.

Tobise: Yes. The tweeter, midrange and woofer are all new. With the current Soavo-1, a neodymium magnet was used in only the midrange, stressing the feeling of completeness of the vocal range. The Soavo-1 (BP), also uses a neodymium magnet in the tweeter to arrange the tendencies of the midrange and tweeter sounds, overcoming the challenges of linking the midrange to the high range, the feeling of elongation and the sound detail.

Okazaki: We optimized the driver itself so that the sound detail can be heard more clearly by reducing the thickness of the diaphragm from 0.45mm to 0.4mm, and changed the surround from the conventional foam rubber to solid rubber made by Kurt Müller of Germany. As for the woofer, we didn't change the thickness of the diaphragm, but for the surround, we also used solid rubber from Kurt Müller. Of course, we didn't intend to use rubber from Kurt Müller from the beginning; we discovered during listening tests that it was the only way to achieve our target.

Tobise: The shape is the same, but because adding the piano coating has changed both the balance of the vibrations and the way the sound reverberates, we reinforced the inside of the cabinet and also made many changes to the network.

Tobise: Yes. We received a proper endorsement from the piano division (laughs). Using a specialized polyester coating and a specialized automatic polisher, we polish each one, but on complicated surfaces such as around the tweeter, this can't be done automatically, so two people hold the cabinet and push it against the polishing machine. It is quite difficult and time-consuming to obtain an identical smoothness on all surfaces.

Tobise: Yes, it will. I hope that it will be chosen by people with such a sense of values.