Hitachi HSA-4020 Speakers - Any experience?

[DG_lite]

A couple family members picked these up off the curb for free a couple weeks ago and I just now was able to go over and inspect/test them.

I can't really find images of these online, and no forums talking about them either. However, looking thru the WorldRadioHistory website, I was able to find an archived Stereo Buyers' Guide magazine from 1991 that listed them in their product directory:

8-in dual woofer, 6-in woofer, 5-in midrange, 1/4-in tweeter. Tall-boy style for use with 46-in projection TV's, magnetically shielded; detachable cloth grill. Power handling 150 W. $700/pr

I didn't play music too loud because most of the speakers had rotted surrounds, but I liked what I heard, and I know they'll sound better when they're cleaned up and refoamed.

Interestingly the 5" midranges use doped cloth surrounds. The dual 8" woofers are in the back, along with some gold-plated binding posts. These speakers probably weigh 50-60lbs each and the walls are at least 0.5" thick MDF. Very sturdy construction.

Has anyone heard or seen these before?

 

[painttoad]

i've never heard of them but without knowing anything about them, the driver spacing raises an eyebrow.

they look like something that you would get at rent a center with a big projection tv and all in one stack.

i could easily be wrong but that's the impression i get

edit; funny, i didn't even notice your quote about being used with projection tvs

 

[DG_lite]

Yeah I agree the driver spacing is unusual. From what I listened to tho, these don't sound muddy. That tweeter is decent at least.

What baffles me are the more "quality" features like the gold-plated binding posts, dome tweeters, and really sturdy cabinets. If they wanted to maximize their profits they could have easily done spring clips and thinner walls. I took out one of the 8" woofers in the back and the magnet is decently-sized too.

I also just wouldn't expect a brand like Hitachi to have a speaker going for $700/pr if there wasn't anything special about it. Again, maximizing profits and being super accessible.

Edit: There's no polyfill in these from what I could see, but again, the walls are really thick. Very strange. Maybe I'll stuff some in there later.

 

[painttoad]

i wouldn't consider those speaker connections quality. they do have plastic caps. are they even real binding posts? i've seen them like that but they will not take a banana plug.

hitachi knew how to make good stuff and these just don't look it. i'd also expect some hits on google.

but i don't know the speakers, just pointing out what i see.

if you were inside of them, what'd the crossover look like?

 

[DG_lite]

The binding posts look like the ones on my Dana Audio Model 1s and NHT SB2s, so they have a hole in the top for banana plugs. Don't know whether banana plugs would actually fit since I don't have any.

I agree with you about them not looking great or quality. The fact that they're a 4-way using dual 8" woofers doesn't inspire lots of confidence. I wouldn't really want to look at them without the grilles on, and I'm also fully prepared to be disappointed when I compare them to my nicer speakers. But hey, at least they were free.

I wasn't able to really see the crossovers that well and I wasn't focused on inspecting them tbh. I did see multiple inductors on there that were kinda long. No idea what kinda core they have, but the crossover isn't going to be as stupid and cheap as a single cap on the tweeter. I'll be posting more pictures when I'm over there again to refoam them.

I'm also puzzled as to why a company like Hitachi would have speakers priced this high, especially looking like this. Going thru the product guide, it seems like speakers made by audio companies that didn't specialize in speakers (e.g. Scott, Sansui) weren't comparatively expensive, even their TOTL ones. Usually it's the more speaker-focused brands that have expensive offerings because they're quality products and they know people will buy them. I imagine companies like Scott see their speakers more like accessories and they price them cheap so people stay in the Scott ecosystem. Even with their TOTL stuff, it has to be cheap so the buyer doesn't do too much thinking about where their money's going lol.

But $700 a pair back in 1991? From Hitachi of all companies? You wouldn't buy these speakers just to go with the Hitachi TV/VCR when you could get much cheaper ones. Or you could get a pair of Infinity RS-5001s for $38 more. There's gotta be some reason why these were so expensive back then, or maybe they were pulling a Bose and overpricing their stuff quite a bit lmao. Either way I'll find out.

 

[painttoad]

There's gotta be some reason why these were so expensive back then

not everything makes sense. yesterday it was $700 hitachi speakers. today it's $4000 metallica tickets.

people pay what they pay and if there is a pair of speakers that match their projection tv, some people will buy them and i can almost guarantee that those are bob barker's price.

 

[DG_lite]

not everything makes sense. yesterday it was $700 hitachi speakers. today it's $4000 metallica tickets.

I hear ya there. Good thing I don't go to concerts.

I'm gonna order some surrounds for them and see what I see. Hopefully I like them enough to put in the loft of the vacation home, otherwise they're a huge waste of space. At least I can spill their guts and take a look at them in the process.

 

[GordonW]

Man, I will say this- I worked at a place that sold Hitachi hi-fi in the mid 1980s- and those speakers look WAY more sophisticated than the Hitachi speakers we had a few years prior to that. Apparently, someone at Hitachi looks to have "gotten their act together", compared to what I experienced.

That said- the Hitachi electronics from that era, were pretty first-rate for what might be called "mass market" gear. They would hang with the contemporary for the time, NAD, Sony ES or Harman Kardon Citation gear, no problem.

In short- I haven't heard these- but I wouldn't count them out, without listening to them in proper working order.

Regards,
Gordon.

 

[DG_lite]

Yeah, I've seen lower-end speakers from other Japanese brands like Sansui, Sony, Mitsubishi, and Technics with the silly waveguides and cone tweeters. Even some Hitachi I think, but I agree that these look nicer than those. I need to listen to them more but so far the dome tweeter and the midrange sound good to me. Bass response isn't great but I think that's because the surrounds are rotted in what's supposed to be a sealed cabinet. They're also free + $36 for the 6 surrounds so I'll absolutely be listening for the hell of it at least.

When I have them apart I'll post crossover, driver, and cabinet pics. I ordered the new surrounds less than an hour ago so hopefully I'll have them by the end of the week.

 

[DG_lite]

All of my speaker surrounds came in now and I'm going over tmw to fix up the speakers. These new surrounds are rubber generics so at least they won't rot.

 

[DG_lite]

Didn't get to refoam all of the drivers since I didn't have the time I needed + taking longer than expected, but I took more photos!

After seeing the inside, the design choices Hitachi made puzzle me even more. There's no polyfill for the dual 8" woofers, but they added some to the 6" midwoofer chamber and above it for the tweeter and smaller mid. They made a whole separate chamber for the 6" midwoofer, but it's just a sealed cardboard tube (albeit a very dense and sturdy one. Thought it was fiber board at first). The crossover isn't just a single cap to protect the tweeter, but it doesn't look that sophisticated or impressive either.

The drivers seem decent with well sized magnets tho, and I'm assuming Hitachi made them and not another OEM, given the part numbers.

I plan on going back tomorrow and finishing the job, so more pics to come. I'm going to unscrew the smaller mid and the tweeter to take pics of and the inside of the cabinet where they reside.

 

[theophile]

Made in the USA. Remind me of RTR. As a bonus they use "genuine vinyl"

 

[DG_lite]

I read somewhere that it was cheaper to ship the parts to the US for assembly rather than shipping completed products from Japan at one point in time. Don't know how accurate this is but it would make sense if true.

Genuine vinyl like Realistic gear advertised back in the 80s lol. "Genuine walnut-grained vinyl veneer." However, that's not necessarily the mark of the beast ime, as cheesy as it is. I think these will at least be strictly decent and worth the time and money I spent to refoam them. I already liked the sound of the tweets and midranges when i heard them before.

 

[Nat]

I have a pair of the HS40s. The same tweeter as the ones the OP has, and a 6.5 inch woofer, and, surprisingly, an angled front, a la Spica(!). For the five bucks I bought them for, great sound. But a more sophisticated crossover than a simple cap (if memory serves) might help make them have better sound.
It is easy to dump on Japanese speakers (or other non North American or Western European speakers), especially if they have many drivers or look like they might have been sold with rack systems in the 80s, but some of them are surprisingly good, despite the absolutely rock bottom prices their Kabuki reputation gets them.

 

[DG_lite]

Oh nice, those are in the screenshot of the magazine I attached to my first message. Would you be able to send pics to this thread? Outside and potentially inside?

Hitachi is one of those odd ducks that doesn't get talked about a lot... probably because most of their well-known hifi were the Class G receivers of the 70s and various Lo-D speakers which are still relatively niche. But it seems like at least a couple ounces of thought went into the speakers we have.

Angled front baffle is pretty fancy for a low MSRP speaker like the HS40, since they're not as easy to construct. My HSA-4020s have a step in the baffle so that the grilles fit flush against the speakers and don't stick out.

 

[Nat]

It'll take a bit of time. But I'll try.

 

[DG_lite]

Remind me of RTR.

How so? I looked up pics bc I've heard of them but they make a lot of different looking speakers. Some look good and some look really cheap and chintzy

 

[Nat]

I've been on the look out for the Hitachi speakers with the aluminum cones and complicated V corrugated surround (like old folding camera bellows) since the 1970s or so, and have never seen a single one. Probably because they didn't sell well because not many people took them seriously. That doesn't mean they weren't good, and I want to find out.
Hitachi made some very fine components, but it was, and is, a tough market out there.

 

[DG_lite]

Unfortunately no more pictures due to a shortage of time, but I did put the drivers back in the speakers and tested them for a little while. All the repair work has been done.

Honestly, these sound not just decent, but pretty good. Slightly better with the grilles on and toed in with the tweeters on-axis, and I think they will definitely be better in a larger space than they currently occupy.

Nothing really changed except the bass response, which has improved considerably. There's definitely a bump around 70-80Hz, or it might be a resonance, idk. I don't think these do much below 60Hz, but I guess I'm not surprised with speakers of this caliber. Maybe I'll put some polyfill and damping material in the woofer chamber sometime.

The treble isn't super sparkly or super detailed like my Infinity RS-325s, but it's not fatiguing or rolled-off at all. Seems linear enough.

Midrange is pretty natural-sounding and not scooped. Lower midrange could be better since I find that's what carries voices or certain instruments across a room, it's just a little quieter compared to the rest.

The way I would describe these is ever so slightly warm, largely linear, and with a small low-midrange dip. I want to go back at a later time to do more serious listening, tho.

 

[coonmanx]

Obviously it says that they are made to go with a projection TV. Maybe why they are so damn big. But they do look pretty decent and if they sound good that is all that matters.