what are "kabuki speakers"???
- Thread starter jpciii
- Start date
So yah bra I’m currently running every pair of speakers in pics plus ones you can’t see Sony’s pioneers digital audios marantz n yes even a pair of your precious klipsh lascallas. All off a 500wx4 channel rms 850wx4 peak seismic audio dj. Amp a sansui 14 band eq& lmfao platinum flute karaoke machine. Off coarse in the studio I’m using a different eq and a mixer instead. Oh as an added bonus I guess I am a newbie because I mix old with new I’m also running 4 Orion Hcca. Dvc. As subwoofers also getting between 200watts - 400watt each that 800 watts in my subwoofer enclosure. Rest assured I have no complaints about sound quality from me my family or the 10,000 neighbors who here my system miles away.
Dmartn149
Super Member
Imaging must be really something.
My apologies chaps I didn’t waste time with capitalization punctuation but. Missing the point look I have chased name brand stuff in the car world pro audio world & vintage audio & at the end of the day I will say this I have had klipsch advent jvc, infinity etc not much sound quality difference also I would rather pay 100$ for speakers I mentioned & resale on eBay for 3x as much.rather than pay 500$&up for klipsch infinity jbl. & have a rougher time selling & making a profit on.
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It is thank you still got a ways to go got side tracked currently working with a ex employee of kenwood helping me design my own speaker cabinets when I got stuck with a bunch of high end drivers but no cabinets lol
maxhifi
Addicted Member
You sir, are the king of kabuki!
That's an impressive amount of speakers any way you look at it
Kabuki FTW!!!!!
They seem soo fun!!!
They seem soo fun!!!
I picked up a pair of SW175's about a month ago. They just look like fun, and I couldn't just leave them there, slowing deteriorating. So I parted with a small amount of hard-earned cash.
Replaced caps, repaired one of the pots, and I'm now waiting on one of the mids to return from the 'speaker guy':
The magnet had moved - The mid has it's own little plastic 'house', and the magnet is threaded, keeping the 'house' in situ with a long bolt. Someone had over-tightened the bolt and moved the magnet.
Cosmetically, quite good.
The fully repaired one sounds very promising. Very promising indeed.
I have a huge pair of German Isophons dating from the 1950's. They have been my favourite for some while now. I'm getting quite anxious that the Akai's might see them off! (I'm not a collector, and see no reason to have more than one set)
Replaced caps, repaired one of the pots, and I'm now waiting on one of the mids to return from the 'speaker guy':
The magnet had moved - The mid has it's own little plastic 'house', and the magnet is threaded, keeping the 'house' in situ with a long bolt. Someone had over-tightened the bolt and moved the magnet.
Cosmetically, quite good.
The fully repaired one sounds very promising. Very promising indeed.
I have a huge pair of German Isophons dating from the 1950's. They have been my favourite for some while now. I'm getting quite anxious that the Akai's might see them off! (I'm not a collector, and see no reason to have more than one set)
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THD
Active Member
Yea? Calling bs on a lot of your definitions of "Kabuki" speakers! Tell me why extremely expensive designs by well know manufacturers use multiple drivers. Because you run 2 8 ohm tweeters in parallel to get 4 ohms you are using Kabuki?? BS!
So by your definition these McIntosh speakers are Kabuki.
So by your definition these McIntosh speakers are Kabuki.
crazy-in-az
Uhhhh....
crazy-in-az
Uhhhh....
Continuing on my former post...
The McIntosh speakers posted above have several matching drivers arranged in a well planned layout. The cabinets are very large and most likely we'll braced and properly damped. Most kabuki speakers have mismatched drivers placed wherever they will fit on the front baffle, with thin walled cabinets too small for the woofer.
As some have said there are some nice sounding kabuki speakers out there, but the majority just pale in comparison to other speakers.
The McIntosh speakers posted above have several matching drivers arranged in a well planned layout. The cabinets are very large and most likely we'll braced and properly damped. Most kabuki speakers have mismatched drivers placed wherever they will fit on the front baffle, with thin walled cabinets too small for the woofer.
As some have said there are some nice sounding kabuki speakers out there, but the majority just pale in comparison to other speakers.
THD
Active Member
I built 7 sets of speakers for my own use, posted the largest and most expensive on parts express, some asshole responded "nice Kabuki speakers", well thought out and designed with a lot of time and expensive drivers, everything is doubled, 2 tweeters, 2 mids, 2 woofers, not going into detail as certain people on here think you can't build better than you can buy, wrong! You sure can.
crazy-in-az
Uhhhh....
You most certainly can build better than you can buy. There are several threads on AK all about people building dream speakers from scratch, or improving on readily available designs.
I believe I've seen your speakers in another thread, and I thought they looked impressive! They had several drivers, sure, but they obviously had a lot of thought and design put into them. Multi-driver designs can sound fantastic as long as they are well though out.
Lavane
Lunatic Member
I guess the Warfedale W-90's I had would be considered Kabuki by some since they had two 12" woofers, all be it tuned differently, two midrange drivers and two tweeters per cabinet. There is a huge difference between well thought out multi driver designs and Kabuki's where they just slap whatever looks cool into them. The more the better.
JoeESP9
ESL's & tubes since 83
Wharfedale's are not in the same category as Kabuki speakers.
One of the main and major problems with most Kabuki speakers is a woofer that's mounted in a cabinet that's too small and is highly resonant (thin walls). This results in very little deep bass and a bloated sounding mid/upper bass. Can you say boomy?
IME someone who designs and builds their own speakers always loves the sound of their progeny. Others may not feel/hear the same.
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crazy-in-az
Uhhhh....
Oooh, Imperial 8's!
I wouldn't necessarily call them Kabuki. All of the drivers are matched and placed on the baffle in a thought out design. Kabuki's generally have a more haphazard approach to driver placement. And those cabinets are appropriately sized for the woofers.
Personally I wouldn't mind owning a set of Imperial 8's or 9's.
I'm curious as to their quality. I'm hopefully finishing the AKAI SW*175's next weekend, after collecting the repaired mid-driver from the repairers.
They'll be able to go "head-to-head" in a few weeks, after replacing the caps on the Marantz's. The winner gets to stick around, whilst the other is sold.
It's a ruthless world in my listening room - no room for slouches!
They'll be able to go "head-to-head" in a few weeks, after replacing the caps on the Marantz's. The winner gets to stick around, whilst the other is sold.
It's a ruthless world in my listening room - no room for slouches!
