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What the best Kabuki speakers you have heard

acculab(rtr) model 550

bought a pair at a pawn shop in '92 in daytona for $120. i loved these speakers. powered by a 100ish wpc technics int. amp.(with super bass) they were a 23 year old metal head's dream.

12" passive radiator that was just a foam disk with a foam surround, no basket.
12' stamped basket woofer with a smallish magnet that ran full range.
high pass caps only on the mids/tweeters.

they dug deep and were just great rockin speakers. they even moved with me to n.c. but did not make it back when i went back to daytona.

i would seriously love to hear a restored pair nowadays just so see how much my tastes have changed, or maybe i'd still love them. who knows?
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interweb photo
 
I don’t consider a 4 way speaker kabuki…

It’s the speakers that had a tweeter, super tweeter and an ultra tweeter…and so on…they were going for this modern techno look…

and bass usually suffered because 15 inch woofers were cheap, slow and flabby…cabs were too small…

if they were to take all that effort and just make a great 3 way speaker they would’ve been better off…but it was monkey see, monkey do…
 
Kabuki speakers can sound pretty stinkin' good with a little bit of elbow grease, Dave N. Have a pair of Sansui SP-2500s, courtesy of Robisme, currently powered by Yamaha CR-220 receiver. Stock Sansui crossovers sounded congested & un-inspiring, due to having two drivers share single x-over point. So x-over was bypassed in favour of Dayton polyprops on the mids and NTE mylar films on tweets. Midrange & tweeter controls were also bypassed. Stock 10 uF on mids was upped to 12 uF, which also tightened bass response. Since moi loves series-wired 2 X 12 guitar cabs, mids (squawkers) were wired in series. Stock tweet x-over provided for either 4.7 uF or 2.2 uF equalization, so bottom tweet got 4.7 uF & top tweet got 2.2 uF. Woofs are direct wired. Thin stock wiring replaced with 16 gauge. Not only do those SP-2500s now sound expansive, you hear exactly how connected amplification truly sounds. BTW, stock CR-220 amp board to speaker output wiring was also replaced with 16 gauge. 2500s are still rockin' strong 14 years & counting! Thanks once again Robisme! ... Also got a three-decades-in-the-closet pair of 'sui SP-1500s around that same time. Stock x-over & mid-n-tweet controls were also bypassed. Since mids were different sizes, larger mid got 10 uF Dayton polyprop, & smaller mid got 6.8 uF Dayton polyprop (6.8 uF was stock mid value). Center tweet got 4.7 uF Dayton polyprop, & flank tweet got 2.2 uF Dayton polyprop. Woofs also direct wired. Stock wiring was sufficiently stout & left intact. Replaced a Semper Fi bud's 80s-era JVC system, with Sony STR-6055 amplification. He has no qualms rockin' the block on occasion! Sounds great for home theatre duty also, & wife loves Kabuki countenance's W.A.F.! Those stock Coral alnico drivers are quite enticing! ... Also got a pair of Pioneer CS-77s from a neighbour who moved. Bypassed stock x-over too. Mids got 12 uF Dayton polyprops, & tweets got 4.7uF Dayton polyprops. Was house warming gift for San Juan Ridge recipient, powered by Technics SA-500 amplification. Loves her hip-hop, & has no shortage of Rodney O & Joe Cooley-approved everlasting bass! Loves home theatre presentation, too! ... Although not Kabukis, a similar-modded pair of Sansui Classique 900s provided reverb generation for KDVS's legendary "Live In Studio A" broadcasts! ... 73s para Sactown
 
I had a pair of Sansui SP-2000 once upon a time and after a recap they sounded very nice. As others have said, surprisingly not a lot of bass. But new caps really opened up the sound. I found them great for jazz and acoustic music.
 
I had a pair of Sansui SP-2500s for a while. After I recapped them they sounded OK, but nothing to write home about.
 
Funny hardly anyone has mentioned the great sleeper brand Akai. In East Anglia there were alot of American airbases in the 60s-90s. Hence huge Akai SW series speakers were flown in / sold in PX. They still pop up from time to time.[ I have a pair of SW136. Big woofers, v heavy cabinets + amazing sound. ]
The bigger Akai SW155 weigh in at 35lbs and are monsters. Are they true Kabuki? Well they definitely have the look , are huge & heavy with horns, tweeters + massive woofers. However they sound great. Plenty of bass , depth and clarity. Google for images. Akai the sleeping giant!
 
DrDebaser said:
Funny hardly anyone has mentioned the great sleeper brand Akai. In East Anglia there were alot of American airbases in the 60s-90s. Hence huge Akai SW series speakers were flown in / sold in PX. They still pop up from time to time.[ I have a pair of SW136. Big woofers, v heavy cabinets + amazing sound. ]
The bigger Akai SW155 weigh in at 35lbs and are monsters. Are they true Kabuki? Well they definitely have the look , are huge & heavy with horns, tweeters + massive woofers. However they sound great. Plenty of bass , depth and clarity. Google for images. Akai the sleeping giant!
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I’ve always wanted to find a pair of those to try with my Akai AA-1200. Some day…
 
I have a pair of Kenwood 9090X's. They were totl in 1979 / 1980. They sound very good to me. I hadn't played them in a while as I have lots of other speakers.

These are rated at 300 watts. I was very surprised the other day when I hooked them up and tested them with a decent 90 wpc Yamaha receiver. I've had them up for sale, but based on what I heard yesterday, I may keep them.

The only other Kabuki I own are Sansui SP 2500. These actually sound pretty good too although I believe they could use a recap. They don't go as deep as the Kenwood's, but mids and above are surprisingly good. At one time I had them with my Fisher 500b tube receiver and a sub. Haven't played them in a while, but they aren't bad for what they are.
 
Akai has been mentioned. They're the only kabuki speaker I've owned. Found at the curb complete with Lafayette early solid state receiver circa 2006. They would definitely play loud, which is all I could really say without needing a censor :rolleyes::mad::dunno:
 
zenith2134 said:
Please tell me more
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I found the 1984 Z9's in a veteran thrift store, got those and then a 1973 Sansui 771 (45watts/ch) to really move the woofers. Then the Z9ii's were purchased from a neighbor i met on Nextdoor app. They are 1 in thicker and seem to have more solid construction. The seller told me the ii's were only sold in Japan. Each cabnet seams to run at 105db SPL rating like the books suggest. Clarity and detail are off the charts. Magicality comes from the amazing 771. Kabuki style can definitely be Hi-Fi. Just leans into dispersion theory instead of directionality.
 
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