Hello!
Finally getting caught up and wanted to post a bit about my visit with the FAL folks while I was in Tokyo recently. For background see my CES post here for a description of the FAL speakers:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=607Also Dick Olsher's CES report mentioned them here:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0303/olsher/index.htmlSuffice it to say I liked them a lot and I will soon have a pair of speakers running here in my listening room / lab. My intention is to provide drivers and plans so folks can have enclosures built locally and plunk the drivers in and wire'em up. It's a pretty easy DIY project since there is no crossover on the FAL panels and only a single cap on the tweeters. Also, as described below, FAL has a new single driver speaker that will be a lot of fun - and cost much less than the full blown system I listened to at CES!
On to the post.....
First - Many Thanks to Mr. Furuyama the designer of the FAL speakers and also to Mr. Shibazaki who's company Sibatech (
www.sibatech.co.jp) represents FAL for export. It was a pleasure to spend time with both of you and see the new FAL showroom in Akihabara - the electronics shopping area of Tokyo.
Thanks to the maps and directions I'd got ahead of time I actually did find the FAL showroom. This was a bit of a surprise as I'd expected to get at least a little lost! I don't know Tokyo that well at all (I'd be surprised if anyone really knows all of tokyo - it's huge!). Fortunately I'd left early and had some time to wander around Akihabara a bit ahead of time and that was great fun.
Once I arrived at the FAL showroom I was greeted by both Mr. Furuyama and Mr. Shibazaki. I had met both at CES in Las Vegas this past year and it was nice to see them again. We talked audio for a while and then spent some time in the very nice FAL listening room. I had the pleasure of listening to 3 sets of speakers while there and I'll describe each below.
Although it's best to enter the Sibatech page via the main page (at
www.sibatech.co.jp - the frames work best that way) here is a link to a page that shows all 3 speakers on one page:
http://www.sibatech.co.jp/FAL/FAL%20Systems.htmThe first set we listened to were the center pair shown on that page - one FAL driver per side with one Heil tweeter per side. Right away I was relieved to hear the sound! I say relieved because I had loved the speakers at CES and as soon as we started listening in the FAL room I could hear the same sonic character I liked from before. I am not going to compare the 3 different models too much in this post but the sound of these were great. They use the latest version of the FLAT driver called a FLATC. These are the same as the drivers I have here waiting for cabinets and so it was great to hear them. They are very similar to the drivers FAL showed at CES which were the FLATB. The only difference (as far as I know) is that the FLATC uses a slightly newer more powerful neo magnet material that adds 1 or 2 dB to the sensitivity.
Next was the small single driver box. This was a real treat and in some ways the most impressive of the speakers - given the very small driver and small cabinet. It is a new Driver FAL is making that has response up to 19K. Used without a tweeter it was not lacking in high frequencies at all. It sounded great, although a bit light on the low end - as you'd expect for a driver that size per side! What really blew be away was the image. It was wide and especially deep. They were positioned well ahead of the larger twin driver system (next subject!) and the image went waaay back - so far that if I had not known I would have guessed the speakers further back were playing. Really fun and a great system for it's size. As I recall they were about 93dB sensitivity so likely a good match for a small tube amp. I think for a small room or second system they'd be perfect. For a large room system I'd want to augment the low end - as they are I'd guess they were going down to 60hz or so and I'm used to a bit more action down below. Still mightly impressive and I really look forward to having these here to play with and to show folks.
Next up were the speakers I listened to in Vegas and these are the largest of the ones shown in the link above. They have 2 FLATB drivers per side and a Heil in between. Mr. Furuyama refers to these as the Vertical Twin system. Although all three speakers share that ease and great sound I loved when I first heard them these are my favorite of the bunch. We played some various music and they were really nice. The low end is in ballance with the music - not bombastic like some speakers but natural and nice!
Listening to the Vertical Twin was especially interesting for me because the FAL system I am about to put in here is closest to these. The cabinet I will have here is slightly larger and instead of the Heil we'll be using the new ribbon tweeter that Creative Sound is selling as part of the GR Criterion speaker. FAL will soon have a Heil tweeter they make out. I look forward to comparing to the ribbon and the enclosure has been designed with the tweeter on a removeable plate so we can easily swap different tweeters in. The tweeter is only used from about 10K or 12K on up and has a first order crossover (single cap). The FAL drivers as mentioned above run directly connected to the amp with no crossover.
I'd better stop typing now! Post any questions as I am sure I have left out many details - still a bit fuzzy from the time change and the push to catch up with things here!
Many Thanks!
John Chapman
www.bentaudio.com