Bryan Harrell
previews an upcoming show of Japanese audio innovation.
Photos coutesy
of Audio Expo '99
"I think we're slowly putting ourselves out of business," said one executive of
a Japanese audio company back in the early '80s at a meeting of the Japan Audio Society.
"Our audio products must certainly be made well, because they just don't seem to
break down, so fewer people are buying new things."
His words echoed the sentiments of prominent audio industry executives, who were at the
time stumped on how to stimulate consumer demand for new products. Interestingly, the
meeting was held to audition a promising new audio technology, Compact Disc players, which
kicked off the digital audio revolution that now, some 16 years later, never seems to run
out of new ideas, and new products to buy.
The
CD players auditioned then averaged between JY200,000 and JY300,000 and had fewer features
(and considerably worse sound quality) than today's JY4980 portables. It turned out that
the CD saved the Japanese audio industry throughout the 1980s, not only creating a new
market for the players, but also spurring demand for "digital-grade" amplifiers,
speakers, recording decks and whatnot.
However, as PCs and the Internet gained popularity throughout the 1990s, the audio
industry hit the skids again as personal electronics consumption took the form of
computers rather than component systems. But thanks to the Internet, audio gear is now
getting another boost from developments in downloadable music formats such as MP3. Even
though these new formats are digital, they still don't offer sound quality equivalent to
CDs, though it really doesn't make a lot of difference if you are listening through tiny
PC speakers. Anyway, CD sound quality will soon be eclipsed by the next generation of
formats such as DVD-audio and Sony's Super Audio CD, which promise to offer tremendous
sound quality when played through high-grade amplifiers and speakers.
While Internet-spurred interest is expected to be greatest in the area of portable players
that play songs in the form of compressed data files, these developments are expected to
have an impact on home audio equipment as well. Just as video soundtrack advances in the
late 1980s worked to merge audio and video into AV systems, downloadable music from the
Internet is likely to wedge your computer into your home sound system.
The upshot is that there will be a lot of interesting new audio gear introduced in the
coming months. You won't have to wait to see it though, because most of it will be on
display at the Audio Expo next week. While this event has been a bit lackluster in recent
years, this year's event promises to hold more than a few surprises.
Go there to check out the latest generation of recordable CD decks, a few DVD-recorder
prototypes, and new types of portable electronic devices using static RAM storage (in the
form of sticks like chewing gum) to hold music, video clips and more. If you're lucky, you
may be able to pet Sony's new deluxe version of their Aibo electronic dog, which will no
doubt be making an appearance at the Sony booth.
Audio Expo '99: Tokyo Big Sight, November 18-21, 10:30am-6pm (5pm on 11/21), JY1000.
Kokusai Tenjijo Seimon stn (Yurikamome line, from Shimbashi stn).
The
CD players auditioned then averaged between JY200,000 and JY300,000 and had fewer features
(and considerably worse sound quality) than today's JY4980 portables. It turned out that
the CD saved the Japanese audio industry throughout the 1980s, not only creating a new
market for the players, but also spurring demand for "digital-grade" amplifiers,
speakers, recording decks and whatnot. 
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