Jordan O'BrienEssential Install may be the number one magazine for the custom install industry in the UK, but over in Japan, Stereo Sound has a cult following. Trinnov Audio recently caught up with the magazine’s former editor, Kenji Mayuzumi, who shared his thoughts on the audio industry, including his love affair with Trinnov products.
Mayuzumi may have edited a cutting-edge magazine for more than 30 years of his life, but that doesn’t mean his home system is the latest and greatest technology. In fact, the system he uses now is a JBL system that came out in 1989. He insists that, despite the system’s age, the speakers still sound astonishingly good.
“I couldn’t afford to buy them,” he said in the interview. “However, once I heard the sound, I just couldn’t resist the urge and after two years of thinking about them, I took out a big loan and got hold of them, I’ve been using them ever since.”
While the JBL speakers reproduce great audio, Mayuzumi knew the heart of the system had to be equally good – as it would have the biggest influence on sound. That’s why he turned to Trinnov’s ST2 processor.
Mayuzumi’s Love Affair With Trinnov
In the interview with Trinnov Audio, Mayuzumi explains the differences between Trinnov products and those offered by its competitors. He also shares the difficulties he experienced when it came to installing his own system, and the importance of tuning a room to ensure the acoustics are just right. We’ve gathered some interview highlight below, but you can read the full interview over at Trinnov Audio’s website.
Should the acoustics of a listening room be the priority?
“How should I put it? If the room’s acoustics are poor, you can’t hear the speaker’s original sound. The room’s poor acoustics will badly affect the speaker’s audio. This problem often occurs in an average living or listening room. The building was constructed 45 years ago. So, it’s quite old.
“By the way, a crack appeared in that wall since the Great East Japan Earthquake. That’s what we’re dealing with here! In old buildings, we lose the sound in various places; on the other hand, new apartment buildings are completely sealed spaces. That’s why those low-frequency waves seriously affect speaker sound.
“You have your conventional audio components such as amps, CD players. Everyone has probably thought of how to get the best sound by combining them. I’ve prioritized creating a guaranteed advanced acoustics space.
“It’s not massive compared to others, but compared to your average apartment, it’s blessed with much better acoustics. So, I’ve used this space to my advantage listening to audio. If it’s not a good room, the end result is you can’t hear good sounds.”
What’s different between Trinnov and other products with similar functions?
“The ceiling in this room is high compared to other studios. It’s like a shed roof which slopes low on one side. Therefore, it’s got great spatial dimensions. It has a relatively natural echo. I installed an ‘Acoustic Grove System’ to improve the acoustics. This system has made the room’s ‘echo’ sound very natural. The speaker sound is much clearer especially the low-frequency effects. I can now make out the finer acoustic effects.
“However, although I’ve improved the acoustics… I felt more improvements could still be made, so I changed to Trinnov and tried to correct the system even more.
“I’m not sure how to describe it. I kept the LCR network and adjusted it to the Trinnov speaker system. My earlier change to the room’s acoustics affected the sound wave harmonics. So, I think Trinnov has made life easy, there were few difficulties, and it kept things relatively simple, so now the acoustics quality has changed a lot.
“For me I’ve been able to realize this acoustic environment due to having the Trinnov processor. I never thought I could achieve this. First, I borrowed the Trinnov processor from Stella Inc, I tested it in, and right away was astonished by the change in the sound of the JBL speakers.”
Would you recommend buying a Trinnov processor?
“When I first listened to the sound coming from my speakers to be honest, I couldn’t believe how good it was. How could it have that capacity? I’ve been using those speakers for nearly 30 years, so it’s a real old-fashioned speaker with a very narrow range, for me, who’s been using it for nearly 30 years. It’s very dear to me as a lifelong companion, since installing my Trinnov processor, they sound so good I hardly recognise them anymore.
“It doesn’t matter how great a listening room you have the acoustics will never be completely fool proof, so, the better your equipment the more you should use a Trinnov. That’s what I’d say to people that love sound.
“I work in audio production, I have my listening room, I have all kinds of equipment – amps, CD players, cartridge players you name it! It’s my job to listen to audio and If I don’t listen to the original sound, I can’t make the right judgment, that’s why I use only Trinnov when correcting audio. Due to that, I feel more able to hear the genuine sound.
“I think there are some people in Japan who’ve created fabulous studios with their first ever equipment, I’d love to introduce those people to the merits of using Trinnov, but it’s not just for people with superbly-equipped studios, even people with average-level equipment, people who listen to music in a normal room, I think them too should install a Trinnov before buying any expensive amplifiers or speakers.
“If they do that, then the overall sound will be incredible, and they’ll be closer to the music they want, they’ll have a direct connection to the original sound of the music, they won’t know the dynamic sound they’re missing unless they try to listen with a Trinnov on.”