High-End Audio in Japan, Part Four: Solid-State from Technical Brain
Before I left for Japan I knew that Audio Tekne products would prove to be extraordinary; after all, I’ve been living with Mr. Imai’s $12k TEA-2000 phonostage, his $3k ALT-8905 AC line transformer (into which the TEA-2000 plugs), his $550 ARA-500 RCA interconnects, and his $575 ARSP-500 speaker cables for more than a year. But Technical Brain? A company with the name of a villain out of a Batman comic book? That I knew nothing about, save that its reputation for sonic excellence was extraordinarily high in Japan (like Mr. Imai, Technical Brain’s Naoto Kurosawa has won highest honors from every major Japanese audio magazine).
From the outside Mr. Kurosawa’s shop didn’t tell me much, either. Indeed, its log-cabin-like build and its quaint sign that reads “Audio and Coffee” did little to mitigate the vaguely comic book feeling I got from the company’s name. But, as it turned out (and probably always turns out in Japan), everything had its reason. The giant logs used to construct the building were imported Canadian timber which Mr. Kurosawa chose specifically because it sounds good; the coffee, served in a little shop to the left of the audio store, was great and added just the right touch of relaxation, as if to say that this high-end audio business is to be experienced as one of life’s enjoyments and not as something separate and sacrosanct. Even the company’s name, Technical Brain, had its point, for Mr. Kurosawa is a genuine technical whiz and his $58k TBP-Zero ver.2 monoblock power amplifiers (pictured above in a beautiful genuine piano-black Urushi lacquer finish that'll put you out an extra 10,000 semolias over the stock brushed aluminum finish) and TBC-Zero preamplifier use unique patented circuits that eliminate emitter resistors and any mechanical contacts, relays, or line fuses.
With special hand-wound flat-coil fifty-pound transformers (see photo below) that have very low magnetic flux density and meticulously matched bipolar transistors in a chassis in which all wiring and components are painstakingly laid out to eliminate noise and vibration (see photo above), the fully-balanced, non-servo TBP-Zero ver.2 achieves megahertz bandwidth with no group delay from DC to 500kHz, a rated output of 350W into 8 ohms (700W into 4 ohms, and 1400W into 2 ohms), peak current of over 100 amps, a damping factor of over 550, and distortion less than 0.02% maximum into 8 ohms at full rated power from 20Hz to 20kHz. (Mr. Kurosawa also makes a superb stereo amp, the $29k TBP-Zero/S, that boasts similar specs and sonics.)
The $33k Technical Brain zero-feedback TBC-Zero preamp—which also uses Mr. Kurosawa’s patented circuitry that eliminates emitter resistors, any mechanical contacts, relays, or lines fuses—is just as impressive, technically and sonically. With a bandwidth of DC to 500kHz, no feedback, distortion of less than 0.02% maximum from 20Hz to 20kHz at 5V RMS output, the TBC-Zero, like the TBP-Zero ver.2, lives precisely up to Mr. Kurosawa’s motto: “Exceptionally high in transparency, low in coloration…a truly natural sound.”
Build-quality and craftsmanship on both amp and preamp are phenomenal. And the sound…well, if there was a scoop on this trip it was the sound of the Technical Brain amps and preamp, which was phenomenally good—along with Soulution, quite possibly as good as I’ve ever heard from solid-state: transparent without a touch of the antiseptic, neutral without a hint of chill or darkness or excess warmth, incredibly finely detailed, incredibly dynamic, incredibly lifelike from top to bottom. A light, poise, and balance, for all the world, like Audio Research in transistor garb.
Shrewdly, Mr. Kurosawa has equipped his listening room with a wide variety of speakers of every kind—from dynamics to ‘stats to ribbons to horns—so I got a chance to listen to his electronics on just about every kind of transducer extant (with both LP and CD sources). Clearly the Technical Brain products are anything but picky when it comes to what they drive. In fact, the very best sound I heard in Japan (right alongside that of the all-tube Audio Tekne electronics driving Mr. Imai’s SP-9301S four-way horns) came from the Technical Brain solid-state amp and preamp driving what is, famously, one of the most difficult loads on earth: Apogee Duettas. One forgets how great Jason Bloom’s ribbon speakers were, and I’ve never heard them sound more realistic, more like the absolute sound than I did in Mr. Kurosawa’s Canadian-timber listening room. Reproduced sound may get different but it doesn’t get better than this.
Like Mr. Imai’s all-tube Audio Tekne products, Naoto Kurosawa’s all-solid-state Technical Brain line represents the very best that Japanese high-end audio is capable of. And I am here to tell you that this best competes fully with the best I’ve heard from any company anywhere in the world. Mr. Kurosawa looks happy in the picture below, in which he shows me for the first time his TBP-Zero ver.2 power amp. He has every reason to be happy—and proud. If my luck holds, I will be reviewing his electronics in the not-too-distant future. Frankly, I can’t wait.
Comments
Jonathan, Great report and blog. Having traveled through Asia and still doing so every six months, I think you have captured as mush of the personal side as the technical and professional side of these wonder people, their kraft and culture. Thank you so much for sharing with us this often little seen side of our wonderful art. I throughly enjoyed each of your segments. Keep up the great work.
Rick,
Thank you! As I hope you can tell, I truly enjoyed my trip to Japan, and writing up my experiences with these marvelous men and their marvelous products and their beautiful country was a genuine labor of love.
Jon
There is no way I could afford these amps. However I hope Jonothan can review them. The back of the mono blocks have only a pair of speaker binding posts and a balanced input. There is no recepticle for connecting a power cable. From what I understand there is a 5.5mm connection underneath the units and no circuit breakers are used. I would like to read a full report so I can add them to the list of my (pipe) dream systems.
Rossop,
Robert Harley saw this amp at CES in Vegas two or three years ago, took a look inside, and was floored. He tells me Mr. Kurosawa's patented circuit is incredibly innovative--and that, as I saw for myself, Technical Brain's build-and-parts quality was second-to-none. I really am eager to hear the Zero ver.2 amp and Zero preamp, which I think I'm gonna get the chance to do--and to compare them head-to-head with my solid-state reference Soulution 700 amp and 710 preamp with Magico M5 speakers. I'll post photos and preliminary observations as soon as this comes to pass (which may be as soon as next month).
Jon
Jon, I thought the rule was that you can only review products that will be sold in the US through an established distributor and sold through established dealers? Will the Technical Brain (love the name) products meet those criteria?
Yes, it will indeed.
For Yujean Kang of Tangram Audio in Pasadena, CA--already the importer and distributor (and a retailer) of a variety of high-end marques (including Audio Tekne)--the trip was largely intended to firm up distribution/sales deals with artisanal Japanese high-end manufacturers (like Mr. Kurosawa of Technical Brain). For me, it was an incredible opportunity to hear and report on the work of a trio of artisans who are little known in the U.S., but much admired in Japan and, of course, to see the country itself.
That's great.
It would be such a treat to throw in the Harry's current SS fave, the Bryston 28SST in your head-to-head with the Solution and Technical Brain amplifiers. I know you can't do every amp under the planet under such conditions, but perhaps as homage to your esteemed founder, adding the Bryston to this shootout would surely be of great interest to the Editor Emeritus and readers alike, and the results would sure be great fun to anticipate! Why not give the bargain-priced Canadian contender a chance to go up against the high-priced spread?
We'll see. That kinda depends on Bryston.
Oh, Jon, don't be so modest. You can surely use some of your considerable charm and influence. As I see it , there's no down side for them. Worst case is that one of the more expensive contenders does something that (perhaps) let's you hear something in the sound field a bit better. So be it. But then when you consider cost/watt, there will surely be something very favorable to say about the Bryston in the end. If they balk, send them some Graeter's Black Raspberry Chip ice-cream. They have nothing like it in Canada. Hell, they'll probably let you keep the amps in exchange for a pint every month or so.
Heh-heh! You've been to Cincy, I see.
I'll certainly ask about the Bryston powerhouse, but it has been my experience that companies which get rave reviews from HP (or from RH or even from l'il ol' me, for that matter ) aren't generally eager to give another reviewer a shot at their blue-ribbon heifer. I can't blame 'em, really. A cow in the hand, ya know. Plus, shootouts among competitors, particularly very expensive competitors, is also not what I'd call a "popular" option with manufacturers.
Like I said, we'll find out, but...don't get your hopes up too high. As Mark Twain said about the rumors of his death, reports of my "considerable charm and influence" are greatly exaggerated.
Yes, I have been to CIncy a few times as an invited lecturer. But now, thanks to FedEx, I don't necessarily have to go there to get my Graeter's fix. Damn good ice cream-possibly the country's best. And as I'm sure you know, their Black Raspberry Chip out-sells all their other flavors by a considerable margin.
Returning to the more serious discussion, I would use the following analogy. I am a clinician-scientist who is in the drug development business. But I consider it mandatory to continue to see patients so I can get a first-hand sense of what medicines patients will need as we move into the future. I would think an electronics manufacturer would welcome the opportunity to have their product evaluated by seasoned professionals for a similar reason. The benefit of a good review is not just to facilitate present sales. Rather, a manufacturer can learn from what the experienced listener hears and even prefers so as to help design better products down the road. I think over the years, designers have no doubt benefited from the experience of professional and amateur listeners alike. A manufacturer may even prioritize features of the "next" model by concluding that a keen listener thinks their amp would benefit from ; more power, quieter background; less distortion, tighter bass, better depth cues, greater speed, more transparent high frequencies, more efficient impedance matching to certain speakers, take your pick...etc. It would seem to me to be a way of gaining experience from knowledgeable reviewers so as to make their future products improved with attributes that might result in a product with a competitive advantage to others in the market place. What better way of doing this than by having an experienced listener compare a particular product to SOA producs from another well-respected manufacturer? And how many manufacturers really have access to the wide array of speakers and ancillary equipment than many reviewers have? Surely manufacturers see the benefit of doing this. And to be honest, they can't beat the price of taking advantage of such expertise. Can you think of another industry where such consulting work is accomplished so inexpensively? (In a sense, that is what you do-you perform a service for readers, but in fact it is pragmatic consulting for the manufacturer)
That said, if you can't get Bryston to pony up, I say, take the low road approach and send 'em some Graeter's!
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To anyone who cares about honestly and integrity in high end audio please read this:
I met Kurosawa (owner of Japan’s Technical Brain an audio repair shop) (see Jonathan’s review of June 2 2009) 5 years ago in Japan (where I continue to live for several months a year) when my AR ref 600 kept blowing tubes and resisters. I hired him to fix it. He supposedly repaired it twice each time charging me a very high repair fee. The third time it blew up he finally figured out that the batteries had run out on my battery powered phono stage and it was sending some nasty charge back to the amp. This is now 5 grand later.
Meanwhile, he leaves me brochures of his amps which he claims are the best in the world and begs me to bring them to my house in Tokyo to audition. I agree and foolishly spin an audiophile version of WALTZ FOR DEBBIE which of course sounded very good. I would say equal to or a bit better then the AR 600 with stock tubes. Me, being a neophyte audio entrepreneur purchased one whole set (mono blocks, preamp, phono stage and step up transformer along with all manner of electrical conditioning equipment) of his gear at full price and then asked him if he had distribution overseas which he answered no. I said how you would like for me to promote your amps exclusively overseas. He said yes enthusiastically..
To make a long story shorter, I rented space in Manhattan and hired the best in the business to design and construct a world class listening room for his equipment. I purchased two additional full sets of his gear with expensive carrying cases at 66% of his retail price and full complement of electrical conditioning equipment. Then I shipped one set of my AMPs to the Vegas show along with buying him a pair of apogee speakers (which you see in one of Jonathans pictures) The day before the show was to start Kurosawa completely blew up the circuit of one of the mono blocks and he and his trustee side kick stayed up all night to try to get the amps running for their first show. Now, I had paid for the shipping of the Amps, the Apogees and for myself and Japanese translator to stay and assist at this first show. (US) In the middle of the last day, some reviewer brought in their test disk which again completely blew out the circuit in the one of the mono blocks. The decision was made to pack up and I paid for the shipping of my now burned out amps back to NY with a promise that Kurosawa would fix the problem. (Remember I am now the proud owner of several hundred thousand dollars worth of this stuff)
Fast forward, Kurosawa now is showing great interest in a ribbon speaker being marketed in the US called Analysis Audio. I contact the distributer a wonderful guy named Mike (I’m sure many of you know him) and Mike audition the now so called repaired Technical Brain Amps. He thought they sounded terrific (which they could if they were ever working) and I offered to pay the shipping to send the AMPs to Germany for a big audio show where Analysis had a room. I couldn’t go but although Kurosawa paid for nothing and got to display his AMPs for free in the Analysis room, he went, and made a big push for his equipment. Luckily they got through the show without burning up my AMPs at the show. However, a dealer showed interest and Kurosawa without my consent lent my equipment to a German dealer. You can guess what happened, the amps burned out at the dealer’s showroom. Kurosawa snuck back to Germany without telling me to repair them so I would not know; but of course I found out. Also, prior to the AMP’S burning up in Germany, Kurosawa announced to me that I would no longer be the European distributer that he was giving those rights to his son in law. The dealer was so angry at Kurosawa that he fair to send me back the step up transformer for the phonostage and it took me 8 months to get it returned.
Now I have, 2 burned out sets of several hundred dollar AMPs and Kurosawa has a solution. Lower the safety protection cut off switch within the amps. At this point if anyone turns the amps up over half way and try’s to listen to rock or Miles high notes the amps just shut down. But this time, I am the laughing stock of all my audiophile friends. (They know this will not break me) Kurosawa’s my relationship is clearly very strained at this point but he promises me that they have a solution and he guarantees there will not be any more problems.
He asked could I please ship the amps to another Vegas show and arrange for speakers, phono etc etc. My now good friend Mike from Analysis agrees to split the room costs and provides everything (banners, plants, bass traps, furniture, everything!) except a CD player which Kurosawa brings. I did not hang around much because I had decided if one minor thing went wrong, I was going to demand my money back from Kurosawa and move on. By the morning of the second day of the show Mike informed if I did not get him away from Kurosawa he could not be responsible for Kurosawa safety. We got Mike another room at the show, I did leave the amps for Kurosawa to use and he found some type of speakers and played his CD player for the rest of the show in his lonely room.
The amps were shipped back and when they arrived the chezzey on/off switch had broken off and they could not turned on. Remember this was the set which supposed was fixed.
Back in Japan I demand Kurosawa refund all my money. He agree to half of what I had paid, then at the last minute reneged on that deal. He has never paid me back a cent.
I went to lawyers in Japan. I had no case (difficult for an American in Japan anyway). I have since sold off most the Japan equipment for 15 cent on the dollar (come to find out people over here don’t like him either) I have full sets off Technical Brain equipment which I would happy to sell at very very low prices (with no guarantee!) I hope this story helps someone else not make the same mistakes I have. Me, I laugh it off and continue search for the best sound, I’ll just be more careful of the audio charlatans from now on.
Mr. Crable,
Please contact me regarding the Technical Brain equipment you have to sell.
(972) 757-6887. silentsourceaudiocables [at] yahoo [dot] com
Regards,
Frank Dickens
Managing Director
Silent Source Audio Cables
Dear Mr Crable.
The greatest artists the world has ever seen are in Italy. Totally inconsistant and to us, irrational but when they occasionally hit Gold they produce magic. this is were you should look. Audio is not just science it is also art.
cheers
jazz.
Good Lord! This is a ghastly story.
I received the following comments from Naoto Kurosowa regarding Mr. Crable's recent post:
Please let me clarify. The failure did happen to Mr. Crable’s sets of monoblocks, which were the first versions of the TBP-Zero. This version didn't have overdrive protection, although the current model (TBP-Zero/ver.2) does.
As the sound of the amp remains clear and transparent even as the volume gets dangerously loud, a user set the volume extremely high and the amp was overloaded at the show in Las Vegas (2007). After this, I installed a specially developed overdrive protection circuit in the amp. Since then, there has been no trouble regarding overload. Indeed, no technical problems occurred at the Las Vegas show in the following year (2008).
For the first version of TBP-Zero, I decided not to use a protection circuit because I thought it might potentially affect the sound quality. I was confident about the decision, as indeed no trouble with overload has ever been reported by our Japanese users since the TBP-Zero was launched in 2004. However, I have since discovered that there are different practices among high-end audio users in different places. Fortunately we could develop a protection circuit that does not affect the sound quality of the amp. I am now fully aware that I do need to take measures to meet the situation in each country.
The reason for the failure in Germany (2007) was not overload but that a dealer used cables that were not well shielded. As TBP-Zero is a high-speed, high-power, and ultra-high-bandwidth amplifier, it is not compatible with ultra-high-capacitance cables or cables that are not well shielded. This is now clearly stated in the User's Manual.
Regarding the rest of Mr. Crable’s comments, I find it unproductive to respond to each one of them here, because there are always two sides to any story. However, let me mention a couple of things. According to Mr. Crable, "I shipped one set of my amps to the Vegas show along with buying him a pair of Apogee speakers (which you see in one of Jonathan's pictures)."
Mr. Crable refers to the 2007 show. His claim is incorrect. Technical Brain shipped the amp to the show at our expense and purchased the Apogee loudspeakers for the show (without financial assistance from Mr. Crable or any other third party) from an individual in Denver. I had them delivered directly to Las Vegas, and after the show I brought them to Japan (they are in Jonathan's photo) for my shop. I paid for the shipment of the Apogee to Las Vegas and to Japan. I kept the documents and receipts for the transactions.
Regarding the incident at the 2008 show, there are too many issues to discuss here, but I would like to point out simply that Technical Brain paid for the room. Again, I kept the document and receipt for the transaction. For the other issues Mr. Crable raised, what happened among him, Mike, and me was witnessed by many of T.H.E. Show staff and other exhibitors, some of whom I have been in touch with. They know the truth, of which I am not at all ashamed.
Over thirty years, Technical Brain has been dedicated to providing high-quality repair and tune-up, consulting services to audiophiles, audio importers, and dealers in Japan. As a result, we have developed a strong reputation and trust among them.
I wish to thank this blog as I was able to sell these boat anchors (so called amps) due to the exposure given in this forum.I would not sell these to just anybody but was able to locate an electrical engineer who purchased these with full disclosure and whom I hope is someone who might be able to benefit in some fashion from the cents on the dollar purchase he made from me. My nightmare is over. The financial and time loss I incurred by getting involved with this TB charlatan can never be recovered. I only hope that my report saves another audiophile who, if spending this kind of money for audio will avoid the trap I fell into. I don't know, but for 100+ grand, I think one should be able to turn on their equipment and have it function properly for many years with no problems at all. And, if by chance the equipment fails, the supplier would refund the buyers money. That is not what happened with TB and given the above response it's clear Kurosawa refuses to take any responsibility or behave in any honorable way. Any other puffery is just that. The proof is in a mans actions; period (clearly keeping my money was the more important agenda for TB) Buyers please beware!
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