The Soulnote Philosophy

 

... The intriguing quest for a different Holy Grail ...

 

by Hideki Kato

 

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In 2005, Nakazawa-san called me to join CSR, where I was in charge of Soulnote design. I was mainly responsible for the design of dc1.0, da1.0, sa1.0, sc1.0, SA710, SC710, and a few more ...

The turning point came eleven years later when I was appointed as Chief Engineer of Soulnote in 2016.

This was a uniquely motivating role where I was entrusted with everything from product planning, electrical design, structural design, sound quality management, and promotion ... all in one place. At that time, Nakazawa had only one thing to say to me :

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Make SOULNOTE the best audio brand in the world ... Well, "number one in the world" was Nakazawa's favorite phrase ... and while it may seem like a wild ambition, I had an idea on how to make it happen.

 

We would properly explain the reasons for the "discrepancy between specifications and sound quality," which is the biggest mystery in the audio world, achieve unprecedented sound quality using methods that other manufacturers would not (or could not) use, and present it to the world. If we could do that, I really thought we could turn the world's perception of value upside down. I understood the reason for the discrepancy between specs and sound quality, and that is the basis of SOULNOTE's current design philosophy.

 

And now I have the environment to make it happen.

All that remains is to do it.

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Initial considerations ....

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Discrepancy between specs and sound quality
 

The specifications (static specs) referred to here are so-called catalog specs such as distortion rate, frequency response, and signal-to-noise ratio. These are easily quantifiable performances, mainly using sine waves for measurement.

 

In the audio industry, everyone knows that sound quality cannot be judged by specifications (static specs) alone. Also, anyone who likes audio knows that sound changes depending on cables and racks. No matter how precisely they are measured, even though the specs make no difference!

This would seem odd to anyone but an audiophile. In this age of scientific universalism, it seems impossible that people can sense small differences that cannot be detected by precise measurement with high-end measuring instruments. Human hearing is not that good, and the frequency range is only 20 to 20 KHz at best. (But for sine waves! but)

 

Well, that is why, even though we knew that sound quality cannot be described by specs alone, I think there was still a part of us that could not go against the specs. In other words, the history of audio is such that no one could refute the opinion that "sound is a matter of taste, so you are free to choose, but there is no doubt that a sound with better specifications is a more correct sound.

For example, suppose you were developing a product, and by working on the circuitry, you improved the specs in some way. And suppose the sound has changed. In that case, most engineers would assume that the sound with the better specs is the "better sound. Furthermore, if a major manufacturer develops a new device and no matter how good the sound is, if the specs are inferior to the previous product, the bosses and sales people will usually not allow the release of the new product. This is especially true if the manufacturer explains the sound quality by the quality of the specs.

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Let me tell you an old story ...

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When I was a student, I loved music, but I had no money, so I built amplifiers and speakers as a hobby. At first I didn't have any proper measuring instruments, but that didn't matter because as long as I could enjoy listening to music, that's all that mattered. For me, it was a proud device that allowed me to enjoy listening to music. It sounded a whole lot better than my friend's high-end amplifier.

However, one day I acquired a measuring device. When I measured it, it was terrible. Then, I wanted to improve the measurement value as much as possible. And as a result of various improvements and better readings, I was very shocked. Listening to music with it is completely boring. Why is this? Since then, I have been thinking about this for 40 years. And then I arrived at a way of thinking.

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Imagine for a moment ...

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What if I could explain to you that specs don't mean much for sound quality? Furthermore, what if you could explain that improving the specifications may even degrade the sound quality? Don't you think it would be like a change in values?

I can explain this. It is not that difficult. It is all because of a certain curse.

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... read on : parts 3 to 12 of Hideki's approach ...

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