Post by sandawa on Mar 6, 2006 9:16:49 GMT 7
this past month, i received three emails inquiring about the quality of some Diatone speaker models, including one from a member of Audio Karma (Chinese, or Vietnamese?). i thought, why not open a dedicated thread on this brand to make it easier for hifi researchers.
Diatone (Mitsubishi) is the most popular speaker brand in Japan and i remember my Dad in the '60s looking for a pair of 16-ohm Diatone full-range speakers for his tube gear. during those times tube gears would burn when driving speakers below 8 ohms. nowadays, Diatones were hardly sold outside Japan despite its good quality reputation probably because of its products comparative heft' (cost/price penalty in freight) and the company's refusal to sacrifice quality (unlike in the case of Jap electronics by many makers sold outside Japan.)
luckily we have Diatones now in the Philippines from surplus sources. and they're even sold at prices lower than Japan Yahoo auction indicative figures. i got 4 pairs now from zero two years ago. my prized possession is DS-a7 the cheapest in a premium series released in 1990s that Japanese audio websites compared favorably with British made models popular among local buyers such as LS 3/5a, Concertino and BW's middle 600 series.
anyway, here are photos of my Diatones:
1.) DS-a7 - the bookshelf speakers that got me interested in Japanese brands, from strictly owning only British and US made. this model (2-way 6-inch woofer) was sold at roughly 90,000 yen in mid '90s and a used pair still sells at 45,000 yen in Japan.
2.) DS-66Z - a middle level speaker made in late '80s. 3-way 10-inch woofer, build quality is very good, sold at 92,000 yen in late '80s, used pair now selling at roughly 15,000 yen.
3.) DS-73DII - an upper middle model in mid '80s. 3-way 12-inch woofer. a small floorstander, also good build quality. sold at 120,000 yen in mid '80s and used unit currently selling at 17,000 yen pwer pair.
4.) DS-300V - made for AV use, good in mid frequency repsonse and could pull out surprises when playing classical piano and chamber music. not too good on bass, however, probably made for a subwoofer partner. sold at 55,000 yen in early '90s, now selling at about 15,000 yen used.
Diatone (Mitsubishi) is the most popular speaker brand in Japan and i remember my Dad in the '60s looking for a pair of 16-ohm Diatone full-range speakers for his tube gear. during those times tube gears would burn when driving speakers below 8 ohms. nowadays, Diatones were hardly sold outside Japan despite its good quality reputation probably because of its products comparative heft' (cost/price penalty in freight) and the company's refusal to sacrifice quality (unlike in the case of Jap electronics by many makers sold outside Japan.)
luckily we have Diatones now in the Philippines from surplus sources. and they're even sold at prices lower than Japan Yahoo auction indicative figures. i got 4 pairs now from zero two years ago. my prized possession is DS-a7 the cheapest in a premium series released in 1990s that Japanese audio websites compared favorably with British made models popular among local buyers such as LS 3/5a, Concertino and BW's middle 600 series.
anyway, here are photos of my Diatones:
1.) DS-a7 - the bookshelf speakers that got me interested in Japanese brands, from strictly owning only British and US made. this model (2-way 6-inch woofer) was sold at roughly 90,000 yen in mid '90s and a used pair still sells at 45,000 yen in Japan.
2.) DS-66Z - a middle level speaker made in late '80s. 3-way 10-inch woofer, build quality is very good, sold at 92,000 yen in late '80s, used pair now selling at roughly 15,000 yen.
3.) DS-73DII - an upper middle model in mid '80s. 3-way 12-inch woofer. a small floorstander, also good build quality. sold at 120,000 yen in mid '80s and used unit currently selling at 17,000 yen pwer pair.
4.) DS-300V - made for AV use, good in mid frequency repsonse and could pull out surprises when playing classical piano and chamber music. not too good on bass, however, probably made for a subwoofer partner. sold at 55,000 yen in early '90s, now selling at about 15,000 yen used.
