I N T E R V I E W

An Interview With the Man Behind the Sound
In order to learn as much as possible about the MSP10 STUDIO and its background, we talked directly to Akira Nakamura, head of the MSP10 STUDIO design team. Nakamura was also the brain behind the legendary NS10M and NS10M STUDIO. Here are some of his comments:
Interviewer: What were the first projects you were involved in at Yamaha? Nakamura: It was speakers right from the very beginning, but the first ones I worked on were for musical instruments Yamaha Electone organs, to be specific. We couldnt get the sound we wanted from speakers purchased from other manufacturers, so we started developing and manufacturing our own. Hi-fi speakers werent an issue back then? Not in the beginning. I joined the company and started working on musical instrument speakers in around 1965, but serious development of hi-fi speakers wasnt started until about 1970. What audio speakers did you work on prior to the NS10M? Most of them, but perhaps the most notable was the Yamaha NS1000M. I think we released it in around 1974. The NS1000M became one of the longest-selling hi-fi speakers, ever. As I remember, the NS10M was released several years later, in about 1978. Was the NS10M an instant success? In the home-use market, yes. It wasnt until several years later that studios began adopting the NS10M for near field monitoring. This was because it was originally developed for the home market, and was only sold through outlets targeted at the home market. But once the studio people caught on, we had to expand our retail routes to include the pro-audio market. Why did the NS10M become the industry standard for audio production? At the time, most studios were using small single-unit cube-shaped speakers for near-field monitoring actually they were probably used mostly to hear how projects might sound on a boom-box or car stereo. But the engineers were looking for a compact monitor with a bit more power and a wider frequency range, as well as something that more accurately represented the home audio sound of the time. The NS10M was perfect. It also had the midrange definition that the engineers needed for rock and pop production, and eventually became the engineers primary tool for sound creation and mixing, rather than simply a means to hear the results on a less-than-perfect system. It wasnt long before you could walk into just about any major studio and find a pair of NS10Ms sitting on the console meter bridge. This was an advantage for the engineers, because they were familiar with the NS10M sound and could expect the same quality in just about any studio, anywhere in the world. So Yamaha didnt start out to deliberately create a studio monitor speaker? Not really. We were only interested in achieving the cleanest, most natural reproduction possible. As it turned out, what we were trying to achieve was precisely what the audio production professionals were looking for. The white NS10M woofer cone was quite distinctive, is there a story behind the color? We were in the process of trying out different pulps and papers for use in speaker cones, but nothing gave us the sound we wanted. Looking for the cleanest, most impurity-free cone paper we could find, we eventually came across a type of especially pure pulp that a photographic-materials manufacturer was using. That was our answer. The NS10M STUDIO was introduced in 1987. What was the story behind that development? In addition to optimizing the design for horizontal placement, there was the tissue paper issue. There was a period in which the pro-audio magazines and papers were full of articles about how engineers were placing layers of tissue paper in front of the NS10M tweeters to give them the balance they needed. There were even arguments as to how many layers of tissue paper gave the best response, how far it should be placed in front of the tweeter, and so on. So we sat down with the speakers and a supply of tissue paper and began an extensive series of tests. The overall balance of the NS10M-plus-tissue idea was fine but, as you would expect, some of the high-frequency definition was lost. We figured out a way to deliver the required balance without losing detail, and that became the NS10M STUDIO. After selling more than 200,000 units, NS10M STUDIO was discontinued in 2001, causing great shock to the engineers and the industry. Why was it discontinued? The white cones. Due to a number of unavoidable reasons it has become impossible to continue manufacturing those cones. Without those cones there can be no NS10M. Fortunately, we were able to produce enough maintenance units to keep current users supplied for several years. Also, it was about the time that the NS10M STUDIO was being widely adopted that we began work on the MSP series speakers with the goal of providing powered convenience with superior frequency response and an extended low end. Now that the MSP10 STUDIO has been perfected, theres really no better choice.

Tell us something about the new MSP10 STUDIO: what were the main sonic goals behind its development? There are other popular powered monitor speakers on the market that have a nice comfortable sound, but we came to the conclusion that they werent really accurate enough for critical monitoring applications. We wanted to create a monitor that delivers the source without softening it in any way. Engineers need to hear frequency, they need to hear dynamics, imaging, separation there are so many parameters that must be kept under control. The MSP10 STUDIO was designed from the outset to allow the listener to hear every single aspect of the sound as clearly as possible so that he or she can make the most effective creative decisions and sonic adjustments. If a slight change is made to the EQ on one track, you need to hear it. If the reverb time of the ambience used on the vocal track is adjusted by a fraction of a second, you need to hear that, too. Once we knew what we wanted to achieve, we had to translate those concepts into actual design parameters and refinements drivers, amplifiers, crossover, enclosure, finish everything counts. The original MSP10 and the new MSP10 STUDIO look quite similar how can we tell them apart? Visually the only difference is in the location of the Yamaha logo (in the MSP10 STUDIO it is below the woofer), and the fact that the radius of the enclosure corners is a little sharper in the new version. The main differences, however, are internal. Its the difference between sound designed for listening and sound designed for monitoring, and that meant making significant refinements to the midrange performance and crossover parameters as well as parts and assembly precision.
How does the MSP10 STUDIO fit in with modern monitoring practices? These days many engineers monitor at low levels. Paradoxically, this allows them to hear detail that gets washed out at higher levels. When we tested other powered monitor systems we discovered that they tended to lose definition at such low levels, so we put a great deal of effort into ensuring that the MSP10 STUDIO stayed clean and precise right down to the lowest levels. How about surround monitoring? Of course, the MSP10 STUDIO is an ideal monitor for surround applications. The 120 dispersion of the tweeter waveguide makes it a perfect choice for surround setups plus the fact that is basically an excellent monitor speaker. Were there any major obstacles to achieving the desired performance? Many. But the areas that required the most time and energy were probably the actual manufacturing processes. In order to achieve the desired high quality consistently in all units, we had to dramatically increase the dimensional precision of all parts, as well as the assembly procedures used to put them together. What is different about the new advanced magnetic circuit? Speaker engineers who are serious about sound quality have known about the problems with magnetic shielding for quite some time. Magnetically-shielded speakers have a cancellation circuit, which is basically a reverse-polarity magnet attached to the back of the speakers normal magnetic circuit. Conventional cancellation circuits consist only of a magnet and outer yoke a configuration which results in a random flux pattern when magnetized. This disturbs the magnetic field of the main magnet and has a deleterious effect on the sound. With the new advanced magnetic circuit, an extremely consistent flux pattern is produced in the shield magnet by placing it between inner and outer yokes at the magnetizing stage. The result is significantly improved sound quality.

Why is the MSP10 STUDIO so heavy? (The MSP10 STUDIO weighs 20 kg, compared to about 12 kg for the leading competitor.) Well, being heavier is not something we can really brag about, but in the process of optimizing overall performance we simply ended up with a heavier enclosure, heavier woofer, and heavier transformers in the amplifiers. We werent prepared to compromise performance for reduced weight. How large a factor is the reduced radius of the MSP10 STUDIO enclosure corners? The change is subtle, but it does make a significant difference to the sound. By simply changing the corner radius by a few millimeters we achieved noticeable better definition and imaging. This might be partly related to external diffraction, but it is more likely to be a result of the change in the structure and solidity of the corner joints that affects the overall performance of the enclosure. And what about the 9-process, 5-layer finish? Is it really that important? Very important. Whats on the surface of the enclosure has a significant effect on the way it responds. The right finish can effectively control unwanted resonance in the wood. The benefits of this are most noticeable in delicate decays and reverb tails in the MSP10 STUDIO they fade out most naturally, without a trace of coloration. The finish were using is very similar to the finish used on pianos. Theres no way to completely eliminate enclosure resonance, but weve succeeded in making it as transparent and musical as possible.

Interview

Chief Engineer Speaker Development

Akira Nakamura

History of the Yamaha Group
1887 Torakusu Yamaha began his business by repairing a broken reed organ Foundation of the Company 1889 Established partnership firm Yamaha Organ Works 1890 Headquarter Factory established 1897 Nippon Gakki Co., Ltd. incorporated
1908 Dalian Branch established in China 1909 Tokyo Branch established
1960 Subsidiary established in the U.S. 1965 Kakegawa Factory established 1966 Iwata Factory established 1966 Established Yamaha Music Foundation 1966 Subsidiary established in Germany 1968 Issued shares at market price (The first such issuance in Japan) 1969 Began musical instrument manufacturing in Taiwan (~2009)
1953 Opened Yamaha Hall 1955 Established Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Split off the motorcycle division) 1958 First overseas subsidiary established in Mexico

Pianos

1887 Organs Woodworking skills Wood processing Coating
1900 Upright pianos 1902 Grand pianos Artificial seasoning of wood 1914 Harmonicas 1941 Acoustic guitars
1947 Began manufacturing piano frames Metal molding
1967 CF series concert grand pianos
Wind instruments and educational musical instruments
Coating/Chemical technology
1965 Trumpets Brass processing 1966 Electric guitars

String instruments

Wood processing Coating
Percussion instruments 1959 D-1 Electone electronic organ Sound synthesis technology Digital musical instruments Analog modeling
1966 Drums Air-seal system
1969 VA-120 vocal amplifier system PA equipment
Wood processing Coating AV products 1922 High-quality hand-cranked phonographs Acoustic technology
1954 HiFi products HiFi Audio Speaker Technology 1967 NS speaker Divided diaphragm flat-panel speaker
Semiconductors Integrated circuit technology IT equipment
Music entertainment business and others
1921 Import and sales of overseas-made musical instruments and music scores

Others

1961 Iron-aluminum alloy/copper-titanium alloy 1962 Iron-nickel alloy (permalloy) (~2007) Permalloys 1954 Began Yamaha Music School activities Music Music schools 1965 Opened the first overseas Yamaha Music School in the U.S. 1967 First Light Music Contest held in Japan (~1971) 1969 First Composition Contest held (Later renamed the Popular Song Contest) (~1986) Musical events

School, events

1903 Fine wooden furniture Lifestyle-related products Wood processing Coating
1964 FRP bathtubs FRP molding
1959 FRP archery products (~2002) Sports equipment FRP (Fiber Reinforced Plastics) molding
1961 FRP skis (~1997) FRP molding
1964 Toba Hotel International opened (Business transferred in 2007) 1967 Nemunosato opened (Business transferred in 2007) Resorts Musical events and leisure Wood processing Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. 1921 Wooden aircraft propellers 1931 Metallic aircraft propellers Metal technology Metal processing 1954 Motorcycle prototype developed (Later spun off from the Company as Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.) Mechatronics technology Engines 1960 FRP powerboats FRP molding

76 Yamaha Corporation

1970 Acquired Nippon Wind Instrument Co., Ltd. (Now the Saitama Factory) 1970 Toyooka Factory established 1974 Began musical instrument manufacturing in the U.S. (~2007) 1976 Kagoshima Factory established 1977 Began musical instruments manufacturing in Indonesia
1980 Established Piano Technical Academy, a piano tuner training school
2002 Holding company established in China 2002 European holding company established 2003 Began AV products manufacturing in China 2005 Acquired Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH 2007 Acquired Fuji Sound Co., Ltd. 2007 Established Yamaha Music Entertainment Holdings, Inc. 2008 Acquired L. Besendorfer Klavierfabrik GmbH 2008 Acquired NEXO S.A.
1990 Began musical instruments manufacturing in China 1992 Began AV products manufacturing in Malaysia 1999 Began AV products manufacturing in Indonesia
1987 The Company name was changed to Yamaha Corporation
1982 Disklavier player piano Digital + acoustic technologies 1973 Pianica 1983 Electric acoustic guitars Player piano technology
1991 CFIIIS concert grand piano 1993 SILENT Piano Silencing technology 1995 SILENT BRASS system (pickup mute) 1997 SILENT Violin 2000 Braviol acoustic violin 2001 SILENT Guitar 2008 L36ARE and L26ARE acoustic guitars Wood reforming technology
2010 CFX concert grand piano
1986 PMC1 electronic drum 1974 CSY-1 synthesizer 1975 GX-1 Electone electronic organ Polyphonic synthesis 1980 Portable keyboards 1983 DX7 digital synthesizer FM synthesis 1983 Clavinova digital piano 1987 WX7 wind MIDI controller
1996 SILENT Session Drum PCM synthesis 1993 VL series virtual acoustic synthesizers Physical modeling synthesis 2001 MOTIF music production synthesizer 2002 EZ-EG EZ guitar (self-teaching guitar) ar) 2004 STAGEA Electone electronic organ 2006 H01 MODUS digital piano ent 2008 TENORI-ON digital musical instrument 2009 AvantGrand hybrid piano Hybrid piano technology

1974 PM-1000 mixing console Analog mixers 1985 SPX90 digital multi effects processor Digital effect 1974 B-1 power amplifier Power-FET 1974 NS-1000M speaker with a beryllium diaphragm Speaker with a beryllium diaphragm 1982 CD-1 CD player 1986 DSP-1 digital sound field processor DSP 1988 AST-1 speaker incorporated Yamaha Active Servo Technology (YST) YST 1972 Sound generator LSIs for the Electone electronic organ LSI for musical instruments 1983 FM synthesizer LSIs 1983 Graphics controller LSIs LSI for PC/video games 1983 MSX personal computers Information processing technology Architectural acoustics 1974 Computer-generated architectural acoustic simulation 1986 SRS (Sound Room System) music room for home use 1989 Avitecs soundproof room Soundproof room Robots 1984 Industrial robots 1989 Automobile interior wood components Automobile interior wood components 1972 Sponsored the first Junior Original Concert (JOC) 1986 Began Popular Music School 1987 Began English-language school English-language schools 1987 First Teens Music Festival (~2006) Musical events Computers
1994 ProMix 01 digital mixing console Digital mixers
n 2000 AW4416 digital audio workstation Audio workstations 2001 PM1D digital audio mixing system 2008 POCKETRAK CX pocket recorder
1995 Theater sound system Theater surround
2004 YSP-1 Digital Sound Projector Sound beam control speaker aker 2006 SR-Bass Speaker NX-A01 A01 SR-Bass
1999 Sound generator LSIs for mobile phones LSIs for mobile phones
2002 LSIs for digital amplifiers LSIs for digital amplifiers
1993 CD recorders (~2003) 1995 Remote routers 2006 IP conferencing systems 1993 Online karaoke equipment Routers Teleconference Online karaoke equipment Online services 2000 Mobile phone ringtone distribution service 2000 Digital music sheet distribution service 2003 VOCALOID singing synthesis software DTM 2009 BODiBEAT interactive music player Thin film deposition 1991 Thin-film magnetic heads (~2000) 1997 Magnesium cases (~2010) Magnesium molding Musical instrument rental service 2003 Musical instrument rental service 2005 Opened Yamaha Music School in China 2006 Started music lessons online service Online lessons 2007 First Music Revolution contest held Musical events 2010 Sound modulation panels

1975 Unit furniture (~2005) 1976 System kitchens (Business transferred in 2010) 1977 New marble artificial marble countertops Artificial marble
1982 System bathrooms (Business transferred in 2010)
2002 System kitchens with artificial marble sinks (Business transferred in 2010) Marble sinks Titanium casting
1973 Tennis rackets (~1997)
1982 Golf clubs 1986 Acuras series carbon composite golf club Carbon composite 1991 Kiroro opened (Business transferred in 2007)

2002 inpres golf clubs

1974 Tsumagoi opened 1976 Katsuragi Golf Club opened 1978 Katsuragi Kitanomaru opened 1979 Haimurubushi opened (Business transferred in 2007) Musical events and leisure 1974 FRP pools FRP molding
1994 PAS electrically power assisted bicycle
2002 Electric commuter motorcycle

Annual Report 2010 77