Big speakers, trees, and French food

Corbett | April 6, 2004 2:43 PM

JP called and asked if Irene and we wanted to drive out in the mountains after a lunch at his place, to meet this interesting guy who builds enormous custom hi-end speakers. He's got this big space nestled up in the hills, with a beautiful little stream running by, and no neighbors you can see. Felt like being in Evergreen, Colorado again. It turns out that I've been listening to his speakers for 16 years, as they are built into most of the major recording studios here. Now he ships them to China and the US, since the Chinese don't want to buy Chinese made speakers, and the US wants a good price. It's kind of mind boggling being in a warehouse filled with double refrigerator sized speakers, in the middle of a forest, with giant concrete dinosaurs lurking around. Only in Taiwan do you run into these hidden unusual entreprenurial craftsmen. It's a family business. Dad overseeing design, son loading trucks, mom filling out orders, and daughter answering the phone. The dinosaurs just lurk.

Mr. Lin and I had a lot to chat about, and I learned some good inside scoop on Taiwan's PA industry, concert production, cone and woofer design, home theaters, surround sound, and OEM manufacturing of high end loudspeakers. Now I know brands like Meyer and JBL are all built here at this guys shop. Looks like I'll be putting some sub-woofers in at the Living Room soon. Cool.

Category: Mr. Asia