Extra-large speaker and "Chigusa by the Sea"

Immerse yourself in jazz tonight
File.4 Speakers manufactured by Electric Research Products
Mayuko Niimura (Jazz Cafe Chigusa)

Chigusa is equipped with specially made speakers designed in the 1970s. Tweeters and amplifiers were also made to match, so many audiophiles come from far away just to listen to the " Chigusa sound." The 4-way multi-amp system, which can be said to be the ideal for audio, is characterized by its ability to reproduce record sound with a richness and depth comparable to that of a vacuum tube amplifier.
However, this method requires patience and considerable system knowledge to master. Since the restart of Chigusa , there have been several instances of "muffled sound" issues, which was very worrying. I tried to calm him down by pestering him, but in 2016 I finally decided to undergo major surgery. Since then, I have been able to provide " Chigusa Sound" stably.

Many of Chigusa 's regulars are sound engineers for major media companies or have worked for audio equipment manufacturers for many years. When listening to their stories, it often seems as if their entire homes are filled with sound equipment, and it's easy to imagine that they have quite a large collection of records.

In recent years, the topic of conversation has been where to put these "treasures" such as records and audio equipment. Many of the residents are elderly, and in recent years, there has been an increase in inquiries from people saying, "I want to organize my collection, so can Chigusa take it?"
What caught our eye was the extra-large speaker, 160cm square, which was bigger than the Chigusa speaker. There were limitations in the 33m2 store in Noge, so we were racking our brains trying to think of a way to make it work, when by chance we heard about a way to use a certain space.

The location is a 30-year-old log cabin near Kannonzaki, about a 20-minute bus ride from Keikyu Railway's Miura Kaigan Station. The property is owned by someone connected to Chigusa and hadn't been used for a long time, but when they mentioned the extra-large speakers, they said, "Well, let's just move it to the log cabin!" and things progressed smoothly. Furthermore, it seemed a waste to just use it as a warehouse, so the "Chigusa by the Sea" plan was born. The idea was to turn the log cabin into a jazz cafe.

The extra-large speakers tucked into the log cabin are American-made. They were made by Electric Research Products, a company founded in 1928 to deal with talkie equipment for studios and theaters. They were the predecessor to Altec. As befits their name, wide-band loudspeakers maintain clear sound even at movie theater-level volumes, and were even used for military broadcasting.
Although the device I received is for home use, it is still quite large. It also has a horn. A horn is a device that concentrates sound energy and delivers sound to listeners farther away more efficiently. There are no houses nearby, and the sea is just a 30-second walk away. This is an environment where no one will complain no matter how loud the volume is.

I can't wait to try it out. I wonder what a radish grown up listening to jazz blasting from a horn would taste like...?

Noge Chigusa speakers and Umibe Chigusa speakers. A new jazz story is about to begin in Miura, taking over these two pieces of audio equipment, which were created by bringing together the feelings of many people for Chigusa and the wisdom of sound.
When "Umibe no Chigusa" opens, it will be interesting to bring along some regular customers of Chigusa to listen and compare the sound. You can see the heated discussions about sound quality.
I hope that many people will come and listen, and that it will become one of the highlights of cultural tourism in Miura.