MICHIKO OGAWA
When she’s not helping Itani and the other team members with the audio tuning of Technics products, Michiko ‘Riko’ Ogawa is busy with her main job of being the Director of the ‘Technics Project’ for Panasonic Corporation, while in her spare time she’s a well-known Japanese jazz pianist who has so far released 14 albums.
The daughter of a jazz musician, Ogawa started playing the piano at the age of three and after completing her musical training, went on to become a jazz performer. She established a professional jazz trio while she was studying electrical engineering at the Science and Technology Department at Keio University, Japan, from which she graduated in 1986.
Ogawa started work at Matsushita Electric Industrial Company (which has since re-branded as Panasonic) immediately after graduation, where she was instrumental in developing the world’s first ultra-slim, largediaphragm speaker, the Technics SB-AFP1000.
She was also instrumental in the development of the Technics SST-1 back-loaded horn loudspeakers, which are now part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The Committee is made up of Technics CEO, Michiko Ogawa (see break-out box), and myself as well as other two other members of our team in Japan. We also have another committee from Europe to check the sound quality before mass production begins.
KB: You’ve spent your career developing disc-based technologies — CD, DVD, Blu-ray — what’s your view on streaming technology as far as performance capability is concerned?
TI: Streaming will be the major sound source in the long term. It is very easy to use, and will continue to get better. But I also think people want the pride and joy of owning their music. Therefore I think streaming and vinyl will co-exist.
KB: Measurement or listening? Which takes priority?
TI: Both are important. At the early stages of product development measurement takes priority. After getting to a certain level of technical performance we tweak the sound by listening. In general such tuning doesn’t degrade the spec.
KB: What is your overall favourite of all the Technics products?
TI: The new SL-1000R turntable. Its new direct drive system produces sound quality that I think nobody else has achieved. This quality is possible because of the high precision of rotation and because we minimized resonances in every part of the player.
KB: What are your three favourite pieces of music?
TI: It’s hard to choose just three! I like classical music by Beethoven, Mahler, Brahms, and Bruckner, but I also like rock music by the Beatles and Led Zeppelin plus I also I like The Carpenters and many Japanese artists.
KB: What is the future of hi-fi?
TI: I think it will go in two directions. For hi-fi enthusiasts, I think things will remain much as they are, because they enjoy tweaking the sound quality of their system as well as listening to music, and in this market physical media like vinyl will remain. In the mass market I think products will become even smaller and less visible, and more will be hidden in walls and ceilings. In this market, streaming services will dominate.