From Dried Squid To Wood Speakers
JVC has announced plans to offer a desktop audio system, the EX-A1, that includes speakers made from sheets of birch, a material with superior acoustic characteristics. This solution eluded designers for 20 years because wood sheets crack, split or break when stamped. The solution turned out to be Sake - Japanese rice wine.
When soaked in sake, the wood sheet becomes soft and flexible enough not to break or crack, even when stamped. This combined with JVC's extensive experience in elaborate stamping processes led to the successful development of the wood cone speaker.
A JVC audio engineer in Japan hit upon the sake solution while enjoying dried squid at a restaurant. He asked if anything special was done to make the dried squid so chewy. It was soaked in sake, he was told. Inspired, the JVC team tried the same technique with the wood sheets. After some experiementation, JVC selected birch from many different woods for its beautiful grain and firm fiber, which also provide optimum acoustic characteristics and high durability to the diaphragm.
