Origins
The foundations of Treehaus Audiolab rest in a few friends that took up an obsessive global quest in the search of “best sound.” Mainstream audio equipment, while the performance is impressive, often left us without much of an emotive experience during listening. There was a want for more, and turning up the volume was not the solution. Simply eating more does not mean you are better nourished.
The search led us deep into some esoteric points in time in the development and refinement of sound reproduction. In Germany, the 1930s and 1940s brough us the work of Telefunken, Siemens and Klangfilm. The 1950s in the United States was the era of Western Electric. Lesser known, in the 1980s and 1990s, while most of the world had moved on from the magic of vacuum tubes for the simplicity and economy of transistors, a dedicated group of enthusiasts in Japan kept the glass warm and refined the art of tube amplification (and from which the term “Audio Mania” derives). After years of research, buying a variety of equipment from these places and time periods, the path to best sound would be to unify the elements of the audio moments in a modern execution. Treehaus Audiolab products are the fruit of this obsession.
All Treehaus Audiolab products are designed and built in the United States, with the best components from around the globe.
Philosophy
The design ethos embodied in Treehaus Audiolab products is to produce great, realistic sound that can provide deep emotive experience for those listening. There is no particular focus on numbers or specifications. That is not an excuse or engineering crutch; it is simply the result of hearing too many systems that excel in benchmarks, and yet the sound ends up being a bit soulless.
To achieve great sound, in Treehaus Audiolab speakers natural materials are used when possible, and celebrate the imperfection. Wabi-Sabi is strongly embraced. The live edge plinths not only adds visual appeal and a bit of sculpture, but functions to randomly diffract sound waves off the edge of the baffle. The full range driver cones, being handmade from Hanji paper and skived deerskin leather, are not "perfect." There is no carbon fiber, Kevlar, or diamond here. If one thinks about great sound sources.. vocal cords, string instruments, pianos, etc, they are not "perfect" designs made to scientific tolerances in a JPL lab.
The electronics, built around vacuum tubes and transformers, follow a similar path. Single-ended triodes, such as the 300B and 801A, create harmonic distortions that are pleasing to the ear and produce a more natural sounding amplification of the signal. By coupling these tubes via transformers rather than capacitors, a synergy is produced that further enhances the effect. The focus is on the listener, not the analysis software.
It is essential each Treehaus Audiolab product has solid industrial design, so they can be featured in the living room and not only hidden away in listening spaces. The work of George Nakashima, Isamu Noguchi, and the Eames have provided deep inspiration. Each speaker plinth is hand sculpted to enhance its natural beauty, while ensuring consistent sound. Thus, they become functional sculpture in the home. The electronics pay close attention of proportion, scale, and materials. They showcase the unique magic captured in the glass of the vacuum tubes through which the music moves.
The Treehaus Audiolab gear voiced and tested with regular music. Audiophile "cheater" tracks are avoided. Given their design, they also of course do the things well you would expect them to: Jazz, female vocals, etc. The goal in R&D with music testing is to find the things they should not do well and make them perform it effortlessly. Despite the low wattage SET amplification and full range drivers they need to play Nine Inch Nails, and be able to execute any Radiohead/ Thom Yorke track like a star athlete. The system does not color the sound, it presents it in the time and place in which it was produced.
Ecology
Treehaus Audiolab firmly believes one of the best ways to minimize environmental impact is to create products that can last a lifetime. There is no planned obsolescence here. Our speakers are made from natural materials as much as possible. The live edge slabs come from trees that were felled for other reasons; they are not harvested for their slabs. The coatings and finishes utilized are low VOC, and can be repaired and refinished if damage occurs. The electronics are designed for long life, with an emphasis on passive cooling to minimize the risk of failure. In the unlikely event a component does fail, they are designed and engineered to be repairable.