"I look at a speaker in its totality. I have friends who inspect the frequency characteristics of a driver to decide on its relative merit. I find that flawed. Certain frequency response anomalies can easily be flattened by competent cabinet design. It's tricky and time consuming but very rewarding. Conceptually, this approach is a steep departure from the traditional 'if there is a problem, dampen it - if it doesn't work, add more filtering'.

Of course, metal cone drivers exhibit their own problems related to easy handling damage and an audible sonic signature. Care is required to properly integrate them. Fortunately, I encountered no dead ends in my quest. I knew what I wanted and how to go about it. That doesn't mean that the Essence started out perfect. I hated the first prototype. Still, between the shouting voices and screaming highs, I recognized a little something that could lead somewhere. We've progressed quite nicely from that moment. The Essence received its name only after it became a finished product."

Remembering former boss Pat McGinty's insistence on exacting precision for his internal transmission lines, I queried Sead about the extensive hand labour of his speaker.

"The Konus Essence is a completely hand-built product. It's very labour-intensive and employs old-fashioned woodworking techniques. Even the veneers are selected primarily for sonics and only secondarily for aesthetics.


The whole approach is quite unconventional and based on extensive experiments that combine common sense and a departure from accepted theory. We use minimal damping, maximum cabinet reinforcement and various treatments with our materials. We have tried to combine old instrument-making methods with traditional furniture-making skills. The penalty now is our inability to produce anything but very small monthly quantities.

"How did you and 47Labs get together?"

"At the time I hooked up with 47Labs, it all seemed completely nuts. I couldn't explain why I was hell-bent on quitting my nice day job to get into this audio business. It even seemed weird that one upscale Japanese brand should select me, a guy from Bosnia, to become its European distributor. Now this puzzle is fitting quite nicely into a cogent bigger picture. And that's despite the fact that European distribution for 47Labs is headquartered out of Bosnia, which apparently goes against any industry business model known to man. (But then Sead quipped that with the present decline of said industry, what really was it about the functionality of those usual models?).

The most fascinating moment of my entire audiophile career coincided with the first meeting of Junji Kimura and Koji Teramura. We came from different cultures, from different parts of the world, and with different mentalities. Yet we quickly realized that we viewed things exactly the same in audio. We share the same ideas and thoughts. We even have a rather similar sense of humour. We were quite fascinated by all this.


You see, Junji Kimura is a true genius. I am not. His work affects mine tremendously. And so does Ted Jordan. Of course I carry my own strong personality, and sometimes we disagree. But the end results are always in service to mutual satisfaction. If there were no Ted, Junji and Koji, the Konus Essence as such would not exist. Perhaps there would be some loudspeaker, but it certainly wouldn't be the Essence.


Take a look at the binding posts. Compare them to the Gaincard's. We initially thought of using the original Gaincard terminals. To improve the look, I had them redesigned. Still, the basic idea and principles are the same.

I want my work to reflect the artisan nature of what I do. I am greatly influenced by Far-Eastern culture despite not having been able to visit yet. I tend to look at things through somewhat different eyes than the traditional 'Western' perspective. I don't like to talk about it much. People will either recognize and feel it in our work or not."

I then questioned Sead about the Fatima-like appearances of the Holy Virgin in Medjugorgie. He knew of the place but didn't have personal experiences. But it did prompt a powerful response to suitably close out this interview.

"What I appreciate most about genuinely religious people is their commitment. For me, music is my religion."

Suffering a particular Eastern bent myself, I now felt strangely content. Via modern technology, I had reached across geographic and cultural divides deep into Sarajevo, Bosnia. I had made contact with a kindred music lover and audiophile who is haunted by the same unexplainable passion. In my case, it spills out as writing. In Sead's, making speakers. Who knows how in yours?


One thing's for sure though. If you love music this intensely, nothing that's been said above matters the least bit. You're already home.