JAPAN: Opened in February 2026 on Cat Street in Tokyo’s Harajuku district, QUARO is a four-floor coffee concept built around the idea of filtration, with each level representing a different stage of the process. Alchemy offers private, tailored coffee courses and in-house roasting; Flow connects casual coffee and pastry service with the street; Resonance combines music and drinks; and Edition provides a platform for creative collaborations with artists and brands.

On the second floor, Resonance is where QUARO’s emphasis on atmosphere meets its most demanding audio brief. Designed by Hiroshima- and Tokyo-based SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE, the space combines light, shadow, material textures, subtle scents and sound to engage visitors beyond the visual. Vinyl-curated music accompanies the daytime coffee service before a DJ booth takes over after dark. The challenge was to support both experiences without allowing loudspeakers to intrude on the carefully considered interior.

For the audio installation, QUARO turned to Nippon Rediffusion, whose history traces back to its role as partner to Rediffusion Music, the world’s first background music service, launched in the UK in 1929. Its current work spans licensed background music and fully branded audiovisual installations. Nippon Rediffusion handled the project in partnership with L-Acoustics Certified Provider Bestec Audio.

“There were two important requirements in the brief for Resonance,” says Hiromu Itoh, Audio Systems Designer at Nippon Rediffusion. “We had to deliver a sound system that could cater to both a relaxed daytime coffee service and evening performances, and we had to keep it out of sight so it didn’t hinder the room’s sophisticated look.”

Meeting both requirements called for a system that could deliver meaningful output while remaining integrated into the architecture. L-Acoustics Soka inWall, a colinear source designed for recessing into standard wall construction, provided the solution, bringing line-source performance to a space where conventional, prominent loudspeakers would have compromised the design.

“Typically, music bars feature massive, prominent speakers, but that wasn’t an option here,” Itoh adds. “And if you want a wall-embedded speaker that rivals concert-grade setups in both power and sound quality, the L-Acoustics Soka inWall was truly the only option. I was so pleased to be given the opportunity to work with it here. I’d been waiting for this moment since seeing the Soka inWall at a trade show last year.”

Bestec Audio reports that Resonance is Japan’s first Soka inWall installation.

System placement was developed collaboratively by the audio and design teams. Kagetsu Sen, Spatial Designer at SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE, provided the architectural drawings to Itoh, who imported them into L-Acoustics Soundvision to evaluate potential positions against the room’s geometry. Coverage and sound levels were mapped across the counter, elevator entrance and window seating, allowing the teams to identify locations that met the acoustic requirements without compromising the interior.

The resulting system comprises two L-Acoustics Soka inWall enclosures: one recessed behind the staff counter and the other positioned by the elevator entrance. An SB10r inWall ultra-shallow, wall-recessed subwoofer sits below the second enclosure, extending low-frequency response to 25 Hz. The Soka inWall units operate full-range, with the SB10r adding low-frequency weight, particularly for evening DJ sets.

Soka inWall’s 140-degree horizontal directivity and 26-degree vertical directivity suit Resonance’s deep, narrow floor plan. The wide horizontal coverage helps the two positions serve the room’s full width, while the more controlled vertical dispersion directs energy towards guests rather than the ceiling and glass surfaces. The same configuration supports the transition from daytime background music to higher-energy evening performances.

“We’re thrilled with the result and truly blown away by the power of the Soka inWall,” says Itoh. “The interior of QUARO is sophisticated and refined, and adding high-fidelity sound transformed it into an inviting cafe and performance space.”

For QUARO, the system’s success is most apparent as the room changes character after sunset. “The second floor is designed for guests to linger and savour both coffee and music,” says QUARO Manager Ayato Sasaki. “And watching the atmosphere shift as the sun sets, delivered by a system nobody in the room can see, is exactly the sort of elegance we were looking for.”