Is there a ‚country sound signature‘ ?

[Baba Yaga]

Sometimes it is claimed that most/all british speakers (or systems in general) had a specific ‚sound signature‘ (e.g. too much upper bass and poor deep bass or whatever) and that US speakers (systems) were tuned in a way to sound good with their typical thin walls and hence would not perform well in Europe etc. etc.

is this a myth or is there some truth in it? What do you think?

 

[StingRay]

Room size is also an issue , US rooms tend to be larger than in UK.

I think they are voiced differently as well although British speakers do seem quite popular over there.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

What about this US speaker Klipsch and meany other big speakers that the US makes

 

[hiesteem]

Yes, I think there is something in the sound characteristics from differing countries. Thinking of amplifiers. German amps can be over stated in their presentation, which I prefer.
British amplifiers can be quick and detailed, perhaps slightly darker tonally.
Japanese amplifiers can have some of the more obvious sound characteristics.
British speakers are some of the most well made in my opinion and loved in Asia, and there has to be a reason for that. Especially the Bbc designs, Tannoy as well.
Of course all this could just be my imagination

 

[Hornucopia]

Steel guitar? Oh, THAT kind of country.....(-{

 

[DUVET]

Steel guitar? Oh, THAT kind of country.....(-{

That's how I read it at first

 

[Blzebub]

Compare Linn Isobariks with Quad 57s, or B&Ws with ATCs, and you'll realise there is no such thing as a "British sound". So it's a myth.

 

[lazycat]

Compare Linn Isobariks with Quad 57s, or B&Ws with ATCs, and you'll realise there is no such thing as a "British sound". So it's a myth.

Well said.

Plenty of British speakers I couldn't get on with, usually the BBC type. Which, in fairness, aren't made to reproduce my type of music. IMO.

 

[bobovox]

Compare Linn Isobariks with Quad 57s, or B&Ws with ATCs, and you'll realise there is no such thing as a "British sound". So it's a myth.

Likewise, Revels will sound rather different to Klipsch etc - so I’m not sure there is an “American Sound” either.

Perhaps there may be differences in system building habits, depending on typical room size and house construction. I note that subwoofers tend to be used more in stereo set-ups in the US more than here - yes I know some people do in the UK but it is less popular, at least among audio forum users. Admittedly this is not a very representative sample.

 

[Nativebon]

No

 

[garn63]

Netherlands hifi equipment usually provides a flat frequency response.

 

[audio_PHIL_e]

iirc it used to be said that there wasn't much bass in Japanese spealers. I have no idea whether that is true, as I've only owned British speakers with the exception of a small set of Sony bookshelf jobs.

 

[Lawrence001]

I

Compare Linn Isobariks with Quad 57s, or B&Ws with ATCs, and you'll realise there is no such thing as a "British sound". So it's a myth.

I think there probably was a British sound before the flat earth brigade came along. Brands like Kef, Harbeth and Spendor maintained the sound for a while longer.

In the states there was also a classic "West Coast" (JBL) and "East Coast" (Acoustic Research?) sound. Again that may have been more of a pre 80s thing.

 

[THOMO]

I have a pair of American Vandersteen speakers here at the moment.They sound more like BBC derived speakers to me.
And some of the Mission speakers sounded more like some of the brash and coarse sounding West Coast speakers.Terrible sounding things actually.

 

[Klassik]

In the states there was also a classic "West Coast" (JBL) and "East Coast" (Acoustic Research?) sound. Again that may have been more of a pre 80s thing.

Most of the 'east coast sound' speakers were designed by, or came from companies affiliated with, Henry Kloss. Kloss died ~20 years ago and the whole 'east/west coast sound' thing generally died in the 1980s. There has been a recent 'reboot' of KLH speakers, but Klassik knows not how they sound.

Likewise, Revels will sound rather different to Klipsch etc - so I’m not sure there is an “American Sound” either.

Perhaps there may be differences in system building habits, depending on typical room size and house construction. I note that subwoofers tend to be used more in stereo set-ups in the US more than here - yes I know some people do in the UK but it is less popular, at least among audio forum users. Admittedly this is not a very representative sample.

Klassik knows not how popular American speakers are in the UK. Based on what Klassik sees here, it seems most here are not using American speakers outside of Klipsch and maybe the odd reference to Magnepan speakers every now and then. Both of those have rather unique qualities even compared to other American speakers so one should not assume too much from those. Comparatively, if one goes to a US Hi-Fi forum, one will see many people using KEF, Monitor Audio, B&W, Wharfedale, and so forth speakers. For whatever reason, bread & butter US speaker companies such as JBL/Revel, SVS, Polk, Ascend Acoustics, and so forth are not even on the radar here it seems. Perhaps ASR is behind the Harman aversion here. Some of the popular US speaker brands here now, like Ascend Acoustics, use a direct-to-consumer model and so perhaps this explains the lack of popularity globally since they don't have much of a dealer network.

Anyway, it seems to ole' Klassik that US Hi-Fi enthusiasts give more consideration to suitability for A/V applications rather than just for 2-channel music. People here might look down on such things, but keep in mind many of the Americans wanting speakers for A/V purposes are the ones buying KEF, B&W, and so forth.

 

[Lawrence001]

Most of the 'east coast sound' speakers were designed by, or came from companies affiliated with, Henry Kloss. Kloss died ~20 years ago and the whole 'east/west coast sound' thing generally died in the 1980s. There has been a recent 'reboot' of KLH speakers, but Klassik knows not how they sound.


Klassik knows not how popular American speakers are in the UK. Based on what Klassik sees here, it seems most here are not using American speakers outside of Klipsch and maybe the odd reference to Magnepan speakers every now and then. Both of those have rather unique qualities even compared to other American speakers so one should not assume too much from those. Comparatively, if one goes to a US Hi-Fi forum, one will see many people using KEF, Monitor Audio, B&W, Wharfedale, and so forth speakers. For whatever reason, bread & butter US speaker companies such as JBL/Revel, SVS, Polk, Ascend Acoustics, and so forth are not even on the radar here it seems. Perhaps ASR is behind the Harman aversion here. Some of the popular US speaker brands here now, like Ascend Acoustics, use a direct-to-consumer model and so perhaps this explains the lack of popularity globally since they don't have much of a dealer network.

Anyway, it seems to ole' Klassik that US Hi-Fi enthusiasts give more consideration to suitability for A/V applications rather than just for 2-channel music. People here might look down on such things, but keep in mind many of the Americans wanting speakers for A/V purposes are the ones buying KEF, B&W, and so forth.

Many years ago I had an ESS 500M amplifier. It must have been very rare in the UK as I've never seen another. I spent years trying to find a pair of their speakers with the Heil AMT tweeter to match it but never found a pair. I guess you will have heard them if not owned a pair. If so, how were they?

 

[pmcuk]

Scandinavian speakers are dark in winter and bright in summer......

 

[garn63]

Alot of Swiss hifi has high sound quality, high price..and high spec too.
* A very "high" quality Classical Radio station.

 

[rabski]

What about this US speaker Klipsch and meany other big speakers that the US makes

Perfect for that room. No wallpaper for the treble to strip off.

 

[Klassik]

Many years ago I had an ESS 500M amplifier. It must have been very rare in the UK as I've never seen another. I spent years trying to find a pair of their speakers with the Heil AMT tweeter to match it but never found a pair. I guess you will have heard them if not owned a pair. If so, how were they?

Klassik is familiar with ESS gear, but Klassik knows not if Klassik has heard that equipment specifically. Klassik would assume that it sounds very good though.

Another popular name on American Hi-Fi forums which doesn't seem too popular here is Andrew Jones. His various speakers, especially the speakers he designed for ELAC in the recent past, are quite popular here in the US. Jones is British, but Klassik reckons that may not help ELAC move any speakers in the UK. Canton is another German name with some popularity here, but Klassik has never seen it mentioned here for whatever reason.