American Vs British Speakers

[hortensio]

My local dealers told me that: british (european)-speakers tend toward stereo-music, american (and canadian) speakers more for HT....is it a myth or fact??

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

and what is supposed to be the difference between stereo and HT (except for obvious different number of sound channels)? does HT generate sound in a different way than stereo? utter rubbish... where does such "dealers" come from? my only guess is they want to look knowledgeable so they make up some idiotic stories out of the blue.

 

[hortensio]

speakers DO sound different from each other, don't they??? I can hear a very different sound coming from a Whaferdale speaker and PSB, using the same set-up....

 

[shafesk]

My local dealers told me that: british (european)-speakers tend toward stereo-music, american (and canadian) speakers more for HT....is it a myth or fact??

Don't really agree with your dealer actually. Although it is true that the US has more dedicated home theater speaker manufacturers (only by a small margin) but plenty of British manufacturers sell you stereo speakers to which you can add rears, center and subwoofers to. While I do agree that there is little to no difference between home theater and music speakers, there are some music speakers which do not work well for movies (i.e planet duvels) and some which (they claim) do not work well for movies (i.e yamaha's NS series). The only reason for this is the soundstage they create, the duvels are omni-directional so their sound spreads throughout the listening room which is ideal for music but for movies you want a focused sound. I own the NS series from Yamaha, while they say it was designed solely for home theater use, I haven't found them horrible for music. One other market is the satellite speaker market, which are definitely ideal for movies rather than music but I don't think the American's make more of them than the British :?

 

[The_Lhc]

What he should have said is that American consumers buy far more HT gear than they do 2-channel stereo kit, WHF have published sales figures on a few occasions that suggest the American stereo market is pretty much dead. That being the case it stand to reason that American manufacturers would be more biased towards HT than stereo.

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

speakers DO sound different from each other, don't they??? I can hear a very different sound coming from a Whaferdale speaker and PSB, using the same set-up....

well, man... this is completely different story. speaker do sound different but it has nothing to do with them being suited for HT or stereo. in a perfect world all speakers and all kit would sound the same and they would sound as natural as it's possible. but speakers especially are the culprit of drifting away from the perfect world. don't want to get into too much technicalities but crossover design would be the pert most responsible for differences in sound and also diffraction pattern of your speakers (and what is related to diffraction pattern - the amount of early reflections your speakers generate).

in a nutshell; if speakers are good for music they'll be definitely good for movies too. if manufacturer says that given speakers are destined for movies predominantly I'd be cautious.

 

[jaxwired]

What he should have said is that American consumers buy far more HT gear than they do 2-channel stereo kit, WHF have published sales figures on a few occasions that suggest the American stereo market is pretty much dead. That being the case it stand to reason that American manufacturers would be more biased towards HT than stereo.

Spot on. Even HT has been in a serious decline lately in the US. Stereo is truly dead. Many electronics stores don't even sell 2 channel amps anymore. The typical American does not listen to music in their home, ever. They only listen to music in the car or on iPods.

 

[relocated]

It matters not what dealers tell you in these circumstances. You have clearly taken the trouble to visit a dealer and hopefully have listened to some gear. Listening is the main consideration within your price range and rubbish, spouted by vacant-brained dealers, when it has gone a bit quiet and they panic is not.

Set out your stall and have a damn good listen at more than one dealer if this is posssible. When you have spent your money it will be you living with the system, American, British, japanese, it matters not so long as you like what you hear.

Good luck.

 

[Anonymous]

What he should have said is that American consumers buy far more HT gear than they do 2-channel stereo kit, WHF have published sales figures on a few occasions that suggest the American stereo market is pretty much dead. That being the case it stand to reason that American manufacturers would be more biased towards HT than stereo.

Living in Montréal Canada, I think this is making sense. I can't judge what's going on in UK but over here I feel HT is more discuss then Stereo. It's not strong as it was a few years ago when HT came out affordable for everybody, but it's still a stronger trend. :-(

 

[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

The most ill-fated part of the story is that Giants manage to have onthebroadway a huge fan base because they arrive in the city, but Giants couldn't so far thrive for a World Series title for San Francisco.

 

[Al ears]

The most ill-fated part of the story is that Giants manage to have onthebroadway a huge fan base because they arrive in the city, but Giants couldn't so far thrive for a World Series title for San Francisco.

Que? :quest:

 

[The_Lhc]

It's spam, ignore it.

 

[Al ears]

Ah! Gets everywhere doesn't it? I prefer the tinned variety.

 

[stephennic]

Hi,

I know years ago (in the 80-90s) they use to say that American speakers tended to be big, dynamic more suited for rock etc and English tended to be smaller more reserved refined and suited more for jazz etc. American homes tended to be bigger . I am not sure if this is true or not.

Cheers

Steve.

 

[plastic penguin]

Diverting slightly to amps: I remember in 2004 WHFI describing Arcam's A65+ as having a "British sound", now I've not fully understood this statement, except for, perhaps, that British based/built products tend to have a more "hi-fi" sound.

 

[hortensio]

They also give even a rule of thumb in HT world, such as: pair Denon amps with american/canadian speakers, (such as: PSB, Energy, etc) and Yamaha amps with eropean ones (such as: Whaferdale, Mordount Short, etc) !! Maybe they just wanto to give a 'pratical' advice....BUT man, more than often,it works...

 

[6th.replicant]

It's spam, ignore it.

It's spam, ignore it.

Ah! Gets everywhere doesn't it? I prefer the tinned variety.

IME, suprisingly nice when griddled, served on crusty French bread with a side of olives, wee tomatoes, basil and pickled onions

How's about that for a 'cultural' mix? :~

 

[plastic penguin]

Desparately looking for a python pic - can never find one when needed...🙂

 

[Alantiggger]

I hope you don't mind but

(and I know that so MANY of you guys know an awful lot more than I it seems in all things hi-fi, cinema and all things to do with all things contained within the What HiFi mag)

but to say this....

I have downstairs in my lounge the Tannoy Arena Speakers see here: http://www.tannoy.com/ResidentialSummary.aspx#&&TLZpQTjlSRThKRcXAWZIvSNT4yW339Qz3Mh3FmFSeuOvidsHfNQzD1eV3fXxqEfFVobsVRaTbHrISb9xIA0DfFJ0sTZrhbfMtCdT1V4/sWAKZSnyVIDFgkSZlOwMKOX5S0OiCOqCdsheKwXBUsb/Wg==

mine are in Bronze colour... and I have them connected to the Onkyo 508 amp seen here: http://www.uk.onkyo.com/en/products/tx-sr508-34491.html

From what I can hear it sounds fab whether with music or blu ray/ dvd played through the Sony BDP S370 seen here : http://www.whathifi.com/review/bdp-s370

A quick question: Can I actually get my sound to sound a lot better by doing upgrades which I read in What HiFi mag from a lot of you fellows ? I only ask because my music and movies sound brilliant to me .... do you guys all upgrade because you can or because the sound changes so much with more expensive equipment ?

Totally genuine question as I am most interested.... sorry for the sort of hijack.

(please excuse any ignorance)

 

[Anonymous]

Whilst that is a very generalized statement and they are always dangerous as you are respectively dumping a huge number of manufacturers together on both sides of the ocean all with different sound qualities. That being said, living in the US now, I do think there are some general differences to the sound people prefer here compared to back home and it goes without saying speaker companies have responded to this. Perhaps less difference once you get to the very high end kit, but in resonably priced speakers Americans care much more about spec's and most of all the frequencey response spec - a more expensive speaker should always go lower it seems. British (and European too in this case) care a little less about the spec sheet I find and much more about mid-range. Americans tend to equate a larger number of drivers as being a better speaker whereas that generally doesn't hold as much importance to British speakers.

Probably lots of good reasons for this as Americans have more space and a house for the same price will include much more space and more distance from the neighbors whereas in the UK we live on top of each other in absurdly priced tiny houses and having mono-tonal 20Hz capable speakers that vibrate the house will get you an ASBO (or whatever they're called, its been a few years now) but not such a issue here in America. What-Hifi doesn't even include the spec's on speakers (I wish they did on the spec's page though I like they don't use it as a dertermining factor as to which speaker is 'better') whereas the the biggest US Hi-Fi magazine is probably Stereophile (which ironically has a British editor if I'm not mistaken, but who doesn't seem to like British speakers and is obsessed with measured frequency response) and speakers that are not 'full-range' 20-20 don't even qualify for their highest honors. What your dealer said was certainly an over-simplification (as is what I've said despite its length) but I find that there are general differences between US and UK speakers and I've ended up going out of my way to find British speakers because I prefer the sound and what is important to British manufacturers perhaps because its what I'm used to (with one exception, Magnepan are an under-apprecaited gem that derseves much more attention and has a glorious purity if not room shaking bass). Finally, its much easier to find good Hi-Fi selections at retail in the UK than it is in the US, though I have a huge selection of high end HT retail around - esepecially custom HT room installation/equipment.

 

[plastic penguin]

I hope you don't mind but

(and I know that so MANY of you guys know an awful lot more than I it seems in all things hi-fi, cinema and all things to do with all things contained within the What HiFi mag)

but to say this....

I have downstairs in my lounge the Tannoy Arena Speakers see here: http://www.tannoy.com/ResidentialSummary.aspx#&&TLZpQTjlSRThKRcXAWZIvSNT4yW339Qz3Mh3FmFSeuOvidsHfNQzD1eV3fXxqEfFVobsVRaTbHrISb9xIA0DfFJ0sTZrhbfMtCdT1V4/sWAKZSnyVIDFgkSZlOwMKOX5S0OiCOqCdsheKwXBUsb/Wg==

mine are in Bronze colour... and I have them connected to the Onkyo 508 amp seen here: http://www.uk.onkyo.com/en/products/tx-sr508-34491.html

From what I can hear it sounds fab whether with music or blu ray/ dvd played through the Sony BDP S370 seen here : http://www.whathifi.com/review/bdp-s370

A quick question: Can I actually get my sound to sound a lot better by doing upgrades which I read in What HiFi mag from a lot of you fellows ? I only ask because my music and movies sound brilliant to me .... do you guys all upgrade because you can or because the sound changes so much with more expensive equipment ?

Totally genuine question as I am most interested.... sorry for the sort of hijack.

(please excuse any ignorance)

Obviously, I can only speak about my own situation: It took me the best part of two years to part with my Arcam A65+. During that time I home dem'd most of the big hitters below £1k, and although there was an improvement it wasn't enough to justify spending the extra. Only the Creek Evo2 had sufficient sonic talent but, unfortunately, didn't have the inputs needed.

So I won't upgrade unless I know I'm getting ample improvement across the board. The Leema did this, and luckily, and was heavily discounted by the time I tripped over one...:cheers:

 

[Alantiggger]

PP, thanks for that information ... most appreciated. :cheers: