Regional Sonic Characteristics

[Mike]

Do you think, generally speaking of course, different regions (Europe, NA, Asia) have a general or common "sound"?

Again, speaking in GENERAL terms, we talk about European amps being uncolored, precise, resolving, etc. We look at amps from Japan as being very rich in tonality. Amps from North America are more broad, but still resemble the Krell, D'ag, Pass sounds - muscle car amps - generally speaking.

Of course there are many exceptions. But do you think there are general regional sonic characteristics with electronics?


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[Kuoppis]

Most definitely, but the differentiation needs to be more granular. E.g. British sound is different from a German sound. The Brits are closer to the US sound-wise.


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[Mike]

I agree. But I often wonder: why? What causes Japanese sounds to be rich and colored vs uncolored, neutral sounds of Europe?


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[Kuoppis]

Look at furniture, cars, food - they're all different.

Besides, the languages we speak do condition our ears to certain frequencies, most represented in the languages we're surrounded by.

Example: French is phonetically limited in the frequencies used in spoken language. Hence, people from France often have a strong accent in foreign languages - because they are not conditioned to hear the differences. On the other hand, the language mostly revolves around the frequencies of an Oboe. As French ears are typically very well conditioned in these frequencies, a lots of world class Oboe players are French.

This is not based on my views, the are numerous studies about this.


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[LVB]

I agree. But I often wonder: why? What causes Japanese sounds to be rich and colored vs uncolored, neutral sounds of Europe?


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They are very traditional and cling to the past like no others, so they are "stuck" in the golden, but very colored days, of audio.

 

[kev313]

They are very traditional and cling to the past like no others, so they are "stuck" in the golden, but very colored days, of audio.

That's maybe a little short sighted. Japan has nurtured a culture of craftsmanship like few other places in the world. The modern (some say "hipster") trend towards "artisan" products and a "curated" life is simply a state of being in Japan. It's such a wonderful place. Go to a magazine store in Japan and you will find journals devoted to vintage audio, vintage bicycles etc etc. Stuck in the past? That's one way to view it. I hate to take a broad cultural swipe, but Japanese tend to have a deep appreciation for the finest aspects of quality products from a past era. Ever check out the Japanese denim / workwear scene? It's another window on the same thing. If you want a pair of jeans for a lifetime with quite literally every stitch considered, do check it out. If appreciating the history and construction of these types of things and how that works to produce the final product isn't important to you, that's fine too.


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[Kuoppis]

I think there are also other reasons, such as living space being very costly and housing conditions usually tight at least in the cities. Walls inside a flat are often made of paper. So, 500 wpc monoblocks would be of little use.


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[kev313]

I should add that it is my opinion that associating the Japanese sound with tone is a testament to the job that JH has done with Shindo. Overall, I would not associate that type of sound with many brands from Japan such as Wavac. Maybe Zanden? I've owned several of the digital products. Never an amp.


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[CPP]

NO and this is why. In our state the population is made up of every race known to man and with that, comes their music and their sound. The same goes for food, every food group out there is here and no doubt a few other states as well. I have friends in coastal N.C. that are tube nuts, but 100 miles inland, a club is mostly S.S. We were at a recent St Patrick Days party and the host was sending Irish music to the skies with S.S. Denon amps and JBL speakers. Go figure.

 

[Shadowfax]

Doesn't some of it have to do with what and where it is designed for? Most Brits have these dinky little flats compared to the houses and listening rooms we have here in the US. So don't they tailor the sound in some cases for smaller rigs, speakers, and lower power?

Here in the US we want everything BIG. I get a kick out of some of these big units opened up to show nothing more than a PS and a few wires and caps.

British speakers have similar characteristics like ProAc, Harberth and such.

 

[CPP]

Doesn't some of it have to do with what and where it is designed for? Most Brits have these dinky little flats compared to the houses and listening rooms we have here in the US. So don't they tailor the sound in some cases for smaller rigs, speakers, and lower power?

Here in the US we want everything BIG. I get a kick out of some of these big units opened up to show nothing more than a PS and a few wires and caps.

British speakers have similar characteristics like ProAc, Harberth and such.

Brain you could be on to something. Design for room sq footage. Hence little amps supporting little speakers in rooms with a small footprint. My Brit friends do that in their homes.


Mike not sure about sonic's and regions/country of origin, as in my use of a Pass Labs xa30.5 (USA) I found it had a tuby rich sound with strong midrange and bass which is exactly what my Vincent SP331 Mkll (German/China) has. My Quicksilver Mid-monos (USA made) had that warmth and a rich midrange with clean highs, but a change to say my STP-SE preamp instead of my Quicksilver pre-amp provided a tighter midrange and bass without an over powering of warmth. Of course changing tubes in the quicksilver I could alter the bass, midrange and/or highs,

 

[Mr Peabody]

Maybe like in the 70's there was a bit of a regional or continental sound. British speakers had more of a flat sound like Mission, Japanese receivers, or U.S. big honking speakers, ie. Altec Lansing, AR, Klipsch etc.

Today, I don't feel that is so much true, British goes from Monitor Audio to Harbeth with KEF in the middle. Brit amps vary Linn to Naim, but here I concede Brit amps whether warm or neutral do sort of have a certain boogie factor or bounce to them.

U.S. goes from Cary & ARC to Conrad Johnson, from Krell to Pass, which both have a certain overbuild quality but certainly different sonic character. Our Speakers very wildly from Vandersteen, Thiel to Klipsch, Martin Logan, a host of single driver and now infinite baffle.

On the other hand many German products I've experienced have a muscular sound to them, they sound good but they also have authority, like Vincent or Octave.

Canadians seem to have a regional sound, Sim and Classe have like a dry character to the sound, to my ears the music sounds like it is being played in a padded room. I haven't noticed that with Bryston.

A little off topic but have you noticed really good gear coming from countries not normally mentioned like Lampizator from Poland, Thrax of Bulgaria. Makes me wonder how much great stuff is out there I don't know about.

 

[puroagave]

That's maybe a little short sighted. Japan has nurtured a culture of craftsmanship like few other places in the world. The modern (some say "hipster") trend towards "artisan" products and a "curated" life is simply a state of being in Japan. It's such a wonderful place. Go to a magazine store in Japan and you will find journals devoted to vintage audio, vintage bicycles etc etc. Stuck in the past? That's one way to view it. I hate to take a broad cultural swipe, but Japanese tend to have a deep appreciation for the finest aspects of quality products from a past era. Ever check out the Japanese denim / workwear scene? It's another window on the same thing. If you want a pair of jeans for a lifetime with quite literally every stitch considered, do check it out. If appreciating the history and construction of these types of things and how that works to produce the final product isn't important to you, that's fine too. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'd say yours is the romanticised view of Japan. I would argue the 'Japanese sound' you're thinking of (tubes & horns) is the pre and postwar American sound as everything audio was introduced to Nippon before and just after WWII from good ol' USA. what they've done by guess and by golly is inadvertently feed it back to us by way of Shindo, kondo, et al. I don't know if you have lived there and speak nihongo, but culturally it's way too complex and messed-up at the same time to discuss its idiosyncrasies here, and I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you.

 

[wklie]

Does Accuphase count as a representative of Japanese sound? One of the Hong Kong forums I read is filled with predominant supporters of Accuphase amps. I may be wrong, but it seems that they like it because of its rendition of female voice?