Europeans vs. the U.S.A.

America has always been an open market, and, because of the size and wealth of the market, it is the usual target for everyone thinking of exporting. Americans are so used to having a lot of choices and are therefore not as inclined to brand loyalty. The size of the market also means that manufacturers can specialize in a relatively narrow line of products and not run out of room to grow.

My first brush with high end audio was hearing a high school friend dad's system. It was an AR turntable, Shure cartridge, AR 3 speakers and the AR receiver. At the time this was a very popular combo and it sounded great. However, when I got to the point where I was actively putting together systems I took it as axiomatic that mixing and matching brands was the preferred method. Thirty some years later I'm not so sure. One size will never fit everybody and great results can be achieved either way, but I now believe that for most people (especially music lovers) that it's easier to attain quality sound by going the single brand route. Going with a single brand isn't very different than trusting yourself to a good dealer. Tell them what you want to achieve and how much you have to spend and then let the dealer/manufacturer come up with their solution.

I'm not sure I agree with the thinking that specializing in a component type really produces better quality. At the cutting edge of state of the art components it's probably true, but for more real world products I don't see a correlation. Linn was originally famous for their turntables, but they quickly started to produce some good speakers and later on some top rank CD players. Most people know Quad for their ESLs, but they have always produced very high quality amplifiers. I think it's just a question of a company having the capital to hire the expertise in those areas were they want to produce products.

I don't know why there appears to be a European/U.S. split on this issue. It could just be a historical quirk.

I would say that it goes back to the holistic approach taken by Europeans. It would be good if more Americans could do the same thing, I suppose...

Anyway, there is a LOT of national pride in Europe that exists in a way we don't have here. With so many countries sitting so close together, competition between countries is insane. I mean, all of Europe shuts down during the European Cup. You can walk the streets in a major city and only see one or two people (I've done it!).

I see companies offering full lines as a means of national pride. By producing everything needed, a company can produce a system that is distinctly Italian, German, French, you name it.

It's hard to say exactly what is going on here, but that's my guess. I personally like mixing European electronics with American speakers. Talk about good sound!

I think I enjoy the opposite fo madmilkman. I love mixing american electronics with european loudspeakers (living voice) talk about esxtacy

As a brit living in the US I have noticed that US audiophiles seem much more obsessive-compulsive than the UK ones ... obsessed with obtaining perfection. On the other hand many brits will happily buy a complete system at the demo if it sounds "really good". They'll then live with the system for years and years.

The UK dealers will often demo complete systems from one manufacturer, e.g. Naim, rega, meridian, cyrus and often the customer will buy it. I guess it's mid-way between the "Best Buy" and high-end experience in the US. The UK purchaser will also be less worried that perhaps a slightly better system could be obtained by mixing and matching.

Thus there's a good market in the UK for systems all from one manufacturer, whereas there is maybe less of a market in the US.

A similar example would be buying a sandwhich ... in England it's either a cheese, chicken or beef sandwhich. In the US one must choose the type of bread, the cheese, the meet, the condiments and which bits of produce all separately. Consumer convenience versus consumer choice.

For the record I have always mixed and matched components to get the best sound ... but then I keep it for 10 or more years. So I guess I'm midway between the two ... isn't that Greenland !?