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"American Sound" Speakers

There's a lot of discussion about and descriptions of the 'British/BBC' sound here, and I'm pretty clear on what that is. As a Rega owner, and fan of Avalon and Harbeth, it's safe to say that this is my preferred sound at my current stage of development.

But what comprises the "American Sound?" What are some example brands or specific speakers that exemplify this sound?
soundgasm
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
The best "american" sound IMHO centers around time-aligned or phasecorrect brands such as Vandersteen,Meadowlark, Green Moutain, Thiel, etc...for some reason...these brands put an emphasis on music as "time machines" while keeping the original waveform in tact...ofcourse there are those that downplay the importance of this componet of speaker building...but i do feel the results speaker for themselves...these types of speakers have a realism in the midrange that is hard to ignore...and i believe its a not a soley "american" invention but these brands seem to put alot more emphasis on it...just my .o2
buconero117
2,311 posts
 
Horns are the American sound. Just as Tannoy was British, JBL and Klipsch are American. Seldom do you find any horns in English households.
lokie's avatar
lokie
528 posts
 
To name a few more:

Wilson, Devore, Western Electric, Altec, Jensen, Von Schweikert, Dunlavy, Revel, Meadowlark, Eggleston, Joseph Audio, Verity, Zu Audio, Magico.
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martykl
3,578 posts
 
Historically, I always think of older JBLs as representative of stereotypical "American" sound. Prominent bass and lower "presence region" treble (relative to the midrange) and very dynamic sounding. Sort of the inverse of classic "British" sound.

I agree that, over time, most of these tags have become dated and are no longer particularly apllicable to contemporary speakers.

Marty
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