British sound???

Aberyclark, I forgot to say, it would still be hard to picture the mids they're famous for, trying the EQ experiment.

Read Robert E. Green's review of the Spendor 1/2 or Harbeth Compact 7 speakers. This should give you a pretty good idea of the British sound.

You can find the reviews here:

Spendor 1/2

Harbeth Compact 7

Just listening to my newly acquired Spendor 1/2s, and the British sound can be summed up with one word: Good.

The "British sound" is also characterized by a small dip in the presence region (2-4K hertz) which will have the effect of emphasizing the midrange and making things less "edgy".

The British sound is linked to the BBC and the need for speech monitoring. Think speech...the spoken word...British, or "received" enunciation. Loudspeakers are voiced to flatter the speaking voice.

To foreign ears, such speakers can sound "polite," but I think this results from the lack of sizzling treble and thumping bass associated with other (national) loudspeaker design schools.