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The British Sound

Ok I know this sounds ridiculous but hear me out. The British sound is characterized as being laid back, mellow and unagressive in the treble. It struck me that England is a very humid environment. And in high humidity conditions, the treble is more pronounced and shrill. Musicians playing outside before a rainstorm call this condition the bloom before the thunderstorm. Ive read that this state can be explained by physics. The reason I thought of this again tonight is because right now the weather is extremely humid in central NC tonite. I listened to my stereo and I had to turn down the treble on my speaker controls. My AC has not run all day. I ask, is this why they tweak their designs. They are only trying to make musical equipment perspective of any environmental influences. Am I way out in left field? Then tell me why their products including speakers sound that way. Mike
128x128blueranger
oregon
823 posts
 
You guys have good ears!
I live in Oregon and I can't hear anything from Britain.
I wonder if audiophiles and politicians in Alaska can hear Russia?
blueranger's avatar
blueranger OP
719 posts
 
Thanks for the posts. I wonder how our products sell over there?
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
Ck out b&w and monitor audio . Treble is anything but laid back.
garebear
1,155 posts
 
I just bought a pair of Harbeth 40.1's.....I was somewhat familiar with them until I got them home....and in my room and with my electronics and cables. I had a pair of Avalon's for the past 10 years or so ....it does take some time getting used to that '' sound ''. It is a big difference
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
A large influence on the "British" sound was the BBC. Live music broadcasts were more widespread over there and the BBC made great efforts to have high quality sound. Many of their engineers made contributions to audio; Spencer Hughes[Spendor] and Dudley Harwood [Harbeth] both spent most of their careers at the BBC, developing Bextrane, the first widespread plastic material for cones. The speakers they developed were intended first and foremost for the reproduction of the human voice and they are still among the best at it. Not as "Analytical" as many American top end speakers but unfailingly musical.
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