Do you think there is such a thing as "National taste"in sound?

[Panicos K]

Do you think that taste in sound varies from country to country?Is there anything like a National taste in sound?I was reading an old review of the Alphason Sonata turntable some time ago,and I was surprised when I read that the Alphason was according to the reviewer a better turntable compared to the Linn,but the Linn was prefered because of the..."British National taste....."!!!!!
Any interest or comments?

[neutron7]

I remember a story back in the 80s about how some Japanese speakers were "tuned" to play the sound of traditional Japanese instruments, but i did hear it from a (British brand) speaker salesman, so maybe he just made it up on the spot.

[Shaun]

What about the effect that different types of buildings/building materials has on acoustics? E.g. timber frame homes vs brick & mortar use in various parts of the world...?

[Panicos K]

This could mean something,also the average room size can determine the size of the system/speakers,therefore balance and taste?

[AndrewT]

Hi,
we here in the UK have a completely different preference in sound from much of Europe.
The Far East had to modify much of their product to make it saleable/sellable (able to be sold in the numbers they needed for a mass market) in the UK.
They even starting advertising this fact by branding models with a B and the copy stated it was upgraded for the British market.

Why our ears/brain are different? I have no idea.

[richie00boy]

I personally think it's marketing nonsense. Everybody's different, there's no national generalisation.

[Panicos K]

AndrewT I have read somewhere that the average listening room in UK is not very big,and this is the reason why most of the British speakers are small size,but still with good balance/bass for their size.Is this so?

[AndrewT]

like Richie says they're all different.
There's no such thing as average size. There is a notional average of sizes, but does this average exist anywhere?

[Panicos K]

You are right.I just use words from the magazine.The strange is that the reviwer spoke about "national taste"in that review of the turntable.Who knows what he meant.It is true that there are small and big rooms everywhere.

[richie00boy]

He's talking nonsense like all magazine reviewers do!