"House Sound"....

[michaelhigh]

How does one know it's coloured? In comparison to what, another brand which may be coloured as well?

Ever hear Thiels? They sound excellent, but compared to JBL, Klipsch, EV, Altec, etc., they sound DRY.

The aforementioned speaks have a wet sound (lusher bass especially), and hence are considered "colorated".

They have specific crossover parts that alter the listening experience to fit a house sound or a particular sound that some like over a dry one.

Drier speakers tend to be less crossover-modded.

Do some Googling to see how people describe various well-known brands and the sound they exhibit. :yes:

 

[michaelhigh]

Polk Audio was from Baltimore, Maryland. Their SDA was a major departure from their traditional voicing. KLH and Advent are definitely East Coast Sound.

I put Klipsch Heritage and EV cornerhorns in West Coast sound though they are Eastern US made.

All respect due, I'd guess Hope, Arkansas is east of you. It's west of me, and I'm in St. Louis.

I'm in the Midwest, and I'd place Hope geographically in the Midwest as well.

I do agree that they sound nothing (relatively speaking) like AR, KLH, Advent, etc.

I like your posts, Kent. Your experience always shines through. :yes:

 

[withmusic]

I pay no attention to any of that west coast, east coast, house, etc stuff. It's all non-sequitor. Rock is rock, blues is blues, classical is classical, jazz is jazz, etc. no matter where it comes from. Just listen to the music before it's taken away from us.

 

[JoeESP9]

Yes, now I have seen you posting this before, it doesn't make a lot of sense to me.....What and how are you measuring this?
A technically flat system will sound bright and have nowhere near enough bass, so for me flat means an equal loudness contour with respect to human hearing which involves attenuation roughly between 2.5khz to nearly 5khz, but then after that our hearing loses efficiency once you are above about 8-10khz, so this stays flat....
Interested to hear how it is you decided this was the most effective way to tune your system....


As for house sound....I had never heard of house sound before I came to this forum.....
West Coast, East Coast, British.......its all been quite interesting......

I have JBLs and L'acoustics, which means West Coast and European.....not sure what it all means, but I do like what I have...

I think we are defining flat in two different ways so I will try to explain what I mean. I believe that most of the posters here think of "technically flat" when the term flat response is mentioned. That is what I meant.

I've had and heard systems that measured (technically flat as you posted) flat (~100dB C weighted) to 20KHz using a meter. Those systems and my own when adjusted to be that kind of flat always sound overly shrill and harsh to me. I am however, aware of the correct and proper use of the Fletcher Munson curve. I think what this hobby needs is a good stand alone continuously variable loudness compensation box.

I'm especially sensitive to any accentuation, shrillness or harshness in the treble area. Most horns send me running for the hills. I'm not alone in tuning my system the way I do. I suspect there are many here that may unknowingly do the same. Ask some others who don't like horns to make some measurements as I have.

I've tried measured flat and I prefer the sound with a roll off.

Most of us older Yankee audiophiles grew up with three major "house" sounds. East Coast (AR, KLH), West Coast (JBL, Altec) and British (Rogers, Wharfdale) were some of the major players.

 

[Vintagear]

Call me ignorance, but I don't think Polk Audio could be in East Coast Sound. At least their SDA could not be ECS.

I have vintage SDA SRS2's and aside from the wide soundstage I would categorize them as closer to the East Coast sound.

They are definitely laid back, vocalists are always behind the center point of the speakers. They have a flat response,are not bright and are extremely detailed yet unfatiguing. The most musical speakers I own. I can listen for hours without a problem.

If you are used to a forward west coast bright speaker they will take getting used to. They are very different from my forward West Coast sound JBL's.