What surprises me about British gear

joebingo

Member
I'm always amazed by the quality:price ratio with british stuff. I've currently got a Cambridge azur 340 amp, by all measures a low end piece of equipment, but its sound quality quality and imaging are incredible! It's a little bit thin in the low end, but the reproduction down there is still accurate, all it's lacking is a bit of sub, but for its cost I can't fault it at all.

Don't even get me started on how much I love my misison 780s (the old ones). Amazing speakers!

Now tell me why on earth people are willing to buy a beats pill for the same price you could pick up my system for on ebay???
 
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pfft... I have some very cheap Missions... but I love them.
Perhaps one day I'll have real ones.
We also have some Jamo (Denmark) that my wife quickly claimed.
Those are paired with the turntable (your standard Technics)

The receivers get rotated quite a bit and none are British. Yet.

Next on the list is some vintage Rogers speakers. If I can manage it.
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Well - designed in England, made in China. That is how they made it so inexpensive.

True British equipment is a little more expensive - REGA is the best example.

^^^
Case in point... my "Missions" are actually
"Designed and Engineered in the UK and Manufactured in Malaysia"
 
British manufacturing is known for shoddy craftsmanship, unlike Japanese. Now everything is done in China. The great equalizer.

Chances are both Dr Dre Beats and Cambridge are made in the same factory in China.

Who cares where its made if its affordable and sounds good.
 
I've got both British made and British designed/made in Taiwan and I love both! If the company has great quality control processes, it makes little difference where it's made....notice I said "little" because I realize there is some. I would not have been able to afford my Musical Fidelity had it been made in Britain.
I've been a fan of the "British sound" for over 30 years. About the only thing that is not British in my system is the cartridge and cables.
 
Well - designed in England, made in China. That is how they made it so inexpensive.

True British equipment is a little more expensive - REGA is the best example.
I'll take your point about the amp, but the speakers are made in england and go for about £30 on ebay. Second hand market isn't really a litmus though haha.

I don't think they were too expensive when they were new though.
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pfft... I have some very cheap Missions... but I love them.
Perhaps one day I'll have real ones.
We also have some Jamo (Denmark) that my wife quickly claimed.
Those are paired with the turntable (your standard Technics)

The receivers get rotated quite a bit and none are British. Yet.

Next on the list is some vintage Rogers speakers. If I can manage it.
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Mission were coming out with some amazing gear in the past, I've no experience with their modern output but my current speakers are beautiful; I think they were made in the early 90s but it's quite difficult finding any proper information on them.
 
Not true - B&W, Neat Audio, and many others make amazing stuff in England. Cars in the 60's and 70's from England, yes, the rest no.

Again - blanket statements are almost always wrong.

You are right. I just have PTSD from owning a BSR turntable.
 
I'd rather spin tunes on a Garrard Zero-100C than ION USB tt.

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"What surprises me about British gear" is that they've lost some of the colours used in this one (picture of the Lecson AP1 from my collection)

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I am mixing American made Rogue Audio (Cronos Magnum) and British speakers, Spendors. Amazing sound. Using Chinese power cable, Nordst Blue Heaven interconnects. The CD player is Wadia and turntable is American, SOTA Moonbeam. Enjoying every listening minute of it.
 
British manufacturing is known for shoddy craftsmanship, unlike Japanese. Now everything is done in China. The great equalizer.

Chances are both Dr Dre Beats and Cambridge are made in the same factory in China.

Who cares where its made if its affordable and sounds good.

What?
 
British manufacturing is known for shoddy craftsmanship, unlike Japanese. Now everything is done in China. The great equalizer.

My setup is a combination of British and Japanese (Wharfedale and Sansui). Both well-built.

What surprises ME is how many different interpretations there are of the so-called "British sound". My interpretation is old-school '50's and 60's Quad, Leak, and Wharfedale. Lush, open-sounding, dynamic, and very, very-musical/engaging.
 
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