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East vs. West Coast sound, what's up, really???

Copa1934

Copa1934

My ears are bleeding
This comes up time and time again, yet I haven't seen any clear definitions, clear examples or more importantly how this phenomenon began. Lots of opinions abound, and sometimes a speaker produced on the West Coast is called East Coast sound and vise versa.

I mean let's face it, music in this country has no long standing history like Europe. When Edison first recorded sound it happened here in the U.S., and that device led to other devices and so on, but all propagated across the U.S. relatively linearly. So how is it that one coast should deviate so far from the other such that there is some universal distinction?

Bass Reflex systems have been produced on both coasts, as have Air Suspension. People on the West coast listen to classical, just as their counterparts on the East coast do. Rock didn't begin on the West coast (yet West Coast has a "rock" sound), and Jazz and Blues didn't get their start on the East or West coast, so how on earth did this distinction come about?

When references are made, sometimes in jest, there seems to be this idea that one coast is better than the other, not just different. And this doesn't even touch on "that Western Europe sound" if that truly exists.

Not trying to start a war, I'd lust like to know how this all got started.
 
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This is a really good question. Wish I knew the answer. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread though.
From what I've read, I too have had the impression that the signature sound of all the Massachusetts speaker makers, advent, ar, khl, etc., was different than the west coast manufacturers which JBL being the one folks mention mostly. If the east/west coast sound thing is just urban legend, then maybe it was kind of adopted from the east/west coast jazz differentiation?
 
It is simply a generalization on the type of sound. Lots of east coast speakers were polite, rolled off on the top and EZ to listen to. KLH etc. Lots of west coast speakers like JBL were more forward and bright and exaggerated. So there is what we generalize as the east and west coast sounds. Obviously there are many exceptions to this. Were you asking something different?
 
Do a search. This is another one of those beaten do death topics. Some great definitions and history have been covered.
 
What "kfa888" said,:yes: and...

( Quote: so how on earth did this distinction come about? : End quote)

Simple, companies from the Eastern-seaboard started this whole thing. They were advertised as such. AR and KLH were master at this game, then came JBL, and the like, advertising a better sound from the West coast.
People then took the banner, and ran with it.:banana:

There you have it folks, that's what I like to believe anyway.:D
 
Then there is the Canadian sound, infinitely superior to that of both coasts, south of the border.
 
sealy said:
Then there is the Canadian sound, infinitely superior to that of both coasts, south of the border.
Click to expand...
Being Canadian born naturally I'm inclined to agree, however, we left when I was 5 and have no strong recollection of any sound other than honest to god Live music. Everything else was background.
 
moinau said:
What "kfa888" said,:yes: and...

( Quote: so how on earth did this distinction come about? : End quote)

Simple, companies from the Eastern-seaboard started this whole thing. They were advertised as such. AR and KLH were master at this game, then came JBL, and the like, advertising a better sound from the West coast.
People then took the banner, and ran with it.:banana:

There you have it folks, that's what I like to believe anyway.:D
Click to expand...
This actually makes the most sense. So, if the actual reference doesn't go back any further than say the late 50's or 60's it's more or less contrived and not based on any real hard evidence. All marketing, like many other things in life, like the hula hoop.
 
"East coast" sound was the original default for musical reproduction, modeled on the acoustics of concert halls. "West coast" sound got its start from people in the Hollywood movie industry using components from theater sound systems in their homes. Movie theater sound systems were originally designed with enhanced high frequencies to compensate for the placement of speakers behind fabric cinema screens. The use of the same systems without the movie screens for live amplified performances added support for the use of their sound for home music systems. Since neither can really produce an accurate reproduction of an original live performance, neither is inherently "better" and it's all a matter of preference. Both have been largely superceded by today's preference for "flat" response.
 
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I think so "Copa1934".
Remember AR marketing their line as the best in Jazz, so much so that they decided to throw Miles Davis in the picture. As I said, AR was no slouch in the marketing scheme of thing.
 
But whatever pundits decide what and where certain type of speakers fit and/or sound, myself, I like and prefer speakers from the Eastern-Seaboard with their qualities and numerous downfall.
 
I think it has to do with Hollywood. In pursuit of accurate, transparent, and "forward" high frequencies, the West Coast speaker companies started to develop horns and the like.

I could be 100% wrong. Don't trust me. :p:
 
Listen to an AR or KLH and then listen to a JBL. I've never done a direct comparison like that but I guess those are the classics from the two coasts. :music:
 
:dammit: Whadabout the " Midwest Sound" ????????????:huge:

Seriously, there were a number of speakers made here..DCM for one comes to mind..
 
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