Well, we had some friends over for dinner last night and the conversation turned to audio. After a fairly heated debate regarding the cost of some gear, someone suggested that different countries have different tastes and that this is reflected in the gear that is produced there. Everyone decided to chime in with their own opinion on the matter ( please excuse any underlying bigotry in these comments, but theses where the more colorful suggestions):

- Japanese people prefer bright non-bassy gear, minimalist in size, but with lots of features
- Americans don't know good sound at all and just want loud, boomy bass
- The Brits prefer a laid-back dark sound with less midrange but an airy top end
- The Germans prefer a very correct, fast, analytical and accurate sound without much bass
- The Danes and Scandinavians like the German sound but with solid bass
- The Canadians look for a sound that is completely accurate across the whole frequency, regardless of how it all comes together
- The Irish and Scots will design the exact opposite of what the Brits prefer
- The French prefer their bass tight and the top end rolled off

Along with similar comments about Russian, Chinese, and Italian designers, most of it probably exaggerated with stereotypical attributes from our own prejudices. And we were all discussing this after a few bottles of wine and a full meal, soliciting more the occasional chuckle than the undisputed truth of these hypotheses.

But this idea did get me thinking. Certainly we read snippets of these same sentiments in all the audio trade rags. And to be perfectly fair, culture does impart work ethic, attention to certain details over others, and most importantly, what people value in a product. In addition, a country's historical experience should impact how that society listens to, enjoys, and purchases audio equipment and music.

So is there such a thing as a "Canadian sound," a "German sound," a "British sound", or even an "American sound?"