Who is Oliver Crown?
He is that uncle who sat you down with him in front of his Hi-Fi (consisting of Peter Walker, Dudley Harwood or Spencer Hughes's fine loudspeakers, a tubed amplifier and pre-amp and Gerrard turntable) and listened with you for hours on end, introducing you to a life-long love affair with Music.
He is the pipe smoking, tweed jacketed music teacher who took you and others to live concerts, who introduced you to Charlie Parker and Nina Simone.
He is the seasoned sound engineer who cares about tonal balance, neutrality and accuracy.
Occasionally, he is the Hi-Fi buff down the street who has a new system every year, but who finally realizes he has been chasing a phantom of never-ending technology trends and upgrades and who has lost the purpose of his purchases, to enjoy Music.
Oliver Crown is a bit of all the above. At Oliver Crown British Sound we sell musical experiences. We sell moments of pure pleasure and deep emotion derived from connecting with Nina Simone’s virtuosity and inner turmoil, Miles Davis’ intent in “Sketches of Spain,” with Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony; it is reported that Mahler said after the first performance, “Nobody understood it. I wish I could conduct the first performance fifty years after my death.” Well, that time has passed. We intend to ensure you have the system that will unlock Mahler’s meaning!
We represent some of the world’s best Hi-Fi makers. We think equal parts engineering and desire to produce components that reproduce music faithfully must drive top manufacturers. Many of our brands produce equipment for the toughest environments of all, like recording studios, concert halls, and broadcasting corporations such as the BBC. We carry only brands that are based on solid engineering. We do not carry poorly engineered products, where you buy obsolescence as the product is upgraded annually when bugs are worked out that should have been worked out before the product was marketed.
What is British Sound?
Much has been written on this subject. We think it encompasses vivid tonal colors, instant dynamics and listenability that encourages one to sit, listen, enjoy, for hours. Companies that, through superior proven engineering, produce superlative equipment that emphasizes music over audiophile characteristics. This typifies British Sound.
Our definition of British Sound is simple. It is about the Music. ATC’s founder Billy Woodman said it best in a magazine article in The Absolute Sound some time ago. When asked about his equipment, he said, “the prize is not our equipment, it’s the music.” We represent companies that fit the criteria listed above. We think some representative companies are. >>