Not at all. In this case "musical" translates to colored. All you need do is compare this series of speaker with other types of designs to hear exactly what they portray that is not in the original signal. Not to say that this type of sound doesnt have its place and certainly its fans, but if you judge a speaker by how well it recreates the original signal these are a failure on numerous fronts.
What I object to with this series is exactly the appeal to others. This extra body, the thickness and over reaching with a tendency to make Janis Joplin sound like Janis Ian. Designs that pay homage to the speaker designs of the past and dont expose bad recordings. They are much less offensive than other speakers on poor recordings. This too is not a positive attribute. I think that this is the main reason we all preferred the more linear sound of OTLs on these speakers.
The first of the speakers purchased were the 0/96s because this friend wanted a "warm" design which was tube friendly. After discussing several speakers which I thought displayed this attribute, he purchased the DeVores. He was very happy as was the other friend who bought the 0/93 blind based on the 0/96 performance. Both lived happily until I brought over a pair of speakers in the price range of the 0/96s.
The appeal of the O series is obvious and not without merit. They simply arent a transducer to my taste. That how all this started was me stating an opinion. Do I really need to start playing the game of prefacing everything I say with an "IMO" or similar? To my ears they got many things completely wrong.
In favor of these speakers. The former owner of the 0/96s when he plays very loud or plays bad recordings misses the speakers. Both pairs sold quickly and at very good prices. All of us miss the looks of the speakers. Support from the company was superb and construction quality was excellent.
So take this as a story of evolution. After experiencing fine examples of differing speaker designs, my friends choose a direction different from you and the Fred.
