Yeh, pitch and tone (timbre?), or sound stage?
I don't have a great deal of experience with different speakers in my "listening" room, so take this with a grain of, OK.
I try to compare my 1.6's to the headphones I have (hard to beat decent headphones). I can create purer tones at the sacrifice of sound stage. I can create a better sound stage by sacrificing some tonal quality. I ended up with a balance between the two.
I mean these things (1.6's) are wonderful for the price. But my gosh, they change tremendously with break in, change character with any cable change, change character with an inch of movement in speaker or listening position (slight exageration, but not that far off). They change interaction with the "listening" room with temperature and humidity.
My basement "listening" room is odd. Almost "stadium" seating with an open end of 70'. Probably about as easy as it gets for not being extensively treated. I have a decent mid-fi SS setup (Arcam pre and power amps, Rega TT, and Nordost cables). I listen to bluesy rock and alternative, not necessarily the highest fidelity music.
The potential of that big sound stage intrigues me. I want to make it better. Bigger power? More sophisticated Pre & Amps? Different cables? More room treatment? Active crossover? 3.6's? I don't know the answer yet, but am enjoying the adventure and I am satisfied in the meantime (kinda contradictory isn't it).
So yes, timbre out of 1.6's is finicky. I don't mean to assume that you haven't, but (yeh, doesn't every stupid statement start with but), play with em' some more. You might yet find that happy medium!
Cheers and Good Luck,
Jim S.
