Best Loudspeakers for Rich Timbre?

Thank You: @shadorne  and @audiotroy 

audiotroy,

This is a ridiculous post. There is no such thing as a speaker that is good at reproducing timbre.

Sure there is.


All sorts of speakers can be better or worse at reproducing accurate, or realistic instrumental timbre. If you play a good recording (in this sense meant to maintain the natural sound of the instrument) then there are all sorts of distortions and frequency deviations by which a speaker can screw up the timbre. That’s obvious isn’t it? Regardless of the fact other components can screw up the sound as well, that’s true of speakers.

Yes there are "rich" sounding speakers but that is not necessarily going to reproduce all instruments naturally.

Yup. I think everyone acknowledges that.


But then even the most accurate speaker isn’t going to reproduce all instruments naturally, because there is so much variation in recording quality and styles. So you don’t win that way either, if you listen to a broad range of recordings as most people do.


So this problem can reasonably motivate someone to look for a speaker that produces a certain characteristic one likes with much of what one listens to.


For instance, one of the aspects of reproduced sound through most systems is, I find, a diminution of body and presence of voices and instruments. So that might be an aspect of sound I want to "get back" with the speaker I choose, within the limitations of budget, size room constraints, etc. (If you have the money and room size, well then no doubt the type of limitations I’m talking about can be transcended, but many of us are dealing with compromises).


To use the example I’ve given of the Devore speakers: They manage, to my ears, to reproduce sound with a generally fuller sense of body than the other speakers I’ve heard in that price range/size. It sounds "more real and natural" in that respect to me. I don’t know for sure that it’s a coloration or simply an aspect of sound reproduction better produced by the design, but even if it’s an added coloration, it’s one that enhances a broad spectrum of recordings to a more believable satisfying presentation than some other well regarded speakers I’ve heard. (This is of course just my own perception and taste, not some objective claim that Devore speakers are "better" - I'm just bringing them in as an example).


Would such a coloration actually impede in some other areas or recordings, making for instance some elements timbrally "too rich?"
Sure, most likely. But that’s a trade off, just like a really accurate system will often have you experiencing the trade off of thin recordings giving you unnatural, synthetic sounding instruments and voices.


But in any case, there is nothing wrong at all with discussing the contribution of one type of component - speakers - and *their particular effect in the chain* even if as we all know it’s one part of the chain.

@prof  "I'm pretty nuts about correct, organic sounding timbre so that's always been job one for any speaker I have owned. The problem has been for me that instrumental timbre often doesn't sound organic, but more glazed and electronic/plastic through most speaker systems. I had usually found the best I could do was pick a speaker (and with judicious amp choice) that had traits consonant with what I like about real life sounds. A number of speakers I've owned and ones I've liked have had a somewhat "woody" character or timbral tone because that at least imparted an organic quality to sounds that helped many things sound more "real" to me - from acoustic guitars, string instruments, even the "woodiness" of the reed in a saxophone. Or drum sticks, and even to some degree voices. (I'm not talking about some ridiculous level of woody coloration, but more the sense that the sound is made of organic material, vs plastic, steel, and electrons).  

The Devores are one of those speakers that to my ears has a canny bit of coloration that is very consonant with how real sounds impress me, so in that sense they often sound more "natural" to me than other strictly more neutral (or other non-neutral) speakers.  

The Joseph speakers are more like the Hales speakers I have owned (and still own), where I get the sense of much reduced distortion/coloration revealing timbral qualities. So I find the sound a bit more varied from such speakers. But then, they also sometimes miss some of the particularly papery, organic sense of touch from the Devores, and some of the realistic fullness and weight.  So....it's always compromises."


Yes this woody" character or timbral tone that at least imparts an organic quality to the sound is also my starting point for choosing a loudspeaker (or headphones) and has been for years. That "glazed and electronic/plastic" sound emanating from far too many speakers bores me quickly. 

However, unlike your good self I have been unable to progress beyond this point, instead promising myself to perhaps dabble with tubes one day when the kids are older. Especially after reading some of the wonderful articles by the late Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg.

After owning various Tannoy loudspeakers, including 15 inch DCs I get the impression that the DeVore speakers might share some of the DNA with the classic Tannoys. More of the same perhaps slightly more refined. It's great to know that others are also looking further in this particular direction.
 
Thanks again for your pointers and putting into words what, for me at least, still remains largely uncharted territory.

cd318,

Yes I think we get what each other is talking about.

I haven’t spent a lot of time with much of the Tannoy line, with the exception of the Tannoy Dimension TD10, which my pal had for a while.They definitely had the "warm woody" thing going for timbre, string sections sound especially warm and gorgeous. (The big Tannoy Churchill speakers I heard long ago also struck me the same way IIRC).

The problem with such a coloration for me is not going too far. I’ve had a few speakers that had that woody, warm timbre that made me instantly like them - I’m thinking at the moment of the long forgotten Audio Physic Libras, and a couple Meadowlark Audio speakers I had. The issue I had was over the long haul it was just a little too much coloration, making the sound a bit too predictable, even if comfy.


The Thiel speakers I own now (I had the 3.7s and now have the 2.7s) are more neutral in that regard, definitely doing organic timbres like wood and voices really well, but not obviously overlaying everything with that flavor. So they feel like a more satisfying speaker for a longer haul to me.

It’s hard for me to know if the Devores would prove to be more like the previous speakers I mentioned and grow tiring, or not. My impressions from auditioning the Devores is that they strike a really nice balance between the richness I like in the midrange/upper bass while sounding quite neutral and open beyond that.

But...there are so many speakers out there!

(The most realistic piano sound I can remember hearing was through the Kef Blades at an audio show. Blew me away!)

@prof  some very well thought out posts previous.
While I recommend Tannoy frequently to folks with this kind of question, I myself am one of those who had a pair for numerous years but then moved on. Basically for the reasons you cited earlier, you start to notice a warm colouration in all pieces of music that is being imposed by the speaker. It does sound lovely with lotta music though.  while I like the sound of the Devore it strikes me as one of those types of speakers. I could be wrong, I haven't spent a ton of time in front of them.