Best Loudspeakers for Rich Timbre?

@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. 

“There is no such thing as a speaker that is good at reproducing timbre”

This comment is a bit misleading.   A speaker is nothing more than a combination of assembled parts. The parts themselves are good or less good at delivering accurate or true timbre. Capacitors vary greatly in this ability. Ditto for resistors and inductors. Wire also plays a role in timbre. What about those drivers, magnets, the cabinet design etc.... Now bringing all of these parts together is truly both an art and science when trying to deliver pure timbre. Timbre is found right down to the individual part in addition to how they all interact together.

That being said we still listen to systems.....not speakers. Timbre will, in the end, be a result of the complete system including the room and speaker placement.