TONE

Not sure about this but I think when you refer to tone, what is meant is the in-phase accurate rendition of frquency modulations, so called overtones. In my experience this is a function of the system‘s speed.
This is why single drive high efficiency speakers with flee amps on small power supplies have a reason to exist. It‘s simply faster to rev up those than 500w amps driving 4-way speaker cross-overs at 80 db efficiency. So tone is really another word for the system‘s speed if you assume that linearity rather than fine-tuned frequency is a goal. In my mind it also explains why DSP systems have a hard time in being engaging on voice or piano recordings.

bdp24 -- While digging through my now dusty stash of recording/live performance equipment, I realize the microphones I used for the majority of my live recordings are an MXL V67 Q stereo mike and the microphones that are attached to my Zoom H4n Handy Recorder. Both pieces of equipment bought at Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks. What a zoo...if night quite as wild a zoo as the Guitar Center Hwd.  The SM58 was my vocal mike used in my rock-and-roll days.

@edcyn: Small world; the Guitar Center in Sherman Oaks was only a 1/4 mile from the apartment I lived in during the 90's, and I was in there pretty regularly.

The SM58 is the industry standard mic for live vocals, but not for recording them. The Telefunken U47 (tube) is still the gold standard, but rare and expensive. A lot of studios have the solid state Telefunken, the U67.

Tone is a tough thing to judge until you have a lot of hours of listening experience and finding the right gear to play the correct tonal quality is very tough especially in speakers for sure as well a amps and preamps so all i can say is trust your ears when you hear the right pieces you will know.