Opus,
Wow..45 years in this hobby. Pretty good. Bet you must be excited by the strides being made in the last 10 years of hi end audio.
Opus, if you rap your knuckle on those dunlevy cabinets what do you get? Is the sound low and dense or high and kinda hollow? Are they particle board with veneer or what?
I cant seem to find what you are using currently for a turntable?
I think some of the qualities you seek as per your initial question would be found in a reed/acustic combo. The reed definitely wont be cold, shrill and ringy, i speculate just the opposite... looking at its construction materials.
There might be another way to get the qualities you're looking for. Maybe explore looking at the other end of the chain. The end of the chain. The speakers.
Maybe.
If you like soft edged, warmth, earthy textures, along with orchestral music, i would suggest the offrande supreme. Again i have never heard it!
BUT...
I have owned a modified spendor bc 1 and then went from that to reynaud evolution 3 mk3. Today, i have the reference 3a virtuoso's, which are less earthy, clearer more neutral type of a speaker.
I say the reynaud supreme because based on my experience with the evo 3 which was generally very positive but in the end, as i've moved on down the road a bit further, as good as it is, it is a little bit too dark, more translucent than it is clear! But...I know what that speaker was striving for and it was doing a great job and going in the right direction! With that little bit of context and with owning a neutral warm speaker like the virtuoso's, and from talking to bob neil of amherst audio, i would say the supreme would be a larger departure away from the slight lack of clarity of the evo but with the beautiful earthy textures of the reynaud sound.
The evo 3 was a B+ speaker for orchestral music, vocals and unamplified instruments, the offrande supreme will be a A or maybe even a A+ speaker because if it takes the virtues of the evo 3 but removes its faults it truly must be a great speaker for orchestral music.
I know its flavour will still be different from my virtuoso's but both these speakers excel at what they do and are champs!... but in different departments!
Ultimately, i would say the virtuosos are a much better speaker than the evo 3's but because the offrande supreme is supposedly superior to what the evo already does well, i imagine it would be a real close shootout between the virtuosos and the supremes.
The virtuosos do rock better but the supremes orchestral. The way the reynauds can imitate the woodiness of a acoustic guitar body is superior to the virtuosos because the virtuosos go a bit too clear so as to remove the textures of a wood bodied instrument.
What am i trying to say?
I think the reynaud offrande supreme is a speaker who's forte is ...the qualities you seek. You listen to mostly orchestral music you say. Why not have a speaker who's forte is reproduction of the classical music concert hall but isnt dark or opaque?
So, you could dial in the warmth at the front or at the end of the chain to get the desired results.
Yes, Opus, good on ya. See if small inexpensive changes can steer your sound in the direction you are looking to go.
I would experiment with mats. Or look at what your amps are sitting on.
I have steered from a sound that was brittle and hashy to warm and smooth by simply placing a ebony shim between my cart and arm.
Cut from the base and shaped from of a $3 statue i found in a thrift store.
Do you feel like taking a crack at trying to describe what you dont like about your sound? I'm sure it has good qualities but what aspects about it dont you like?
The reynaud offrande supreme might be a color you should explore painting with. (smile)
