If used speakers are on the list and you're willing to look at some less-than-typical speakers, nothing I have seen comes close to the realism of JBL M2s. They require DSP and lots of amplification, but I have seen whole systems, amps and DSP included, for around 12-13K. The speakers themselves should be able to be found for <10K per pair. I mix on them for a living and they are the first speakers I have ever heard that come close to replicating what my microphones are hearing in the live room.without knowing what the recording chain is there is no way of telling what you're hearing is an addition or subtraction to the real performance by real musicians in a real space. M2s are unique in tat regard.
What speaker – under $10k – has the best timbre and tonal qualities?
Several years ago, a prominent reviewer had this to say as he was praising the natural and life-like tonal qualities of a particular speaker:
It’s [speakers] like these that make me question the priorities of audiophiles who relegate accuracy of timbre to secondary status. How are the richness and color of instruments, voices, ensembles, and textures to be reproduced in all their infinite variety and beauty if a loudspeaker has less than accurate reproduction of timbre? What do dynamics, imaging, detail, transparency, and the like matter if voices and instruments don’t sound like themselves?
I’ve come the same realization, late in the game. I recently made a lateral move from one of the most popular of recent speaker models to a different speaker, because it sounded so much more natural and realistic in timbre. I sacrificed a touch of image precision in doing so, but it has been well worth it. The sound is so much more engaging. It’s like going from a high-resolution black and white photograph – which is very detailed and impressive – to a color version of the same photo, but with slightly less resolution. The color version offers so much more in terms of realism.
So I’m now contemplating the purchase of what I hope will be my last speakers, with the objective of realistic, natural, and rich (but not artificially warm) tone being the primary attribute.
What speakers, under $10k, would you recommend? (I’m driving them with a PrimaLuna Prologue Premium)