I prefer the tannoy sound. Natural, warm, non-fatiguing, addictive to listen to.
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)
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Harbeth, Stirling, Spendor, Graham. -- i.e., the speakers descended from the BBC research programs of the last century. Someone has already mentioned the Harbeth 40.2. Electrostatic speakers, also, can be excellent at timbre. I have a pair of Janszen Valentinas and would put them high on the list of speakers that match your criteria. |
Under $10k? Tekton Ulfberht, obviously. Unless you want 90% of the Ulf for half the money, in that case Moab is the way to go. In any case you will find like Duke is saying there are factors other than the speaker itself. Tekton have superb timbre and tone, absolutely. And maybe it is precisely because they are so good at this that I have noticed with my Moabs just how much the other components contribute to this. Speakers are so far apart in this, the range is so much greater, we tend to think of components as more or less all the same. I have been surprised how much more lifelike and natural timbre and tone improved with a set of Townshend Pods under my turntable and amp. Was totally not expecting this! But all sorts of instruments now stand out so much more clearly each with their own individual timbre, and the improvement in detail while remaining natural (not hyped) is impressive. Not trying to push Townshend so much as trying to make the impression this is the same thing that happened listening to Tekton. These speakers are a genuine bona fide standout bargain. Also you mention image precision. Everyone hearing my Moabs finds the sound stage and imaging remarkable. Everyone. You give up nothing. |
I’m not sure which speaker is the "best" when it comes to timbre, but imo it will probably be one which does an excellent job of getting the reverberant field right. Perceived timbre involves both direct and reflected sound, and in general a spectral discrepancy between the two degrades timbre and can even result in listening fatigue. That delicious rich timbre in a good seat in a recital hall or concert hall is largely a result of a reverberant field done right. Obviously we don’t have playback rooms that size, but we can at least make a serious effort to get the spectral balance of our reverberant sound correct. Not that this is the only thing that matters, but ime it’s one of them, and one which is often overlooked. If I might ask a question, wester17, how much freedom do you have with speaker placement? Duke |
Gently used Harbeth 40.2's. Given that they have been "superseded" by the Anniversary and XD iterations, regular 40.2's should be easily managed under 10K. OR Gently used Vienna Acoustics Liszt. I spent a lot of time looking for something very similar to what you describe, and these would be my recommendations. For something just a tad more muscular, the Spendor Classic 100. Haven't heard it, but the Spendor SP100 Mk2 might fit your bill more exactly. |