Q: What is timbre?

Timbre (actually pronounced "tam-bur") describes the physical qualities of sound that are distinct from either its pitch (frequency) or its volume. Timbre is sometimes described as "texture."

High-quality loudspeakers reproduce the sometimes-subtle differences in timbre much more clearly. For example, a guitar aficionado should easily be able to hear the difference in timbre between Martin and Gibson acoustic guitars on a good system. When a person says that he wants all of his speakers to be timbre matched, he means that each speaker should reproduce sounds in the same way with no differences in tone, dynamics or detail.