John Coltman did research into the effects that material and wall thickness had on the sound of a flute. REAL flute players were involved in the testing.

The write up of this rather technical stuff is at
http://ccrma.stanford.edu/marl/Coltman/

The conclusion was that:

"No evidence has been found that experienced listeners or trained players can distinguish between flutes of like mouthpiece whose only difference is the nature and thickness of the wall material of the body, even when the variations in the material and thickness are very marked. Of course it is possible that individuals exist whose discriminatory senses are keen enough to find a distinction, but if so, they are certainly not common. Moreover, the results suggest that even careful attempts to produce identical sounds on the same instrument produce variations that are more perceptible than any that might be associated with the material...."

But what I am keen to present in this thread is the following that Coltman said in relation to criticism of his double-blind experiment:

"The player cannot, under normal playing circumstances, dissociate his
personal preferences and prejudices from the question at hand. In the case
of the three `flutes` I constructed, nearly every player who picked them up
and tried them had a preference for one or the other. Often he would
describe his impressions - the wooden flute has a` fuller` tone, the silver
one projects much better, etc. He was then usually baffled to find that he
could not identify any of the instruments under the `blindfold` conditions I
described. The plain facts are that his judgement is influenced by
preconceived notions and mental associations of tone quality with other
properties of the material. This is a normal human reaction, intensified in
the case of those trained to incorporate feeling into their art, and to whom
the instrument becomes, in effect, an extension of their own body and
personality. I do not belittle this attitude; it is, I believe, a desirable
condition for the achievement of the fullest artistic expression. It is just
not suited for answering narrow, objective questions like the one I posed -
namely: can the material of which a flute is made directly influence the
tone quality produced. To successfully carry out meaningful work on
questions like this, it is essential not only to eliminate as far as
possible variations other than the one that is being tested, but also to
remove form the experiment personal predispositions, associations and
prejudices."

I certainly agree that we are emotionally attached to our playing, either in a positive or a negative way. It would make sense that it would influence our perceptions when allowed as a factor.

We probably should educate ourselves on the flutes that employ the best engineering technology in construction and design, rather than focusing on the gold/platinum/crypton or whatever content.

Or maybe we should just love what we have, and that perception/emotion will flavor our performance!

Another issue which may be being overlooked is the difference between the tone quality being heard by the performer and that heard by the listeners. It may be genuinely different at close range in the right ear (more so than the left) than from a reasonable distance. This could be a factor in instrument construction preference leading to predjudices of the general nature that most players have. This factor alone causes many younger players to incorrectly compensate for a perceived "airy" tone quality which can drastically modify their projection and dynamic capabilities.
~Bilbo

Yes. I am always astonished at how different a flute sounds with a curved head. I am sure that the curved heads do not universally have a tone that is THAT different.

So the perceived difference must be mainly on account of the different location of the flute with respect to the ears, particularly the right ear.

Regarding airy tone quality, I have a top local player as a customer. The playing sounds very airy when I listen to it in my cramped work room, but from the auditorium in a concert all, the tone is outstanding.

I would get little personal satifaction playing at home with a tone that airy. The question is, if this professional`s tone was NOT airy at close quarters, could it still sound great from a distance. My guess is `yes`, because I ahve other customers who have a great tone both close and from a distance.

IMO, contrary to popular belief - isn`t that so common for me! - in some quarters, local airiness is NOT a prerequisite for a great, `projected` sound from a distance.

I agree with you. Airiness is not a prerequesite for a good projected tone BUT it`s not any reason to shy away from trying to project-which is so often the case. Airiness is often the result of wasted air missing the production area of the embuchure setup. My old prof has no airiness to his tone but projects with the minimum amount of breath necessary for the given dynamic. I equate to the optimum shape of the air column. -Height, width, length as well as velocity.

I completely agree.

Airiness would seem to be as a result of mis-aimed air that is wasted.

Yes, but as noted before, the questions are, is the airiness heard by the listener and then is it undesireable.
Good flute tone quality can be such a subjective thing. Each person`s tone is different and each listener may prefer a specific quality. It`s like personalities. Some are universally appealing others are trolls.
The general approach is that really good flutists are able to control all aspects of tone to manipulate the mood and color. There are some `great` flutists however who present only one quality in their playing and having reached greatness, stick with it like a favorite old pair of shoes.
I liken this to actors. Some actors are meerly characters that exhibit a personality that never varies. -Like a Jimmy Stewart. Others take on the role and their personality disappears beind the character. Like a Robert Duval.

I agree with you Bilbo about how some stick to one style as actors are sometime only good with one style. That is my biggest problem right now. EVERYTHING I play sounds the time. I mean I can articulate and play differnetly in that aspect but as far as trying to change the sound I`m stuck

agh everything sounds the SAME not time...sheesh....