That is an odd question at the end....

A persons tone, sound, darkness, brightness, nasal sound, all is a personal choice.

And a listener is the last person to ask. It is a personal choice. You as the player are the one that is your greatest critic. You SHOULD have a sound in your head that you are trying to emulate. Truly it is mainly going to be  based on  your personal skull/oral cavity.

There are players that love Sonny Rollins sound.... is that the Rollins fron the  Newks Time era, the Bridge era, or the Rollins from his older years, when he couldn't play without his partial plate? Rollins played on a Bundy Tenor for quite awhile. The equipment is redundant.

There are players that love Brecker. I love his ability, but his sound isn't something I like.

I personally like the old school sound. I play on vintage 7* links. But, if I play on a Guardala, I guarantee I will be the only person that can tell the difference. My voice is mine and mine only. I wont sound like Brecker

So, the greatest way to get your sound is listen to yourself. Do long tones.

You cant buy "Chops in a Box"

Good Luck

The best ligature is the one that clamps the reed flush against the table.  There is so much variation in the size and body taper in the lig attachment area, that a lig that works great on one piece may not fit a different piece as well.  To see if material matters,  check this video out.  
 https://youtu.be/M1hGxmpILa8