A lot has been said about Focal's clarity. That doesn't quite completely capture what they are. As I said, I heard many speakers on Sunday, but while everything has precision and accuracy, the Focal is the one that stands out because of charactor.
Its not just that its clear. The clarity conveys an air of freshness. Like an Evian commercial.
The balance, dynamics everything is spot on. But there's more. There's a seductive, alluring quality hat draws you in. Its the speaker that leaves the greatest impression. Maybe its the Naim ampplification. But it was great combo.
Going bakt ot he 1565. I had one as well. Very precise, dynamic. But rather unnemtional.
Class D divides opinion. Alomst as bad as Marmite. But the ICE based ones are probably not the pick of the bunch. It has omething to do with the output filters or something. But the general consensus, for those that don't like it, is the sound very 2d. The sound stage doesn't come forward and fill the room.
In a surround, HT setup, maybe not so bad. But it loses a lot of the atmospheric, immersion effect; which is why sound is so important in movies.
Imagine if we had perfected 3D tech for the video bit. No funny glasses or off axis distortions, like Star Trek's Holodeck, and then moving to what we have now.
I am concerned whether the class Ds can bring out all the subtle textures that make the Focal so unforgettable and lovely. (yes, that's the sort of terms to describe them. Lush is another)
The Primare's implementation of Class D sounds pretty good. the Anthem's M1 monoblocks are apparantly fantastic as well, if ridiculously expensive. Bel Canto is another make which uses the Class-T variation.
Also, a big floorstander can do with more juice.