I love the focal solo6. really smooth, have amazing imaging, and kind of silky (depends on setup and room, and maybe tweeter burn in). I noticed a lot more reverb tails and just overall the timbre is congealed, in positive way. in the show room and my own room, the center is pretty spot on, and the sound is very close.
The neumanns certainly have a distinct sound, you don't have to believe me. I tried to explain the sound in what I wrote, but you'll find similar sentiments on some threads buried here, about genelec vs Neumann, etc. I think it comes down to preference, but yes the neumanns were clear as day, the same overall timbre in the showroom as how they sounded with my various uses of them over the year or so that I had them. No, not every single detail was exactly the same, the room affect is always there. But it's a very familiar and unmistakable sound. For example, you think the Neumanns would sound like they have a beryllium tweeter just because of the room they're in?
Also, I tried barefoots there. some people describe barefoot footprint02 as "papery", where it lies in the drivers maybe? again, im no expert, but I agree with that description, that was my experience when I demoed the footprint 02s at the show room as well. This was also not hindsight bias, but shared views I stumbled upon after I demoed them. Very analytical but at higher spls kind of papery. The barefoots are often described as more aggressive and pushy as well.
One of my friends is an acoustics engineer. He swears by Dirac and other software as a means to make any speaker (Kali-Lp8 for example) comparable to a speaker that costs 4x as much. While he has a valid point and it's possible, I don't think it's that black and white. Cabinets, drivers, and sonic character can still be hold weight even that scenario.
I might be wrong, but this is kind of how I feel about speakers, and maybe why it's worth even checking out any other brand but Neumann at this point. I mean Neumann came out with the best measurements we've seen on here, right? So, why is anyone buying other speakers then?
Funny enough, I hadn't checked the measurements of the focal solo6s until after I demoed them. I saw that they look pretty good, as reviewed here, maybe my ears were right, or the room was forgiving? One way or another I seem to align with the way many people describe focals; somewhat intense tweeters, some warmth, good imaging, definitely some punch.
I mean, if a speaker line has a general reputation (like Barefoot for electronic music, bass music), you can't say that everyone that believes that characteristic exists is wrong unless you measure their room...
I agree, room and measurements ARE the top factor, but my point is they are far from the ONLY factor.
Also, im not here to rip on Neumann. I was more responding to that user's comment on how Neumann is just dusting Focal completely. It's apples to oranges here.