Focal Kanta No.2

The mere fact that Kantas seem to have been designed, at least in part, with crossover to lifestyle appeal in mind, is already a huge stroke against them in the minds of most audiophiles.  They would really have to overperform to vindicate themselves.

So.... I should understand that the sentiment here is to save $6000 and just buy 936's that'll blow them clean out of the water? Because that's pretty much what I'm getting here. 

The mere fact that Kantas seem to have been designed, at least in part, with crossover to lifestyle appeal in mind, is already a huge stroke against them in the minds of most audiophiles.

Not in the mind of this audiophile.  I really prefer appealing design, especially in something like speakers that essentially become furniture in a room.  So an appealing design is a plus for me, and that's one reason why I was attracted to the Kantas.

I'm not familiar with 946's. If you mean 948's, they certainly can overwhelm a smallish to average size room. That's exactly why I didn't get them. You could probably overwhelm a small room with 936's too. The exact same things can be observed with the Sopra floorstanders. Focals are well known to have a meaty middle bass region. They most certainly design their speakers with an intended room size in mind. So you're going to blame the speakers because somebody decided to stuff them in an inappropriate room? That's kinda dumb. 

And I'm completely with Prof on the looks thing. Who exactly looks at a speaker and says "that thing isn't ugly enough to be good"? That's pretty much what a few of you have said. When was the time Focal didn't brag about the overtly french esthetic of their designs? Speakers are supposed to look like industrial machinery if they want to be taken seriously? I'm not sure I want speakers that have the esthetic of a Mazak CNC machine or a Fanuc robot, even if Dave Wilson and Vandersteen think they should. Saying a speaker looks too good to be serious is about the lamest criticism I can think of.