Focal Aria 936 / Elac Adante AF-61 / Von Schweikert VR-33 , impressions, thoughts?

Kosst.

I have no idea what you are going to say tbh........

Enlighten us.

Only one of those made it to the Stereophile recommend gear list. Only one can I assure you that it'll reach down into the 30's with authority. Only one I can promise will deliver a towering, deep, wide, precise soundstage. That's the 936. I love mine. They sound excellent whether I'm throwing Loreena McKennitt, Dead Can Dance, Bassnectar, or Tool at them. 

Now you are talking a language I can understand!
Actually after your first post I did a quick search of 936 post in forum and came across one from yourself that alluded to you owning them.
Really good to know and thank you!

My only reservation was a couple of mentions of needing a fair dose of amp to adequately drive the bass.

Kosst, I'm confused.  You laud the 936 for reaching down into the 30s with authority, yet most reviews I've read of other Focal speakers even up to the Sopra No 2 seem to indicate a bottom end without a lot of authority.  So, now I'm wondering what's what about this.  I have been very interested in Focal, but I keep reading this sort of thing about them. 

I have personal experience with the VR-33 speakers.   I saw all the ads how a $3750 pair of speakers are as good as  speakers costing $15,000 because they are sold direct.  I read a couple of professional reviews, one by Greg Weaver and another from an online publication.  So, I bought into the hype.  I found a used pair for just under 3K here and bought them.

I was so excited and really wanted to LOVE them.  I took the day off from work on the day of their arrival.  Spent a couple of hours setting them up per Alberts instructions, held my breath and......disappointment.  What little bass there was , was quite boomy.  I ran them in for an entire month  using the Isotek Burn In CD.  They sounded no different after a month.  I moved them a little this way and that way, replaced my power amp to a 250wpc amp, no change.  I took the room drapes down, then replaced them.  It was mostly a bass problem   and a little bit of squawkiness in the upper midrange.

A year went by and my wife mentioned "you never play your system in the living room any more."  I thought about it and she was right, I had been listening to my secondary system because I couldn't bring myself to listen to the living room system.  In January 2015, I bought a pair of GE Triton Ones and never looked back.  I sold the VR33 speakers for a huge loss.  I have now moved the GE Triton Ones to my secondary system and purchased GE Triton Refs for the main system.

Now, the kicker is the guy I sold the VR33 to said the bass was great in his room and he loves them, go figure.  So, the moral here is it may or may not work in your situation.  Caveat emptor.