I have some experience with Tonian speakers, although not in my system. A neighbor had a pair of Tonian prototype speakers. They were basically a TL-D1 with a super tweeter, as I recall. They were incredibly fast, with excellent clarity and completely free of grain. The bass was lacking, which for me is a deal breaker. Considering the Classic 12.1 have the same qualities with the addition of lower bass, then I'm certain they are exceptional. Their price point put them out of the running for my system.
I also heard Tonians a few years ago at the Stereophile show in LA. I didn't care for the speakers at this show. They were too incisive for my taste.
In general, I've moved away from speakers with a crisp, revealing sound. Although speakers of this type convey exciting sound with great attack, I find that I can't listen to them for very long.
On the other hand, I found the AN-E to have just the right amount of incisiveness blended with a certain midrange warmth that I find pleasing for long periods of time. Recall that I wrote earlier that I shifted my evaluation paradigm away from analyzing performance for perfection, and toward emotional involvement. I believe the Tonian/Audio Note difference highlights this paradigm shift pretty well.
Those interested in accuracy, precision, and neutrality would likely enjoy the Tonian speakers a great deal.
