Its called Accurate/Faithful reproduction , not excessively bright!
Yes, probably excessively bright when people are using an Onkyo AV receiver or iffy class D.
I felt my Thiels could get strident on some material, and for a few years blamed some of the recordings. For example, I had gotten a pricey Japanese LP sleeve CD of XTC Nonsuch, and thought it was
horrific. I literally took it out of the regular part of the collection. Once I had my BAT gear and PS Audio cable, one evening while listening to my regular redbook version of Nonsuch, I decided to dust off the Japanese one and try it. I was frankly stunned. It. Was. Amazing. My old Adcom/MIT cable combo was the problem. Once I had something with gobs of current, a little tube sweetness and quality balanced cable it changed everything.
No doubt, I'll feel the same with the Focals. Half the fun is matching things up - but I feel I'm well on my way already. My take on every well set up Focal I've heard is one of sweetness and spaciousness.
From what I understand, the main reason that Focal switched to flax was a cost-savings measure. They can mass-produce those. The W glass compound need to be entirely hand assembled. However, there does seem to be a consensus that the new IAL3 tweeter is a notable improvement over the 2nd generation. How much? I don't know.
For me, the 1028 or Kanta No2's seem about right, as
my listening spaces aren't particularly large. I have a weird open floorplan, so in a way the rooms are big because they open up on each other, but it's still snug. No doubt, those with decent sized rooms would opt for the 1038 or Kanta No 3, as would I.
Still, the cost of the 1028's on closeout is tempting. Yes, saw those at Music Direct a couple of weeks ago, and I'm fine with black!
For those in the Chicago area, I see there's a pair of 1028 dealer demos for sale at that AG place for $3500. Local pickup only.