I have first hand experience of this, a friend of mine has a pair of Focal Stella Utopia and a pair of Tannoy Turnberry GR (similar to the Sterling but slightly larger cabinet). His amplification is top notch, complete FM Acoustics pre-power with all FM acoustics cables. Front end is Esoteric K01 and top of the line Roksan Turntable with FM Acoustics phonostage.
In this system, even though the Focal can play at ear bleeding levels, the Tannoys actually overshadow the Stella Utopia when it comes to scale, dynamics and overall realism. It was quite intriguing to see a single Tannoy 10" driver taking on a full array of woofers and mid drivers of the Focal and beating the Focals on all major music making qualities. The Tannoys sound a lot less compressed. When music expands, the Tannoys just keeps growing without ever hinting its limits. The Focal on the other hand sounds like a regular speaker with a bigger sound.
I have heard the Magicos and Sonus too, but not side by side. None of them have the dynamic effortlessness of the Tannoys. And yes, the new Tannoys are extremely refined animals, they do not sound vintage or anything. They just sound more like the real thing.
In this system, even though the Focal can play at ear bleeding levels, the Tannoys actually overshadow the Stella Utopia when it comes to scale, dynamics and overall realism. It was quite intriguing to see a single Tannoy 10" driver taking on a full array of woofers and mid drivers of the Focal and beating the Focals on all major music making qualities. The Tannoys sound a lot less compressed. When music expands, the Tannoys just keeps growing without ever hinting its limits. The Focal on the other hand sounds like a regular speaker with a bigger sound.
I have heard the Magicos and Sonus too, but not side by side. None of them have the dynamic effortlessness of the Tannoys. And yes, the new Tannoys are extremely refined animals, they do not sound vintage or anything. They just sound more like the real thing.