You're not comparing speakers in the similar price range. If you're going to compare Sonus Faber to Focal 1038 be, you need to be comparing the Olympica 3's with them. I heard both the Olympica and 1038 in the same system and favored the Olympica. Completely different sounds, mainly do to their tweeters. Focal has the beryllium tweeter vs. the soft dome sweet of the Sonus Fabers. Though an overgeneralization, the Sonus Fabers are more organic, richer sound, more musical to my tastes but not as detailed as the Focals. Focal is more detailed, a bit on the bright side of neutral and has a larger open sound. I favored the Sonus Fabers for my musical tastes and music genres I listen to. I now put my Olympicas up for sale and hope to maybe move up the SF line. I really like their sound though I realize everything is about personal preference.