Being voiced and bright are not mutually exclusive and B&W is another example of a voiced design. Bad, good, all the ear of the beholder but as you said, its not exactly a forgiving design and you didn't mention the source material as its often a pretty common culprit to bright sound.
Now for the Persona's elevated response on some spots of the frequency response by no means indicate a forgone conclusion the speaker will sound bright, as long as it can produce the ranges cleanly without linearity changes. It does indicate the speakers will need some placement work to get there. The upper treble response is elevated on axis but seems to be engineered with the fall off curve. Its likely something you don't want to have dead on to your listening spot and instead use the off axis response to make the in room balance work. The second is the flare between the mid and tweeter as there is an elevated response area in this range. A bit of that transparent sound is certainly comes from that and I see that upper treble elevation an effort to prevent the loss of treble air due too the tweeter fall off in area.
Knowledgeable setup work would be advised for this speaker more than others. Certainly not the only speaker that is well regarded doing this and this seems to be another design that follows that trait. I might add Focal or Triangle in that grouping as those also have a targeted response and both brands have their fans and advocates on their particular house sound. I think its more a certain sound one might be seeking than anything else. In my own personal experience, I've tended not to enjoy this style as often as I do others.
The Monitors are good speakers, and may be slightly high priced in terms of performance compared to some others in its range. They do provide a differing aesthetic which may speak to some over others. Maybe glossy wood veneers are really your thing! If that was the case, I go for the top end Dali Epicon, as those have some striking wood finishes and from experiences with them are quite good in their own right.
So many good options, so little time!
Now for the Persona's elevated response on some spots of the frequency response by no means indicate a forgone conclusion the speaker will sound bright, as long as it can produce the ranges cleanly without linearity changes. It does indicate the speakers will need some placement work to get there. The upper treble response is elevated on axis but seems to be engineered with the fall off curve. Its likely something you don't want to have dead on to your listening spot and instead use the off axis response to make the in room balance work. The second is the flare between the mid and tweeter as there is an elevated response area in this range. A bit of that transparent sound is certainly comes from that and I see that upper treble elevation an effort to prevent the loss of treble air due too the tweeter fall off in area.
Knowledgeable setup work would be advised for this speaker more than others. Certainly not the only speaker that is well regarded doing this and this seems to be another design that follows that trait. I might add Focal or Triangle in that grouping as those also have a targeted response and both brands have their fans and advocates on their particular house sound. I think its more a certain sound one might be seeking than anything else. In my own personal experience, I've tended not to enjoy this style as often as I do others.
The Monitors are good speakers, and may be slightly high priced in terms of performance compared to some others in its range. They do provide a differing aesthetic which may speak to some over others. Maybe glossy wood veneers are really your thing! If that was the case, I go for the top end Dali Epicon, as those have some striking wood finishes and from experiences with them are quite good in their own right.
So many good options, so little time!
