Just heard the Persona 5Fs yesterday (powered by Meridian DAC/Pre/Amp with Transparent cable) and the sound was perhaps the most detailed I’ve ever heard, yet still "musical". I think this presentation may be the sort of sound you’re after (the original poster)... if you want to "see all of the musical information" I was constantly stunned by the additional layers of micro-detail in familiar recordings I never knew existed. And this was red-book 16 bit 44.1 kHz resoution audio... not LP or SACD. And yet it was like I was being immersed in high-resolution sound with infinite detail and decay... that sense that the music was fully visible with nothing hidden or veiled.
The mental image that kept coming to mind was as if I was seeing 3D 4K-IMAX versions of recordings that here-to-fore I had only seen on standard prints. The IMAX analogy was applicable in many ways... imaging was not just left-right, and not just front-back 3D, but also up *and* down. It was like sitting in a stadium chair floating in space with an unbounded sonic image in front of me that extended in all directions... up/down/left/right/front/back (recording dependent, of course). Uncanny. And one other interesting characteristic of the soundscape... as the music was turned louder, the soundstage images became larger... again like watching 3D IMAX. very interesting. The speakers were set very far apart so I suspect this may have played a part similarly to how paralax visual 3D images can affect how one perceives size. but in any case, regardless of volume, I was awash in micro-sonic-detail that seemed to have no limit. Very satisfying for the listener who loves to "stare" into their music soundscape and discover those hidden details like musical-treasure-hunting.
We also played many different types of music... from Joni Mitchel to Holy Cole to 80s pop to electronic synth recordings... and everything sounded seductive and sublime... but all very *different*. You could hear how each recording was mastered with pin-point vividness... what each audio engineer was doing differently with each recording.
One recording would sound warm. Then the next cool with jet-black backgrounds and crystal-clear high. Every mastering/recording-chain difference track-to-track and album-to-album was perfectly plain. And yet with this ability to reveal recording differences with striking clarity, all recordings we played were listenable and enjoyable. Next time I go I plan to take my own gear, including my Aurender music server so I can hear what I know to be "bad recordings" I own to hear how they convey on the Personas.
I was often surprised by what I "discovered" with familiar recordings... Recordings I had always thought were "flat" suddenly had front/back soundstaging. Recordings I always felt were dry and edgy suddenly sounded sweet on the top end yet with more detail than I have heard previously. It was as if micro-detail that perhaps has obscured imaging on lesser-systems was now being rendered authentically which caused my brain to perceive the presentation very differently.
At least audition these speakers if you can to see if that sonic character matches what you’re after (and works in your system with your gear).
