I have 1038be, bought at the new price 8 years ago. At the time they smoked everything else in the range for balance (fat/thin), and high end clarity - the inverted be domes are great. I have owned 3 other Focal speakers, including their 2-way studio monitors which I mixed a hundred records on. So, I believe Focal engineering is high quality. I also own devialet amps, and their SAM compensation for the 1038 does indeed give it an additional octave of very smooth low end. The finishes on the 1038 look good too ... not a plastic kind of look.