I purchased a refurbished pair of 1038s from Upscale Audio in the fall of 2018. Shipped from Focal in Canada direct to my house via freight on a pallet.
I had the 1028 Be prior to the 1038 Be. 1038s are a superior sounding speaker in every way. Better bass, more integrated sound from top to bottom, fuller mid bass. They go LOUD. I was using subs with the 1028s but not the 1038s (for two channel). Flat to low 30hz range (measured). Only negative is larger size.
They are not strident speakers. The Be tweeter is amazing, excellent resolution and very transparent. I don't think anyone would say Focal makes romantic sounding speakers but they are not fatiguing in anyway . It is highly resolving, pure, and transparent. Once you have listening time on these most other speakers can't compete.
I did notice the glass plate on top of the left speaker is slightly lower than the right speaker. Not aligned quite right to the side panels. I think this a product of being "refurbished". The speakers may not be perfect if you go this route but you still get the full warranty and the sound is unaffected. Not a big deal. Took me several months to notice.
Per Focal, there is no difference between 1038 Be and 1038 Be II. They are the same. Not sure why both terms are used.
I am using an Emotiva XMC-1 Pre/Pro, ATI AT525NC amplifier, Cambridge Audio CXN (V2) music server and WireWorld cabling. Also sprung for the Furutech GTX-D R outlet.
I had the 1028 Be prior to the 1038 Be. 1038s are a superior sounding speaker in every way. Better bass, more integrated sound from top to bottom, fuller mid bass. They go LOUD. I was using subs with the 1028s but not the 1038s (for two channel). Flat to low 30hz range (measured). Only negative is larger size.
They are not strident speakers. The Be tweeter is amazing, excellent resolution and very transparent. I don't think anyone would say Focal makes romantic sounding speakers but they are not fatiguing in anyway . It is highly resolving, pure, and transparent. Once you have listening time on these most other speakers can't compete.
I did notice the glass plate on top of the left speaker is slightly lower than the right speaker. Not aligned quite right to the side panels. I think this a product of being "refurbished". The speakers may not be perfect if you go this route but you still get the full warranty and the sound is unaffected. Not a big deal. Took me several months to notice.
Per Focal, there is no difference between 1038 Be and 1038 Be II. They are the same. Not sure why both terms are used.
I am using an Emotiva XMC-1 Pre/Pro, ATI AT525NC amplifier, Cambridge Audio CXN (V2) music server and WireWorld cabling. Also sprung for the Furutech GTX-D R outlet.