Sorry to hear you don’t link the focals. I have a good bit of experience with both brands and they sound pretty different from each other.
Ferrofluid does dry out and affect the sound in almost all speakers. It is a magnetic fluid (magnetite/oil) used for cooling. It could be cleaned out and replaced with the right tools/knowledge). I have a very old pair of thiels I kept around that have a similar issue.
IMO the B&W has amazing soundstage…. Maybe the best for me. The scoop around 300hz combined with the peak at 5k is not for everyone. The uneven dispersion makes them a bit tricky. But as a whole they have a special sound.
the focal will sound more integrated and have a smoother hand off from mid bass to mids but will never soundstage like the B&W. I alway feel like the B&W 802 has better bass but it is so room dependent I am hesitant to comment on it.
many years ago everyone online said the Wilson Audio Sophia 3 simply outclassed the 802D2. I demoed them independently (also the focal 1037be, Revel Salon). After demoing in isolation I too thought the Wilson was better than the 802D…. I went back for a last demo and the dealer put them in the spot (moving one pair out and the other in. Same front end (top of the line stuff)…. I was dumbfounded to pick the 802D2 as the winner. It hit harder with more detail and the soundstage was unreal. I broke my shoulder skiing that week and never ended up buying either…
Now I use a pair of JBL 4367 and I think it is my “final” speaker lol…. But if I ever find a pair of 801D4s used and I have the cash I will buy them just as a novelty as they are very different from the JBLs.