Hales T8's ot Talon Khorus

The Khorus is an entirely different beast. I wouldn't make any decisions without auditioning it first. If you like your T8, there is a chance you might not be happy with the Khorus. I had a chance to audition both side by side and the Khorus captivated my heart with its musical and rich presentation. Where both speakers differ most is the upper midrange - lower treble region: Khorus doesn't accentuate this region, which makes it sound richer and fully textured giving more body to vocals and instruments. T8 on the other hand may sound somewhat bright, harsh and even ear-bleading on bad recordings, with increased sibilance and an overall leaner sound. The first thing I noticed about the Khorus was that even bad recordings sounded surprisingly good.
Personally, I liked the Khorus better for its more natural presentation (the small Talon Khites had the same ear friendly although nicely detailed sound) and the way it emotionally connected me with music. But of course YMMV :-)

As to the T-8's, I think the key here is bad recordings. What one may characterize as bright and harsh another may describe as "revealing" or unforgiving. The T-8's are widely recognized for their sweet midrange and faithful reproduction of the human voice. And this is how I feel about mine. And, as I am also finding with my T-8's, because they are so revealing, (if it is recorded hot, it can sound hot), the choice of associated equipment can pose a challenge.
Also, the case could be made that one man's tipped front end could be perceived by another as a lack of "bloom" in the upper mid/ low highs displayed by another speaker in a comparison test, finding this trait an unwelcome accretion to the source. Is that what YMMV means?

If a speaker by itself makes a bad recording sound good, how is it possible that it is not imparting its own (substantial) character to the sound? And if true, tis neither good nor bad, but dependent upon what one is looking for. And I guess that is what you mean, Mark, by YMMV.

Match Hales T5's and (mine to arrive soon) T8's with tubes or the ever elusive "warm' solidstate amp.