Focals Twin Be 6 vs Barefoot MM27 ?

[androne]

Well, there were so many "... vs ..." monitor threads going that I just added one myself

Still, I am curious how the MM27 will be against the Focals... ?
Dont know if the MM27 are so much more than these Twins.

Thomas, any news on the Nanomains ???

[edham]

I have twice demo'ed the twins.
And bought the Barefoots.

My second demo of the twins lasted 4 days and I got to mix on them side by side with the barefoots.

I am the cheapest S.O.B on the planet and as a former commercial studio owner I find it impossible to abandon the 80/20 rule when it comes to purchases.
I always buy the item that gives me 80% of the performance for 20% of the price.

So you can take away that ultimately the twins are nowhere near 80% of the barefoots.
I wrote a big check for the barefoots. A big painful check. It was more than I have paid for CARS. And I am completely satisfied that I did.

The twins are great for the bread and are serious contenders in the under $3k price range. I have nothing bad to say about them at all even though I am not a fan of the tweeter - the low end and the low mids more than make up for it.

But mix results speak for themselves and the barefoots are flat, extended, balanced and still sound good and my mixes have just come out great from day one. So i wrote the check.

[roostert]

Purchased the MM27's 7 months ago. Wanted to demo the Focal's. Went through 3 calls over a month and a half, to Mercenary Audio, trying to get a set to try. I was being told that they couldn't get any right now, and that the only pair they had were on loan.

Didn't want to spend the money on the Barefoot's. Spoke directly to Thomas at Barefoot, he spoke to Vintage King, and 2 days later I had Barefoot's to try. They absolutly blew my mind. I already had a very stable client base in Nashville, and had reservations about a monitor switch to begin with. These monitors allowed my mixes to sound better than ever, and the response from clients and musicians is overwhelming! In fact, the Tracking Room (formerly of the Masterfonics regime), is going to sell their S3A's and purchase Barefoots, because every time I track there, All the musicians and clients I work with are talking how great is sounds.

Oh, and once I had the barefoots for about a month, Mercenary called me and said they finally "located" a pair for me to try. Don't know if it was them or Focal, but didn't seem to me to be someone who wanted (or needed) to sell a pair very bad! If Focal was the issue, then I'm sorry to say, in this engineer's experience, I wouldn't do business with them (focal). If I can't get action on the purchasing front, then I'm a little un-easy of what kind of support I'm going to get if something goes wrong.

All I can say is, lucky for me I got my hands on some Barefoot's first! My mixes have improved, and my client base has been growing exponentially ever since.

I'm sure those who have purchased the Focal's probably have nothing but good to say about their experience, and I'm sure the Focal's are a fine product. However, they certainly missed a sale with me, and I have to say, it's the best $7500 I've ever spent in my career. Once I had a chance to mix on those MM27's....It was all over in my mind.

Good Luck with your decisions!

[fastonkeys]

I'm in the same boat as the above two. Very happy with my MM27s and I also demoed the Focals. In my mind, the MM27s (while a significant investment) do provide the "80-20" rule mentioned by the earlier post because of NOT having to invest in additional subs or bass management. I was able to sell off 3 sets of monitors and 2 subs after installing the MM27s; nothing else was needed. Mixes sound better and I get work done much faster. One of the best (gear) decisions I've made, and lots of thanks owed to various people on this board for the guidance and recommendation!

[Fletcher]

Originally Posted by roostert

Oh, and once I had the barefoots for about a month, Mercenary called me and said they finally "located" a pair for me to try. Don't know if it was them or Focal, but didn't seem to me to be someone who wanted (or needed) to sell a pair very bad!

It was probably us... we're not all that aggressive with the sales stuff and the Focals we have been getting have been leaving the building pretty much as quickly as they arrive... which means that it's kinda rare for us to get a demo pair to shake loose.

I suppose we should be more aggressive with the sales stuff but that really isn't our style. We're not a joint that sells things... we're a joint where people buy things when they want to know the service and backup they'll receive is second to none... couple that with the fact that we're kinda understaffed and find afternoon cocktail hour more important than doing sales calls and we probably dropped the ball.

Sorry for the inconvenience... but I'm certainly happy to hear you got a pair of monitors that please your sense of aesthetic and allow you to do the work you need to do.

Peace.

[Jack P]

Originally Posted by Bryan Talbot

Also very happy that I bought them a year ago for $6k before they went up to $7500!?

thumbsup Yup...

[edham]

uh......
Still $6500
******//vintageking.com/New-Brands/Ba...roMain-27-Pair

[Tetness]

I've been rather confused by the price of 7,500 per pair. The speakers cost 6,500 per pair. Keep the good reviews coming

[androne]

Really a shame no one can demo the MM27s here in Europe !
I mean, would Vintage King ship these on a 30 days trial basis ? Dont think so....

Any news on those NanoMains ? These would be killer if they would be like a 'shrinked' MM27

[pw8888]

I bought the MM27 from VK.
Very very happy with them.
I did a test between the 2 .(focal and MM27)
no comparaison......

[daaronhoffman]

I would hope that a $6700 Barefoot setup would sound noticably better than a $2900 Focal setup! We're talking $3700 difference!

I would LOVE to get the Barefoots, but it's too rich in price for me right now...the Focals offer a performance/cost that's realistic.

Aaron

[kats]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

the service and backup they'll receive is second to none... we're kinda understaffed and find afternoon cocktail hour more important
Peace.

I'm practicing for a new career in news reporting


Sorry, I can't help it.

[patrox247]

Originally Posted by Fletcher

couple that with the fact that we're kinda understaffed and find afternoon cocktail hour more important than doing sales calls and we probably dropped the ball.

Yeah.....That actually explains quite a bit.

[Muso]

I so don't think money has anything to do with it however. I've got a pair of twins and am still mixing on our 10m's simply because they've got so much more mid range definition it's unreal. Focals are nice to listen to, great for stereo and bottom end but beyond that I'm not convinced.

[Tetness]

Originally Posted by androne

Really a shame no one can demo the MM27s here in Europe !
I mean, would Vintage King ship these on a 30 days trial basis ? Dont think so....

Any news on those NanoMains ? These would be killer if they would be like a 'shrinked' MM27

We're working on it and we will have some very good news soon.

[androne]

Great Thomas, and I dont want to sound impatient but..... how soon ??
I can hardly wait!

[GYang]

Costlier solution is likely to be better.
Still, the point is that Focals are extremelly good monitors that justifty fully their price.
Twins will allow good engineer to make great mix without slightest shadow of doubt. If budget is tight IMO Twins are way to go without hesitation. Actually, I still mix quite often on Event or PMC DB1A monitors (both sub 2 k in price) and occassionaly check on K+H or ADAMs.
Quality of room acoustic treatment is more critical to hear exactly what one needs to hear.
Naturally that bigger loudspeakers with powerful amps will push more celn volume toward listener, but in 99% of work it's not an absolute necessity.
So, I can suggest, if funds are issue, go with Focals and focus on music.

[GYang]

Originally Posted by edham

I always buy the item that gives me 80% of the performance for 20% of the price.

So you can take away that ultimately the twins are nowhere near 80% of the barefoots.

Really?
So barefoots should be around 50% or 70% better? If so,, their price should be at least 15k

Compared to other proven 5-6 k systems, Focals are closer to 95% of their sonical perfomance.
Actaully, the rule of diminishing returns is applicable here as elsewhere.
Around 3k for monitors nowdays enables 99% of necessary information to be translated correctly. Further improvement is always costly and for critical jom even small improvement might be worth double or triple price.

[fastonkeys]

I beg to differ-- value and price (or cost depending which side of table u sit on) are mutually exclusive. I would have paid more for my MM27s, but at $6500K, they are great value.

[edham]

Originally Posted by GYang

Compared to other proven 5-6 k systems, Focals are closer to 95% of their sonical perfomance.

My bank account wishes I agreed with you.
Sub 3K I'd take Quested 2108's, PMC Tb2's or used 8050's over the Focals.

Anyone shopping in that price ballpark should consider Focal's absolutely but they are not 95% of the Barefoots.

(only posting again because you quoted me).

[C.Judd Karn]

I checked out a lot of speakers using material I new (either off location or here in the studio). They all left a lot out of the sonic picture.

I checked out he Focals with a dealer in LA and was very disappointed, I didn't want to be.

VK sent me a pair of mm27's on demo, I mixed on them and I ordered them instantly. Crazy punchy low end in your mixes "instantly".

The mm27's are so much more sonically revealing than the focals or anything you can get out there. You really do get what you pay for with the Barefoots.

Also, I should note that I too have experience client bliss. I even worked recently with someone in another studio on Pro Ac's (great speakers, still missing a thing or 2 though).
I could tell that this client was one of those that would be hard to please in a mix situation (very micro hyper analytical and not very good at explaining what they are after).

But I did the mix without both the producer and artist NOT there and both were
stoked with the mix (just a few vocal level changes and that's it).

So that said, I am very happy with my choice and amazed at the time I'm saving with the Barefoots.

They work for me

[TML]

You know... so many great records have been mixed on speakers we've all had and sold on this site that the fact that people think the barefoots blow away any of the others is kinda misleading imo. I haven't heard the Barefoots but have heard many of the "off the shelf" speakers mentioned all the time on this site.... and to say the focals are not revealing.... well whatever... I'm gonna get back to mixing.....to the original poster.... depending on where you are in the recording food chain..... these higher end speakers may or may not have anything to offer you.... but I would advise to have 2 sets of speakers to help give you a quick 2nd opinion... ie Focal/barefoots... and a set of ns 10's
Tim

[studjo]

are there any Barefoots in the 3K range? If not - stop doing comparisons 3K price difference I hope they sound better

[androne]

I have 2 questions now:

1) Is there ANY further news on those NanoMains now ???

2) Can Focal Twins be used for mastering like the Barefoots ? I guess maybe not as the Focals sound more hifi.... but not surely


Your takes?

[212121]

Originally Posted by androne

I have 2 questions now:

1) Is there ANY further news on those NanoMains now ???

2) Can Focal Twins be used for mastering like the Barefoots ? I guess maybe not as the Focals sound more hifi.... but not surely


Your takes?

NanoMains??? are those the mm12? thumbsup