How do you like FOCAL monitors?

[Purusha]

I just had a chance to hear the Focal SM6 Solo 6 BE and I was blown away. Next to them the guy had Dynaudio BM15 and there was no doubt that Dynaudio were just sounded strange with no real stereo image and clarity. I just wonder what is your opinion on the Focal new range of monitors?

[Yuri Kogan]

We have SM11 and they are superb (we are replacing our 5.1 S3A +sub system with them as well)

Briefly heard the other models - impressive


Yuri

[tomdarude]

working on a pair of Solo6 Be since 3months...I´m really happy with them!
not hyped in any way.....very easy to listen to.....but also very accurate

chose them over new Genelecs, Dyn BM6a, Adam P22/S2a
actually I would have prefered the K/H O300, which I know & love...but they were more than twice the $$.....so I don´t regret my choice in anyway

hope this helps, cheers tom





PS: and they will make a good 2nd pair, when I finally have the the $$$
for the Barefoot MM27 !!!!!! ....man, do I want a pair of these

[Lindell]

We have SM11 in the mastering room, SM8 in studio2, Twin 6 in studio3, and soon to come SM8 in studio1 too.

What can I say.... they are the very best mixing speakers I've ever used. Great imaging, great freq response, great power handling and dynamics. Translates extremely well.

Peace,

[studjo]

I love 'em! I use SM11 - choose em over the K&H0300 and Adams and ... - actually it was without a doubt the better speaker in my room with my ears - never heard anything like em.

Jo

[Fletcher]

I've been playing with them for the last few weeks... I'm starting to like the ones with one woofer but the jury is still out. I gave a shot to the ones with 2 woofers but found I was having a problem with getting guitars to balance properly with vocals... I'll give them another shot in a couple of weeks after I'm used to the "one woofer" version a bit more.

I have left the tone controls flat on the back but I am kinda bummed that they don't have volume trim controls on the actual monitor. I have had to change the volume on my main monitors to match my nearfields when I usually prefer to do things like that the other way around... yeah, it's a minor inconvenience but an inconvenience none the less.

So far, while the jury is still out from my immediate perspective, I think they may have some potential for permanent installation. The other guys on the staff [Drew Townson especially] seem to like the Focals quite a bit more than the ADAM's... I'm going to give it another week or two.

I have some demo tracking dates coming up later on this week... not product, song "outline" demos from which we'll start to figure out who to hire for what songs when we do the artist's actual album... so I'll be using the Focals for getting sounds on this portion of the project [while I've been digging the ADAMs for mixing they have been a bit mediocre for me during the tracking phase of some projects... maybe the Focal's have the potential to become my tracking monitor of choice].

On the whole, I can work with them [the single 6" woofer version] if I have to... I wouldn't walk out of a studio where that was all they had [where as there is no way in hell I'll work on DynAudios or Genelecs because they both make my shit sound too good which means I don't work hard enough... great "HiFi" speakers, shitty monitors in my opinion... as always, YMMV].

[Jules]

Always impressed with what I have heard at the last 3 AES shows. (they always organise a geodesic dome / tent thing on the show floor.... I played stuff I have done on CD through them.. Don't recall the model though..

Tip - bring a CD you know & like to the AES show and play it through the monitors you are interested in

[Ribbonmicguy]

I'm a Focal dealer in Indonesia.

We've sold quite a bit of the Focals here to

1 Mastering Engineer, SM8
1 SM11 to a Mix studio
3 SM6 Twin to tracking/mixing studio
3 SM6 solo to tracking studios.

They are easy to mix with, and stunning realism/depth/reverb tail information.
The early adopters are big time producers/bands and very respected mastering engineer.

Cheers,

[Sui_City]

Originally Posted by Lindell

We have SM11 in the mastering room, SM8 in studio2, Twin 6 in studio3, and soon to come SM8 in studio1 too.

What can I say.... they are the very best mixing speakers I've ever used. Great imaging, great freq response, great power handling and dynamics. Translates extremely well.

Peace,

Lindell,

I am interested to know a little more about the sound quality of the SM11 monitors.

It appears from the literature I've read that the signal goes through AD conversion to access the digital EQ and then gets converted back through DA and then out. I am intrigued because i have a set of Lavry Blues and I just wonder if there is any degradation to the signal's quality.

thanks

[studjo]

I think lots of other monitors degrade the sound waaaaaaaay more than the AD in the SM11 - but that's just me


Jo

[Sui_City]

Originally Posted by studjo

I think lots of other monitors degrade the sound waaaaaaaay more than the AD in the SM11 - but that's just me


Jo

Jo,

I agree with you.

My reason fro asking however is, what is the point in investing in a set of DA converters like my LavryBlues, only to have my final monitoring signal pass through yet another set of converters?

How good is the clock inside the Focals? How good is the analog portion of the converter?

I would have prefered to know that what i am hearing through my monitors, is as close to what is inside the box to begin with.

It isn't just about using a couple of off the shelf converter chips form Burr-Brown or whoever.

[studjo]

I'm not so hip on converters actually (perhaps because I started with a Tascam 238 - and everything is better than that) But I don't think they took a cheap chip and put it in that box - it certainly doesn't sound like that. The SM11 runs on 96kHz internal IIRC and I don't use the eqs btw.

Jo

[Sui_City]

bump

[Purusha]

Wow, I knew that Focals are the winners

Can someone explain to me if the SM6 Twin would be much better than just SM6 Solo and why.

I am willing to sell immediately my NS10 and Genelec 1031A and get the SM6 Twin instead. Would SM6 Twins need any support from the sub or can they cover the bass just fine. I have the Truth B* sub which has been very nice combination for my Genelecs.

[Purusha]

BUMP

[edham]

Anyone know where to demo a set of 6's in NYC ???

thanks!

[Lindell]

Originally Posted by Sui_City

Lindell,

I am interested to know a little more about the sound quality of the SM11 monitors.

It appears from the literature I've read that the signal goes through AD conversion to access the digital EQ and then gets converted back through DA and then out. I am intrigued because i have a set of Lavry Blues and I just wonder if there is any degradation to the signal's quality.

thanks

The SM11 has digital input AES/EBU. Use that if you will.

I couldn't hear any difference between the analog and digital input though.

Originally Posted by Sui_City

My reason fro asking however is, what is the point in investing in a set of DA converters like my LavryBlues, only to have my final monitoring signal pass through yet another set of converters?

Read above....

Originally Posted by Sui_City

How good is the clock inside the Focals? How good is the analog portion of the converter?

The very best there is = no sound charachter what so ever

[FocalPro]

Originally Posted by edham

Anyone know where to demo a set of 6's in NYC ???

thanks!

Hi!

Yes, absolutly, you can demo the Focal Professional speakers at PureMix (www.puremix.net) in NYC. Fab is the studio owner.

Simon Cote
Focal Professional
www.focalprofessional.com

[klaukholm]

I had an opportunity to listen to the sm6 today. The room was unknown to me and not 100% treatment wise.

At first they sounded a bit nasal to me at 8' distance.
After adding 2 db to the treble they opened up.
I moved in to nearfield distance - ca 4'.
They sounded more revealing at that distance.
we were left with a feeling that the bass was "mooshy". It could be the room or the lack of a sub.
They were indeed very pleasant to listen to.
It took the edge of one string chamber music recording which has always sounded a little edgy. The were not as detailed as our 801's, but that is comparing apples to oranges.

I would like to hear other thoughts about the bass definition.

kjetil

[Sui_City]

Originally Posted by klaukholm

I had an opportunity to listen to the sm6 today. The room was unknown to me and not 100% treatment wise.

At first they sounded a bit nasal to me at 8' distance.
After adding 2 db to the treble they opened up.
I moved in to nearfield distance - ca 4'.
They sounded more revealing at that distance.
we were left with a feeling that the bass was "mooshy". It could be the room or the lack of a sub.
They were indeed very pleasant to listen to.
It took the edge of one string chamber music recording which has always sounded a little edgy. The were not as detailed as our 801's, but that is comparing apples to oranges.

I would like to hear other thoughts about the bass definition.

kjetil

801s? What 801s? B&W?

If it is then that is more like comparing apples to Hawaiian beef with walnuts and rice.

[klaukholm]

Yes 801, B&W.
This is what I use so it is what I compare all monitors to.
We are looking for a more portable option for location work as the 801's are a lot of work to bring on location.

we had a good hour of listening on the focals, but I still feel like I need to try them in a different environment. Next time I hope to have them here next to PMC tb2a and B&W 801.

Still looking for constructive input on the matter of the bass performance.

[edham]

Where can I get pricing info on the entire Focal line and who are Focal's dealers?

this info is not on their site.

Thanks!

[studjo]

I can't speak for the SM6 but the bass on the SM11 is just great - I don't use a sub anymore. The low end is very detailed - you can really hear the "color" of a bass sound (dunno if that makes sense to anyone except me). I really love em.


Jo

[Bob Olhsson]

KRKs used to be based on Focal drivers.

[tINY]

Those inverted kevlar domes are still my favorite tweeters of all time.

The Seas with the crosshair phase alignment ring might sound a little better, but the dispersion on that focal inverted dome was great.....

Do the berrylium inverted domes sound as good?



-tINY

[klaukholm]

Just to be clear about my feeling about the sm6,
I would get a pair in a heartbeat if we were looking for something different to check our work on. For the size it was impressive and had deep bass extension although maybe not ruler flat below 45hz (2-3bd loss maybe?)
In the many cello/bass octave passages in concerto for orchestra with Philly the cellos dominated a bit, while on the 801 they rest nicely in the sound of the lower octave.

Oboes sounded less american later in the Bartok, while the trumpets again had a nasal quality.

In our own recording of Rossini bass/cello the focals made the recording sound really good. This worried me as there should be some nasal cello with some scuffs and the bass is a little too bloomy. On the focals it was leaner, less nasal and the cello sounded mellower and less french.

Again I would love to hear more from someone who has used the sm6 with and without a sub in a good room.

[FocalPro]

Originally Posted by edham

Where can I get pricing info on the entire Focal line and who are Focal's dealers?

this info is not on their site.

Thanks!

Hi,

We are in the process of redoing the www.focalprofessional website. it will have price lists and dealers lists.

In the meantime, here is the retail price lists of Focal products. (see attached file)

I don't know if we are allowed to post retail price lists ? If not, let me know!


For the dealer in NYC, please contact Fab @ Puremix (www.puremix.net)

Ciao!

Simon Cote
Focal Professional

[FocalPro]

Originally Posted by tINY

Those inverted kevlar domes are still my favorite tweeters of all time.

The Seas with the crosshair phase alignment ring might sound a little better, but the dispersion on that focal inverted dome was great.....

Do the berrylium inverted domes sound as good?



-tINY

Hi !

Focal stopped using Kevlar domes many years ago for numerous reasons (way too heavy for one)

They went from Kevlar to Titanium, then Titanium covered with Titanium oxyde, to Beryllium.

Beryllium is much lighter/stronger than Kevlar so yes, it does sound much better. try to demo a pair, your ears are the judges !




Simon Cote
Focal Professional

[tINY]

I think I liked the Kevlar tweeters because they were heavy. They required a monsterous motor structure, which had a big effect on the sound.

Maybe with better DACs and higher rates these days it's not so important.



-tINY

[Purusha]

Hi there

got yesterday my new SM6 Twins. They sound way better than my 1031As which I am selling now BTW . The Focals sound much more precise on highs and less muddy on the lows with much better stereo image. They also go deeper than the 1031As. IMHO I would say it's a step or 2 up compared to Genelecs. Love them

The only thing I don't like ... they smell like smoked sausages which makes me wanna throw up I hope this smell will go away soon.