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Post by drsax on Feb 13, 2018 9:24:27 GMT -6
I’ve got my eyes on these. Wondering how they might compare to the Shape 65, Neumann KH, APS Aeron monitors. I’m starting a search to replace my secondary monitors (824 mki’s) which I really don’t care for next to my mains (SLS PS8R’s). My SLS mains translate perfectly, and are a pleasure to listen to, but they are discontinued. I’d like to have a pair of monitors that translate that well and are nice to work on. Also considering the Barefoot Footprint01’s, but have heard the mids are a bit hyped
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Post by bram on Feb 13, 2018 11:03:01 GMT -6
I'm in a similar position to drsax - I've had my sights set on the Barefoot Footprint01's (upgrading from Yamaha HS8s), but these new Focals look intriguing, considering I'm in a smallish room, and they're a lot easier on the wallet. Anyone had any first hand experience with the Footprints? Looks like we'll have to wait a bit to get some reports on the Focals.
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 13, 2018 11:06:49 GMT -6
I am in a smaller room too and eh 6.5's are the best performing monitor I have had in it and I have had a lot. Strongly recommend you demo the 6.5 or these new ones ! I found the 6.5 had more signal, presence and tone,in the lower bass than the 5.0 but these new twins would sound different again !
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Post by drsax on Feb 13, 2018 17:51:10 GMT -6
I am in a smaller room too and eh 6.5's are the best performing monitor I have had in it and I have had a lot. Strongly recommend you demo the 6.5 or these new ones ! I found the 6.5 had more signal, presence and tone,in the lower bass than the 5.0 but these new twins would sound different again ! kcatthedog - thanks for the input man... muchos gracias.
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 13, 2018 17:57:42 GMT -6
I would expect these to be faster and tighter than the 6.5 and arguably a little clearer in the low mids and bass but that the 6.5 due to thelr larger single speaker might still have more bass tambre and texture.
I felt that the larger woofer had more nuance where as the smaller woofer was less apparent and less textured : think of the thunk tone of a good tom, not flabby but tight and following the sound envelop but adding that dimensionality: to me that is the 6.5.
Really like how the 6.5 continue to open up
I'd love to hear these twins though!
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Post by jeremygillespie on Feb 14, 2018 0:11:56 GMT -6
The footprints are definitely a bit mid forward, but in an extremely clear and focused manner. Meaning, they can really help you carve out every detail in the mids. They also go lower than pretty much any speaker in the range, while not being muddy. All the punch is there and you don’t get any of the sloppy smear that you get with a front ported design. Really dig the highs on them as well.
Still in the demo phase before I pull the trigger on anything at the moment. Looks like I’ll have to check these out as well.
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Post by jeromemason on Feb 14, 2018 3:09:08 GMT -6
I’ve got my eyes on these. Wondering how they might compare to the Shape 65, Neumann KH, APS Aeron monitors. I’m starting a search to replace my secondary monitors (824 mki’s) which I really don’t care for next to my mains (SLS PS8R’s). My SLS mains translate perfectly, and are a pleasure to listen to, but they are discontinued. I’d like to have a pair of monitors that translate that well and are nice to work on. Also considering the Barefoot Footprint01’s, but have heard the mids are a bit hyped I have the HR824 MKII's which are different yes than the MKI's but nothing overly drastic. What I can say with switching between my Shapes and The 824's is the mid-range gets dropped. Low-mids as well. The 824's to me are still a very solid speaker and I wouldn't ever ditch mine. But, they just don't translate the midrange and low mid range like the Shapes. It's almost like when you switch from the Shapes to the 824's there becomes this massive visual hole in that region. If I go back and listen to mixes before I got the Shapes I can hear decisions I would had most certainly made differently on the Shapes. And like has been mentioned in this thread, my Shapes are actually getting better and better the more I work on them. I burned them in yeah, but they are absolutely becoming even more revealing and more accurate. For me I liked the 50's size woofer. I think when you get into a speaker like this with so much amazing detail to engineering it doesn't become a matter of either being right or wrong, it becomes a personal preference, what are you most concerned with when you mix. With the Shapes the different size woofers can offer another option to fit how you like to hear certain frequency bands, mainly in the low-mids, very little in the sub lows.
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 14, 2018 3:58:57 GMT -6
“With the Shapes, the different size woofers can offer another option to fit how you like to hear certain frequency bands, mainly in the low-mids, very little in the sub lows.”
A very discerning remark and I completely agree.
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Post by drsax on Feb 14, 2018 9:05:27 GMT -6
I’ve got my eyes on these. Wondering how they might compare to the Shape 65, Neumann KH, APS Aeron monitors. I’m starting a search to replace my secondary monitors (824 mki’s) which I really don’t care for next to my mains (SLS PS8R’s). My SLS mains translate perfectly, and are a pleasure to listen to, but they are discontinued. I’d like to have a pair of monitors that translate that well and are nice to work on. Also considering the Barefoot Footprint01’s, but have heard the mids are a bit hyped I have the HR824 MKII's which are different yes than the MKI's but nothing overly drastic. What I can say with switching between my Shapes and The 824's is the mid-range gets dropped. Low-mids as well. The 824's to me are still a very solid speaker and I wouldn't ever ditch mine. But, they just don't translate the midrange and low mid range like the Shapes. It's almost like when you switch from the Shapes to the 824's there becomes this massive visual hole in that region. If I go back and listen to mixes before I got the Shapes I can hear decisions I would had most certainly made differently on the Shapes. And like has been mentioned in this thread, my Shapes are actually getting better and better the more I work on them. I burned them in yeah, but they are absolutely becoming even more revealing and more accurate. For me I liked the 50's size woofer. I think when you get into a speaker like this with so much amazing detail to engineering it doesn't become a matter of either being right or wrong, it becomes a personal preference, what are you most concerned with when you mix. With the Shapes the different size woofers can offer another option to fit how you like to hear certain frequency bands, mainly in the low-mids, very little in the sub lows. Very helpful thanks. Yeah - I have the same problem on my 824s. I lose all balance and clarity in the mids. And struggle with translation. They are fine for listening and cranking up loud for clients, but I am not a fan of them for mixing. My other monitors are much more accurate and translate much better for mixing. But I want to have a second set of monitors that my ears are adjusted to in case something were to happen to my Mains. The 824s don’t cut it for mixing for me. I just can’t hear details clearly enough.
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Post by guitfiddler on Feb 14, 2018 9:08:42 GMT -6
I will have to demo these. I’m looking at the 65’s and the Twin 50’s. In fact, I want to listen to the whole range. In the alpha series I liked the 50’s better than all the others.
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Post by terryrocks on Feb 14, 2018 11:56:19 GMT -6
I am really interested in trying the shape 50s in my room. How does one go about demoing monitors? I don’t believe there are any local retailers in portland.
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Post by dankin on Feb 14, 2018 11:56:29 GMT -6
I've been eyeing the Focal shape and the Neumann kh120 for another reference and for production. I've been using Amphion Two15s for several years now, and I now use them with a Trinnov and pair of krk subs. Also have my NS10's and a boombox wired up. The Trinnov has made a huge difference in my translation, the problem is the latency makes it impossible to track through, be it live inputs of VI's. I like to reference on the NS10's when mixing, but I don't enjoy programming with them. So I'm looking for something not to large, for when I'm programming and that would also be another reference. I also need something to carry around when I'm on location, thats the main thing making me lean more to the KH120s, since they seem like they would hold up better for travel. I've only heard the Shape 65's, but I was impressed and I'm not a big fan of the Focal TwinBe at all, so I was rather shocked that I liked the Shapes.
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 14, 2018 12:05:14 GMT -6
I am really interested in trying the shape 50s in my room. How does one go about demoing monitors? I don’t believe there are any local retailers in portland. I contacted a distributor through their website.
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Post by Guitar on Feb 15, 2018 15:13:23 GMT -6
I just installed some Aria 906.
I know they are not Shapes, but they have the same F-Sandwich woofers (yes they really call them that) and inverted dome mangesium/aluminium tweeters.
I am uprgrading from some Polk booshelf speakers so this is a huge change for me.
Compared to the RTi A3, the Focal tweeters are much sweeter and less ear-splitting. Regarding mids and lows the Focal sound stage is twice as deep and seemingly three times as wide. I knew that the Polks had a narrow sort of sound already, but I didn't realize the full extent until swapping for the Focals. There's a lot going on in this low/mid range and it all sounds pretty 'natural'. No noticeable sonic artifacts from the ports.
Really gorgeous things, glad I picked them up. My first set of proper high end speakers. I am driving them with an Emotiva XPA-200 amp and Clarett DAC.
Basslines are really easy to isolate, as are reverb and delay tails, and quiet far away sounds in a mix. Punchy drums will punch you right on the nose. Any sort of whistling or howling frequencies in the mix will translate out into the room pretty obviously. Bad mixes sound bad, good mixes sound good. LOL. This is going to be a fun night.
Specifically bass guitar... this is the best bass guitar sound I've ever personally heard on one of my own systems.
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 15, 2018 15:32:16 GMT -6
Man that upgrade sound scary !
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Post by Guitar on Feb 15, 2018 15:52:17 GMT -6
Man that upgrade sound scary ! Maybe a bit, how we say, "Long overdue..." I realized the weak spot in my system and it was sitting in front of me literally the whole time. I'm going to try to break these in by blasting records all night. I am hearing a tiny bit of that "new speaker stiffness" but I'm pretty sure that will pass since these are still so fresh.
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Post by kcatthedog on Feb 15, 2018 16:20:08 GMT -6
Sorry, I was pulling your leg cus of this typo "booshelf " speakers Have fun getting to know them : warm milk and cookies keeps the big bad bad monitor monster under the bed !
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Post by Guitar on Feb 15, 2018 16:23:57 GMT -6
Sorry, I was pulling your leg cus of this typo "booshelf " speakers Have fun getting to know them : warm milk and cookies keeps the big bad bad monitor monster under the bed ! AHAHA ok I'm not going to edit that post. hehe BOO But for real those Polk tweeters will scare the hell out of you, if you have tinnitus, or sensitive ears in any way.
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Post by professorplum on Feb 18, 2018 22:46:04 GMT -6
I would love to hear some opinions on these if anyone gets their hands on them or is able to demo em
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Post by bram on Feb 19, 2018 10:19:08 GMT -6
I am in a smaller room too and eh 6.5's are the best performing monitor I have had in it and I have had a lot. Strongly recommend you demo the 6.5 or these new ones ! I found the 6.5 had more signal, presence and tone,in the lower bass than the 5.0 but these new twins would sound different again ! Thanks kcat and others for sharing your experiences. I'm in the process of tracking down some Focals and Footprints to demo them. I'll share my experiences when that comes to fruition.
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Post by dankin on Feb 19, 2018 12:37:02 GMT -6
The footprints are interesting to me. I've checked them out twice at VK. The lowend is impressive, but the sweet spot is really narrow. I would love to work with them for a few day's, so I could form a better opinion on them. I do wish they had some built in EQ for tweaking the response. I think that would be more useful than the meme function.
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Post by Guitar on Feb 19, 2018 13:14:34 GMT -6
One nice thing about the Focal reverse-dome tweeter is a very broad sweet spot with less directivity.
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Post by nick8801 on Feb 19, 2018 15:01:13 GMT -6
Trying not to be that guy, but if these Focals are on your radar, I’d highly recommend demoing the Eve sc305 and 307s.
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Post by M57 on Feb 19, 2018 16:41:16 GMT -6
Do all of these three-way speakers including the focals need to be placed horizontally? The 305s specify "sideways" ..whatever that means.
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Post by guitfiddler on Feb 19, 2018 20:01:07 GMT -6
Not a 2 way or a 3 way... A 2.5 way! Now we are getting somewhere!
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