First impressions of the Focal Twins

Yeah, I was torn in between the Opals, these and the Genelec 8050's. The 8050's are nice, but somehow I just haven't been getting along with them that well. My original plan was to get these first, and if I didn't like them, I'd return them and get a pair of Opals for a test run.

The Twins are about 30 hours in now, and they've opened up a lot. The low end is still incredibly detailed, but it feels a lot more open now and it's almost like the frequency response has extended lower. I haven't been noticing any significant change in tone anymore, so I guess I should be fine working on these now! :)
 
::XeS:: said:
Mmm...but can you bypass the DA converters in the Central Station? Because I'm thinking...when I see the big studios using the central station as monitor controller...how do they connect it? Because big studios have lot of awesome converters like apogee,linx or ssl and if at the end you use the CS DA.....different story if you can bypass the converters and if it's very transparent
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The DA is actually pretty damn good on the Central Station. That's why I bought it rather than the monitor station (or whatever the model below the CS is). There's a huge difference between the CS' DA and that of a 003 anyway. Pretty much win win because it has an passive analogue path anyway, so when I upgrade my interface and AD/DA you can just use stereo jacks as normal...

And Jarkko dude - you need to get the desktop controller! It will save you at least 5 minutes over the space of about a year. Fuck leaning down/forwards to control the volume.
 
AEL89 said:
The DA is actually pretty damn good on the Central Station. That's why I bought it rather than the monitor station (or whatever the model below the CS is). There's a huge difference between the CS' DA and that of a 003 anyway. Pretty much win win because it has an passive analogue path anyway, so when I upgrade my interface and AD/DA you can just use stereo jacks as normal...

And Jarkko dude - you need to get the desktop controller! It will save you at least 5 minutes over the space of about a year. Fuck leaning down/forwards to control the volume.
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Nah, like I said, the CS's controls are right at my arms reach, and I can fiddle with them sitting comfortably in the sweet spot :) If I have to change my setup in the future, though, I'll definitely consider getting one!
 
Congrats on the Focals, dude. Moving from Mackie HR824s to my Focal Solo6BEs w/ Sub6 was the single greatest change in my audio life, which means it was the single greatest change in my real life (except for getting naked with a girl that one time). It's exciting seeing other dudes move up with their toys. Getting/using big boy monitors really is like nailing your first (or dozen) females. It's triggering the "high five" instinct in me that Daniel Tosh pretty much ruined.

Awesome, dude. Let us know how your FIRST mix turns out. My first one, without even "learning" the monitors was better than the last one I had done on the Mackies after using them 8+ years.

Brandon
 
brandondrury said:
Congrats on the Focals, dude. Moving from Mackie HR824s to my Focal Solo6BEs w/ Sub6 was the single greatest change in my audio life, which means it was the single greatest change in my real life (except for getting naked with a girl that one time). It's exciting seeing other dudes move up with their toys. Getting/using big boy monitors really is like nailing your first (or dozen) females. It's triggering the "high five" instinct in me that Daniel Tosh pretty much ruined.

Awesome, dude. Let us know how your FIRST mix turns out. My first one, without even "learning" the monitors was better than the last one I had done on the Mackies after using them 8+ years.

Brandon
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Haha, I know exactly what you mean. I was contemplating on the purchase for quite a while, but in the end I wanted to go from saying "yeah well, these are actually pretty good for the price and I know them inside out" to "these are fucking good, period."

I did a quick test mix on them last week, and it took me about 2 hours to get the basic mix going on and sonically it was already an improvement to my earlier work. I'm starting my first real mixing project on these monitors next week, can't wait to see how it turns out.
 
Alright, the monitors are about 100 hours in now and they have really settled down. Comparing to the moment I first plugged them in, the difference in the low frequencies is huge. It could be just my mind playing tricks or a reflection of the low end extensions, but I feel the highs have opened up a bit, too. I'm currently listening to Beck's Sea Change while drinking my morning coffee, and it's almost frightening at times, shivers going down my back constantly :lol:

The only downside is, I now instantly hear the remaining problem areas in my room acoustics. More rockwool, pronto!
 
Jarkko Mattheiszen said:
I like to have some additional analog outputs available on the Profire, and the DA converters on the Central Station should be pretty good quality. Might have to do some A/B testing, but I doubt the difference will be that big.
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I finally got round to do this. I hooked the Profire up to CS with the analogue route, too, using the Profire's DA so I can easily switch between DA's by pressing a single button. There's certainly a difference, although not a huge one. The Profire sounds a tad bit more aggressive in the 3-5kHz region, and the stereo image isn't as accurate as on the CS. When I switch from the CS's DA to the Profire, it feels like the songs stereo image suddenly gathers up more around the center and things get crowded. So yeah, I'm sticking with the CS's DA :)
 
Focal Twin 6 BE really amazing, I once thought of buying them as I am in Hong Kong , if we want to buy mid price near field monitors we don't have much choices.
Adam(which I personally hates them), Yamaha, Genelec, Krk, Focal, M-audio and that's.
I listened to them very closely in local shop and amazed except the low end frequency not that deep enough for me then I hesitate but they sound world class anyway!!!
I know a sub could rectify the problem of low end but also will introduce another problems, I have a pretty tiny mixing room..

heard the Event Opal from my friend once, fell in love instantly , too bad in Hong Kong we don't have import distributor yet, otherwise my 8040a will be gone by now : (
 
Bereavement said:
Focal Twin 6 BE really amazing, I once thought of buying them as I am in Hong Kong , if we want to buy mid price near field monitors we don't have much choices.
Adam(which I personally hates them), Yamaha, Genelec, Krk, Focal, M-audio and that's.
I listened to them very closely in local shop and amazed except the low end frequency not that deep enough for me then I hesitate but they sound world class anyway!!!
I know a sub could rectify the problem of low end but also will introduce another problems, I have a pretty tiny mixing room..

heard the Event Opal from my friend once, fell in love instantly , too bad in Hong Kong we don't have import distributor yet, otherwise my 8040a will be gone by now : (
Click to expand...

Yeah, there aren't that many options in the ~$3000/pair price range :/

The bass response shouldn't be an issue at all, I just tried it out with a sine wave generator a couple of days ago and the Twins handled freqs down to 40Hz just fine! :) They do need a burn-in period to open up the low-end, though!
 
Jarkko Mattheiszen said:
Yeah, there aren't that many options in the ~$3000/pair price range :/

The bass response shouldn't be an issue at all, I just tried it out with a sine wave generator a couple of days ago and the Twins handled freqs down to 40Hz just fine! :) They do need a burn-in period to open up the low-end, though!
Click to expand...

yeah , probably the Twin 6 BE I listened to wasn't burn in at all, down to 40Hz accurate is good enough for me..
I remember last time I listen , I feel a dip around 50-60Hz already.
but probably they weren't burned, while I listen to my friend's Opal didn't have a feel of dip at that area.

if they are really like you said it is, I probably go straight to them !!
saved me from waiting and Focal we have local distributor so I don't need to worry about warranty too!

I love everything about the Focal Twin 6 BE, especially the higher end, they are accurate and great stereo image and not ear fatigue at all!

thanks for the heads up dude and congratz for the GREAT purchase~!:kickass:
 
Bereavement said:
yeah , probably the Twin 6 BE I listened to wasn't burn in at all, down to 40Hz accurate is good enough for me..
I remember last time I listen , I feel a dip around 50-60Hz already.
but probably they weren't burned, while I listen to my friend's Opal didn't have a feel of dip at that area.

if they are really like you said it is, I probably go straight to them !!
saved me from waiting and Focal we have local distributor so I don't need to worry about warranty too!

I love everything about the Focal Twin 6 BE, especially the higher end, they are accurate and great stereo image and not ear fatigue at all!

thanks for the heads up dude and congratz for the GREAT purchase~!:kickass:
Click to expand...

Cheers! :) If you have a local distributor, try and get a pair for a try-out period. Listen to bass-heavy material at moderate levels for 20 hours or so and the low-end should be settled. It's always best to try the monitors out in your own room to see if they fit your needs! :)
 
Jarkko Mattheiszen said:
I finally got round to do this. I hooked the Profire up to CS with the analogue route, too, using the Profire's DA so I can easily switch between DA's by pressing a single button. There's certainly a difference, although not a huge one. The Profire sounds a tad bit more aggressive in the 3-5kHz region, and the stereo image isn't as accurate as on the CS. When I switch from the CS's DA to the Profire, it feels like the songs stereo image suddenly gathers up more around the center and things get crowded. So yeah, I'm sticking with the CS's DA :)
Click to expand...
Ah that's pretty interesting. I just tried to connect my Central Station digitally to the Fireface UFX, but it won't work via the optical route. The UFX can output ADAT or AES or S/PDIF signal through the toslink connectors, but the CS only accepts toslink from those as it seems. And I don't have a cable to try out S/PDIF right now (it's not even the norm S/PDIF cable but toslink->cinch S/PDIF because the damn UFX has no normal S/PDIF out).
I'd guess the D/A conversion of the UFX is better than the Central Station's, but it would've been interesting anyways. Ah well..
 
jipchen said:
Ah that's pretty interesting. I just tried to connect my Central Station digitally to the Fireface UFX, but it won't work via the optical route. The UFX can output ADAT or AES or S/PDIF signal through the toslink connectors, but the CS only accepts toslink from those as it seems. And I don't have a cable to try out S/PDIF right now (it's not even the norm S/PDIF cable but toslink->cinch S/PDIF because the damn UFX has no normal S/PDIF out).
I'd guess the D/A conversion of the UFX is better than the Central Station's, but it would've been interesting anyways. Ah well..
Click to expand...

It works, I have mine connected with a Toslink cable. Just make sure you choose the Toslink uses S/PDIF from the UFX, then select the digital input and TOS from the CS' front panel! :)
 
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