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-- Review: Focal Twin 6 Studio Monitors
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I had to drop ableton for mixing and buy another set of techs, a xone, and traktor scratch because I need the hands on feel.

Are these better than the Genelec 8040s that are in the same price range?

Just got them in today and impression at this point is quite positive. Interestingly enough, I didn't notice much of a difference between the Focals and HR824s when just listening to music. Highs were definitely clearer and sounds had a much better stereo image, but overall, nothing amazing. I kinda got bored of listening after just a few tracks.

However, producing with them is a whole other story. Even though I didn't notice a huge change between these and the HR824s (I can't A/B them as I sold the HR824s last week), mixing definitely feels easier. I don't have to turn it up really loud or stare at my speakers, trying to decipher what I'm hearing. Everything is just... there... plain and easy to hear. Like their slogan 'listen to your music, not your speakers'.


I'll post some more indepth comments after I use them for a week or two.

If these are new, you must expect some weeks before they "blossom"

My initial feeling of them was that they didn�t sound as good as I�d hoped. But after a while, they started to sound better.
I put them together facing each other as close as possible, played a segment of a pretty bassy track, with lots of volume
in the whole spectrum - on repeat. I did this in cubase, so I could duplicate the track, and phase reverse one of them panning left, the other one right.
I usually left them playing for 3-4 hours each day, at reasonable volume.

BTW they look great in your studio!

quote:

Originally posted by Beyer If these are new, you must expect some weeks before they "blossom" My initial feeling of them was that they didn�t sound as good as I�d hoped. But after a while, they started to sound better. I put them together facing each other as close as possible, played a segment of a pretty bassy track, with lots of volume in the whole spectrum - on repeat. I did this in cubase, so I could duplicate the track, and phase reverse one of them panning left, the other one right. I usually left them playing for 3-4 hours each day, at reasonable volume. BTW they look great in your studio!

That's something interesting to try. They are a used pair, but lightly used. They were new just 3 months ago and were used on only a couple tracks.

100 hours of heavy use will loose up all speakers.

Nice alanzo. Keep us updated as you get used to using them. I'm quite curious.

Alright, so I've been using these for about a week now and completed my first track on them (DEMO). Really, at first listen, there wasn't much of a difference between these and the HR824s. I couldn't A/B them, but I didn't hear anything amazing. My first listen only lasted about 20 minutes because I got bored and started to work on some music.

Really, just like with high quality DACs, sound is what it is. Once you hit a certain level, that's basically as good as it gets. However, there is A LOT of subtlety to be made up for with higher quality gear. I'm not even sure if I can explain it. I don't know why my latest track sounds 10x better than my previous one. It just does.

Listening to a pair of high quality speakers (HR824s) vs. producing music on gear that IS MEANT for it, is completely different. This is why I don't produce music on headphones, because they're good for listening to music, just like no one produces music on their home or car stereos. Because they're just good for listening to music.

The difference between audiophile systems and studio monitors is that studio monitors don't make everything sound good. I've read that a hundred times, but I've never really understood it. If you make a track sound good on an audiophile system, it will only sound good on that system. But if you make your track sound good on studio monitors, it will sound good everywhere. If you listened to the demo vs. my last track produced on the Mackies, there is a HUGE quality difference. I didn't do anything different. I'm still the same producer I've always been. The difference is what I used to listen to the production as I made it.

And that's really where it lies. The HR824s are audiophile speakers, it says so right on the box: "THX Certified". The Twin6s are studio monitors.

quote:

Originally posted by alanzo Alright, so I've been using these for about a week now and completed my first track on them (DEMO). Really, at first listen, there wasn't much of a difference between these and the HR824s. I couldn't A/B them, but I didn't hear anything amazing. My first listen only lasted about 20 minutes because I got bored and started to work on some music. Really, just like with high quality DACs, sound is what it is. Once you hit a certain level, that's basically as good as it gets. However, there is A LOT of subtlety to be made up for with higher quality gear. I'm not even sure if I can explain it. I don't know why my latest track sounds 10x better than my previous one. It just does. Listening to a pair of high quality speakers (HR824s) vs. producing music on gear that IS MEANT for it, is completely different. This is why I don't produce music on headphones, because they're good for listening to music, just like no one produces music on their home or car stereos. Because they're just good for listening to music. The difference between audiophile systems and studio monitors is that studio monitors don't make everything sound good. I've read that a hundred times, but I've never really understood it. If you make a track sound good on an audiophile system, it will only sound good on that system. But if you make your track sound good on studio monitors, it will sound good everywhere. If you listened to the demo vs. my last track produced on the Mackies, there is a HUGE quality difference. I didn't do anything different. I'm still the same producer I've always been. The difference is what I used to listen to the production as I made it. And that's really where it lies. The HR824s are audiophile speakers, it says so right on the box: "THX Certified". The Twin6s are studio monitors.

Very informative thanks Alan.

Exactly right Alan! Right on the money.

I just gave a listen to music with low production quality (some of my own). It's interesting that a lot of it sounded awesome on the HR824s and on my Sony MDR 7506 headphones, but it sounds AWEFUL on the Focals. But tracks like Air For Life, commercial releases with great production quality, sound quite nice.

So I guess there is a real audible difference between the HR824s and the Focals. But it just doesn't seem like it since, like I said, sound is what it is.

It's funny that I like how my latest production sounds on my Sony Headphones A LOT more than how it sounds on the Focals. But it would have sounded completely different had I done it on the headphones. That's also something to really consider, how your monitoring system shapes the sound of your productions.

quote:

Originally posted by alanzo I just gave a listen to music with low production quality (some of my own). It's interesting that a lot of it sounded awesome on the HR824s and on my Sony MDR 7506 headphones, but it sounds AWEFUL on the Focals. But tracks like Air For Life, commercial releases with great production quality, sound quite nice. So I guess there is a real audible difference between the HR824s and the Focals. But it just doesn't seem like it since, like I said, sound is what it is. It's funny that I like how my latest production sounds on my Sony Headphones A LOT more than how it sounds on the Focals. But it would have sounded completely different had I done it on the headphones. That's also something to really consider, how your monitoring system shapes the sound of your productions.

The question you need to be asking yourself about any music that sounds good on the Sony's and terrible on the Focals is: How well is it translating? Remember that this is one of the top reasons you bought $3,000 monitors in the first place.

Trust me, I know how you feel, because my stuff sounded bad on the Focals as well. However, there is no better feeling than knowing the Focals well enough to the point that stuff sounds good on any system you play it on. That piece of mind is worth $3,000.

Give it some time and let yourself get used to how things are supposed to sound on the focals. Reference LOTS of other (well produced) music while doing your first few mixdowns.

quote:

Originally posted by Eric J Give it some time and let yourself get used to how things are supposed to sound on the focals. Reference LOTS of other (well produced) music while doing your first few mixdowns.

I didn't even have to do that, actually. I had to do that A LOT on the HR824s, and even then the tracks still came out like shit. My last track, I believe, sounds pretty damn good on every system I tried it on and I didn't reference at all. I just made it sound good and natural (had to listen to a few at first to know how much bass/treble to aim for).

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