I’ve been using the Focal 65 Evos for about six months on a wide range of genres (guitar-based rock to jazz choirs to pop to EDM). I find them to be extremely accurate and easy to use, and I haven’t noticed a particular harshness in the upper mids. (I’m sure I will now!) I find them more accurate and easier to mix on for longer sessions than my previous Yamaha HS80s. More accurate soundstage, especially front-to-back, smoother high-end, and much tighter/more accurate low end. They’re not the end-all be-all by any means, but they’re the best $300 monitors I’ve auditioned. Of course, YMMV. Thanks, gents, for the review!

Thank you for reviewing these for us. I'm stoked to see what you guys can come up with

Can't wait to see how your PDP monitor idea develops! Great video guys, was considering these Focals before watching this

Another absolutely brilliant review! Also, great news re the speakers!!!!

Hey, a crowdfunding campaign for the new speakers should do the job! You can also try to take preorders. Depending on the price I would consider preordering a pair myself. :)

Please make these speakers, we need more competition in this space. Your reviews absolutely give the credibility to be trustworthy

I am an old loudspeaker DIY fanatic. Of course you can build better speakers yourself than a commercial one. If you can count on a good engineer. It seems you have him, so go on and let us know. I am not surprised about Focal tweeter aggressiveness. I remember a similar unit years ago (inverted dome) that was catastrophic for every human ear. I think the same about Adam AMT units: their crossover should be punished by Amnesty International. Best wishes for your project, you guys do know what to do.

Hey guys! You finally got your hand on the PHocal 65evo. Spot on the review an getting the flaw of the upper midrange. I returned those monitors hence the midrange that was not allowing me to judge vocals on house music and my second issue was the actual tweeter that after few hours of mixing a track I’ve noticed a piercing annoying frequency coming at me that turned me off fatiguing my ears 👂! Keep up the good work-as always! 😀

Speaker idea: Speaker Kits! You can sell them with or without a knock down cabinet. It would be much less of an investment compared to producing a fully assembled speaker, which opens the door to doing a small 2 way and a larger 3 way? I'm in the states, so a kit without cabinet would be preferred. It'd save on shipping! I have a CNC router, so building a box is not an issue. I'd just need a drawing. (And a kit would be less likely to piss off Jes' distributors, since it doesn't directly compete with his other products. Sounds perfect to me!)

Another great review ! I really enjoy the content of the channel , both informative and fun to watch! I was waiting for this one ( james had preannounced it on previous videos ) cause i recently bought those for my new home studio project and I am pretty satisfied with their performance. Well the ATC comparison made me cry , but i'm keeping that overall is a good speaker for the price range , the cabinet structure is solid not causing any problems and that the bass reflection is fast and accurate ,so i think is good news for me cause i'm focusing producing EDM. I really liked the idea for the speakers !! Go for it! Keep up the good work!

Great video (and cheeky). I agree with your "once you've heard them you can't go back" comment. I recently picked up a pair of Event Opals that I've been lusting after for ~10 years and my god do they sound good. I'd be really keen to see what you guys come up with in association with Jes.

Great video guys! If you design an active nearfield thing, put the power switch in the front!

The guitar based sample you provided was not an ideal example as the 2nd 4 bars (of each sample) were more intense than the first so that when the ATC clip finished the Focal clip came on with the first 4 less intense bars thus creating this jarring experience. For what it's worth I back-to-backed each clip with the original (Heat Is My Middle Name) using the same high quality headphones and to be honest the Focal sample sounded closer. I played the first 4 bars against each other then the 2nd 4 bars the same then each against the original multiple times over and over. The mids in the ATC sample were noticeably more subdued against the mix than in the focal sample, but also when compared to the original. I'd say for pure reproduction - in this case - given the limitations of KZfaq, the Focals seem truer to the original. What was intended to demonstrate a negative appears to have revealed a positive.

A branded speaker actually sounds amazing! If you made it largely modular (separately available cabinets, amps and drivers) you could probably get into the diy as well as the hifi and pro audio market. That being said, a simple lineup of maybe a two and a three way would probably be easier to make. They should probably have a “studio monitor kind of form factor” because that’d be more affordable to produce, practical to position and easier to ship. Also, it’s probably what people expect from a scalable system anyways (a large ATC-style speaker would be much harder to position). I wouldn’t really worry about dsp. Having something like sonarworks onboard (like the new Adam A series) is great, but adds a ton of extra work in a completely new field that could be avoided by just using the application on your PC and might not even be desired by a lot of potential customers. It would probably make sense to just use two driver sizes. One smaller for atmos use, one larger for main monitor/stereo/what have you. Oh wow this turned out a bit all over the place again, didn’t it? Anyhow, I really love the idea of doing branded professional level speakers with a, say, more limited marketing budget. We’ve seen with Kali, what can be achieved by cutting down on unnecessary costs and I think teaming up with Kerr might actually result in *the* best bang for the buck option available. I am definitely interested in supporting this project. I’ve said this already and I’ll say it again: To me personally, your channel is currently the best source for really in depth, interesting and still entertaining music production content! I am really looking forward to this channels and community’s future!

Sounds good, I'd be interested

Good review, I had same experience, especially related guitar sound, so I used Sonarworks on these speakers and guitar sound is much better now, almost perfect at least to my ears :)

you should call your new speaker company 'Purr Acoustic' and the back of your new speakers you should definitely include 'Flop, Purr and Meow' room adjustment controls

Supplying a design for DIY designed speakers sounds like a great idea. I'm pretty handy with electronics and a soldering iron, so it would be a rewarding experience to say 'look what I made everyone!', and have the high quality at a more affordable price.

Making your speakers? Excellent idea, mates!

Tell you what, you can buy me a pair and I'll review them, ensuring super absolutely watertight unbiased opinions, 2 times detached from the manufacturer. I promise I won't disappear at all. But seriously, great work guys, super great to see unsponsored opinions

Go for it!

I certainly understand the love of three-way, large mains for studio work. I however, do not do studio work, but I have a pair of immaculate aDs 910s, which were made originally and used as studio mains. They work really well for home use, with potent bass output from the dual-10" drivers, built into their own enclosures inside the cabinets, thus the 100lb/each weight.( 130lbs with the original stands included ) But the best part of the 910s is the domed mids/tweeters which was used throughout their 3-way loudspeaker, L-series. Wondrous mids erupt from the small 2" domed drivers. The 910s are very neutral with slightly laid-back highs, something I found I preferred with my first aDs loudspeakers, the much smaller L810s ( smaller cab with dual-8" bass drivers and the same mids/tweets as the 910s. ) Being sealed cabs, placement is easier than some other speakers, but getting proper soundstage is a bit harder to achieve, but doable. The aDs 910s are my end-gamers since I could never afford new speakers with the same output. I only use a single amp to power them, and ditched the offered bi/tri-amp cards for use in the x-overs, instead getting the cards for the optional meters on the fronts. Current hogs, they're fairly efficient @ 93db. 28htz-25khtz fr. They love the Adcom 555's ( I have two ) and are at their best with the NAD 208, a monster two-channel mosfet-filled amplifier, feeding 425wpc @ the 910's 4ohm loads.

I really like the idea of making your own speakers. Something puristic and simply great sounding that leaves out all the unnecessary features. Speaking of features, digital inputs would be appreciated. Especially with Atmos systems in mind AES3 (AES/EBU) inputs seem to make more sense than analog inputs.

I would also recommend a crowd funding campaign to get things started. But as for the actual speakers, I'm not sure whether a "Kit" proposal would really be a deal maker (people might end up arguing because they assembled it incorrectly,...). However having a common cabinet design that would welcome different sizes /choices of drivers (5, 6 or 8 inches) could be interesting and could also bring down development and assembly costs.

Great idea on the branded speaker

The speaker idea sounds (forgive the pun) brilliant.

wow, these news are pretty interesting!

Yes to PD(s)Pkerrs. I've been spoiled by my ATCs for pushing 30 years, and I wouldn't mind another pair of neutral 2-way speakers with tight bass. Unprofessional level pricing would be a bonus.

I have the older non evo Alpha 65's, I bought them used some months ago both for the price of one new. I had the first gen m-Audio bx-8a till 2005 and moving to the Focal's that are faster and more analytical was a step up. But they have that resonance in the tweeter, very obvious on the bell of cymbals and on guitars etc. I miss the low end extension of the bx-8's and the airy highs, but mine had worn out rubbers around the cone and produced low mids from distorting the bass and even if they were at perfect shape, they are slow and v shaped, things that made mixing decisions difficult. Using both Focal's and m-audios simultaneously was a revelation. Having the m audios straight up and at lower volume and the Alpha's up side down so the tweeters where close to each other, made for a combo sounding like a much more expensive speaker. Low end that didn't need a sub and in phase. The different design of drivers compliment each other in a very nice way, faster behavior from the stiffer Focal's(woofer and the metal tweeter) , smoother from the softer bx (kevlar woofer and silk tweeter). The m audio extends the Focals and the Focals give precision to the m audios. But even if the m-audios where in perfect shape, there was a problem with phase from the tweeters not being in the same position, even if they get close, they only work at midfield distances. But the whole experiment gave me the idea of a speaker design using two different drivers and using different transient behavior to compliment each other. If they were no phase issues the result sounded amazingly natural, it reminded me a bit of a B&W 802 speaker I've heard years ago, something in a whole different category. If I would make one speaker it would have a 8 inch kevlar woofer, a stiffer polypropylene mid range and maybe a ribbon tweeter to combine the fast and open sounding combination. This are my thoughts after searching for a long time for monitors and after hearing that combination and some Adams (I was going for the a7 but didn't like that I would want a sub also, considering the price, but I loved the highs)

I personally would definitely contribute to a Kickstarter for speakers designed by you guys, do it!!

Yes Very interested

loved the FOCAL length joke :D thanks for all the effort you guys put into these reviews, much appreciated! also super excited about your own monitor line - until that becomes a reality: I'd love to hear your take on the Neumann KH 120 - have you guys heard it? what do you think?

I was using B&Ws 602 and now I have Focal alfa 80…never before heard anything like that…so many details.

Affordable and leading class? Yes I’m interested 😃

Interesting. For me this upper mid-range thingy was the whole reason I returned my new Focal Trio 11 BE after three weeks of intensive listening in my studio. Nice channel.

T-shirt idea: "Driven into Distortion". Mark said it, obviously.. Add a funny picture to go along with it and you're set.

I have a pair of Alpha 65 (s) and scrapped off that nasty “rubber pad” on the sides! Sounds much better. Planning to replace the plastic with real wood siding. Have since upgraded to the synergistic ORANGE fuses……what a difference!!

I support the new venture. Please proceed.

I immediately recognized the issue tho but since I'm not producing i guess i can live with it

PDP Speakers - Do it, just DO IT! There is actually a huge gap in the market place and too many crappy 'monitors' out there that use super cheap components. I know from working in hifi that MDF is just horrible sounding, plywood is way superior.

I've been mixing on my 65 now for about a year and they have improved my mixing tremendously. I found it funny that the comparison, the ATC seemed to have a much wider stereo image. The evo 65 almost sounded like they were in mono. Maybe I'm wrong but man they sounded completely different from one another. Just saying. I will say to anyone who reads this. The Focal Evo 65 are well worth the money. I wouldn't let this video cloud your decision. I mainly mix guitar rock songs and have had many people say my guitar tones are excellent.

Definitely go for your own branded design!

I really enjoy your presentations. They're both informative and entertaining. Keep the content coming!

Congrats for the good work! Please review Kali in-8, it has unique characteristics that we would like to know if they work as they say! Thank you

Thanks for not using Mark clearing his throat for comparison. And i was really surprised to hear such a clear difference at all, due to the YT algorithm. I guess to create something like that funded, you've gotta crowdfunding. That way you're able to get rid of a lot of the responsibility and I guess you wouldn't wanna collect money upfront, in case the project dies on its way. I'm excited to watch the entire process, should it come to that. Thanks again!

I would be interested in a proper self powered three-way Nearfield monitor. There are so many self powered Two-Ways on the market that are harsh in the mids and have poor Helmholtz resonator implementation. Good luck on it and thanks for the videos

Damn your video quality is insane.

I d buy your speakers as i trust your always objective reviews. Weird to say but in all studio equipments available, studio monitors are my fav piece of kits, maybe a bit of a fetish haha but i find this is the backbone of every studio and too many ppl do not like speakers enough :) Never been a focal dude even though im from France, i find their speakers excellent used to listen to music for pure enjoyement but studio wise i always found they flatter music a bit too much for my taste making even mixes who are not there yet sound nice.

Audio Science tested these and gave them a glowing review. No harsh peak at 3K. But they did have a defective tweeter on the first attempt at reviewing them.

This idea of making your own speakers is really cool! I wonder how this 65 compare to other monitors in this price range like yamaha hs8 or adam t8v.

I've been using the alpha 80 Evo for my "first" pair of monitors. The more time I spend listening to them and get used to the different mids, the more I like them. I compared to a cheap 5" pair and rokit rp8 Gen3. The focals Sound different, but better imo.

Honest review here!

Definitely interested in a pair of Present Day Speakers.

Great idea to release a PDP speakers, in the live video about speaker build etc was interesting. Maybe with collaboration with Jes kerr i could be convinced with the ported speaker design being good with transients. I currently use sealed passive speakers for mixing and i was immediately convinced of their precise sound (especially for hearing the texture of compression) and transfer ability to other systems. I have not tried any really expensive 800+ euro ported designs so I my opinion is very biased toward budget to semi professional(home studio) speakers. But maybe these could be the ones that convince me while being around the price of these focals. (or maybe cheaper??)

I'm extremely interested in PDP monitors! My Kali IN-8's blew a power supply and I'm going on 2 weeks trying to get them to ship me the replacement amp I already purchased. I'll probably end up just stopping by a music shop in the morning and buying whatever they have so I can finally get back to work, as I've been editing and mixing in headphones and my old KRKs that whole time. If you guys can pull off an high quality (and reliable) monitor at a competitive price, count me in.

You could call the speaker series the "Flopcat speakers". That would be a really cool branding. And you could crowdfund the first production (like the Townsend mic guys did ... I bought two mics, when they were collecting money for the first round).

Well wadded. I'm using that as a pejorative from now on.

I found this upper midrange harshness to be pretty consistent across the Focal range actually. I just came from doing a 4 hour comparison between ATC SCM25A Mk IIs, Focal Trio 6 and Trio 11s, Genelec 4351s and Barefoot Micromains (45s and 27s) The Focals immediately jumped out has sounding harsh and, like was said in the video, disjointed. All of the other speakers, while sounding quite different in character from each other, were all rich, pleasing and smooth, with open top ends and zero harshness to be found anywhere. I was really very surprised by this seeing how popular Focals are online... but there it is. BTW, I wasn't alone either, there were 4 of us, all experienced session musicians and engineers. We all heard the same thing. Go figure!

do the eq controls on the back help to trim that brightness you mentioned? Are there any other monitors you would recommend for guitar based music?

OK, thank you sooo much. Definitely. I've been close to buying it... but I could die on that uper mids range fall. Any healthy alternative for guitarists on studio monitors? Thanks!

I'd buy me Flopcats without hesitation!!!

WOW YESSS

Would love to see you produce your own speaker line… 🎉🎉🎉

Definitely do a PDP speaker? Cant you just have a Kickstarter project and take orders? Could it be somewhat self assembly to save costs?

the alphas didn’t replace the cms series, they were a new entry level line. the shapes are the series that replaced the cms line. that being said your speaker line sounds interesting, kind of what buchardt audio are doing in the consumer space.

Yes!

Sounds great about building your own speakers i would be interested for my Atmos room

Please go ahead with the speaker idea! Sounds like a great idea.

Great review as ever. Can you guys review the SP Acoustics SP1M (SOS: "Probably the best monitor in the world...") and/or the Klasik 2020?

Does this problem in the upper midrange occur in the smaller Alpha Evo 50 model??

was considering this but now I'm goddamn skeptical about it there is a company not well heard of called monkey banana and they have a monitor called silverback would love to see you do a review of these

Your speaker? Yes, please!

Nice idea. I'm making such setup with Adam speakers. But who knows))) Also, can you make a video about connecting and overal setup for 7.2.1 studio or home theater? Which reciever or sound interface better to use?

Yes very close, but yes no cigar, because I think all they need is a three way because the low end was excellent and the highs were good but you are right, they were missing that critical mid range which made them sound as you say "disjointed". I like the SPL and the 40hz, but can I get it in a near field size and a three way?

What is the status on your speakers? Completed? Design phase? Please provide a link to check them out...

Thanks for the review guys. Out of interest, what monitors in the same price bracket would you recommend for guitar-based stuff?

My original alpha 65's are coming today, I prefer them to this Evo range tbh sound & style wise the Evo just doesn't cut it for me. 👍🏿

I just wanna quick echo the comment that recommended “PDP” as the branding route. Personally, if you guys made a great monitor, I would probably be shouting from the rooftops that it was made by this great YT channel and say the whole channel name, but as with other aesthetic preferences I would beg of such a product, I lean heavily on that mindset of, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” 🤷🏼‍♂️😊 In any case, really looking forward to seeing how this venture turns out, and best of luck!

Please get a wiggle on guys. I'm just about to relocate my base from Austin TX to Charlottesville VA and will be probably be moving on from my trusty pair of Solo 6 Bes to a pair of SM25As. Should I wait? Keep on keeping on (and a stoke to FC please...) Pax!

Do you guys have a speaker in that price range that you do like or recommend?

I wonder what these sound like next the shape 65s because I love mine, I believe the shape series has the M shape aluminium tweeter so I imagine might not have the same midrange issue as these?

I've always loved your videos guys, but now I peeed myself in the first second, I laughed so much... 🤣🤣🤣 I had to rewind 6 times 🤪😝😅

Great review! The Alpha 80 Evos are said to have more recessed mids than their smaller peers, have you got a chance to try them and see if they are more neutral than the 65s?

my enclosures actually make a physical popping noise. I guess when they heat up a bit. Is this normal?

If flopcat is agreeing to put its name on something that contain a woffer then go ahead!! :) please explore the egg shape monitor concept. I’m a bit sad that MunroSonic closed its gates. Would like to see another company developing similar style monitors.

My biggest monitor requests: Ribbon or Metal Tweeters Customizable Colors Custom Woofers

They do sound way bigger than they are, the midfield comment makes total sense

Great video. What do you use there for monitor-room adaptation (eq, positioning, etc)? I have still never found a set of ATC’s that I don’t find dynamically and tonally natural. Every studio that we’ve heard them at, including ours where we demoed a couple sets, were a let down at well under half the price.

I bet there was at least one outtake with " Faecal".

I'm currently working out what I want for my new home studio setup, on the short list so far for my near field monitors I have the Focal Shape Twin and the new Adam A7V speakers, so if you are looking to make speakers of around that size and capability, I'm definitely interested to see what you come up with :)

Interested,, 🍻😎👍‍‍

Please make a 3-way speaker for the price of awesome sounding 2-way (and I'm not talking about KRK's or Kali's). This is what the market is missing...a decent pair of 3-way monitors in the 2-way price range. If you "Cut out the middle man", this can easily be done. -3-way 6.5" woofer for home studios would be perfect (small rooms). -3-way 7' or 8" woofer would be the next best thing but then you're running the risk of loosing the home studio guys in smaller rooms..."Clarity" not loud is needed. -If you can add "Focus Mode" like in the Focal Trio6 and Trio11's would be a no brainer purchase. -Make them black for modern studio decor maybe with wood tasteful accents if you want a distinguishing look that separates you from everyone else...if it messes with the price, keep 'em black and use a distinguishing logo instead. OK...I know i'm pushing it here but, if you could find it in your hearts to produce both the 6.5" and 8" 3-way monitors so everyone could get a taste would be great!😁👍

They are great speakers for the price

hi guys, great video, really entertaining and informative i have a 6 x 4 meters room and my 6inch mackie mr624 struggle to create good low-end since i put up my basstraps and absorbers, so i wanted to upgrade my monitors and the focal alpha series really got my attention would you recommend me either the 6,5 inch or 8 inch version? i am sitting roughly 2 meters away from the speakers, of course in the sweet spot in a triangle.

Amazing video! But I watched the other videos and you guys did mods to the other speaker but not this one. Does that mean it doesn’t need a mod??

i am very curious to listen to your speaker. nice channel btw

Guys I have alfa 80 and there is that switch on the back…manual says that it should be switched if higher pressure levels are needed. No idea what it’s about…tbh. I mix on very low levels and that switch lets me hear a lot more details across the whole frequency spectrum…at least that is my impression! Couldn’t find a decent description of how to use that switch properly, or when to switch it…would you, or someone be so kind and explain deeper that switch, SPL, best practices?!? Pls… Thx in advance!!!

Wow, I wasn't sure I'd notice the difference on my cheap studio monitors, but yeah, I can totally hear the issues with the Alpha EVO 65's. This seems like more or less a deal breaker.

PDP speakers sound like an excellent idea. Powered or passive?

Take my money now.............Hell yeah.