Active speakers suggestion: Focal Alpha 65 Vs JBL 306P MKII

[Kit Carson]

Dear all,
which active speakers do you suggest me between Focal Alpha 65 and JBL 306P MKII?
I'll use just to listen to music (no mixing o mastering), mainly 70' and 80' rock and jazz.

Thanks!

 

[Ron Texas]

I listened to a pair of 305's all summer. They are good and dirt cheap.

 

[dfuller]

I used to own a pair of Alpha 65s. They're solid speakers, overall; chances are, the distortion performance is better than the JBLs (which is, frankly, pretty bad) though without test results I can't quantify that for certain. They aren't waveguided nearly as much as the JBLs, so they will have some directivity mismatch compared to the JBLs but assuming you're using them in the correct context (that is, nearfield, where you're probably sitting on-axis or near enough anyway) it's not a major concern.

The Focals extend slightly lower (-3dB point on axis is quoted as 40Hz vs the 306's -3dB of 47Hz) as well, and have somewhat more power on tap for the low driver (70w Class AB vs 56w Class D). Max SPL is similar at 106dB peak vs 110dB peak.

 

[Noodles]

Either, they are both solid.

 

[q3cpma]

Listening distance? The JBL's hiss can be annoying in nearfield.

 

[Ziltoe]

Any particular reason why you've made a choice between these two speaker? Could other being suggested? Certainly both fit purpose [.../] listen to music (no mixing o mastering), mainly 70' and 80' rock and jazz [\...] however, there is a lot on the market and q3cpma's question matters.

 

[volkl77n]

Welcome to the rabbit hole.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-MKyxKdanxpOBTx8wiY1w

 

[Kit Carson]

Listening distance? The JBL's hiss can be annoying in nearfield.

About 3,5m...

 

[Kit Carson]

Any particular reason why you've made a choice between these two speaker? Could other being suggested? Certainly both fit purpose [.../] listen to music (no mixing o mastering), mainly 70' and 80' rock and jazz [\...] however, there is a lot on the market and q3cpma's question matters.

No particular reason, just I've just collected some advice from friends and local shops...
I really appreciate any other suggestions!

 

[Ziltoe]

[.../] About 3,5m... [\...] here we go and that will have a change in what you really need, at least none of your candidates suggested by friends or local shops expertises will make it.

 

[Kit Carson]

[.../] About 3,5m... [\...] here we go and that will have a change in what you really need, at least none of your candidates suggested by friends or local shops expertises will make it.

Thanks!
Which speakers do you suggest?

 

[sweetchaos]

Welcome to ASR!

Focal Alpha 65 was measured by SoundAndRecording.de

Spoiler: Frequency

Spoiler: Distortion:

Spoiler: Horizontal Directivity/Dispersion:

Cons:
- frequency response is not great (probably needs EQ, but difficult to say exactly, since we don't have full spinorama data)
- horizontal directivity is worse than JBL's
- 2x more expensive than JBL 306P MKII for sure (these are US$400/ea) (while JBL 306P MKII are US$200/ea).

Pros:
- distortion is better than JBL's

JBL 306P MKII was measured by Amir:

Spoiler: Frequency

Spoiler: Distortion:

Spoiler: Horizontal Directivity/Dispersion:

Cons:
- JBLs 30xP MKII are known for their higher distortion (less important than getting frequency response right, according to Amir) and hiss levels (won't affect at your listening distance anyway)

Pros:
- easy to EQ to get it to sound right...since we have full spinorama data
1. Amir's PEQ was 1 filter.
- Peaking filter at 1516hz, with 3dB gain, and Q 3.0
2. Maiky76's PEQ was 7 filters.

Preamp: -3.8 dB
Filter 1: ON PK Fc 135 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 2.5
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 916 Hz Gain -1.42 dB Q 3.33
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 1545 Hz Gain 3.84 dB Q 6.45
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 2415 Hz Gain 2 dB Q 3.28
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 2459 Hz Gain -1 dB Q 8.95
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 4693 Hz Gain -0.83 dB Q 2.63
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 8119 Hz Gain -0.81 dB Q 4.74

- 2x cheaper than Focal Clear 65's.

JBL 306P MKII's looks like a winner to me.

 

[renaudrenaud]

Focal.

 

[dfuller]

- 2x more expensive than JBL 306P MKII for sure (these are US$400/ea) (while JBL 306P MKII are US$200/ea).

Judging by the way OP types, I'm guessing he probably lives in Western Europe somewhere, and the Focals go for roughly $265 each. Focals have a major markup in the US. Also, careful you don't get fooled by the scaling of the graphs. The Sound And Recording graph is considerably taller than Amir's.

 

[Kit Carson]

Judging by the way OP types, I'm guessing he probably lives in Western Europe somewhere, and the Focals go for roughly $265 each. Focals have a major markup in the US.

Yes, I confirm!

Any other solution other than the JBL or Focal?

 

[dfuller]

Any other solution other than the JBL or Focal?

Around 230 euro per speaker budget, right?

 

[Ziltoe]

Perhaps it has been ignored or left aside, but both your preferred speaker, IMHO, are not designed or capable for a listening distance of ~ 3,5 m you prefer or want to have. Yes, it might be possible with enormous room treatment and so on but no.

Certainly, it requires, when speaking "active", a mid-field speaker which can cope with this distance. Genelec, Neumann, JBL etc. are the right candidates to look at.

 

[Emulator II]

I've had the Focal Alpha 65 for a while just for listening to music. I have to say that these were my first active speakers and also the last until now, so I have no comparison.

First (minor) problem for me was the hiss from the tweeters. My listening distance was about 2.5m. It was not such big problem during day time listening but in night hours I could clearly hear it at my listening position when no music was playing.

The second problem occured when I listened to some bass heavy electronic tracks. The Focal handles port noise during these tracks quiet well. But there was an annoying resonance sound rhythmically coming from both bass drivers. Reason for that was that the tensile leads between the woofer terminal and the cone are simply to long and to loose. You don't even have to crank the volume much to provoke this behavior.

I still wonder about the fact that nobody at Focal and most reviewers seems to notice. Or maybe it was a bad batch of drivers? I don't know.

 

[Emulator II]

Yes, I confirm!

Any other solution other than the JBL or Focal?

Adam T8V?
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/adam-t8v-studio-monitor-review.17118/

 

[CtheArgie]

I am very happy with my EVE Audio SC207. Similar price and replaced JBL 306. I think they sound better than the JBLs. The REW from my listening position is much better too. I don't hear any hiss from them either. Similar listing distance to yours too.