Focal Alpha 50 vs. Adam T5V/T7V

[daftcombo]

@renaudrenaud recently replaced his ELAC DBR-62 + powerful and clean TPA3255 cards by a pair of Focal Alpha 50 in his living room.
Nuff said.

 

[renaudrenaud]

@renaudrenaud recently replaced his ELAC DBR-62 + powerful and clean TPA3255 cards by a pair of Focal Alpha 50 in his living room.
Nuff said.

Well, it's true. I gave the Elac to my cousin so I just have the Alpha 50 in the living room.

I like them very very much, but it's just a biased opinion, French guy liking a product from a French company, and really low price for a pair of speakers.

I like the idea I paid just for the components, not the the look. Don't care the look.

I've put lot of stickers in the side of the speakers to degrade their look and I like the fact they now look like toys (and ugly).

I don't care a lot of plenty of things and especially I don't care if you prefer the Adam or something else.

Finally I prefer to spend my money on old things I like to repair or component for things I like to build with my wife.

Err... And because this website I have to buy each month a product from Topping.

 

[pinkish]

@renaudrenaud @daftcombo Why did you guys choose the Alpha 50s over the Alpha 50 Evos?

 

[VintageFlanker]

Why did you guys choose the Alpha 50s over the Alpha 50 Evos?

Probably because Alpha Evo is a just released product. Also, @daftcombo does not own the Alpha 50.

@renaudrenaud recently replaced his ELAC DBR-62 + powerful and clean TPA3255 cards by a pair of Focal Alpha 50 in his living room.
Nuff said.

Hum, I thought it was temporary the time you get your Elac back, @renaudrenaud (?)

 

[daftcombo]

@renaudrenaud @daftcombo Why did you guys choose the Alpha 50s over the Alpha 50 Evos?

I have not heard the Alpha 50 Evo yet, just the Alpha 50 at Renaud's.

I have had a pair of JBL 305p MKII at home, thought it was ok, and advised Renaud to buy a pair as they are dirt cheap. But he hates them, and I also sold my pair after I bought a much better pair of Genelec 8030C.

I can't comment on the T5V nor T7V, except that I saw them in a store and they look much better in person than on pictures.

Hum, I thought it was temporary the time you get your Elac back, @renaudrenaud (?)

Renaud likes to have the amplification inside the speakers. It leaves more room on his desk to put turntables.

 

[Pearljam5000]

I wonder why there's no Alpha 80 Evo

 

[thewas]

I would guess for two reasons, 8" woofers are for two ways a bigger compromise in the important mid region and Focal makes wide directivity designs where a 8" driver would beam too much compared to the wide directivity tweeter designs they use.

 

[daftcombo]

The look of the Evo line is much better than the look of the oldest line IMHO. De gustibus...

But I'd be glad to see someone measure the new ones to see if it is not better to get the oldest still.

 

[YSC]

it's reviviing the old thread, but to @renaudrenaud how's the evo 50 lasts on you? I mean did it have the shape series auto standby bug or even breaks down after a year of frequent uses or so? planning to get a pair for my TV speakers, since I quite like the focal brand, the shape is a bit too pricy for not getting Neumann or Genelec, and also the reliability seems a bit holding me back

 

[renaudrenaud]

Well, got 3 pairs for the family with no technical problem, no reliability issue.

The fact is the speaker can go to standby when the sound is not loud enough.

I got a pair of Alpha 65 Evo recently and the new model has a removable auto stand.

So if you want to avoid the auto standby, you have to go for the new "Evo" alpha models.

 

[YSC]

Well, got 3 pairs for the family with no technical problem, no reliability issue.

The fact is the speaker can go to standby when the sound is not loud enough.

I got a pair of Alpha 65 Evo recently and the new model has a removable auto stand.

So if you want to avoid the auto standby, you have to go for the new "Evo" alpha models.

Autostandby is useful as I don’t want to keep it 24/7 or need to remind wife to keep turning them off, just hope the sensitivity is right

 

[anoukane]

Any new experiences with this?
Im torn between the t5v, Alpha 50 evo and Kali Lp-6…

The focal is twice expensive here.

 

[YSC]

Any new experiences with this?
Im torn between the t5v, Alpha 50 evo and Kali Lp-6…

The focal is twice expensive here.

IMO they are pretty similar league speakers, get the one within your budget, the look you like and with the function you wanted. say personally I would've choose the T5V for TV speakers if they had auto standby, but sadly they don't and it's not accessible to go turn it on and off everytime either, so ended up I opt for KRK RP5 G4.

 

[dfuller]

Any new experiences with this?
Im torn between the t5v, Alpha 50 evo and Kali Lp-6…

The focal is twice expensive here.

Kali by a mile IMO. My opinion on Focal has changed dramatically since the start of this thread.

 

[anoukane]

Ok. Thanks!
The kali lp6 is €400 for a pair.
The Adam is €278 for a pair.
So based on price the Adam is prefered but im gonna order both and see which one I like best.

 

[fordiebianco]

I have the TV5s in my Office and the TV7s as my TV speakers (also listening to music via Airplay). They are impressive speakers, with the tweeters particularly shining. The TV7s have an impressive bass reproduction, though I never missed bass in the TV5s either. Great speakers, great value.

 

[Jarick]

I just received a pair of each to compare. Downsizing from a pair of Yamaha HS8's.

Both sound pretty good for listening especially compared to the Yamahas which are more mid forward. The Focals are punchier sounding with more bass and treble sparkle, where the Adams have more emphasis on the vocal midrange. On the flip side, sometimes the Adams can sound a bit nasally where the Focals can sound a bit hollow. I would also say the Adams ribbon tweeter sounds more natural and seems to blend into the woofer more, where the Focals sound more like two different drivers.

Physically, the Focals are noticeably wider and bigger looking from the front, where the Adams look small from the front but are very deep. The Focals are very striking and look rugged with the grilles, where the Adams have drivers exposed which makes me nervous. The front port of the Focal seems to make them more forgiving for positioning vs the wall where the Adams are rear ported and would need to be more careful.

One big thing is that the Adams have a loud hiss. I can easily hear it from three feet away despite hearing loss and tinnitus and it's pretty annoying. Meanwhile I can't hear the Focal hiss past a foot away. The Focal is on par with Yamaha for low hiss volume, where the Adams are as loud as my old JBL 305's.

If it weren't for the hiss, I'd probably go Adams plus the matching subwoofer for a killer budget system. But I'll probably end up with the Adams instead and try to adjust to the midrange.

 

[ElectroEstatico]

I have the focal alpha evo 50 and I cannot recommend them, here is why:

From the moment I unbox and I listened to them for the first time I noticed there was something uneven in the high frequencies. I always thought it was the asymmetrical form of my room and dealt with it trying to match both speakers with the rear tone control knobs.

The speakers are about a year old and a few months ago the magnetic field of the tweeter snapped the grill off my fingers when I has putting it on. There were 2 tiny dots smaller than the tip if a pen embedded in the dome tweeter as a result of this (no holes).

About a month ago I started to notice a dull sound on this speaker. Take a closer look and noticed that the glue in the suspension’s tweeter was giving up. I logically thought that this was caused by the impact when the grill got attracted by the magnet.

About a week ago I was thinking about possibly replacing the tweeters with better aftermarket ones. As part of ny research I went ahead and unmounted tweeters to start seeing it’s dimensions, measure its impedance, etc etc.. To my surprise, the untouched tweeter was also losing the adhesive between the suspension and the dome! This discarded my initial thought and now it was obvious it was not the accident I had with the first tweeter that made the glue give up.

There’s more big surprises, keep reading!

Once unmounted and upon closer inspection of the tweeters I realized that one of the magnets (the 2nd rear magnet) was not even attached to the center of the main magnet. It looks as if they manufacturing is so fast that the magnet slit off the side while the glue was still curing!

Makes me wonder if all this time I have been listening to the uneven highs and mid highs due to the poor manufacturing of the speaker. I would have never be aware of these defects if hadn’t opened the speaker.

I contacted focal and explained this situation to them. First of all they obviously didn’t even paid too much attention to my email as in the first response that I got they told me they could help with the “one tweeter” that needs replacement. Its both tweeters that are losing their adhesive, but they can’t read properly.

They also immediately state that without a receipt they might not be able to help me. Even when I told them their speaker has a manufacturing defect! I even offered them to send them photos and they ignored my offer. All they have to say is that while manufacturing defects can happen they are very rare. How is that statement supposed to help me? Or is this their polite way of saying yes it can happen rarely and we won’t honor our warranty anyways?

Despite them knowing all of this and replying to them that I no longer have the receipt and that if they can’t help I’ll look for help online. The only solution they offered me was to sell me a new pair of tweeters.

I was a big fan of focals, I was contemplating getting one of their way studio speakers but I think I’m jumping all the way to Neumann or PMC. I was also on the market for some utopias og, (used). But I cannot longer support or recommend others this brand.

I have brought the alphas to parties here in Los Angeles and people always ask about them, they aren’t bad speakers except for that inherent harsh region at about 2200-3200hz that some people said is part of the nature of their inverted dome tweeter. They have excellent dispersion but perhaps at the cost of this hot region that can’t be eq’d.

So here I am asking if anybody knows of a tweeter with similar or superior performance with similar specs to the original. The impedance that they have reads 6ohms. Or if anyone has recommendations for a glue that’s good for these tweeters, please let me know.

Aside of the issue, another surprise was to realize that the spider of the woofer is made of plastic, not metal. They are great woofer’s though but never spect or seen plastic structure for a woofer in these price ranges.

If you read until the end thank you. My final thought is that despite the poor manufacturing, there was also poor quality control because if I was able to hear the difference just by ear from the moment they were unboxed, then how come it passed the computerized listening test that occurs in factory? Or is this final step to ensure speaker integrity and matching also being skipped at the factory?

If you like to be told that manufacturing defects are rare and therefore they can sell you replacements on your first year of what I believe is a 5 year warranty of your $800 sonic mismatched speakers then be my guess, but to me this is unacceptable.

These are the photos focal ignored from me. It’s much easier to look at the poorly placed magnet in person but you can still see is not centered. How delicate a tweeter is, a millimeter more of this and that can have huge impact in the sound. (This is more than 1mm). Notice the difference in the magnet gap between the 2 photos that appear to be almost the same picture. Last pic shows the glue off the dome.

 

[YSC]

I have the focal alpha evo 50 and I cannot recommend them, here is why:

From the moment I unbox and I listened to them for the first time I noticed there was something uneven in the high frequencies. I always thought it was the asymmetrical form of my room and dealt with it trying to match both speakers with the rear tone control knobs.

The speakers are about a year old and a few months ago the magnetic field of the tweeter snapped the grill off my fingers when I has putting it on. There were 2 tiny dots smaller than the tip if a pen embedded in the dome tweeter as a result of this (no holes).

About a month ago I started to notice a dull sound on this speaker. Take a closer look and noticed that the glue in the suspension’s tweeter was giving up. I logically thought that this was caused by the impact when the grill got attracted by the magnet.

About a week ago I was thinking about possibly replacing the tweeters with better aftermarket ones. As part of ny research I went ahead and unmounted tweeters to start seeing it’s dimensions, measure its impedance, etc etc.. To my surprise, the untouched tweeter was also losing the adhesive between the suspension and the dome! This discarded my initial thought and now it was obvious it was not the accident I had with the first tweeter that made the glue give up.

There’s more big surprises, keep reading!

Once unmounted and upon closer inspection of the tweeters I realized that one of the magnets (the 2nd rear magnet) was not even attached to the center of the main magnet. It looks as if they manufacturing is so fast that the magnet slit off the side while the glue was still curing!

Makes me wonder if all this time I have been listening to the uneven highs and mid highs due to the poor manufacturing of the speaker. I would have never be aware of these defects if hadn’t opened the speaker.

I contacted focal and explained this situation to them. First of all they obviously didn’t even paid too much attention to my email as in the first response that I got they told me they could help with the “one tweeter” that needs replacement. Its both tweeters that are losing their adhesive, but they can’t read properly.

They also immediately state that without a receipt they might not be able to help me. Even when I told them their speaker has a manufacturing defect! I even offered them to send them photos and they ignored my offer. All they have to say is that while manufacturing defects can happen they are very rare. How is that statement supposed to help me? Or is this their polite way of saying yes it can happen rarely and we won’t honor our warranty anyways?

Despite them knowing all of this and replying to them that I no longer have the receipt and that if they can’t help I’ll look for help online. The only solution they offered me was to sell me a new pair of tweeters.

I was a big fan of focals, I was contemplating getting one of their way studio speakers but I think I’m jumping all the way to Neumann or PMC. I was also on the market for some utopias og, (used). But I cannot longer support or recommend others this brand.

I have brought the alphas to parties here in Los Angeles and people always ask about them, they aren’t bad speakers except for that inherent harsh region at about 2200-3200hz that some people said is part of the nature of their inverted dome tweeter. They have excellent dispersion but perhaps at the cost of this hot region that can’t be eq’d.

So here I am asking if anybody knows of a tweeter with similar or superior performance with similar specs to the original. The impedance that they have reads 6ohms. Or if anyone has recommendations for a glue that’s good for these tweeters, please let me know.

Aside of the issue, another surprise was to realize that the spider of the woofer is made of plastic, not metal. They are great woofer’s though but never spect or seen plastic structure for a woofer in these price ranges.

If you read until the end thank you. My final thought is that despite the poor manufacturing, there was also poor quality control because if I was able to hear the difference just by ear from the moment they were unboxed, then how come it passed the computerized listening test that occurs in factory? Or is this final step to ensure speaker integrity and matching also being skipped at the factory?

If you like to be told that manufacturing defects are rare and therefore they can sell you replacements on your first year of what I believe is a 5 year warranty of your $800 sonic mismatched speakers then be my guess, but to me this is unacceptable.

These are the photos focal ignored from me. It’s much easier to look at the poorly placed magnet in person but you can still see is not centered. How delicate a tweeter is, a millimeter more of this and that can have huge impact in the sound. (This is more than 1mm). Notice the difference in the magnet gap between the 2 photos that appear to be almost the same picture. Last pic shows the glue off the dome.
View attachment 424566View attachment 424567View attachment 424568View attachment 424569View attachment 424570

These are serious issues... I liked the focal brand and their designs also, it seems I got lucky of going the 8030Cs like 5 years ago and not jumping into the shape 50

 

[Pearljam5000]

These are serious issues... I liked the focal brand and their designs also, it seems I got lucky of going the 8030Cs like 5 years ago and not jumping into the shape 50

Not to mention that the Genelec's sound is much better