Focal Alpha 65 EVO Review (Studio Monitor)

[Lilith]

I listened to the Evo 50 and 65 today side by side and I liked the Evo 50 more. It sounded more direct and more mid forward. Did anyone else compare the two?

 

[ivo.f.doma]

And are the smaller ones enough to sound a room 3.5 x 5 meters? I mean their lower power.

 

[Lilith]

And are the smaller ones enough to sound a room 3.5 x 5 meters? I mean their lower power.

In the near field it should be OK, but if you listen loud and are far away (3 m or so) you may want more power

 

[ivo.f.doma]

Thank you for your response. It's the sound of a bedroom. Waking up in the morning with music. Listening to music and news while reading.

 

[Querkle]

im coming back to look at these again, however the same thing keeps bothering me

extremely low rated peak SPL, and fairly low wattage for the woofers

its also quite confusing because the test at 96dBSPL look very good for distortion, however i have never seen a speaker rated at 104dBSPL Peak able to maintain 96dB SPL RMS for musical content

i have a pair of KRK Rokit 5 G4 which are also 104dBSPL Peak however show a significant amount of distortion at 96dBSPL in Amir's tests

My KRK Rokit 5 G4 are specifically not loud enough for me, and i am listening to them at there max level regularly where increasing volume runs them into brick wall limiters

im curious how much more headroom a focal Alpha 50 or Alpha 65 would give me, but it doesnt seem like alot, however im guessing it will allow me to enjoy lower level listening as the sub would be more full

adding to this, i also own a pair of KRK V6S4 which have way more than enough power for me, however they have hiss which isnt suitable for sitting 0.5 meters from the speakers unfortunately, i and im thinking EVO65's might give me the low end of the V6S4 i want without the hiss

 

[mightycicadalord]

These don't have extremely low peak spl, its in line with basically every other monitor of its size.

I think you might be deaf if you need higher than 104db peak spl at that distance.

 

[Querkle]

These don't have extremely low peak spl, its in line with basically every other monitor of its size.

I think you might be deaf if you need higher than 104db peak spl at that distance.

actually, it does have a low peak SPL for its size

allow me to make the point

KRK Rokit 5 is peak of 104dBSPL £125
Focal Alpha 50 Evo has peak of 101dBSPL for £211
Adam T5V has a peak of 103dBSPL for £144
Gelelec 8030C 104dBSPL for £455

the same difference can be seen for the Alpha 65 Evo, and when compared to my KRK V6S4 at 114dBSPL or a Neuman KH80 DSP or KH 120

now to reply to your second point, actually 104db is nowhere near being deaf, and infact in order to listen to my music the way its intended i need a speaker which can do 104db SPL at the very least

if you look at the photo, you can see that sub bass levels in the 60-100hz range regularly reach 24db higher than other sounds.

this means that while your music may be really loud at 104db, the only part of my music which is really loud at 104dBSPL is the sub bass

sub bass is really good at bringing woofers to there knees

regardless of all this i have a KRK Rokit 5 with Peak SPL of 104dBSPL, and the only issue i have with the speaker is its max volume is not enough for me

 

[xaviescacs]

actually, it does have a low peak SPL for its size

allow me to make the point

KRK Rokit 5 is peak of 104dBSPL £125
Focal Alpha 50 Evo has peak of 101dBSPL for £211
Adam T5V has a peak of 103dBSPL for £144
Gelelec 8030C 104dBSPL for £455

the same difference can be seen for the Alpha 65 Evo, and when compared to my KRK V6S4 at 114dBSPL or a Neuman KH80 DSP or KH 120

now to reply to your second point, actually 104db is nowhere near being deaf, and infact in order to listen to my music the way its intended i need a speaker which can do 104db SPL at the very least

if you look at the photo, you can see that sub bass levels in the 60-100hz range regularly reach 24db higher than other sounds.

this means that while your music may be really loud at 104db, the only part of my music which is really loud at 104dBSPL is the sub bass

sub bass is really good at bringing woofers to there kneesView attachment 198033

I have the EVO 50 and I do love their bass, very clear and clean. In fact, I'm getting used to them and now I don't like my Dynaudio X14A, damm it...

 

[mightycicadalord]

now to reply to your second point, actually 104db is nowhere near being deaf, and infact in order to listen to my music the way its intended i need a speaker which can do 104db SPL at the very least

Uh what? I had no idea music had to be at a certain SPL to hear it in the way it's intended lol.

You need a subwoofer my dude.

 

[Querkle]

You need a subwoofer my dude.

actually, a subwoofer would be complete overkill for my 1 bedroom flat with neighboors to my east/west/north/south/ and below me

i started testing a large range of monitors in person, and settled on KRK Rokit 5 G4 based on my own ears, i was pleased that Amir's review backed this up, but over time i have not been happy with the max level and seeing how the speaker distorts the sub at 96dBSPL i wanted something better

i got KRK V6S4 and they are a great upgrade but the hum is not ok for sitting within 0.5 meters, other than that i am happy with these speakers but having trouble deciding what to get, ultimately i decided i couldnt do the Alpha Evo 50 because not loud enough and the Alpha Evo 65 is just to big....... i am curious for adam to reveal the new A series, but also i have been thinking A7X would be the perfect speaker for me, nearly the same SPL as my V6S4 with about the same sub performance, and no humm..

regarding your comment about not knowing music needed to be a certain SPL to be heard how it is supposed to... its called soundsystem music

https://soundcloud.com/juanforteuk%2Fjuan-tapes-042-midi

 

[YARE]

A true 104dB SPL Chad Enjoyer lmao

 

[Querkle]

Uh what? I had no idea music had to be at a certain SPL to hear it in the way it's intended lol.

You need a subwoofer my dude.

You need a subwoofer my dude.

for the music that i listen to, you definately do

A true 104dB SPL Chad Enjoyer lmao

are you attacking me for having a different opinion than you? damn, salty.... yes 104dBSPL is not insanely loud by any means, have you ever been to this thing called a concert?

for shows i use custom fit plugs which attenuate by 26db

 

[mightycicadalord]

for the music that i listen to, you definately do

You just like things loud, there's nothing in the tunes you shared that says you're missing out on something because it isn't peaking at 100+db.

I'm pretty aware of the sound system culture, followed speakerplans for a long time, well before Rog started Void Acoustics. I write a lot of electronic stuff myself. I like loud too but that mix hits just as hard for at 70db rms as it does at 80.

Are folks calling it sound system music now? I'd just call that dub. Not like the terms matter.

I think maybe you have your SPL numbers off. There's no way you'd be able to sit in front of speakers that close if they're hitting 104db. That is actually insanely loud for a room to me.

I'm a little curious about the KRK's, you say the hum is too much, are they humming or hissing? If it's a hum you probably have a grounding issue.

 

[Querkle]

You just like things loud, there's nothing in the tunes you shared that says you're missing out on something because it isn't peaking at 100+db.

I'm pretty aware of the sound system culture, followed speakerplans for a long time, well before Rog started Void Acoustics. I write a lot of electronic stuff myself. I like loud too but that mix hits just as hard for at 70db rms as it does at 80.

Are folks calling it sound system music now? I'd just call that dub. Not like the terms matter.

I think maybe you have your SPL numbers off. There's no way you'd be able to sit in front of speakers that close if they're hitting 104db. That is actually insanely loud for a room to me.

I'm a little curious about the KRK's, you say the hum is too much, are they humming or hissing? If it's a hum you probably have a grounding issue.

actually, the artists who make the music i play would tell you in confidence that if you arent listening to the music on a proper soundsystem which can reach levels you arent listening to it properly, that is why we have big sound system nights because this level of sub bass pressure is not achievable by most people with what they own, the songs are made for being played at these nights, and wouldn't exist without them.

just because its listenable at lower levels doesnt mean its ideal, for example alot of songs you could listen upto 104 db but even at 104db if you dont have proper 40hz sub bass pressure the song will not translate how the artist intended it to, simple.

there is some dub in that mix i shared, which is my own mix, but it also has lots of dubstep, grime, and 2 step elements

im not saying i listen at 104dBSPL, obviously my listening RMS is much lower than the speaker ratings, however if its 104dBSPL peak thats barely 96dBSPL RMS

my KRK V6S4 have a hiss not a hum, its not a ground loop, its just how the amps are, probably 35dbA at 10cm

Neuman KH120A or Adam A7X would solve my issue because the hiss has been measured about 20dbA at 10cm on both

My KRK Rokit 5 G4 have a minor hiss but its unnoticeable to me at 0.5m

 

[mightycicadalord]

actually, the artists who make the music i play would tell you in confidence that if you arent listening to the music on a proper soundsystem which can reach levels you arent listening to it properly, that is why we have big sound system nights because this level of sub bass pressure is not achievable by most people with what they own, the songs are made for being played at these nights, and wouldn't exist without them.

I AM one of those artists so why don't you just ask me? Ask me how I get a songs bass to translate to PA when mixing it on small monitors.

I also offer mixing services, and I work in live sound. I have experience with the whole gamut, from production in small rooms, to performance on large scale PA. You have some holes in your understanding of sound reproduction that you could fill by asking questions.

That was a good mix tho, good tune selection.

 

[Querkle]

I AM one of those artists so why don't you just ask me? Ask me how I get a songs bass to translate to PA when mixing it on small monitors.

I also offer mixing services, and I work in live sound. I have experience with the whole gamut, from production in small rooms, to performance on large scale PA. You have some holes in your understanding of sound reproduction that you could fill by asking questions.

cool

 

[mightycicadalord]

Well you will certainly make it quite far in the music world with that attitude. Best of luck.

Why'd you edit your comment where you told me to fuck off several times?

 

[phoenixsong]

Off topic, but Fletcher Munson Curves maybe

 

[Querkle]

Off topic, but Fletcher Munson Curves maybe

yes, this and other things like simply preference. the point is 104dBSPL is very low peak SPL for a speaker as big as this. if someone wants to give an example of another 6.5 powered monitor in the same price range with similar peak SPL be my guest.

if someone who has the speaker wants to talk about how loud it is compared to something else which has a louder peak SPL rating, its possible Focals rating is done differently than others.

 

[dfuller]

the point is 104dBSPL is very low peak SPL for a speaker as big as this. if someone wants to give an example of another 6.5 powered monitor in the same price range with similar peak SPL be my guest.

It really isn't, to be honest. Yamaha, Presonus, Adam, Genelec tc are all right in the same ballpark.

Plus - Keep in mind that 104dB rating is for a single speaker in an anechoic environment. It's closer in an average room with a pair to be more like 112-115dB at 1 meter - which is very, very loud for a speaker that small (and make no mistake - a 6.5" midwoofer two way is pretty small).