Focal Solo6 Be Review (Studio Monitor)

[delta76]

For the price, is there any better monitor speakers against this?
They should be fine placing on a desk (1m away) ?

 

[kolestonin]

It is really difficult to define better I think.
And I am telling you this as I come from a recent long period of reading forums, reviews, measurements.
There are a lot of great monitor speaker out there and you can really struggle to make up your mind.

Intended use, room space, already available gear to be combined with, could be the decisive factors.
I can give you my 2 cents but keep in mind that I have no music or audiophile background, and the best speakers I ever had are my current JBL LSR305 combined with a Topping E-30 DAC and an SVS-SB1000pro sub woofer. That's the best audio system I ever had.
I am a music lover since I was a kid and I was looking for some studio monitors to use as Hi-Fi speakers(no music production) in a 30sq living room with a 2,5m listening position.
I investigated every single option and the final contenders for me were:

1) Focal 6 Solo be
2) EveAudio SC307

But that's why I believe they were the less 'accurate' ones among the speakers I investigated.
My conclusion, which can be wrong, was that while these are built for accurate music (re)production, they are also coloring the sound in a way(they are always monitors!) and they are really pleasant to listen to.
Having passed 5 years with my JBL's my ears are trained/learned to enjoy accuracy but I still find them a bit flat or boring some times.
Above two speakers also create a good soundstage to my understanding which was also important for me needing to fill a bigger room.
EveAudio made more sense for my case as a 3 way(quite obscure if it can be classified as a full 3 way) midfield monitor speaker and it was my choice till the last minute.
I went with Focal due to aesthetics, the AB amps(again can't be sure if it is an advantage), 40000Hz high frequency range(again not sure as human ear cannot hear this high) and marketing(or no) due to Beryllium tweeter and sandwich cone which give you a feeling or a sensation that these speakers play on another level.

In my opinion there is another great option in this price range.
Dynaudio LYD-48 which were skipped by me as I understood they are extremely accurate and that was something I was trying to avoid.
Otherwise the LYD's were ticking all my boxes and it could most probably be my final choice.

You can check below screenshot which comes from an excell sheet with monitor speakers data I created during my long research period.
At a point I stupiditly started deleting the speakers I investigated and 'rejected'(that why Dynaudio's are missing) and that's really a shame as the file had around 25 speakers and could be used as a base to create an inventory even for forum purposes if it was of interest.
But you can still see some options and consider what is matching your needs and maybe 'do your math' and open a new thread in case you need some feedback from fellow members.
I hope I helped

 

[YSC]

It is really difficult to define better I think.
And I am telling you this as I come from a recent long period of reading forums, reviews, measurements.
There are a lot of great monitor speaker out there and you can really struggle to make up your mind.

Intended use, room space, already available gear to be combined with, could be the decisive factors.
I can give you my 2 cents but keep in mind that I have no music or audiophile background, and the best speakers I ever had are my current JBL LSR305 combined with a Topping E-30 DAC and an SVS-SB1000pro sub woofer. That's the best audio system I ever had.
I am a music lover since I was a kid and I was looking for some studio monitors to use as Hi-Fi speakers(no music production) in a 30sq living room with a 2,5m listening position.
I investigated every single option and the final contenders for me were:

1) Focal 6 Solo be
2) EveAudio SC307

But that's why I believe they were the less 'accurate' ones among the speakers I investigated.
My conclusion, which can be wrong, was that while these are built for accurate music (re)production, they are also coloring the sound in a way(they are always monitors!) and they are really pleasant to listen to.
Having passed 5 years with my JBL's my ears are trained/learned to enjoy accuracy but I still find them a bit flat or boring some times.
Above two speakers also create a good soundstage to my understanding which was also important for me needing to fill a bigger room.
EveAudio made more sense for my case as a 3 way(quite obscure if it can be classified as a full 3 way) midfield monitor speaker and it was my choice till the last minute.
I went with Focal due to aesthetics, the AB amps(again can't be sure if it is an advantage), 40000Hz high frequency range(again not sure as human ear cannot hear this high) and marketing(or no) due to Beryllium tweeter and sandwich cone which give you a feeling or a sensation that these speakers play on another level.

In my opinion there is another great option in this price range.
Dynaudio LYD-48 which were skipped by me as I understood they are extremely accurate and that was something I was trying to avoid.
Otherwise the LYD's were ticking all my boxes and it could most probably be my final choice.

You can check below screenshot which comes from an excell sheet with monitor speakers data I created during my long research period.
At a point I stupiditly started deleting the speakers I investigated and 'rejected'(that why Dynaudio's are missing) and that's really a shame as the file had around 25 speakers and could be used as a base to create an inventory even for forum purposes if it was of interest.
But you can still see some options and consider what is matching your needs and maybe 'do your math' and open a new thread in case you need some feedback from fellow members.
I hope I helped
View attachment 215599

From the measurements I would bet while it sounds a bit different than your jbl (what model was it?) it likely sound more similar than different. As the solo 6 when on axis is so perfectly flat

 

[kolestonin]

I 'll be honest and say that I cannot fully interpret measurements.
I came to the conclusion that Focal Solo 6 be is not the holly grail of accuracy and it adds a bit of color to the sound mostly by user's feedback and reviews.
Most of the times there was a remark that the potential buyer has to keep in my mind that he buys a great speaker but if he is looking for absolute accuracy he should investigate other options.
We are on the thread of these speakers so it would be interesting to have feedback from owners in this regard.

 

[YSC]

I 'll be honest and say that I cannot fully interpret measurements.
I came to the conclusion that Focal Solo 6 be is not the holly grail of accuracy and it adds a bit of color to the sound mostly by user's feedback and reviews.
Most of the times there was a remark that the potential buyer has to keep in my mind that he buys a great speaker but if he is looking for absolute accuracy he should investigate other options.
We are on the thread of these speakers so it would be interesting to have feedback from owners in this regard.

tbh I didn't have experience to the focals in my own, but judging the very flat frequency response in this review I believe it's as close to accurate as possible, possibly the notion from user feedback is just by the bass extension which when put on desk or near wall will boost the bass quite significantly, and that it lacks a waveguide making off axis response have a reduce in the highs, but YMMV. personally I would bet among all these great monitors you likely could only find your own taste on directivity and bass extension, of course, for home HiFi use the eye factor is important too

 

[heflys20]

I came to the conclusion that Focal Solo 6 be is not the holly grail of accuracy and it adds a bit of color to the sound mostly by user's feedback and reviews.
Most of the times there was a remark that the potential buyer has to keep in my mind that he buys a great speaker but if he is looking for absolute accuracy he should investigate other options.

Honestly, you can find such claims about any speaker. I've read some people describe Genelecs as overrated speakers, but consistent excellent in measurements makes me believe otherwise. A lot of people place speakers in terrible environments, also.

 

[delta76]

I 'll be honest and say that I cannot fully interpret measurements.
I came to the conclusion that Focal Solo 6 be is not the holly grail of accuracy and it adds a bit of color to the sound mostly by user's feedback and reviews.
Most of the times there was a remark that the potential buyer has to keep in my mind that he buys a great speaker but if he is looking for absolute accuracy he should investigate other options.
We are on the thread of these speakers so it would be interesting to have feedback from owners in this regard.

I don't think anyone is saying this Solo 6 be as the holly grail of accuracy. 8361a or KH 420 should be better in this regard. However they are a much more expensive, and my question is if there is any better monitor speaker in this price range (under 1000 euro), hoping for the answer like: this xyz speaker is measured better, or this abc speaker is cheaper and is as good, or this def speaker is as good at same price but you might prefer its look

 

[Pearljam5000]

I don't know if they're accurate or not but I was blown away when I auditioned the Solo6( the old model)
They sounded big compared to their size and bass was amazing also.
I'm sure the Trio6 and Trio11 are also great.

 

[BDWoody]

For the price, is there any better monitor speakers against this?
They should be fine placing on a desk (1m away) ?

JBL 708Ps might be worth a consideration. Similar price, if a bit higher.

 

[delta76]

JBL 708Ps might be worth a consideration. Similar price, if a bit higher.

I just look it up, unfortunately it's both too big to be a desktop speaker, and too expensive for me. Solo Be6 is around 850 euro in Europe which is quite reasonable

 

[heflys20]

I just look it up, unfortunately it's both too big to be a desktop speaker, and too expensive for me. Solo Be6 is around 850 euro in Europe which is quite reasonable

Speak of the devil. I just read a user review for the new Solo6 on the Focal site, and the user actually said these sound better than the 708p in his environment.

I don't think anyone is saying this Solo 6 be as the holly grail of accuracy. 8361a or KH 420 should be better in this regard. However they are a much more expensive, and my question is if there is any better monitor speaker in this price range (under 1000 euro), hoping for the answer like: this xyz speaker is measured better, or this abc speaker is cheaper and is as good, or this def speaker is as good at same price but you might prefer its look

There is one speaker I've wanted to see more reviews on. The APS Klasik 2020. I wish someone would provide more detailed measurements. There was a dedicated topic for them on Gearspace, but it got deleted. All I can go by is these few reviews with basic measurements:

APS Klasik 2020

The revised Klasik from Polish company APS offers exceptional performance at a remarkably low price.

www.soundonsound.com

APS Klasik 2020 – referencyjne studyjne monitory odsłuchowe - e-muzyk.EU

APS Klasik 2020 – referencyjne studyjne monitory odsłuchowe

e-muzyk.eu

 

[Pearljam5000]

2 questions I don't have an answer to :
1. Are the amps on the new Solo6 class D?
2. Are the tweeters the same as Solo6 Be or are they newer ones like in the Trios

 

[YSC]

Speak of the devil. I just read a user review for the new Solo6 on the Focal site, and the user actually said these sound better than the 708p in his environment.



There is one speaker I've wanted to see more reviews on. The APS Klasik 2020. I wish someone would provide more detailed measurements. There was a dedicated topic for them on Gearspace, but it got deleted. All I can go by is these few reviews with basic measurements:

APS Klasik 2020

The revised Klasik from Polish company APS offers exceptional performance at a remarkably low price.

www.soundonsound.com

APS Klasik 2020 – referencyjne studyjne monitory odsłuchowe - e-muzyk.EU

APS Klasik 2020 – referencyjne studyjne monitory odsłuchowe

e-muzyk.eu

well, I do believe the room modes and the eye candy factor plays a big role, you know JBL looks industrial and uninteresting, and focal always have that artistic feel in it, when bot sounded similar, one would always biased into the better looking one

 

[dickiefunk]

Really interested to know how the new ST6 model compares to the old in performance/accuracy etc.
It will also be interesting to see how these compare to the similarly priced Neumann KH150dsp when it’s released.

 

[heflys20]

well, I do believe the room modes and the eye candy factor plays a big role, you know JBL looks industrial and uninteresting, and focal always have that artistic feel in it, when bot sounded similar, one would always biased into the better looking one

This is possible. I'd need to see the measurements of the new speaker for a better indication, since a lot has changed.

Really interested to know how the new ST6 model compares to the old in performance/accuracy etc.
It will also be interesting to see how these compare to the similarly priced Neumann KH150dsp when it’s released.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the KH 150 will measure better. Neumann already make excellent speakers without DSP, so the addition of that with solid speaker design is likely to produce a benchmark product. Who knows, though?

 

[dickiefunk]

This is possible. I'd need to see the measurements of the new speaker for a better indication, since a lot has changed.

I'm going to go out on a limb and predict that the KH 150 will measure better. Neumann already make excellent speakers without DSP, so the addition of that with solid speaker design is likely to produce a benchmark product. Who knows, though?

Yes I have the KH120’s and they are great monitors already! It will be very interesting to hear how the KH150’s compare to the Focal Solo6 ST6! I am also very intrigued to see if the KH120mk2 materialises!

 

[musictracer]

There is one speaker I've wanted to see more reviews on. The APS Klasik 2020. I wish someone would provide more detailed measurements. There was a dedicated topic for them on Gearspace, but it got deleted. All I can go by is these few reviews with basic measurements:

I second that!
I have these speakers for about 2 years now. I was participating in the Gearspace topic you are refering to as well. It is really strange if not suspicious that the topic disappeared as soon as Gearspace change its name from Gearslutz. They never replied to my email as to why the topic vanished. Neither did I get an answer from the APS FB page. They said they would look into it, but only silence since then. As for the speakers themselves, I have mixed emotions, but I am craving to see a review here, as it could be my small semi treated room that is degrading their performance.

 

[Pearljam5000]

Asked Focal about the new Solo6
Same old amps apparently

 

[YSC]

View attachment 220351

Asked Focal about the new Solo6
Same old amps apparently

That don’t gives a lot of confidence in longevity

 

[kolestonin]

I second that!
I have these speakers for about 2 years now. I was participating in the Gearspace topic you are refering to as well. It is really strange if not suspicious that the topic disappeared as soon as Gearspace change its name from Gearslutz. They never replied to my email as to why the topic vanished. Neither did I get an answer from the APS FB page. They said they would look into it, but only silence since then. As for the speakers themselves, I have mixed emotions, but I am craving to see a review here, as it could be my small semi treated room that is degrading their performance.

Room factor is obviously critical and I understand it's difficult to define or describe the way it might degrade speakers performance.
But may I ask you to share your mixed emotions?
What you like and what you don't like about the speakers?