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Room optimization? Focal alpha twin Evo NewbieQuestion

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First of all, I'm a beginner in the audiophile world. I know some basics, and I can do measurements with a UMIK-1 and make EQ corrections using REW, but my knowledge doesn’t go much beyond that.

Currently, I have a setup with 2 Swissonic A305 monitors on my computer, which I’m very happy with. Recently, I wanted to upgrade my living room/TV setup and decided on 2 Focal Alpha Twin Evo speakers, hoping to avoid the need for a separate subwoofer. However, I’m not really happy with how they sound and perform overall. They don’t feel as clear or "crisp" as I expected. In fact, my much cheaper €200 computer setup performs better at the moment.

I’ve attached a REW file with two measurements: one before EQ and one after EQ. I’ve also included a picture of my living room. For context, I’m standing in the kitchen/hallway when taking the picture. The room is 35m², and the listening distance to the TV is around 3.5–4 meters.

Could my issues be related to room acoustics? Or is this just how these speakers are supposed to sound? I know I need to add some curtains, as the room is quite reflective. Would acoustic panels behind the couch or on the ceiling be a good idea?

Also, what posts, books, or resources would you recommend for learning more about room optimization? Is there a beginner-friendly must watch Youtubechanel?? I feel a bit overwhelmed by all the posts on this forum and in the Web and I am not sure how to Search for what exactly i need!

I’d appreciate any advice or recommendations!
 

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Could my issues be related to room acoustics? Or is this just how these speakers are supposed to sound? I know I need to add some curtains, as the room is quite reflective. Would acoustic panels behind the couch or on the ceiling be a good idea?
Hello Hechtschnitzel

Yes :D But before...

I'm also a beginner and I learned yesterday what is Farina sweep ;)

Here's a brief overview of how it works:

  1. Generate a logarithmic sine sweep signal: This signal has a frequency that varies exponentially over time.
  2. Play the signal and record the system's response: The audio system under test processes the sweep signal, and its output is recorded.
  3. Deconvolve the recorded signal: Using an inverse filter for the sweep signal, the recorded response is deconvolved to obtain the impulse response.
  4. Analyze the results: The impulse response and harmonic distortion components appear as distinct peaks in the time domain, which can be further analyzed. From here, you can equalize/compress.
This method is advantageous because it can simultaneously measure both linear and nonlinear characteristics of the system with a single measurement.

Your speakers, especially at your right, are not well placed, but it's an another theme :p

When I want more clarity on any set I decrease the 300-600Hz range it works well.
 
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Spin for that speaker is posted here. It looks like there's an unfortunate directivity issue in the critical 1-3kHz range. More than that, though, you're using them horizontally, which results in a dispersion that looks like this:

Twin-hor-580x357.png


This means that unless you're on-axis or pretty close to it, you're getting some pretty serious holes in the frequency response , again in the critical 1-3kHz range. You can address this by toeing them in, but a better thing to try is simply turning them so they're vertical as an MTM arrangement should be and getting this dispersion instead:

Twin-ver-580x357.png


You still might want to toe them in at least a bit, but this way you've got nearly a 60-degree window of good response rather than what looks like 40-degrees or possibly less (and barely 10-degrees "below" the tweeter axis).

Don't know if this is necessarily your issue, but something to consider.
 
Spin for that speaker is posted here. It looks like there's an unfortunate directivity issue in the critical 1-3kHz range. More than that, though, you're using them horizontally, which results in a dispersion that looks like this:

Twin-hor-580x357.png


This means that unless you're on-axis or pretty close to it, you're getting some pretty serious holes in the frequency response , again in the critical 1-3kHz range. You can address this by toeing them in, but a better thing to try is simply turning them so they're vertical as an MTM arrangement should be and getting this dispersion instead:

Twin-ver-580x357.png


You still might want to toe them in at least a bit, but this way you've got nearly a 60-degree window of good response rather than what looks like 40-degrees or possibly less (and barely 10-degrees "below" the tweeter axis).

Don't know if this is necessarily your issue, but something to consider.
Okay, with this input, I think I understand the chart better.

So, in theory, I want to sit in the red area to cover all frequencies evenly, correct? But can I manipulate that by measuring at my listening position and then applying EQ to balance it out?

Also, it’s kind of strange because in almost every video or review I’ve seen, these speakers are shown positioned flat, just like I have them. Mine are slightly angled towards my listening position—probably in the 15–20 degree range with a 3–4m listening distance.

I’ve already experimented a bit with placement, even trying them directly on the floor (I know, far from ideal) to see if my low board was causing any strange resonances. But that doesn’t seem to be the issue.

And here is the frequency response. It doesn’t seem that far off for how bad they sound to me—or am I wrong? There are some dips i could try to correct but i am for real, they sound rly bad. Not just not optimized, they are not even close to my swissonic a305 atm.

Or are there more important Graphs i should watch out for?

1736065760026.png
 
Hello Hechtschnitzel

Yes :D But before...

I'm also a beginner and I learned yesterday what is Farina sweep ;)

Here's a brief overview of how it works:

  1. Generate a logarithmic sine sweep signal: This signal has a frequency that varies exponentially over time.
  2. Play the signal and record the system's response: The audio system under test processes the sweep signal, and its output is recorded.
  3. Deconvolve the recorded signal: Using an inverse filter for the sweep signal, the recorded response is deconvolved to obtain the impulse response.
  4. Analyze the results: The impulse response and harmonic distortion components appear as distinct peaks in the time domain, which can be further analyzed. From here, you can equalize/compress.
This method is advantageous because it can simultaneously measure both linear and nonlinear characteristics of the system with a single measurement.

Your speakers, especially at your right, are not well placed, but it's an another theme :p

When I want more clarity on any set I decrease the 300-600Hz range it works well.
Already did that.

I just like measuring with sweeps and white noise and comparing the results—it gives me a good feeling!

I might be able to tweak the graph a little bit better, but I doubt it would make a significant impact. When I compare them to my Swissonic A305 setup, they’re miles apart in terms of clarity and overall performance.

And yeah, I know the position of the right speaker is far from ideal, but unfortunately, I can’t change it in this setup.
 
i think i found one issue.

Turns out room acoustics matter way more than I thought! I’ve attached a comparison—pink is the room with my A305s, and yellow is with the Focals. Both measurements are without smoothing this time.

I’ve been teached to just use psychoacoustic smoothing for analysis.

Looking at the graph, it seems like there are extreme reflections in the room, right?

Planned changes already include new curtains and a sound-absorbing "moss picture" behind the couch. I’ll give that a try first.

Any recommendations on Curtains that are not totally blacking out the room but absorb a decent amount?
1736070640328.png

1736070654582.png
 
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Well, or maybe not...

I played around with some soundproofing—put a carpet on the floor (I know, small impact) and even moved my mattress in front of the windows. Unfortunately, it didn’t make much of a difference.

What could be causing these bouncy frequencies? I’ve linked another REW file for reference

Yellow here is without pink with my mattress in Front of my windows. It got a lil bit better. But i think my main Problem is somewhere else. Maybe my ceiling?


1736078533075.png
1736078554710.png
 
I'm not a REW expert, but I'm not seeing any smoothing on the graph? Or maybe I'm just used to seeing different smoothing where the upper frequencies don't show up "grassy" like that?

Also, did you try turning them so the drivers are arranged vertically (the offset tweeters should be ok the "inside" closer to the TV) to see if that helps the sound issue and measurements any? I know they are shown in the horizontal placement, but MTM arrangements like that have horizontal dispersion issues as you saw in the chart, and they didn't do any magic to prevent that. It's less of an issue when used near-field as I assume is the intention, but it's going to be a problem in your situation I think.
 
I'm not a REW expert, but I'm not seeing any smoothing on the graph? Or maybe I'm just used to seeing different smoothing where the upper frequencies don't show up "grassy" like that?

Also, did you try turning them so the drivers are arranged vertically (the offset tweeters should be ok the "inside" closer to the TV) to see if that helps the sound issue and measurements any? I know they are shown in the horizontal placement, but MTM arrangements like that have horizontal dispersion issues as you saw in the chart, and they didn't do any magic to prevent that. It's less of an issue when used near-field as I assume is the intention, but it's going to be a problem in your situation I think.

I removed the smoothing to dig deeper into the problems. With psychoacoustic smoothing, it looks ok, but the underlying issues are still there.
And switching R/L didnt made a difference.

Either way, I’ve decided to send them back. I can’t use them in any meaningful way for my setup like this.


1736102294477.png
 
Hm. Only serious issue I see there is the bass is boosted quite a lot, might contribute a "muddy" sound. But the measurements might not be capturing issues with the reflections being substantially different than the on-axis sound, again I think caused by the serious issues with the horizontal dispersion on that speaker when in the horizontal position. Likely exacerbated by having two of them with drastically different reflections, rather than just one in the center like with most multichannel setups.

In any case, sending them back is probably the right call. Have any ideas about what you want to replace them with?
 
Hm. Only serious issue I see there is the bass is boosted quite a lot, might contribute a "muddy" sound. But the measurements might not be capturing issues with the reflections being substantially different than the on-axis sound, again I think caused by the serious issues with the horizontal dispersion on that speaker when in the horizontal position. Likely exacerbated by having two of them with drastically different reflections, rather than just one in the center like with most multichannel setups.

In any case, sending them back is probably the right call. Have any ideas about what you want to replace them with?
Different approach now! I’ve decided to move forward with a 5.1 home theater setup, consisting of 4x Argon Audio FORUS 4, 1x Argon Audio Center, and 1x Argon Audio Malmö Sub 8. I’ll be using a Denon AVR-X580BT to avoid the hassle of manual measurements and focus more on optimizing the room acoustics. Got it for a decent price too.

And to be honest, it looks way better :D

Additionally, I have a separate setup for my PC with a pair of Swissonic A305 active monitors. Right now, I want to experiment a bit with a 3D-printed subwoofer and work on improving the acoustics, as the room seems to be in a better state than my living room at the moment.

After that, we’ll see what’s exciting!
 
Interesting, definitely a very different approach from your first go-around. Never heard of Argus Audio either. Let us know how it goes with the new setup!
 
From what distance do you listen to the monitors?
I’ve been experimenting with some listening positions on the ground at around 2 meters away from the speakers, but normally 3,5-4m However, I didn’t notice much change in sound, either while listening or during measurements. They should be able to play in this distance or?
 
Interesting, definitely a very different approach from your first go-around. Never heard of Argus Audio either. Let us know how it goes with the new setup!
I thought that might be the best option to avoid being overwhelmed by all the topics I want to learn in parallel :D. I'll leave an update
 
You can try listening to the A305 in the living room..
Yeah, I thought about that too, but I didn't have the time the past few days. I'll give it a try tomorrow.

I will post some measurements after, if there is something interesting.
 
Hier ist eine verbesserte Version deines Textes für das Forum:

---

Short Update: I purchased the Denon AVR-X580BT along with its auto-calibration system and microphone, paired with 4 Argon Audio Forus 4 speakers, 1 Forus Center, and an 8-inch Argon Malmö subwoofer. Shit sounds is amazing! Really love the immersion feeling of the sound. At a price point of €1150, including all cables, I’m very happy with the setup.

I’m still not sure what went wrong with the *Focal Alpha Evo Twin* speakers. I read that they require a flatter listening triangle to work properly, but mine only had about 10-15 degrees, and I couldn't position them any differently.

This setup looks much more understated. I’ve hidden the receiver with a small usb fan plugged in the amp and all the cables in the lowboard. I still need to tidy up the remaining cables, but I’m missing a few parts to complete.

Seems like my room wasnt the problem. Just not the right setup for it.
 

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