Over the years, I’ve reviewed a lot of studio monitors, and of all the DJ and studio gear that I review, monitors are among the trickiest because it’s unusually challenging to be objective about them.
I once thought that a lab full of the right equipment might be the ticket to objectivity with monitor evaluation, but I no longer think even that would counter a what I’ve come to see as a basic truth: How a monitor sounds is contextual, subjective, and affected by a nearly infinite number of variables that are impossible to fully normalize. But once again, I’m going to give it the old college try, as they say. And the target of this effort? The Focal Alpha 80 Evo studio monitor.
Prior to this review, I must confess that Focal just wasn’t a brand I paid much attention to, in large part because they’ve occupied a premium segment of the market. One could argue that they still do. But the French company has spread its wings (and product range) a bit, opting to assemble the Alpha Evo series in China (to reduce costs), rather than in France. That said, the company makes the drivers for the Alpha Evo line in France, just as it does for its higher-end lines, allowing it keep production of these key components close to its engineering teams.
Focal products typically represent a high level of traditional craftsmanship. With offerings ranging from premium home audio and home theater to audio solutions for commercial establishments, if there’s a place to put a speaker, the company probably makes one that can go there. Some of the offerings are as much aesthetic as functional; the company maintains a high-end cabinetry workshop that turns out speaker cabinets for some of its products that are truly works of art.
For studio monitors, the company makes products across several different lines, with corresponding market segments. To give you some idea of where things sit — picking at random here – the 6.5-inch ST6 series monitors go for about $1,500 a pop, while the 6.5-inch option in the Shape line runs $900 each. Meanwhile, the Alpha 65 Evo 6.5-inch units are $400 each. That should give you a sense of how these things are positioned relative to their affordability. With assembly offshored, and with more basic speaker cabinets, the Alpha Evo line is designed to more readily compete with other more mainstream choices on the market. This puts them within reach of many home-studio users, as well as professional studios looking options that don’t break the bank.
Initial Impressions
For this review, I received a pair of Alpha 80 Evo units to check out — the largest of a family which also includes 5-inch and 6.5-inch versions, as well as a twin-unit option, and a subwoofer. I’ll drop a spoiler right here at the start: Hooking them up in my studio and disabling my Sonarworks SoundID Reference room-correction software, I queued up a few of my favorite tunes, the sort of stuff you know like the back of your hand. And to be honest? I was absolutely blown away… so much so that I felt I had to try and get to the bottom of my immediate reaction, which is, honestly, where things start to get difficult.
Studio monitors are arguably designed to be flat and true, “flat” meaning that the speakers reproduce sound at a consistent level across the entire frequency response range without coloration. When I first got into this, I naively believed that all other issues aside, if a monitor were truly flat, then it wouldn’t stand out against its competitors. These days, I understand it’s just not that simple, and it makes it difficult to pinpoint what sets one option apart from another.
For context, I always use the aforementioned SoundID Reference room-correction system with my studio monitors. A calibrated microphone and a sophisticated analysis process are used to create a profile of actual performance from the listening position in your studio – taking into account any absorptions and reflections inherent to the room and its furnishings. Then, in software, corrections are applied to the audio that’s fed to the speakers, flattening out any frequency-response peaks or valleys.
But as I mentioned earlier, this doesn’t eliminate all the differences between monitors – and it’s not supposed to. Apart from frequency response, how a speaker sounds and how well it reproduces sound has myriad variables. It’s ability to accurately reproduce full-spectrum sound is one variable; does a stretch of a song with deep bass affect how the midrange sounds are reproduced? That’s only one example; the design and implementation of the onboard amplifiers play a role in the sound, as does the cabinet size and design, crossovers for frequency overlap between drivers, the size of the main driver(s), and the design and construction of the drivers themselves. And of course, the price points involved can qualitatively affect any of these elements, too.
In truth, even affordable monitors with small drivers can be impressive; I have a pair of major-name monitors with tiny 4-inch main drivers, and wall-mounted with brackets and properly aimed, they sound incredible. Deep low-end? No, but they provide a terrific listening experience, nevertheless. In short, things are not always as they appear.
But back to the Alpha 80 Evos… To start, they do have a nice big 8-inch main driver that’s specified to go down to 38 Hz. (For comparison, Focal’s dedicated Alpha Evo subwoofer is rated down to 32 Hz — not massively lower.) And indeed, these monitors have a mighty nice punch at the low end. But that punch doesn’t come at the expense of the rest of the spectrum; the crispness, clarity, and presence of the sound reproduction from the Alpha 80 Evo units is simply remarkable. (If Focal’s “low-end” offering sounds this good, I’d love to hear a pair of their Trio6 monitors someday… to the tune of $3,500 each.)
The Look & More
In terms of aesthetics, to be sure, the Focal Alpha 80 Evo monitors may not come out of the company’s cabinetry workshop in France, but they still have an appealing look. Using a combination of wood composites and plastic laminates, along with molded plastic panels, they have a fresh, modern aesthetic that adds a nice touch to any studio. Even the black-painted fasteners used to put everything together adds a nice visual touch.
On the front, you’ll see Focal’s 1-inch inverted dome tweeter, and 8-inch so-called “Slatefiber” membrane main driver, along with the bass port at the bottom. On the back side, you get the full complement of connections: XLR, balanced ¼-inch, and RCA (unbalanced, of course). A sensitivity switch, auto standby on/off switch, and power switch are present, along with both low and high shelving adjustment pots. Inside are a pair of Class D amps: 35 watts for the high end, and 80 watts for midrange and below.
Without doubt, compared to other monitors I’ve recently used, they’re monsters, standing a bit over 15-inches high, and are around 13-inches deep, and nearly 12-inches wide. They also tip the scales at nearly 22 pounds. Of course, their size is also part of the formula for why they sound great.
Loading up Ableton Live and giving a listen to some random projects of mine felt like it brought a little extra life to material I’m intimately familiar with. As I mentioned earlier, listening to a wide range of my favorite music across various genres left me impressed. And focusing in on some favorite EDM tracks with thundering low end, I didn’t notice any compromises in the midrange in the process, either.
Conclusions
Monitors may come in numerous sizes, with numerous configurations, and at numerous price points. My general advice is always to stick with established names in the market and choose something with the largest main drivers you can afford (and/or find room for). Then, do your homework, check reviews, and demo your options if you can. (It’s more difficult these days, admittedly, as brick-and-mortar options for pro audio have thinned out).
But, at $499 per unit, choosing the Focal Alpha 80 Evo means an investment of around a grand for a pair of them, and no, that’s not peanuts. But with 115 watts of total power, max SPL of 106db for plenty of headroom, ample frequency response of 38Hz to 22kHz, and killer sound? Well, I can’t imagine anyone making that investment will come away disappointed.