Focal Shape 65: After 2 years, do they still hold up? (long term review) 

Hi bro, I have the focal shape 65 and yamaha hs5 too. I was doing different tests to both monitors. With several music generes, and I feel that focal are muddy, bass heavy, some weird at Low-Mid frequencies, but they aren't as clear and precise as the HS5. At the end I preferred the yamahas hs5 and I'll buy a subwoofer to complete the frequency range. What are your thoughts on the focals compared to the yamahas??? I can't believe that 400usd monitors sound better than a 2 thousand priced monitors with a "lot of technology developed" 🤔 I will appreciate your experience of this 8 months since you made the video.

@@jeisonleonardoguevara Hey Jeison, while Focal says the passive bass radiators allow the monitors to be placed close to a wall, I did not share that experience, and I did have to play around with the placement of the Focals quite a lot. That might be one of the reasons you find the sound muddy. Some monitors can be quite forgiving, but these might require you to find an optimal distance from the wall. Also, you should make sure to decouple the monitors from your desk using a pad or something like isopucks, as these can definitely make your desk resonate otherwise, since they go deeper than the Yamahas. I'm using the HS50m, not the HS5, which is its successor, but I suppose they will be quite similar in sound. The HS50m can sometimes bring out details in the upper mid that most monitors will not, but I also think this is because some frequencies are boosted (I have not done any measurements to confirm this). In the end, it comes down to personal taste as well, and how you like the music to sound. Personally, I find it very difficult to accurately mix on HS50Ms. They can reveal issues in some mixes easily, but they are also not really to my taste, which makes it hard for me to know if I'm hearing the monitor's characteristics or the music. Imo, they lack bottom end and are quite harsh to my ears. This is why it's good that you listen to monitors upfront before buying. Ideally, you want the monitors to disappear and just hear the sound, and I do find that the Focal's do that in my room (in combination with the subs). I also feel they reveal far more detail. You'll easily hear compression or a reverb tail, where I find those things hard to discern on the Yammies. If you like the sound of the Yamahas more, that's great and it saves you quite some money :) and as long as your mixes translate well, I wouldn't worry too much. I hope this clears up some things for you.

Thanks @Antimated !

Thanks. The ones I have work pretty good in my room with my Focals. They do have a little noise when you're up close to them, but nothing that is loud enough or distracts from the music in the listening position. They are starting to be hard to find though, since they aren't made anymore. I suppose the new s12.4 subwoofers should be pretty decent as well. At least it looks like that on paper and reviews. I have not heard them myself yet, but if the previous version is something to go by you should be quite happy with them.

I have not heard the 50s. According to the specs, the 65s should have a deeper bass response, and can go 3dB louder. Other than that they should have a similar sound signature.

I don't use the Yamaha's a lot anymore since buying the Focals, honestly. I might occasionally still use them to check a finalized mix, because they do tend to bring forward some high mid frequencies that can be less pronounced on other systems. My yamaha speakers are only 5inch, and unless you put them at quite a distance you get no bass from them. So for what I do, they're not really my favourite speaker. But I do know that the 7inch and 8inch models are a lot better in this respect. I think the Focals are more detailed and have less self-noise though. They also have a more natural balance (at least to my taste), where the Yamaha's often sound more upper mid forward and have a certain sharpness to them. So yeah, they still find their use now and then, but I could do without them just as well.

Nothing immediately comes to mind, as I usually connect my devices with USB or FireWire, however, I would suggest using something that supports balanced XLR out, to achieve the best sound. A quick google search landed me on the Topping EX5, it has both optical in and balanced XLR out. But I personally have not used that device, so I can't comment on it's quality. I'm sure there are some other options as well, perhaps even some cheaper ones. Google will be your friend. Hope that helps!

Hey. I explained in the video why I placed them upside down. A sub can definitely help those shine!

@@SirFreak just rewatched and i got the information. Thanks again, will definitively get the sub !!

Thanks for your kind comment! Good luck on your search for new monitors! If you can, definitely try to listen to them upfront, to hear if they match your taste.

Apparently, you can open them up (by unscrewing the backplate) and there should be a switch on the inside to turn off the auto standby. However, I have not tried this, and it might also void the warranty. That being said, I also listen on fairly low volumes, and the auto standby hasn't bothered me too much personally. Neumann KH120 and Genelec 8040 are a bit in the same price range and are pretty good monitors as well. They do have more pronounced lower mids than the focals. Might be worth going to a shop and listening to the Adam A7V too. Have not heard the Adams yet, but they might also be a contender. I know this is not always an option, but if you can, go to a shop and listen to a few models, so you can pick one you enjoy the sound of. Hope that helps. Let me know what you end up getting!

@@SirFreak Where I live, the nearest pro audio dealer (Sweetwater) is 3 hours away by car, and I don't own a car because I'm blind. I would love to take a trip there sometime, but schoolwork prevents me from doing so, and when it's vacation, the people I know move to other places. So I guess I may have to buy a pair of speakers blind (without hearing them), based on reviews and the things I read online. Thanks for the recommendations. I like an open, well-rounded sound. The Focals size wise fits my setup perfectly, I'll see if the Genelecs and Neumanns would have a similar depth and width. Thanks for this!

Hey, it might be a little hard to see in the video, but the Focals are also tilted down slightly right now, so they aim at my mixing position. However, after doing so the tweeter was still firing over my head, so I decided to turn them upside down instead of tilting them even more. To minimize diffraction and bouncing of soundwaves on the computer monitors, I also added little pads on the back of those to dampen those soundwaves. Tilting the Focals even more might have been an option as well, but I think I would have needed some kind of wall mounts then. But I fear that might also cause the sound to be coming from too high as well. It is often said that the Focals are better for placing close to a wall than a back-ported design, and that is true, but please note that the bass radiators will still fire sound into the wall if placed very close, and this could still cause some unwanted boundary effects (which happened when I was first setting them up). If you want to place your monitors really close to a wall, it can often be a good idea to have a look at closed-box or front-ported designs as well. Those can still have issues close to a wall, but usually less. BTW I'm not an acoustician, so I might be wrong about all of this. That being said, the Focals could still be a great option for you, but if you by any chance have the option to try them in your space before you buy, that would definitely be something I'd advice. Hope that helps!

Thanks a lot for the long answer! Yes, you're right, my tweeters are a little bit above my ears, too. Even tilted. Maybe I'll try your technique, too. I will have it maybe 10cm in the front of the wall. I still hope Sonarworks helps, too. Because it is helping a lot with my SC207, now. It doesn't need to be perfect for me, my room is not perfect either. But I want to make it as good as possible in my conditions.

@@miromarsik Sonarworks can definitely help, but the better you can get them to sound without sonarworks, the better they will sound with sonarworks :) so trying different placements can definitely pay off

@@SirFreak Thanks! I’ll try!

The twins will probably be better, but that's only going by the specs. Haven't heard the twins yet

Hey there. I've heard these next to eachother, and they are both excellent speakers, and you can't go wrong with either of them. They were both in my top 3 for my budget at the time (together with the Neumann KH120). The Genelec has a really impressive sound for its small size, low power consumption, and to my ears it sounds a little lower-midrange-forward. So if those are attributes you like, that might influence your decision. That being said, my personal preference goes out to the Focal Shape 65. I like the tweeter better. The Focals can also go a little louder, if that's important to you. I hope that helps!

That's correct, I've read the same. But honestly, I'm not quite comfortable with opening them up. It's not bothering me that much, just a minor annoyance that I can live with.

True. Just open a backplate and there is switch to turn it off

Really? That's really interesting. Maybe I could try it sometime...

No problem! Thanks for watching!

@@SirFreak Jon Sine (you tube) once did a review of these monitors. I understood him that these Focals quiet down every now and then. It's good that they only mute after 30 minutes of non-use.

@@ilo0076 I suppose he means the stand-by function? I don't have any issues with the level changing suddenly when they are on. But it can be annoying that it takes some time (and volume) to come out of standby, so I suppose he was talking about that.

Hey, sadly I've never heard the 50 so can't comment on how they sound. I've heard good things about them though. The genres you mentioned definitely sound good on the 65

@@SirFreak Thanks you man ! I just bought the 65 ! :-)

@@user-iu1ol1pc6g Hope you love them as much as I do!

Really sucks to hear that. I hope they won't charge too much for repairs. 2 years is indeed short for an expensive product like this. The standby can indeed be irritating sometimes, expecially when you are listening at very very low volumes. I heard it can be switched off though, but you have to open up the monitor to do so.

I wouldn't advise to mix on speakers without room treatment. It's better to use headphones then. But if I'd have to choose, I'd always pick these over the KRK Rokit 8. This is just in another league.

@@SirFreak Needed to hear that Sir, thank you 🤙

and compared to the krk 10 3 s´ ? soundwise, besides the noise issue.@@SirFreak

thx for the great channel :) i am also thinking about the swissonic 8x@@SirFreak

@@wurlitsyzer9810 You're welcome. I have not heard the swissonics yet, would really be interested to give them a spin.

They fire down at my ears right now, they are slightly angled. So there's no significant sacrifice. I've got some dampening material on the back of the monitors as well, for sound that might reflect over there from the tweeters..

You're right. And when I'm not hanging in my chair that's actually how they are set up right now. But it greatly depends on the speaker and the timing of the different drivers as well, so that's not always a given. I just didn't want the tweeters to fire over my head, which would happen when I set them upright. That was the point of what I was trying to mention.

Incremental clicks would've indeed been nice. But once you've set em up, you quickly forget that :D

@@SirFreak that is true, I don't need to touch mine anymore, but for adjusting them first time and trying to match them up perfectly will be a challenge for some 😄

​@cun7us yes I think its a unnecessary challenge. I have the focal cms 65 and it has step knobs for EQ, that's great to set up both. I recently purchased Focal shape 65s. Im waiting them to come here. A lot of expectations 🎶💯

@@jeisonleonardoguevara I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Yes, they sound much better to me. More detailed transient response and a lot more bass extension than the Yammies. Just a more realistic sound overal. Hope that helps!

@@SirFreak Yes, I appreciate your help. I am about to purchase Focals and can use all the info I can get. Thank you for replying.

@@braxal6983 You're welcome!

The Shape 65 should be a better monitor in theory, but I haven't heard the Alpha series yet, so I can't really speak about them. The channel "Present Day Production" did a video about Focal Alpha monitors that is worth watching. Perhaps that's worth checking out for you. If you have the opportunity, I would definitely advice to try to go to a shop in your neighborhood and compare them there. Or listen to a bunch of monitors and make your decision based on that.

@@SirFreak Thank you

@@TheMcZmei you're welcome! Thanks for watching!

considering their MUM Studiomonitors ? :) :) :)@@SirFreak

Thanks for your comment! I'm not sure if I correctly understand what you tried to write, though?