Hi. What to buy for my home studio Adam a7x or focal alpha 80? My mixing room is not to large.
...there are a good number of studios turning out commercial records using Twin 6's. I would say that if you go Focal the twin 6's should be the bottom of your starting point in their line.
I think for a speaker under $1k, the Adams are one of the best options on the market.
You certainly make it sound like the Twins are somehow not that great..."the bottom starting point of their line"... ...even though you acknowledged that many studios use to do commercial records.
I agree with this.IMO...the Twins will beat anything in the lower price ranges...
and that's the thing, talking about $1k monitors and $4k monitors is apples and oranges...not to mention the rooms each or used in.
It depends on the focus of the home studio. A quick browse through peoples rigs on the UAD forum or on Pinterest will remind people there are some home studios with some pretty hefty setups.I did a lot of comparison/review checking and reading...which is why I went with the Twins.
I think most home rec folks just make their choices based on budget alone.
I never recommend them to anyone unless they are unable to afford Barefoots or SM9's, but if price is an issue, then I would much rather work with them than Genelecs. And yes, I stand by the notion that you don't really start to get the features of what makes Focal a great speaker company until you have the Twin 6's or higher. Regarding the Twin 6's vs the SM9's, I don't like how they setup the crossover in the twins and there's nothing you can do about it. They lack headroom, and they're not capable of forming the low end image that the Sm9 is. They don't reach that low, if you have twins and you need the range, you need a dedicated sub.
It depends on the focus of the home studio. A quick browse through peoples rigs on the UAD forum or on Pinterest will remind people there are some home studios with some pretty hefty setups.
With all due respect to the "high end" aficionados, may I point out this 'is' a home recording forum.
The vast majority are running very modest studios.
Shitting on the Focal Twins, which happen to be a speaker that might be out of the price range for a lot of people here seems a bit elitist and snobbish.
Let's not focus so much on the philosophy of having the best gear to be worthy.
There are plenty doing good music with a laotop, a 2 channel interface and a set of 'subpar' monitors.
Many professionals are doing records with 'subpar' monitors as well.
A forum such as this should have the emphasis on how to utilize what one has to it's best potential.
Sometimes gearlust and gear envy overahadows the important. Learning the basics. And the basics start with good songs, good production, good recording.
The most expensive monitors will never fix a shitty song.
Shitting on the Focal Twins, which happen to be a speaker that might be out of the price range for a lot of people here seems a bit elitist and snobbish.
Other than that, IMO it's mostly about the high-mids, mids and low-mids...and the Twins nail that...plus their high-end is super-accurate.
If you can make great music on an NS10 congratulations. Personally, I fucking hate those damn things. Doesn't make anyone who uses them any less of a human being, but I just can't stand them.If you consider that so many studios used NS10M's to mix on... ... and they had no low end, and a nasty high end...
It sounds like these definitely were a good speaker for what you needed.It also depends on the space...too much low end in a typical small home studio space often ends up being more of a problem than a benefit....never mind when there's also a sub involved.
I had also considered the Trios, because I use to use Mackie 824's which have the big speaker and passive radiator, so I thought I should stay with a big speaker monitor...but I am glad I went with the Twins. AFA the SM9's...I wanted to get away with anything that had a "radiator"...it just didn't work well in my space with the Mackies...plus, I wasn't going to drop that much $$$ on monitors.
AFA their headroom...I don't notice any issues with that, and I've had both Classical and Dance/Techno running through them pretty loud when I was breaking them in.
I get that. The original discussion wasn't really over models in that price range. If someone just tells the guy to buy the Adam, the question is why? Doesn't Focal make super good speakers? Again, my answer is YES, but not until you hit the Twin or Higher. Below the Twin, I think the engineering and sonic advantages fall to other manufactures. That was the point I was trying to make here.Oh for sure...I've seen some million dollar "home" studios...but on the whole, when you talk about "home recording", I think the bulk of them are in small/unflattering spaces and set up with very limited budgets...so talking about things like Barefoot or Focal SM9 monitors as some very acceptable quality target...I think is going to be lost on the bulk of home rec folks. I mean, even what you consider the lower end of the high Q spectrum...with like the Twins or some of the Adam monitors, etc...is already well over most home rec budgets.
RFR, I didn't not shit on the Twins.
Here's what I said "And yes, I stand by the notion that you don't really start to get the features of what makes Focal a great speaker company until you have the Twin 6's or higher."
I did not say they are not good. I said that the Twins, 9's, Trios, and 11's are the models that really utilize what is unique and proprietary to their engineering designs.
The trios and 9's have a distinct advantage over the twins, which may or may not be applicable to some people. They have more headroom. That is not an opinion. That is a documented fact. They have different crossovers. That is also documented fact. When I said low end, I was talking about frequencies. Not quality. Furthermore, I acknowledged they have are used in many successful studios. I also stated that I would choose them over Genelecs in the same price range if given the choice.
This needs to be taken in context of the original post. His question was low end focal or Adam A7. I think the A7's are a better choice because the Focal name starts to mean when you drop below the Twin 6 model.
RFR, I didn't not shit on the Twins.
Here's what I said "And yes, I stand by the notion that you don't really start to get the features of what makes Focal a great speaker company until you have the Twin 6's or higher."
I did not say they are not good. I said that the Twins, 9's, Trios, and 11's are the models that really utilize what is unique and proprietary to their engineering designs.
The trios and 9's have a distinct advantage over the twins, which may or may not be applicable to some people. They have more headroom. That is not an opinion. That is a documented fact. They have different crossovers. That is also documented fact. When I said low end, I was talking about frequencies. Not quality. Furthermore, I acknowledged they have are used in many successful studios. I also stated that I would choose them over Genelecs in the same price range if given the choice.
This needs to be taken in context of the original post. His question was low end focal or Adam A7. I think the A7's are a better choice because the Focal name starts to mean when you drop below the Twin 6 model.
Forgive me
It's just that a speaker that is currently completely out of my financial means (right now) being the bottom of their 'acceptable' offerings irked me.
though TBH and fair, I hear a lot of folks praise the Solos, which are technically in that same Focal line, and would truly be the most bottom of that line, but I know they certainly don't find their way into big/pro studios too much...whereas the Twins have, as you noted.
To anyone who's shopping and considering the Focal line, I would highly highly recommend buying twins over 2 solos and a sub.
There were "some" folks who mentioned they like the Solos w/sub over the Twins...but generally, and especially the first couple of years when the Twins came out, the majority were drooling over the Twins.
Of course...in the pro audio world, it's often about the next/new thing...so gear love affairs don't always last long, same as with people.
I'm often amused when initially there is all this crazy praise for a couple of years for some product...then things cool down...some new products come out...and suddenly the earlier praise has tuned almost into dislike and bashing...mostly because there's something new out, and everyone is keeping up with the Joneses.
Never mind that the original product is performing the same as it was when it initially came out, and the only think that's happened is new gear lust!
All so true ^^^^^ Still use my NS10's LOL.
Alan.