Pearljam5000
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Like you said their tech is not as cutting edge as Genelecs but I like their soundWhat makes these alternatives besides being 3 way monitors?
Rant:
The Neumann has waveguides at least, but the Focal seems to be based on maximally archaic design: Purposeful placement of parallel walls to cause internal reflections, slapping drivers on a box (do they even use DSP to correct the response) that is mildly rounded but nothing like a Genelec, choosing to create lobes with the non-coaxial/non-acoustically-triaxial design, unflared port design to aid in chuffing, wood to minimize internal volume to get less bass extension than aluminum. I think they also aimed for a more ragged frequency response by excluding DSP unless this is a newer model they've changed.
Relatively speaking, that Focal looks like a busted, zero engineering DIY project intended for the aestheticyst market who values form and form over form over a word they are forbidden to say (because it doesn't matter) that ends with -unction.
Reason:
To be fair I've enjoyed Focal speakers and used some in college for basic mixing of mostly acoustic performances... They just seem like ancient relics seeing what goes into the design of modern loudspeakers like Genelecs. (Or the Sync Cell Alpha, or the Devialet Phantom, etc.) The sound isn't as terrible as the legacy design would suggest, (it's actually great from what I've listened to). It's just that from an engineering standpoint the Genelec's seem to be in a different league. In the sweet spot in a studio, I've had excellent experiences with Focal and enjoy their speakers. Just miffed they focus on exotic driver materials and don't seem to be pushing the state of the art forward.
But they also cost a lot less (also the KH420)
If they were priced the same then yeah it would be annoying
By the way their berillyum tweeter is one of the best I've heard.