Description
The Focal Alpha 65 is an active (powered) studio monitor known for its excellent performance in a mid-range price bracket, particularly appreciated for its neutrality, wide sweet spot, and dynamic response. Focal, a French company, has a strong reputation in high-end audio, and the Alpha series aims to bring some of that premium sound to more accessible price points.
Key Features and Highlights:
- 6.5-inch Slatefiber Cone Woofer: This is a highlight of the Evo series. Focal’s proprietary Slatefiber cone, developed and manufactured in France, is made from recycled non-woven carbon fibers sandwiched between a thermoplastic polymer. This unique material offers a balance of rigidity, lightness, and damping, contributing to a very neutral sound, excellent dynamics, and accurate bass response with minimal distortion.
- 1-inch Aluminum Inverted Dome Tweeter: Focal is famous for its inverted dome tweeters. This 1-inch aluminum inverted dome tweeter provides a wide dispersion, which contributes to a large and consistent sweet spot. It delivers smooth, detailed, and non-fatiguing high frequencies, making it easier to work for extended periods.
- Bi-Amplified Class D Design: The Alpha 65 Evo utilizes Class D amplification, offering high efficiency and ample power.
- Total Power: 85 Watts (55 Watts for the LF driver, 30 Watts for the HF driver). This provides good headroom for dynamic mixes and clear sound at various volume levels.
- Excellent Dynamics: The combination of the drivers and amplification delivers strong dynamics and punch.
- Front-Firing Laminar Bass Port: The design features a large, single front-firing bass port. This is advantageous for flexible placement, allowing the monitors to be positioned closer to walls without causing excessive bass buildup, a common issue with rear-ported designs in small rooms.
- Automatic Standby Mode (with disable switch): The monitors automatically go into standby after about 15 minutes of inactivity (no audio signal detected above -42dBu) to save power. Importantly, Focal has included a switch to disable this feature for those who prefer continuous operation.
- Versatile Input Options: The Alpha 65 Evo offers multiple input types for connectivity:
- Balanced XLR Input: For professional audio interfaces and mixers.
- 1/4″ TRS Balanced Input: For balanced or unbalanced connections.
- RCA Unbalanced Input: For consumer audio equipment (with compensated sensitivity).
- Simultaneous Input: You can have all three inputs connected simultaneously, which is very convenient.
- Room Adjustment Controls (Shelving EQs): On the rear panel, you’ll find shelving EQ controls to adapt the monitor’s sound to your room acoustics:
- LF (Low Frequency) Shelving: Adjustable (typically ±6 dB) at 300 Hz. This helps to compensate for bass buildup or reduction due to room characteristics or placement.
- HF (High Frequency) Shelving: Adjustable (typically ±3 dB) at 4.5 kHz. This allows you to fine-tune the high-end response to your preference or room.
- Frequency Response: The Alpha 65 Evo offers a frequency response of 40 Hz to 22 kHz (±3dB). This provides a solid low-end foundation for most mixing tasks, and the extended high-frequency response offers excellent detail.
- Robust and Stylish Cabinet: The cabinet is made from 15mm MDF with a black vinyl finish, and the Evo series features distinctive angled notches on the side panels, giving them a unique and modern aesthetic. They also include removable protective grilles for the drivers.
- Mounting Inserts: The Alpha 65 Evo includes threaded inserts on the chassis for wall or ceiling mounting, making them suitable for immersive audio setups (like Dolby Atmos).
Who is the Focal Alpha 65 Evo for?
- Music Producers and Mix Engineers: Ideal for those seeking an accurate, neutral, and dynamic monitoring solution that offers a wide sweet spot and translates mixes well to other systems.
- Home and Project Studios: Provides a significant step up in sound quality and detail for critical listening.
- Electronic Music Producers: The punchy and accurate low-end is often highlighted as particularly good for EDM and similar genres.
- Post-Production & Content Creation: Excellent for detailed audio editing and mixing for video, film, and podcasts.
- Anyone seeking high-quality monitoring within a mid-range budget: Focal manages to deliver impressive performance at a competitive price.
Considerations:
- Class D Amplification: While efficient and powerful, some traditionalists still prefer Class AB amplification, though the performance of Class D in modern monitors is excellent.
- No Notched EQ Controls: The EQ controls are continuously variable rather than notched, which offers more precise adjustment but can make it harder to recall exact settings.
- Auto-Standby: While disengageable, the auto-standby feature can be annoying for some users who prefer their monitors to always be on or off manually.
- Not a Budget Monitor: While more affordable than Focal’s higher-end models, they are still a significant investment compared to entry-level monitors.
