Recording - June 2019 - 14

REVIEW

Focal Trio 11 Be
and helps aid in the smooth transmission
and dispersion of frequencies.
The Trio11 Be kicks out a total of
550W of power, tri-amped as 300W
Class G for the sub, 150W Class G for
the woofer, and 100W Class AB for
the tweeter. Combined it offers 118dB
maximum SPL level in 3-way mode and
105dB in 2-way (Focus) mode. Frequency response is 30Hz-40kHz (3-way
mode), 90Hz-20kHz (2-way mode).

Focus

The Focus feature was first introduced
on Focal's flagship SM9, and also used
on the Trio6 Be. Focus mode requires
the use of an additional foot pedal and
a balanced 1/4" cable. When connected to the speakers, it bypasses the sub,
and activates a separate crossover with
different parameters which alters the frequency response as mentioned above.
This effectively turns the Trio11 into a
2-way speaker. This is useful for checking mixes and zeroing in on the sound
and punch of your low end, rather than
its force and feel.

Further features

On the rear of the Trio11 Be, connections are made via a single balanced female XLR input with a switch to select an
input sensitivity of +4 or -10dB. An EQ
section allows you to gently tailor the
speaker to your room with controls for
±3dB of low and high frequency shelving, as well as a low-mid frequency EQ.
There are also pair of parallel, balanced
1
/4" jacks for connecting the Focus pedal
and chaining to the other monitor. Last is
a power switch, along with a switch to
enable the speaker's Auto-Standby Mode.
14 RECORDING June 2019

When active, this puts the monitor in sleep
mode when it does not sense a signal for
a period of time, and then wakes it up
again when signal returns.

In use

After bribing Paul Vnuk Sr. and Paul
Vnuk III with dinner and drinks, we
moved these beasts into place vertically
in my room next to the Trio6 models. I
connected them to my Drawmer MC3.1
Active Monitor Controller (reviewed
March 2017), and spent a few months
mixing and listening with them.
Moss Garden Music, my mix room,
measures 12.5' x 15.5'. It is fully trapped
and treated, but it is still a converted
office space and on the smaller side. I
originally worried that the Trio6 Be was
overkill for a room this size... so I figured
the Trio11 Be would shatter my walls.
This may sound fairly obvious, but the
Trio11 Be speakers are bigger in every
way compared to the Trio6 Be, visually
and sonically. Visually they are also a
tad prettier, with a gorgeous red burr
ash finish, similar to other upper-end Focal models. My Trio6 Be monitors are
gray and black.
Soundwise they are louder, fuller, and
quickly fill more space. The low end
that they push is phenomenal. I never
thought I needed a sub with the Trio6
Be, and you should definitely not need
one with the 11. Technically they do
have a switchable sub-it's just that it
is integrated into the box, which helps
integrate the low end more seamlessly
into your listening experience.

Relax

Despite (or perhaps because) of their
size, there is an interesting relaxed nature to the Trio11 Be that the Trio6 Be
does not have when compared sideby-side. I find the 6 more punchy and

mid-forceful, the 11 is bolder and fuller.
They do exhibit a similar overall tonality,
especially in the upper mids and highs,
but the extended push of the 11 fills the
sound out more and makes them sound
wider and even more diffuse, compared
to the more forward and tighter-sounding
6. Despite their size, I liked how effortlessly they filled the space, and how well
I could mix at lower volumes and not sacrifice any of their fullness or depth.
Due to the shared mid section, I expected the 6 and 11 to be much closer
tonally in Focus mode, and while they
do sound quite similar overall, even here
the Trio11 offers a touch more beef. I
assume this is due to the overall larger
cabinet cavity.
It might sound like I am picking on the
Trio6 Be, but I'm not. It's just a fact of
life that the bigger Trio11 Be is just that,
bigger. It offers more sound, more fullness, more depth, and more low end.
This is saying something, because the
Trio6 Be is nothing to sneeze at when it
comes to fullness and power!
The Trio6 Be has great presence
and wonderfully tight imaging, but if
you have the space and the funds, the
Trio11 Be offers a dimensionality and
a coverage that only premium largeformat 3-way monitors can offer.

Conclusion

With the Focal Trio11 Be, Focal offers
its largest studio monitor to date. It is a
great sounding and stylish entry into the
world of large-format 3-way monitors,
and you really need to demo a set yourself to hear and appreciate the depth
and fullness they offer.

Price: $3999 (each)
More from: focal.com/en/pro-audio
http://www.focal.com/en/pro-audio
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