Recording - December 2014 - 29

Compared to my usual monitors, which tend to have a lot of
highs and lows and a comparatively recessed midrange, the
Alphas were much more forward and punchy, with a tighter
soundstage. The Alphas' smoothness across the mids gives them
a warm and full sound with an extended and strong low end.
Initially I worried that the low end was a tad too boxy for my
tastes, but that lessened dramatically and ceased to be an issue
as the speakers continued to break in over several days of use.
Both models can get very loud without any noticeable distortion,
and I was impressed by how consistent they stayed from quiet to
very loud. They are nice and full even at marginal mix levels of
40-60 dB SPL, meaning I could mix at comfortable volumes without
losing too much tone. They are also nicely non-fatiguing in the highs.
Tonal tweaks
Many speakers offer some sort of low and high attenuation to
tackle everything from bass buildup from less than ideal placement issues or to help tame piercing highs in overly bright
rooms. Often, however, these are preset, minimal, overly specific, and on occasion even cryptic.
In stark contrast to those less-than-useful options, the bass and
treble knobs on the Alpha monitors are exceptionally simple and
wonderfully effective. To bring the Alpha 80's high end more in
line to what I was used to in my room, all it took was a nice 2.5
dB boost. I also found that lessening the low end by 1 dB helped
to align the noticeable forward punch with my usual room
sound. The midrange stayed the same, but after the tweaks, the
Alphas sounded a bit more translatable for my room.
Conversely, it was also quick and easy to push the lows for
impressive chest-thumping client playback.
Thanks to the clear and very present mids, I found both sets of
Alphas to be a big help for seating electric guitars and lead
vocals. Distorted electric guitar sounds simply killer on the

Alphas! The result is a speaker that's both exciting and exactingly detailed for mixing rock tracks.
Big sounding little speakers in a small space
My last test of the smaller Alpha 50s was in my office at my
job as a Tech Director of a mid-size church. This room is where
I mix down Sunday Worship services, prepare and edit podcasts, and track and mix dialog for video.
Unfortunately my office is in the same part of the building as the
accountant and administrator, so cranking music is out of the question. I need monitors that are full and accurate even at very low levels. Here the Alpha 50s were simply exceptional; thanks to the easy
and effective tonal shaping, I think these may be the best smallformat monitors I have ever used in this space. When I was able to
crank the tunes after hours, filling the room was no problem either.
Conclusion
As with all monitors, you will need to get used to these speakers' sound in your space with your own preferred music styles.
The Focal Alpha monitors make the task easy by offering a
sound that is full, even and rich, with simple and effective tone
shaping to get the most out of any space, big or little. They offer
Focal quality through and through, at the company's lowest
price point yet.
Prices: Alpha 50, $299 each; Alpha 65 (not reviewed),
$399 each; Alpha 80, $549 each
More from: Focal, www.focal.com
Paul Vnuk Jr. (paul@recordingmag.com) is a recording engineer, live sound engineer, and sound designer living and working in the Milwaukee area.
http://www.focal.com http://www.isoacoustics.com http://www.isoacoustics.com
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