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Article: Focal Electra 1007 Be Loudspeaker Review


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It's amazing how much more the average stereo consumer is willing to spend for looks.<br />

The SM6 Twin6 Be, a Focal pro unit aimed at the studio market, has two 6.5" drivers and the inverted dome tweeter, plus 400 watts of internal amplification - 2 X 150W (it's a 2 1/2 way) and 100 W for the tweeter and has a MSRP of £829 a piece or $2325 USD a pair. They are not as gorgeous as these, but for a studio speaker they are very good looking - and look at the difference in spec! If performance per se means anything to you, it would seem to be the proverbial no-brainer.<br />

http://www.focalprofessional.com/en/products/tween6Be.html

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Chris,<br />

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A slightly off-topic comment/clarification: it's worth noting that the latest versions of both J River and WinAmp also support all sample rates, and automatic sample rate recognition, as well as all current lossless formats, under Windows. From an audio perspective, MediaMonkey offers no advantage or disadvantage. Which interface you prefer is another story - the differentiating factor for me is J River's support for user-definable metadata fields, but that is something others may not prioritize.<br />

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iTunes, of course, has significant limitations in both audio and library management, which makes its apparent popularity with audiophiles hard to understand.

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Hi Chris,<br />

Don't want to start another heated debate so I'll word this carefully - IN YOUR OPINION how do these sound compared to the many active monitors you may have listened to, say upto about $2000 - $2500 ?? Things such as Dynaudio, Genelec, Mackie (which I have), Avi even. Do they have a better sound to your ears ??<br />

Thanks<br />

Martin

iTunes / Media Monkey, PC, Presonus Firebox --> Mackie HR624 mkII Active Monitors, M&K VX7 mkII

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Hi Martin - I haven't heard many actives although I do hear great things about them from many people in the industry. In my opinion these Electra 1007 Be speakers sound better in my system than any of the active loudspeakers I've heard in my system to date. As I said in the review, the Beryllium tweeter is really magical. It's to hard to compare the Focals in my system with other speakers in a totally different system and listening room. I wish I could provide a black & white answer but that would be more of a disservice than anything.<br />

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Thanks for the question Martin. I'm sure there are many others who want the same information :~)

Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems AudiophileStyleStickerWhite2.0.png AudiophileStyleStickerWhite7.1.4.png

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I can say from experience that the Focal Twin6 BE are great actives. I auditioned them side-by-side with Adams P33a actives, but the Focals moved me more and were better integrated. The tweeter is the star indeed. I combined the twins with the matching Focal Sub6 to get a really good full-range experience.<br />

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The twins do give a soft hiss when no music is played. You have to stand very close to the speaker to hear that though, and it completely disappears when music is played (event at low volume).<br />

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I'm very happy with them; see my Sig :-)

VincentH, Pro Audio and Headphone enthousiast. Currently using Vista + Foobar + WASAPI bitperfect --> FireWire --> RME FireFace 400 DAC --> Vovox unshielded balanced XLR interconnects --> Focal Twin 6Be active monitors + Focal Sub6 active sub; Grado RA 1 + Grado RS 1; Etymotic ER-4P.

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Hi Chris, when you say the Electra 1007 Be sound better than any actives that you had in your system, does that include the AVI ADM 9.1s?<br />

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I always wondered how my Focal Twin6 Be's would compare to the AVIs...

VincentH, Pro Audio and Headphone enthousiast. Currently using Vista + Foobar + WASAPI bitperfect --> FireWire --> RME FireFace 400 DAC --> Vovox unshielded balanced XLR interconnects --> Focal Twin 6Be active monitors + Focal Sub6 active sub; Grado RA 1 + Grado RS 1; Etymotic ER-4P.

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was not included in your list of active speakers for comparison.<br />

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There's no question that a pair would not turn your living room into le Louvre, but they might turn it into a place you would not want to leave - and for the same price ($4500 street), including built in tri-amplification.<br />

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This is an 8" sealed 3-way (no ports) with a 3" mid dome that renders vocals like nothing else I've heard, ever. This is critically important to me as a recording engineer specializing in acoustic instruments and choir.<br />

I understand the 0410 is slightly better still, at $8500 a pair and roughly triple the power, and has been described by very particular engineers of my acquaintance as the best sounding speaker they have ever heard, and this includes all the high end pro brands such as ATC, PMC, and Westlake. I have yet to hear them - they are difficult to find - but may well buy a pair if funds permit.<br />

Once again, though, the enormous disparity between the pricing of these models and consumer hi-fi shocks me.<br />

Klein und Hummel, it should be noted, made the world's first powered studio monitor in 1967 - the OY _ and it was a three way. Here's the 0300: http://tinyurl.com/5s8j3k<br />

Here's me: http://www.6moons.com/industryfeatures/armenia/armenia.html

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I'm slightly skeptical Chris how these have made it as an audition item and more so how they have made it onto the cash list. Can you comment on how you receive items for review and on what commercial basis? I've listened to these speakers on a demo on more than one occasion and have my own views but can you be clear about your policy of reviewing equipment? Do you own it first? Did you buy these? were they given to you? I think its worth noting this as your sight grows and why/how audition items reach you as these have been out some time now so I'm curious WHY these stand mounts compared to countless others which I could name....

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Hi Opus - I'm a little surprised by your skepticism but nonetheless I'll try to provide some answers. One thing to keep in mind is that everything I write on this site is 100% wide open for everyone in the world to leave a comment in response/agreement/disagreement etc... This in itself is a major plus for the readers and myself. There is no way I could get away with anything that your skepticism is alluding to. Plus, I have no desire to get away with anything or pull anything over on the readers. It's not me and it's really not enjoyable. It much easier for me to write with 100% honesty and not have to worry about pleasing any manufacturer.<br />

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On to this review and your other questions. The equipment that I review is often the result of either a manufacturer or distributor contacting me or vice-versa. I'm not sure what you mean with your "commercial basis" comment. In this situation I had an integrated amp with USB input coming in for review and I wanted some bookshelf speakers to go along with this specific integrated unit. I received these Focal speakers after a conversation with the North American distributor Audio Plus Services. We discussed the integrated unit and what speakers would be a good match. We both decided on the Electra 1007 Be speakers. Receiving these speakers had nothing to do with how long they have been on the market. Your comments seem to suggest there is something wrong with reviewing a piece of equipment that is not new to the market or that there is a hidden agenda. There is nothing to hide here. I don't own the Focal speakers, I was not offered the Focal speakers, and plan to send them back very soon. I like to hang on to equipment for a little time after each review period incase I need to test something a reader brings to light or I need to answer some questions that require the physical unit to be here. I'm confused about your comment, <i>"...I'm curious WHY these stand mounts compared to countless others which I could name..."</i> You could say this for any stand mounted speaker I select. Replace Focal with Wilson or Sonus Faber and I imagine you'd say the same thing. Again, I'm not sure where you are going there. <br />

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These speakers made the CASH List for ever single reason I spoke about in the review. I could restate everything here, but that would be counterproductive. It appears that your experience with these speakers is different although you haven't made it totally clear. I think it may be easier if you don't allude to things. Rather speaking clearly about your skepticism may allow me to address your skepticism a little better. I took a shot at it above and hope I answered your questions.<br />

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Feel free to respond and keep the discussion going. I'm wide open to a healthy discussion at anytime.<br />

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Founder of Audiophile Style | My Audio Systems AudiophileStyleStickerWhite2.0.png AudiophileStyleStickerWhite7.1.4.png

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... Hey Chris - I must have missed that you were putting the Focal Be's on the CASH list somewhere in the article then (I confess that I just wasn't that interested in the review, though I did scan it...) - The horns are HONKING - as big, beautiful (ugly?), and pure as ever. Still lovin' them!<br />

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- markr

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Chris - I think you have responded well and what I wanted to hear. My skeptism is based on my own experience of these speakers...I actually think they are better than some of the others in the focal range but personally I dont agree with your comments on the sound - The treble for me is an issue on focals as quite a few others have experienced in the past - "Listening through the Focal Beryllium tweeter did not produce a single moment of fatigue during the entire album"...I personally couldnt agree with that one and other comments relating to the tweeter performance...which i find tiring and would cause me fatigue...but that fine as you state you reviews allow people to comment their own exeriences...I was quite suprised at your comments although system matching/room and those tubes would certainly help..<br />

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My general questions were around as this sight is now getting bigger and advertisements/opportunity for manufacturers to advertise etc...a website can be very influential...I just wanted to ask about your "policy" on how you aquire/review potential items which you have answered....although personally your experience does not reflect me own but other items such as the Weiss Minerva I thought you were bang on the money in your review but on this occasion we dont share the same opinions I guess

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And that was about all I could take of them unfortunately. I'm with Opusover21 on this one. The Be tweeter in the Electra line sounds very edgy, grainy and unnatural to these ears (paired with a SS front end). Beautiful speakers for sure, and I like the Be tweet in the Utopia line, but I think that a warm, smooth sounding front-end (think tubes) is required to take the edge of the tweeter in the Electra's. <br />

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You can see in the picture below, a somewhat comical attempt on my part to troubleshoot a problem I was hearing in the upper midrange / lower treble of the 1037's I owned. <br />

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http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j193/ptwalker/tweetercheck002.jpg<br />

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Sure enough, covering the tweeter made the problem go away.<br />

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Cheers,[br] - Tim

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I'm afraid that is just the music channel available through the local TV cable company. The sound quality is crap, but it is a good way to get turned on to new artists that I can load onto my Mac Mini based music server.

Cheers,[br] - Tim

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