Focal Alpha 65 - 2 Years Later - STILL WORTH IT?!

I bought my ‪@Focalofficial‬ Alpha 65's a little over 2 years ago. Do I still love them? Should you buy pair? What are my likes and dislikes? In this video I give a 2 year update on them!
My Focal Alpha 65 Review: • Focal Alpha 65 REVIEW!
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[@ZachWirchak]

What is your favorite pair of studio monitors you've owned or listened to?

[@bishopsjmusic]

I really love my first set of monitors: some Kali LP 6's. Would love to get a sub to add in, but these do the trick for me for now.

[@ZachWirchak]

@@bishopsjmusic Kali has some really solid studio monitors for sure!

[@mpasistasyalanci]

The ones I own the focal alpha 65 like yours, and the ones I’ve heard a pair of b&w 802 like the ones used in abbey road as mains, I ll never consider to own something that expensive but it is amazing how they sound

[@dspoet1]

I’ve been having these since 2017. My next pair….. Focal Twin6 6.5-inch 2.5-way Powered Studio Monitor - Pair

[@unclek6197]

Getting a 2nd hand pair today. Thanks for the video!

[@ZachWirchak]

Awesome! I hope you enjoy them!

[@levilowrey]

I finally broke out the manual on mine and saw that they were meant to be placed between 40cm to 3 meters. I moved mine back and (for my room) it made a world of difference. It was a game changer for my mixes. I highly recommend playing with distance for these speakers.

[@JavierTroya]

Thank you. I looked exactly for the answers you give in the video.

[@JamesHarris-hl2bm]

I own these as well. Upgraded from M-Audios also and the difference was huge of course. I picked these up a little after they came out and they are still doing the job just great. You would think that these would cost more because they sound that good. I have mine paired with a Tannoy SP-110B Sub-woofer.

[@ZachWirchak]

Yeah, the amount of detail that you get out of these vs some M-Audio monitors is amazing. I love mixing on these Alpha's!

[@user-nk6pq8ri4e]

may i know which m audio speakers u upgraded from?I own a pair of bx8 d3 and I prefer to listen in jpop.Due to my poor room acoustic design,considering upgrade to tannoy gold 8,focal alpha 80 or kali lp8v2,any advices from u?

[@Marxone]

My DAC makes them hiss like crazy, but I don't mind the white noise. It is strangely relaxing even if they aren't playing anything :)

[@BlackinVegas]

the kali audio is said to have hiss as well depending on how far apart they are from each other...maybe the monitors being close is whats causing hiss for you....i am about to get the focals for $300 right now on offer up....thanks

[@ZachWirchak]

Interesting! I might have to explore that! And enjoy the Focals!

[@adrianjulian]

I own these as well as the Hs5. like you said they are a HUGE upgrade but at the same time I kinda wish I had the new evo line now lol. hiss never bothers me but I get annoyed with the auto power off feature when I'm tracking and mute my monitors then have to wait a few seconds for them to auto power up when I want to play back. small issue overall I think they're amazing for this price range

[@ZachWirchak]

Yeah, these were very eye opening compared to my old M-Audio monitors! Currently listening to the new Periphery album on them!

[@kevinlentz7604]

I’m going too the twins from Alphas ❤love Focals

[@RougeMusician1744]

I just got a pair of the alpha 80 evo and dude it was so worth it. They’re really honest and way more balanced than I thought they’d be. I demoed the 50s and they were a bit boomy to me. The 80s are freaking perfect man. 10/10 recommend them. I upgraded from Adam T7V

[@adityasriram3421]

i love mine, but i recently noticed (and it took me a while) that they have an internal resonance at around 135 Hz, maybe it's just specific to mine though, but i swear i never heard this when i bought them

[@ZachWirchak]

Interesting! The only thing I've noticed is the very light hiss while they're on. But I only noticed it after working on some Kali Audio LP6's that are DEAD silent when on.

[@adityasriram3421]

@@ZachWirchak I have also heard the hiss, i like it hahaha gives it character! I also removed the speakers from the room and realised they don't resonate any more LOL!

[@faganwilcox2443]

How could you not hear hiss? You don't need separate speakers to use your ears to hear hiss

[@peterskorec4421]

still use them in my studio

[@ZachWirchak]

They are a great pair of monitors!

[@Herbert-qn3jl]

Nice video. Do you have any recommendations for additional subwoofer for 2 focal alpha 65?

[@ZachWirchak]

I pair mine with a Presonus T10 and it works really well. I have the sub really just focusing on the sub frequencies. If I remember correctly, I believe I have the cross over set to 70hz or so. I like to have the Focals carry most of the work load.

[@kevinlentz7604]

I think they are great ❤

[@ZachWirchak]

Agreed!

[@kevinlentz7604]

Twin evos coming up❤

[@Arsonloke]

In that price range you're better off going with a pair of kali audio in-5s

[@ZachWirchak]

I've heard good things about those! I've only worked with the LP6's and LP8's from Kali Audio, but i was really impressed with them for the price.

[@mpasistasyalanci]

What’s your opinion with them, with and without the sub? I also had the m audio bx-8a for years and I bought a pair of the focal used 2years ago. I was listening to some monitors to buy, one of them was the Adam a7x but I loved everything about them except the low end roll off at 4o something hz, I listened to a track with contrabass and the open e string had no body, so I dismissed buying them without a sub considering the price , then I found the focal for 350€ and it was a instant purchase that I didn’t regret. Have you heard the focal with the m audio playing together? I did it the first month I had both, with my monitor controller 60% focals 40 m audio volume wise, with the focals on top of the bx8 , upside down with the tweeters close to each other. One of the best sounds I’ve ever heard, they are so different that complimented each other. Low end extension from the 8 inch and having two drivers, soft smooth materials in the bx8 with fast transient from the alpha etc. But it was a big overpowered set for a small space with phase issues from having two tweeters in a small distance. I gave the m audios as a present to my sister to hear music and watch movies and play games. A few negatives I found on the focals are the hiss( the last months I also have a high pitched tone coming and going that I can’t find the source and I don’t have on my other set or headphones), and I think the tweeters are a bit harsh and not so open sounding ( I have more the attacks on the cymbals and I lose the air for example). Overall I think they are great for the price and category they are in.

[@kevinlentz7604]

Zack I'm defiantly going for the dual sub ,or the twin eve 6.5 or both

[@Ecclesiastes11718]

Does anyone have any insight about Yamaha HS7 vs Focal Alpha 50 Evo? I have the Hs7's but I'm thinking of getting the Focal

[@luxpiotr]

I know not many people consider studio monitors as main desktop setup for daily music listen, but I do.Question is which are better for music listen (not mixing or other studio things...)? My 3 type are Kali LP6 2V / Kali IN-5 / Focal Alpha 65 Evo Which should I buy as Im not studio producer? My biggest fear of Focal Evo is that people on Internet says that they have problems with bad midrange (worse than 1st version and I dont know its true) and I love Jazz, Blues, Vocal tracks so I worry that track may sound dull and lack of presence. In other hand Kali Audio IN-5 is 3 way and I worry that it can sound too sharp and annoying in midrange region for normal listenning... Kali LP6 2V should be good but I worry that it may sound worse than IN-5 :)

[@ShadowsofSmoke]

Place the Alpha 6.5 externally, and give us what you think.

[@scorefootball4105]

nice video thank you! i want to buy the Focal Alpha 65 Evo are they better than the Focal Alpha 65?

[@ZachWirchak]

I haven't had the chance to hear the Evo's for myself yet. But I have heard mixed reviews on them. But I think you'd be satisfied with either set!

[@gianlorenzo.mungiovino]

I own the alpha 50 for several years now and after have worked on different control rooms with yamaha, dynaudio, atc and bigger focal too, I can say these are very reliable and affordable speakers. Nice round and pleasant sounding, not fatiguing at all. There are cons of course, but I noticed how close were there compared to more expensive focals. In my opinion the alpha evo sound to me worse than the older gen.

[@ZachWirchak]

Great input! I've heard from a few different people that the newer Evo's aren't as good as the Alpha generation.