Focal Shape 40 vs Yamaha HS5 || Sound & Frequency Response Comparison

Focal Shape 40 on amazon DE: amzn.to/3skd9VI
Focal Shape 40 on bhphotovideo: bhpho.to/3uSofCW
Yamaha HS5 on amazon DE: amzn.to/3wVVhUQ
Yamaha HS5 on amazon UK: amzn.to/2PZA4Zi
Yamaha HS5 on bhphotovideo: bhpho.to/3e239eL
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Timestamps:
00:00​ - 00:15​ Intro
00:15​ - 01:22 Retro Wave
01:22​ - 02:30 Long Night
02:30 - 03:34​ Jazz Con Cajon
03:34 - 04:40 Metal Head
04:40​ - 05:56 Bellissimo
05:56 - 07:02 Deep
07:02​ - 08:10 Inspiring Middle East
08:10​ - 09:36​ Mortals
09:36​ - 10:41​ The Making Of Thumbs Up
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All the tracks used in this video can be found here:
kzbin.info/aero/PLvAQtW1hCnr-13tqb-3x6Z3GYGzAV5rKd
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-Sound recorded using pair of SE Electronics SE8 mics and Zoom H6 recorder
-Frequency measurements done in semi treated room using UMIK-1 microphone
-Levels matched using SPL meter
-All tone controls set to neutral

[@DSAUDIOreview]

Instagram - instagram.com/digitalstereophony/ Facebook - facebook.com/DigitalStereophony/

[@tradehut2782]

Shape 40 has so much better mids & everything it's not even a contest. Well done DS. Expecting shape vs Neumann & genelec

[@tradehut2782]

Listened on monitors. The yamaha sounds quite broken next to the Focals .What a difference!

[@avittas]

Agree! Almost in every comparison I've seen with the HS's, they always lose! :D I wonder why DS haven't compared a Dynaudio monitor yet...they are in the "same" class with Neumann, Genelec and Focal, but with a lower price tag. Definitely would like to see a Dynaudio BM5 MKIII or LYD-8 how would perform against the top class. Cheers and once again big thanks to DS!

[@djrobtech]

I would love the channel to upload a video of Focal Shape 40 vs Focal Alpha Evo 50. And then Focal Alpha Evo 50 vs Neumann KH80/120.

[@tradehut2782]

@@djrobtech focal apha series is still a lower tier series than the shape

[@djrobtech]

@@tradehut2782 The Focal Alpha Evo 65 are the same price as the Neumann KH80s. So I'd say they're in the same category of studio monitors and would like to hear them being compared against one another.

[@trixniisama]

I would really be interested in a comparison between Focal Alphas and Shapes ! PLEASE nobody did this on the entire freaking internet

[@jimsanger]

I've been searching for this too

[@EldohRadoProductions]

Me too

[@leandrosilva6414]

Nice to see more Studio Monitors in your reviews (Neumann, Genelecs, Adam, Focals!) Very helpfull! Love it! Thanks and keep up the good work!

[@theenhancer]

Focal wins no contest, although it should for 3x the price.

[@PerryR1985]

Focal's high-end is massively marked up in the States, unfortunately.

[@berndweber2667]

the frequency response drop between 80 and 300 Hz is immediately audible with every track on the Yamaha HS5

[@girijeshkr1]

Yamaha speaker seems to be waiting for subwoofer to jump in.

[@Thedonyura]

This comparison is great, the yamahas in their hs line are an update of the famous sound of the NS10 this 5 'model is not flat it has a frequency line that according to its engineers helps you find details in the mids and highs that are affected when there is strong bass I imagine it has to do with psychoacoustics. The focals in this line have very soft details in all their frequencies, apart from the sweet spot is very wide, they are revealing throughout their spectrum. I stay with the first generation of the Hs, the most current do not like me

[@redmusichouse]

Most everyone here says Focal "sounds" better but be that as it may, I still choose to MIX with HS5. Focal is too boomy and makes things hard to judge for me personally.

[@meanwhileinespoo1265]

Was the same here.. sold the alpha 50s.. and again bought an hs5 pair.. dont sound as good but are much more useful and wont build up that bass all over the apartment.. just a little...

[@meanwhileinespoo1265]

I do get ear fatigue though.. always did before also when I had the hs5 for about 10 years...

[@ChrisBessy]

I had the HS5 at home for about 2 weeks ..... it was so horrible for my ears.

[@baspravisrbin]

much more detail on Focals, deeper soundstage. etc....but it seems they cannot get rid of that boxiness even with passive radiators...pity

[@benjaminutrerasaraya1684]

agreed and its kind of scary because those focals are expensive and they should sound good right off the bat. they are kind of annoyingly forward sounding at least in this comparison. Even though those yahamas lack of bass and all, they sound revealing, natural and pleasant to my ears. I was thinking of getting a pair of focal shape 50 but I doubt it now.

[@baspravisrbin]

@@benjaminutrerasaraya1684 will go to listen alpha 65 EVO... there is a hope...

[@richardanderson2820]

Thoughts on the shape for a hifi speaker in a small room?

[@stevejeffries5403]

Surely there's something wrong here, even cheaper speakers like this can't lose that much of the stereo spectrum? It sounds like both speakers have almost dropped to mono. Thing is, I've just listened to the HS7 on this site playing the same track with the same headphones (very good ones, Shure 1840) and the stereo field is there, the HS5 can't be that different in the top end/reverbs.

[@windwalker5698]

HS5 sucks but not so the HS8 which can easily sound better than Shape40 for much lesser price. However, the Focal Shape 65 will have one hell of a contest with HS8. Ha ha waiting for your video on that!

[@vinoheart]

I have Focal CMS 40 for past 10 years ...

[@trixniisama]

Nice !

[@Astro-X-Ent]

Used to have hs7 and got rid because of the mids. But I actually almost prefer the hs5 here to the focal. I know the focal had more presence, but not sure if it's just 'coloured' ✅✅✅

[@zs-remix]

shape40 crossover Better but HEDD type05

[@dvsdez]

Focal so much more revealing and balanced

[@valtercarvalho7149]

Focal Shape 40

[@Zac4remix]

HEDD Type 05 vs Focal Shape 50 plz

[@FrozenKopi]

dude,yamaha dont stand a chance in this level of comparison lol good for the world to know thou

[@qqow327]

HS5 is too mid forward and thin. Shape 40 is boxy and boomy around 80 to 120 but doesn't really have enough bass below 80. It doesn't go low. The passive radiator design, room acoustic and speaker placement also probably contributed to the unbalanced bass response.

[@log791]

The Focal was not too convincing with violin and with the "Inspiring Middle East", too. Still, it seemed closer to the original for most of the tracks.

[@tihomir7]

You can't make comparsion this way. People, you can't judge sound listening a speakers recorded by a mic...is it mic from camera, is it mono or stereo mic, how is the room treated what is the quality of mic...it has to be perfect treated rom with perfect very expensive linear stereo mic cost ten thounsands of bucks, and you should listen on perfect linear expensive system to hear how they sound....

[@younawolf662]

yahama for acoustic focal for electronic is better

[@vagelisda]

Focal is on a different league, Yamahas sound too inferior . Infact Yamahas seem to lose almost to any other brand in these comparisons,they are the least neutral always

[@renzibeats1532]

Yamaha is good for mixing vocals

[@sandyshoremann7524]

1200 a pair USD for a 4" 2 way Focal? . Yikes. Better 6" 2 way and external amp money split between them. No Value proposition here in my view. Speaker are not high tech $$ they are ART of design. Sandy

[@sergeysmelnik]

Wow lovin the sound of the focals

[@soundsokok]

1:04 1:12 1:17

[@akosiniroh]

even though yamaha has the bigger woofer, focal sounds bigger.

[@miltonbass4292]

Shape 40 , very superior.

[@puresesh7985]

hs5 takes this one although hard choice being the focal has more mid bass

[@볼린사바나맨-f5h]

focal win

[@juanadame99]

Yamaha HS5

[@Andrew_Nekrasov]

Focal 👍

[@Stephane.French.Catholic.An.33]

Focal more near the original sound than Yamaha

[@VinnieMoore1986]

YAMAHA. یاماها

[@Jisooee]

At this point. Yamaha feels cheap.

[@FerdiAtay]

First Comment

[@purgenychwohr5990]

Bad all... 👎

[@djsley3502]

No, these are good speakers. They don’t got much bass because of their size. They sound amazing with a subwoofer