PRODUCT
TESTS
Focal Twin6 ST6 Studio Monitors
By Clifton David Broadbridge
Based in Saint-Étienne , France , Focal has been making hi-fidelity audio products since 1979 . Over four decades , the brand has become internationally renowned for designing and manufacturing free-standing and inwall / in-ceiling loudspeakers , home cinema systems , speaker drivers for cars , and hi-fi headphones . But in 2002 , the company entered a new phase with its introduction of professional audio speakers . Released this year at NAMM was an updated version of Focal ’ s 15-year running SM6 line of monitors , the ST6 series . These monitors offer a long-awaited refresh to their Solo6 and Twin6 monitors with a new addition to the line , the Sub12 . With more than a few updates , the series experienced a complete ground-up redesign that I believe will attract many new fans and users and compel owners of the SM6 line to seriously consider investing in the new Twin6 ST6s .
More than a just an update to the series , the Twin6 ST6 had a complete redesign with an addition of some extremely useful features . First off , the Twin6 is a 2.5-way semi-near-field speaker with three separate internal amplifiers that has a frequency range of 40Hz to 40kHz . With the redesigned tweeter handling the high frequency information , both of the 6.5-in . drivers reproduce the bass ; however , only one handles the mid frequencies . Freeing up one of the speakers to handle low end greatly frees up the mid driver , making the system much more efficient . On top of this , you can choose the positioning of the mids ( left or right ) depending on your room and preferences . With the mids on the outside drivers , I found the Twin6 gave an extremely wide sound with the low end focused in the centre of the stereo image .
With the opposite configuration , the mids become much more prevalent without compromising the overall frequency
balance . I found it extremely interesting going back and forth at different stages of the mix , especially when EQing . Although my room is acoustically treated and I know what to expect in the sweet spot , this option was very helpful and gave me a quick alternative perspective to the mix and the frequency relationship . I also found the midrange on these speakers to have a very fast transient response with excellent detail reproduction . The overall sound wasn ’ t overly flattering , but more of a transparent , accurate working tool that felt very much like a three-way monitor .
Focus Mode
Like many other engineers , I spend the majority of my time on small speakers like Yamaha NS10s and Auratones when doing balance and for minimizing the impact of the room on what I ’ m hearing . Being able to check the mix with a limited frequency range can be an excellent reference to “ real world ” speakers to help translate the mix across many sources . The new Twin6 has addressed this by its inclusion of Focus Mode . Accessed by a simple foot switch and two standard 1 / 4-in . cables ( not included ), Focus Mode turns the 2.5-way configuration into a one-way by shutting the tweeter off entirely . Focal were able to do this with such effective results due to its redesigned mid driver with expanded frequency range . This extended dynamic range offers extremely good detail with a very flat response and increased bandwidth . With the mid frequency range going from 120Hz to 10kHz , the Focus Mode perfectly recreated the “ mix cube ” sound from the Twin6 pair . The imaging became much tighter and felt very much like a secondary set of speakers .
I would consider this addition to be a great added value to someone looking to invest in good pro audio monitors . Adding a pair of Auratones with good power amp adds quite a bit of cost to a monitor setup . Focus Mode would honestly keep me pretty content if I only had these monitors to work on . I should also note that the ST6 lineup is fully analog and doesn ’ t use any DSP in its acoustic design or implementation of Focus Mode .
Frequency Control
The ST6 also comes equipped with very useful control of the low , mid , and high frequencies .
The HF Shelving allows boosting or attenuation of frequencies above the 4.5kHz range . Even when turned down several dB ,
20 PROFESSIONAL SOUND