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Omigosh! New Focal SM9 monitors RAWK! (while being accurate!)

June 1, 2011 in Gear, Music, Updates

The Focal SM9 is the only monitor we know of that is designed to be a loud, ultra-accurate and musical sounding 3-way monitor with an additional 2-way monitor built in.

In the 3-way mode (which also has an 11″ passive radiating woofer on it’s top side – similar to the $15K/pair SM11s) the cleanliness and detail are stunning, all the way to the 108 db that we heard them at!  Really!  The published specs (in and of itself a revolution in published specs for studio monitors!) max the volume at 116db, but honestly at 108 db (in a beautifully-treated acoustic space) it was already too darn loud for our ears, although we detected zero distortion.  Totally amazing to hear that kind of clarity and freshness at that kind of volume.  Focal demoed them for the Sweetwater sales engineers on Tuesday morning and all were blown away.  Also at nominal and low levels the perspicuity is still amazing as expected from a Focal.   And now you know a new word too!  :)
The 2-way switch disables the powered woofer and turns the Focal into an alternative monitor that is similar to other small powered 2-ways.  Also, the wattage changes at that point from 600 watts total in the 3-way config. to 200 watts per each 2-way speaker.  The design and construction are such that the stereo imaging maintains integrity between the 3-way and 2-way monitoring as well.  In the 2-way mode, we heard a considerable lessening of the volume (ok, that’s reasonable 600 watts and 3 speakers vs. 200 watts and 2 speakers) and the passive radiator did not move hardly at all.  The 2-way mode gives an excellent reference for small speaker systems and consumer systems.

OK and the bass!  That’s where the ‘Omigosh!’ comes from really.  To hear the full richness of the 11″ radiator in harmony with the 3-way powered speakers is a joy to behold.

ALSO these two features (2- / 3- way and passive radiator) really reduce the footprint normally required to produce this kind of sound.  Really one would have to have two sets of monitors and a subwoofer to accomplish this prior to the SM9s.  Now, all one needs is the SM9s, which is a huge benefit to most home and project studios (and many commercial studios too) that just don’t have the room for multiple speaker setups.

What a deal at only $3595 each?  Well, yes, they are not cheap but not really that bad when you add up two speaker sets (one set of world-class monitors and one set of  not so world-class but not horrible), a subwoofer, and monitor contoller-switch.   Another cool studio monitor from Focal, keep up the great work!

Here’s a link to the full specs data – click here!

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