# Focal Alpha EVO 50 vs Focal Shape 50



## polyfonic (Aug 10, 2021)

I'm considering either Focal Alpha EVO 50 or Focal Shape 50 as my next studio monitors. My control room/studio is not optimal because of the dimensions - (depth 1.92 m, width 3.5 m and height 2.05 m) - therefore I need them to be nearfield and they will be on a stand right next to the wall. At the music store they told me that the Shape 50 has no port, so those could easily be placed against the wall. 
But the EVO 50 has the port in front, so they also might be a good option (especially since it's almost half the price of a SHAPE 50)

Anyone has experience with either of the above mentioned speakers?


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## Zanshin (Aug 10, 2021)

I do not.... yet, but I just agonized over the same thing. I ordered the Shape 50s and they are coming tomorrow. I'm in a larger untreated attic space, house sitting for a year. Last year my music space was tiny, who knows a year from now?! So settled on the Shape 50 with the bass radiators. The Shape 40s might work for your space too.


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## polyfonic (Aug 10, 2021)

I'm very curious how those will work out for you. Please leave a notice here on what you think about them after you try them out


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## kgdrum (Aug 10, 2021)

As someone that owns Focals and actually used to consult & perform product evaluation for Focal while also selling Focal products,I must emphasize Focals typically take *at least 100 hours* of continuous playing to break-in and sound as intended.
Don’t expect to unbox them and for them to sound amazing straight out of the box.
Break-in time just like proper placement is very real and an important part of the setup process.


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## jcrosby (Aug 10, 2021)

I'd honestly go with the less expensive monitors. Putting speakers right near a wall will greatly impact the timbre of the speaker, interfere with the stereo image, etc. It's basically a non-ideal acoustic situation that will have a pretty substantial impact on the quality of any speaker you put in a room with those constraints. So IME it'd be far smarter to save yourself the extra cost, as any higher end speakers you put in there will be compromised by the constraints of your space...


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## kgdrum (Aug 10, 2021)

While I agree in principle with @jcrosby
I think* any speaker* needs to have some distance from the back wall to decouple the speaker from the wall to work as designed.All speakers performance will be compromised if it up against the wall,the speakers will be saying: MOTHERFUCKER! lol 😂
I always recommend people experiment with placement and positioning in the room and try to objectively evaluate the sonic results even if it’s contrary to where you thought the perfect placement and position would and should be.
Often the best sound is achieved with something a bit different than most users originally intended.
Most of us are working around some sort room limitation, you have to work with the space as best you can.
But i totally agree *no speaker* at any price point or quality level will sound it’s best sitting up too close up against a wall.
A case in point,when I first got my Twins I set them up vertically and the sounded pretty damn good but than I tried setting them up horizontally and they actually sounded way better!
So the placement and position I originally had in mind went bye bye,the Twins have been positioned horizontally now for about 14 years on stands I never would have gotten if the speakers were positioned vertically.
So setup for the best sound results not aesthetically & try to determine objectively where you want the speakers in the room.


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## jcrosby (Aug 10, 2021)

kgdrum said:


> While I agree in principle with @jcrosby
> I think* any speaker* needs to have some distance from the back wall to decouple the speaker from the wall to work as designed.All speakers performance will be compromised if it up against the wall,the speakers will be saying: MOTHERFUCKER! lol 😂
> I always recommend people experiment with placement and positioning in the room and try to objectively evaluate the sonic results even if it’s contrary to where you thought the perfect placement and position would and should be.
> Often the best sound is achieved with something a bit different than most users originally intended.
> ...


100%... Placement's key for sure... With really small dimensions like this though the range of improvements placement can make is a lot smaller, and it sounds like they're basically confined to having them really close to a wall no matter how the room is oriented... The other thing about the dimensions they listed is that two of the surfaces are almost the same, effectively meaning they'll be wrestling with some of the _cube shaped room _effect.

Anyway, placement's key for sure, I just wanted to mention that they should think about how the limitations of a room this small might counteract some of the benefits they might get out of a higher end monitor...


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## polyfonic (Aug 11, 2021)

kgdrum said:


> As someone that owns Focals and actually used to consult & perform product evaluation for Focal while also selling Focal products,I must emphasize Focals typically take *at least 100 hours* of continuous playing to break-in and sound as intended.
> Don’t expect to unbox them and for them to sound amazing straight out of the box.
> Break-in time just like proper placement is very real and an important part of the setup process.


My primary goal for these new speakers is to get a working enviroment without too much low frequencies. As I can see, the PRO for the SHAPE monitors is that there are no ports, so it should be easier to control the low freqs.

Spending time getting to know the new monitors is of course part of my expectations.


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## polyfonic (Aug 11, 2021)

My worries is that the SHAPE are from 2017 and therefore older technology then the EVOs.
Anyone thinks that this doesn't matter?


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## kgdrum (Aug 11, 2021)

As someone who worked in sales I think a good speaker is a good speaker. Whether it’s this years model or a 10 year old monitor is irrelevant,most of the “new technology” mentioned w/new models is often marketing.
I’ve had my Twins since 1997 and they sound great, will a newer model like the Trio sound better? Possibly but that doesn’t change the fact that the Twins still sound wonderful.


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## jcrosby (Aug 11, 2021)

As @kgdrum said a good speaker is a good speaker. NS10's are still used by a lot of engineers as one of their near field sets. Granted they're often used to check the midrange, but the fact that 30 year old speakers are still a preference for some engineers says a lot about prioritizing knowing your speakers vs having the latest and greatest technology....


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## polyfonic (Aug 11, 2021)

Thanks for advice, guys! 
I went for the EVO50s and will try them out for a couple of weeks. 
So far it's sounds amazing. Very clear and detailed sound. It's quite an upgrade from my Alesis M1 active Mk2 (I dont understand how I could bare with them so long)
Earlier mixes doesn't sound so good anymore but since I've mainly delivered stems of my compositions during the years I have gotten away with it.


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## Thundercat (Dec 6, 2021)

jcrosby said:


> As @kgdrum said a good speaker is a good speaker. NS10's are still used by a lot of engineers as one of their near field sets. Granted they're often used to check the midrange, but the fact that 30 year old speakers are still a preference for some engineers says a lot about prioritizing knowing your speakers vs having the latest and greatest technology....


I know this is an old post but I have to say…I absolutely love my NS10s!! Amazing sound!!!

I bought an old Adcom amp and had a tech guy beef it up. That combination is truly glorious. Not dry, brittle, hard, harsh, or hard to listen to at all. Amazing.

Just wanted to throw that out there. The amp can make all the difference.


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## cedricm (Dec 6, 2021)

kgdrum said:


> As someone who worked in sales I think a good speaker is a good speaker. Whether it’s this years model or a 10 year old monitor is irrelevant,most of the “new technology” mentioned w/new models is often marketing.
> I’ve had my Twins since 1997 and they sound great, will a newer model like the Trio sound better? Possibly but that doesn’t change the fact that the Twins still sound wonderful.


Still enjoying my 20+ yo Magnepan speakers in the living room and don't intend to ever change them unless they break.


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## scoringdreams (Dec 8, 2021)

The Focal Shapes are definitely a good upgrade from where you're coming from. I recently upgraded from my Shapes to the Solo6 Be and enjoy them to the fullest! Can totally vouch for Focal products. If considering between the EVO and Shape, I think the Shape range would certainly win in terms of aesthetics. But if you want something 'newer' or industrial-looking, the EVO might be a better choice. I cannot say much about the EVO sound quality but I am certain that you're not missing out on much between these 2.

Perhaps you might want to look into cost of parts if repair costs are a concern (since Focal is indeed quite an expensive brand to send in for repairs), or their dimensions to fit on your desk etc. Going by description, the Shape range would work better in a less treated environment, but the EVO would work better in an environment which requires frequent moving since their build is more robust.

Or you could just get yourself the Utopia headphones. Anything with Beryllium from Focal sounds pretty good IMO.


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