Focal Solo6 ST6

Mostly heard as honest and well balanced. Sound & Recording measured an even response, and SOS, Tape Op, MusicRadar, MusicTech, Amazona and a Thomann owner call it neutral or uncoloured; Recording and SOS hear it as slightly forward, which SOS puts down to its detail. ASR's anechoic data shows a peak near 60 Hz and extra off-axis energy from 3 to 8 kHz that raise the predicted in-room response. A minority hear colour: Audiofanzine finds it dense in the mids and a little flattering next to Genelec 1030As, while an ASR critic and two owners trialling it against Neumanns hear it forward and scooped.

“They are neither overly flattering nor clinical – walking that line of truth perfectly.”

Tape Op #152

“While the response is broadly flat a peak around 60 Hz stands out.”

Amir Majidimehr, Audio Science Review (Klippel NFS)

“Dans notre ressenti, l’écoute sur des Solo6 est très agréable, voire peut-être un peu flatteuse.”

Audiofanzine (Studios Mégaphone, vs Genelec 1030A) ("To our ears, listening on the Solo6 is very pleasant, perhaps even a little flattering")

Full, tight and deep for a 6.5-inch box. Sound & Recording measured −6 dB at 41 Hz and ASR's data gives about 42 Hz, with a reflex lift near 60 Hz; ASR, SOS, Recording, MusicTech, Audiofanzine, Amazona, bonedo and owners describe punchy, articulate bass with no port chuffing, and Colt Capperrune worked without a sub in a treated room close to the wall. Most still suggest a subwoofer for sub-heavy genres. Dissent: an ASR critic calls the 60 Hz lift faked bass, and one Audiofanzine owner found it badly short of low end for house and hip-hop.

“The low-end is still full and deceptively deep for a 6.5″ monitor, but is punchier and bolder on the new Solo6 ST.”

Paul Vnuk Jr, Recording

“Die Tieftonwiedergabe konnte trotz des kompakten Formates des Monitors vollkommen überzeugen.”

Anselm Goertz, Sound & Recording ("Despite the monitor's compact format, the bass reproduction was completely convincing")

“That tweeter is really doing weird s...tuff and faking bass with a big reflex hump of high Q”

IamJF, Audio Science Review forum (reading ASR's measurements)

Sources split, though most land on the positive side. MusicTech calls the mids the highlight, Sound & Recording praises their precision, Amazona hears no midrange hole and bonedo calls them detailed; Audiofanzine finds the low mids and mids dense and full-bodied (and wonders whether that crowds the mix). Against that, an engineer comparing it with his Neumann KH 120s and an Audiofanzine owner both hear a dip in the lower mids and vocals that sit further back.

Sources split. Most reviewers hear the beryllium tweeter as smooth, detailed and fatigue-free over long sessions (SOS, Tape Op, MusicTech, MusicRadar, Recording, Amazona, Audiofanzine and several owners), and Colt Capperrune found the slight brightness he heard at first was its speed, not tilt. Others hear it bright or hard in their rooms: ASR measured extra off-axis energy from 3 to 8 kHz, bonedo heard slight sharpness right in front of the speakers at about 1 m, and owners comparing it with Neumanns or without room correction hear a lift in the presence and treble range.

Sources split, though most hear a wide, deep stage: SOS, Tape Op, bonedo, Amazona and owners describe a broad, three-dimensional picture, and Tape Op found the Focus mode disorienting next to its wide spread. Two comparisons hear it narrower than their reference monitors — Audiofanzine next to Genelec 1030As (with the pairs set at different spacing) and an engineer next to Neumann KH 120s.

A strong point. SOS hears a rock-solid centre and precisely placed voices, MusicTech a stable image that holds when you move off-axis, Sound & Recording rare spatial precision, and owners an accurate, solid phantom centre. One engineer found his Neumann KH 120s more precise in the centre.

“results in a wide, deep and detailed sound stage with a solid centre image and precisely positioned instruments and voices”

Bob Thomas, Sound On Sound

“The sonic picture remains stable when moving off-axis and the stereo image possesses a remarkable clarity over a wide listening area”

Robbie Stamp, MusicTech

The most consistent praise. Tape Op heard detail its HR824s and CMS 65s never gave it, SOS and MusicTech describe reverb tails and tiny distortions laid bare, and owners call it revealing enough to hear compression and low-end detail. Audiofanzine found transients a little less incisive than its Genelecs, and one engineer heard reverb tails more clearly on his Neumanns.

“There is an amount of detail and clarity that I was simply not getting from either of my other two sets of speakers.”

Tape Op #152

“The detail is amazing and I find the highs very smooth and not fatiguing; the stereo separation is really nice.”

alexoryan, Gearspace (owner; small, lightly treated room)

Plenty of clean level for nearfield work, without being a loud monitor. ASR measured very low distortion and heard none even with the clip light on; Sound & Recording measured 106.5 dB at 3 % distortion and a limiter-bound 99 dB long-term level at 1 m; Recording could not make them break up at 98 dB. bonedo and MusicTech note that it goes loud but not very loud, and Tape Op pushed the woofers past comfort with a big kick drum at high volume.

“Something I have experienced in other Focal speakers is nice control of distortion which is reflected here as well”

Amir Majidimehr, Audio Science Review (Klippel NFS)

“Insgesamt geht die Box schon laut, superlaut nur eher nicht”

Felix Klostermann, bonedo ("Overall the speaker does go loud, just not super loud")

“some of the explosive low end of Jamie Dick’s 24-inch WFL kick drum pushed the woofers a little harder than they were happy with”

Tape Op #152

Wide horizontal dispersion makes for a broad listening area — MusicTech found the image held from front to back of the room — but listeners should keep their ears at tweeter height. The 160 Hz bell and shelves handle desk and console build-up (MusicTech trimmed 160 Hz behind a console), and bonedo found a slight sharpness at a 1 m base width faded when it widened the triangle to 2.5 m with a sub. Colt Capperrune ran them close to the wall in a treated room without a sub.

“Due to shallower waveguide, you do benefit from wider beam width which enlarges the sweet spot/region.”

Amir Majidimehr, Audio Science Review

“Somit konnte ich die Basisbreite meines Stereodreiecks auf amtlich 2,5 Meter erweitern, was den Eindruck des zischeligen Übergangsbereichs schwinden ließ.”

Felix Klostermann, bonedo ("So I could widen my stereo triangle to a full 2.5 metres, which made the hissy crossover region fade")

“Directivity: Better stay at tweeter height”

Maiky76, Audio Science Review forum (analysis of ASR's data)

Mostly trusted. Tape Op mixed two EPs on them with no complaints from clients, Colt Capperrune's mixes translated over ten months, a sound designer says the setup translates perfectly in his treated room, and MusicRadar and SOS call the output something to trust and make decisions on. Doubters: an engineer who never found an EQ setting he was comfortable with and went back to Neumann, an ASR critic who would not call it a reference monitor, and an owner who says it needs room correction to work in his room.

“However, I mixed two EPs for clients with whom I have a collaborative history, and neither noticed any difference in the work.”

Tape Op #152

“It’s incredibly honest, producing an unadulterated output that you can trust.”

Simon Fellows, MusicRadar

“That's probably a nice sounding speaker in the right room but not what I consider a reference monitor.”

IamJF, Audio Science Review forum (reading ASR's measurements)

Only one lab measured it, and it found the speaker very quiet: Sound & Recording read 21.6 dBA at 10 cm from the tweeter, inaudible even in a silent room. No source reports hiss or hum.

“den Störpegel von 21,6 dBA in 10 cm Entfernung vom Hochtöner, der ebenfalls sehr gering ist und auch in einer völlig ruhigen Umgebung nicht auffällt”

Anselm Goertz, Sound & Recording ("the noise level of 21.6 dBA at 10 cm from the tweeter, which is also very low and goes unnoticed even in a completely quiet room")

The Focus mode is the talking point. Recording, MusicTech, Tape Op, Amazona, bonedo and an owner find the single-driver check mode genuinely useful for midrange and mono checks; Colt Capperrune uses it for about a fifth of a mix but still keeps Auratones. SOS's reviewer didn't take to it and would rather have had an Auratone- or NS-10-like curve. The rear filters (shelves, 160 Hz bell, high-pass for a sub) are widely praised; the speaker is analogue only, with no DSP or digital input.

“I think the single-speaker Focus Mode of the Solo6 ST6 is even more useful”

Paul Vnuk Jr, Recording

“the clay in the Solo6 lies in its Focus mode, which didn’t really work for me”

Bob Thomas, Sound On Sound

Small irritations. There is no input level control beyond a −10/+4 sensitivity switch (MusicTech, Audiofanzine), the filter pots are recessed, need a screwdriver and have no detents, and the Focus footswitch is not in the box (Audiofanzine, Colt Capperrune). Auto-standby can be switched off, which Colt Capperrune advises when tracking in the room because the two cabinets click into sleep at different moments; an owner on balanced cables finds they wake almost instantly.

“No input level trim apart from the sensitivity switch”

Robbie Stamp, MusicTech

“On regrettera tout de même qu’un footswitch ne soit pas fourni avec, cela aurait été le top !”

Audiofanzine ("It's a pity a footswitch isn't included — that would have been perfect!")

“Using balanced cables they turn on almost instantly on receiving a signal.”

Bmoze, Audio Science Review forum (owner)

Sources split along the press/owner line. ASR, Sound & Recording, MusicTech, MusicRadar and Amazona praise a heavy, dead, beautifully finished cabinet built in France, and Sound & Recording's pair matched within 0.6 dB. Owners report faults: one Audiofanzine owner had a fuse blow in each speaker within about a year, another had a unit stop working after a few days (a blown fuse) and planned to return the pair, and an ASR owner's pair arrived with small dents.

Strong for the class. MusicRadar calls it great value for those who can afford it, SOS an attractive price for the performance, Tape Op a reasonable mid-range price, and Colt Capperrune can't name a rival he'd prefer around $3,000 a pair; Sound & Recording calls it no bargain but a sound investment. Dissent: an Audiofanzine owner expected more for the money, and an ASR critic would put the same money into DSP monitors that integrate with the room.

“On their own, a pair of Solo6s are a superb nearfield monitoring solution at an attractive price given their performance level.”

Bob Thomas, Sound On Sound

“So, yes, they’re great value (if you can afford them).”

Simon Fellows, MusicRadar

“niveau qualité/prix je m’attendais à mieux”

Djzapman, Audiofanzine owner review, 3★ ("for the price, I expected better")