New Toys: Focal Trio6 Studio Monitors

Focal completes the ST6 line with the beautiful Trio6 ST three-way studio monitor. These come with dark red, natural ash veneered side panels and have a frequency response down to 35Hz and they weigh 55-pounds because of their internally-braced heavy-duty construction. 

In my recording studio, these are by far the best sounding monitors I’ve had here but also the most expensive. I use them because they have a new feature that I find especially useful for mixing music called the Focus Mode. It is a way to turn them into 2-way or 1-way monitors at any time at the touch of a switch to listen and check my music mixes in known, restricted frequency ranges. 

Usually, I would check mixes on small speakers or my Yamaha NS10ms with a separate power amplifier. But the whole problem with that age-old routine is that the listening position is NOT maintained because these additional speakers take up room and have to be located either too far left and right of your main monitors or conversely, too close together which compromises stereo width and imaging. 

Focus mode lets you stay in the proper listening position for regular 35Hz to 40kHz operation, Focus Mode 1 has a 100Hz to 15kHz using only the mid-range driver for a 1-way system and then Focus Mode 2 is a two-way system with an 80Hz to 40kHz response with the addition of the tweeter. Separate crossovers and filters are used for each mode and switched in/out using relays. 

Focus Mode is like having three different monitors in one cabinet. 

focal.com/en/pro-audio/monitoring-speakers/st6/trio6