The Focal Shape Twin is a 2×5″ 2.5-way active studio monitor designed to deliver reliable monitoring accuracy for audio engineers, producers, and musicians in home, project, and commercial studios. A walnut veneer covers the top and front of the MDF cabinet, which houses the 1″ M-shaped tweeter and two 5″ flax-cone woofers—the lower speaker handles 40 to 180 Hz and the upper speaker covers 40 Hz to 2.5 kHz. Each speaker component is driven by Class-AB amplification.

The dual 8″ passive radiator design yields extended low-frequency performance while allowing placement near walls. TMD suspension and a Neutral Inductance Circuit contribute to enhanced linearity and minimized distortion throughout the monitor’s 40 Hz to 35 kHz frequency response.

Inputs include a balanced XLR 3-pin connector and an unbalanced RCA coaxial jack on the rear panel, which also offers a 3-band EQ with an adjustable high-pass filter. In addition to tonal controls, imaging modifications are available via the height-adjustable decoupling points.

Attractive and Functional Cabinet

The front and top of the MDF cabinets are finished with an authentic walnut veneer. The curved shape of the top of each loudspeaker was calculated specifically for each monitor in order to ensure a linear frequency response in the high end. The natural wood recalls the finishes of Twin6 Be studio monitors and complements the flax cones.

TMD Suspension

The TMD suspension optimizes harmonic absorption to ensure a piston-like action for the whole audio spectrum. Two rings have been integrated into the suspension. The diameter and location of these rings are determined according to the flexibility of the suspension, its elongation, its resonance frequency, and the targeted frequency response curve of the speaker driver in excursion. This technology provides a linear frequency response curve between 1 kHz and 2 kHz, while significantly reducing distortion in the same range. The midrange register resultingly benefits from enhanced neutrality and contributes to the precision of the overall stereo image.

Neutral Inductance Circuit

N.I.C. (Neutral Inductance Circuit) technology grants an extremely stable magnetic circuit. The solution consists of a Faraday ring whose dimensions, materials, and positioning have been optimized so that the magnetic field is no longer affected by the position of the voice coil, by the amperage, or by the frequency of the current passing through it. This increases frequency response in the high end of the spectrum, thus optimizing the crossover with the tweeter while reducing harmonic distortion and intermodulation.

Flax-Cone Woofers

Developing speaker driver cone technologies is part of Focal’s core expertise. The flax sandwich cones used for the woofers are composed a layer of flax fibres sandwiched between two layers of glass fibres. Glass fibre cones were also used on the W composite sandwich cone of the SM6 and SM9 series and are revered for their high rigidity despite their light weight. Flax fibres are twice as light as glass fibres and have low elasticity. 80% cellulose composition yields excellent damping properties. This technology has proven to be a considerable improvement over the polyglass cone in terms of weight, rigidity, and damping.

M-Shaped Tweeter

Focal has further improved its famous aluminum/magnesium inverted dome tweeter by introducing two significant mechanical innovations: the M-shaped dome and redesigned suspension. The inverted M-shaped dome offers two major advantages. Its directivity is even less than that of an inverted dome tweeter, allowing for more flexibility in terms of listening position. Mechanically speaking, the M shape gives the dome much more rigidity, while reducing distortion even more. In addition to this, the Poron suspension provides a more linear frequency response curve below 6 kHz, improving the crossover with the woofer. The magnetic component has also been optimized thanks to a voice coil with a Kapton frame, which significantly reduces the Foucault current, and consequently, distortion. The horn housing in which the tweeter has been designed provides equal horizontal and vertical directivity.

Double Passive Radiator

The 8″ double passive radiator addresses a common challenge encountered with nearfield monitors: to combine a compact design, extended frequency response in the low end, and comfortable positioning. When ported systems meet their limits in terms of integration (a long-enough port to match its surface is required), the passive radiator is the ideal solution. However, rocking modes can often occur depending on the frequency and the volume. In order to compensate for this phenomenon, two U-shaped suspensions positioned opposite each other join the passive disks to the basket, ensuring perfect symmetry during excursion and incursion. Lastly, the low tuning frequency allows the Shape Twin to be placed very close to a wall.

Electronics and Settings

Class AB amplification was chosen in order to provide optimal control over the audio signal’s dynamic range. Each 5″ woofer is powered by a dedicated 80W amplifier channel, which ensures tonal balance regardless of volume. The Shape Twin features a comb filter for high and low frequencies (HF: ±3 dB shelving at 4.5 kHz, LF: ±6 dB shelving at 250 Hz). A gain-adjustable crossover at 160 Hz (±3 dB) allows you to correct any parasite reflections due to an installation on a mixing console or near a reverberating surface. An adjustable high-pass filter is provided to solve any issues due to rooms which result in sporadic behavior in the low end, but also for the crossover with a subwoofer if one is used.

Accessories and Installation

The Shape Twin comes with four decoupling spikes, which are height-adjustable to solve problems created by monitors not being at the same height as the listener. The angle changes the height of the soundstage to best suit the height of the sound engineer. A clever finishing touch to the spikes is their rubber coating, which improves isolation of the loudspeakers in relation to their support. The monitor is supplied with three specific protective grilles for the two woofers and the tweeter. Particular attention has been paid to efficiency, with a design which enables the grilles to be removed or assembled without tools. For wall or ceiling mounting, there are two M6 threaded holes on the back of the speaker.

The Result

The 2.5-way design brings out the best of two 5″ speaker drivers. The woofer in the lower section of the cabinet is used for the 40 to 180 Hz range, whereas the second transducer is dedicated to frequencies between 40 Hz and 2.5 kHz. Thus, the emissive surface dedicated to the bass frequencies is equivalent to that of an 8″ subwoofer with the extra advantage of being compact. The aptitude to work on the midrange and upper midrange is considerably increased with a 5″ speaker driver compared to larger transducers. This physical advantage is further enhanced thanks to flax cone technology, which offers excellent damping properties. As a result, the slightest lack or addition of information in this register is immediately emphasized, allowing engineers to achieve remarkably precise mixing and equalization. The 2.5-way D’Appolito configuration ensures extremely precise control of the bass and lower midrange while making it easy to integrate into all interiors thanks to its low footprint. The new tweeter efficiently reveals any hissing and is very precise in the high end.