Focal SHAPE 50

VERSATILITY
AND FUNCTIONALITY

Shape 50 is the versatile monitoring loudspeaker par excellence. This monitor can be used from 30″ away (80cm), and it has very extended low end frequency response (50Hz) considering its compact design. Thanks to this design and to the numerous settings, this monitor is ideal for rooms measuring less than 130ft2 (12m2).
The three monitors are all made in France and integrate five innovations to maximise acoustic transparency. Designed to meet the needs of nearfield monitoring, Shape monitors combine an ingenuous design and numerous settings optimised for the acoustics of small listening rooms.
These innovations provide remarkable acoustic transparency. These new work tools distinguish themselves through the wide and extremely precise stereo image. The bass register is articulated and controlled. The lower mid-range and mid-range benefit from extreme neutrality, and without any masking effects, making equalisation of these essential registers much easier. Finally, the new tweeter is what’s at the source of the very high definition. It efficiently reveals any hissing, and it’s also very precise in the very high end.

KEY FEATURES

• Tweeter with very low directivity for a flexible listening position
• Designed without a port, but with a double passive radiator, allowing it to be placed near a wall.
• Numerous settings for optimal integration
• Accurate control, even in the very high end
• Flax sandwich cone: controlled and well defined bass, natural and detailed lower mid-range and upper mid-range ranges.
• Mounting mechanisms present on the back and underneath the loudspeaker: for installing on a table stand, a microphone stand, the ceiling or a wall (mounting accessories not supplied).

THE 'M' SHAPE OF THE INVERTED DOME HAS TWO MAJOR ADVANTAGES :

Its directivity is even less that of the 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.
The Poron® suspension provides a more linear frequency response curve below 6kHz, improving crossover with the woofer.
The magnetic component has also been optimised thanks to a voice coil with a Kapton® frame which significantly reduces the Foucault current, and consequently, distortion.
Finally, the horn housing the tweeter has been designed to provide equal horizontal and vertical directivity.

FLAX SANDWICH CONE

Made in France but affordable, Flax cones are oriented towards acoustic performance, high-tech and give an original design to the brand’s speaker drivers!

After more than five years of research and development, engineers at Focal reveal in 2013 a new cone made of high-quality flax fibers. F cone are characterised by their natural sound, with low coloration, their richness of reproduction in the midrange register and their tighter bass.

THE UNIQUE QUALITIES OF FLAX

F cones are made of high-quality flax fibers core enclosed by two thin layers of glass fiber. They satisfy the key criteria of a high performance diaphragm : high internal damping, high velocity of sound and high flexural rigidity.

Rigidity

All these criteria cannot be met by a mono-material cone. Sandwich technology greatly influences the neutrality of the sound produced by the cone, something, which has always been Focal’s hallmark. The expertise gained from the sandwich technology of the Utopia and K2 Power ranges enabled Focal to develop a revolutionary flax-fiber cone conciliating the 3 criteria.

Lightness

Flax is twice as light as fiberglass, because the fiber is hollow. It also has very low elasticity which makes it ideal to increase the flexural rigidity of a sandwich structure. Moreover, it can be obtained in non-woven bundles of considerable diameter and it can therefore produce the thickness required for a sandwich.

Internal damping

Composite materials have properties suitable for applications where both rigidity and low mass are required. However, their disadvantage is that they lack damping, which leads to very poor control of vibrations. Recent developments in this field combining composites and natural fibers have brought unexpected opportunities. Flax fiber has an excellent internal damping of the same order of magnitude as the glass or Kevlar® fibers or aluminum.

MADE IN FRANCE AND AFFORDABLE

Flax cones are designed and manufactured in France, from french flax fiber.  France is the main cultivator in Europe of fiber flax, principally in Flanders, Picardy, Normandy and the Pas-de-Calais region. French flax is considered the best in the world.

Synthetic fibers or foams originating from petrochemical resources are subject to inflation linked to the sharp rise in crude oil prices. Organic or ecological textiles, like flax, are thus becoming more and more pricecompetitive.

Because the “W” or "K2" sandwich have to be manufactured by hand, their range of application remains limited for reasons of cost. The industrial process developed to manufacture the "F" cones bring it within reach of very pricecompetitive product ranges