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Focal Professional's SM9 provides two monitors in one

Originally launched at Musikmesse /Prolight+Sound 2011, Frankfurt/Main, Germany., Focal Professional's flagship monitor SM9 received a MIPA award at Musikmesse / Prolight + Sound 2012. It was also featured at 131st AES convention in New York and Winter NAMM 2013, Anaheim, CA. The SM9 Monitoring System desgin is based on a 'simple' idea: Create the most dynamic, sonically transparent and accurate monitoring system ever built.
Focal SM9The SM9 incorporates two independent monitoring systems in the same cabinet. The first is a 3-way monitor equipped with a 1" pure Beryllium inverted dome tweeter, a 6 1/2" midrange driver, 8" bass driver and an 11" passive radiator. All the drivers are made of the Focal exclusive "W" sandwich technology. This monitor delivers a frequency response of 30Hz-40kHz (+/-3dB) at a maximum SPL of 116dB.
Second is a 2-way monitor equipped with a 1" pure Beryllium inverted dome tweeter and a 61/2" "W" cone midbass driver . This monitor has a frequency response of 90Hz-20kHz, allowing to verify mixes on a bass-limited speaker like used in televisions, computers; car audio, iPod speakers and other multimedia systems. This sealed cabinet 2-way monitor is designed to be a sort of 'midrange magnifying glass', allowing the engineer to precisely adjust levels and EQ in this critical range. The activation of the 2-way monitoring mode is achieved by engaging the “FOCUS” mode on the side panel.
The pure Beryllium inverted dome tweeter has been improved with help from the latest Focal technologies, based on an entirely new magnet structure that achieves 2.1 Tesla of magnetic flux. This has a profound effect on the tweeter’s ability to reproduce micro-dynamics which helps the engineer to dial-in compression and reverb.
The new "W" cone 61/2" midrange driver benefits from great damping characteristics. Midrange and mid-bass frequencies are then reproduced without any masking effect.
The 8" "W" cone bass driver was designed for engineers wanting to work with a full range monitor without the use of a separate subwoofer.
The massive "W" cone 11" passive radiator, on top of the enclosure, works in conjunction with the 8" front bass driver. Passive radiators eliminate airflow noises inherent to bass-reflex designs and they extend the bass response even in very compact cabinets. This flat-piston cone is coupled to the chassis via a negative half-roll suspension, allowing very long excursions.
The low-noise input stage (125dB SNR)provides six detended knobs situated on the back panel to allow the engineer or the acoustician to compensate for some room anomalies and optimize the monitor’s response in its environment. Two shelving filters are available for bass (from 30Hz to 250Hz, 0.5dB steps) and high (from 4.5kHz to 40 kHz, 0.5dB steps).
Three EQ filters are also offered. Bass can be adjusted with the 50Hz filter (fixed Q of 2). Midbass are adjusted at 160Hz (fixed Q of 1), which also serves as a desktop notch filter to tame unwanted console reflections. The last EQ filter is midrange at 1kHz (fixed Q of 0.6). The three EQs can be adjusted to +/- 3dB in 0.5dB steps. Completing the EQ section is a high-pass filter (full range, 45Hz, 60Hz and 90Hz at -6 dB).
A sonically transparent limiter takes care of input levels, while a microprocessor manages all power and thermal functions. Three modes of operation provide flexibility, Stand By, Direct and Focus. Stand By mutes the monitor and puts it in low-power mode. The Direct mode allows to fully bypass the rear EQ section. The Focus mode activates the 2-way monitoring system.
The low-level power supply is equipped with more than 2,600 µF, for a clean and dynamic signal reproduction with a perfect slew rate.
The high-level power supply is equipped with 17,000 µF per rail. The new analogue amplifiers were developed specifically for the SM9. 600 watts of class AB amplification drives the SM9 on three separate channels, respectively 400 W (woofer), 100 W (midrange) and 100 W (tweeter). The SM9 is equipped with a massive rear heatsink for a stable and reliable operation.
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