onefastsi 10+ year member
Older, faster and wiser!
Let me first say that YES, DEFINETELY, there is a difference in car audio amplifiers! And anyone who says there isn’t? Well, buy the cheap stuff and hope for the best!
Now…blah blah blah…I’ve used a lot of stuff over the years, but, to be honest, nothing this “high end”. I spent some time looking over a lot of amps. Sundown, Mmats, JL Audio, ARC, Memphis, DLS, Audison, Rainbow, etc…settling on the FOCAL amp line was a hard choice…I had to give up some things, to get others. Not sure what the ‘last straw’ was…but I went back to the original amp that I had considered. SQ was my main goal, and I felt the FOCAL product best would allow me to achieve that.
You all read the initial review…opened box, installed amps, etc…
Now comes the listening test. I was a BIT worried about the sub amp power. The 1.800 rated a few hundred watts under what I was used to, even though I never used all 1000 watts! But the call to FOCAL/ORCA, and the info I got on the “actual” power was enough to make me feel better ( benched at 1100+ watts). The amp was rated at 400 watts @ 4 ohm. The certificate it came with said more like 430.1 watts.
After install, I got the iPod out and plugged it into the iDA-X001...
Whoa!
Ok…let me backtrack a bit. On initial install, I had to use an 8 ga. Power wire as the 4 ga. I had didn’t fit. I was confused?! It says a 0 ga. Will fit the amp? It turns out that once the wire was old, it was opened up a bit from being pressed into the old amp. So the frayed end was too large to fit the amp fitting.
I JUST went out ( as in just now!), curious about something…I cut a new wire, 4 ga, and installed the fresh cable. It fit nicely! Just as it was meant. So…what did this accomplish? A LOT! I did a test run and, ummm, wow. The bass was as I remembered it with my old NINe.1, just better!
It goes back about a week. The problem was that I couldn’t seem to get the 1.800 in line! It has quite an array of adjustments, for a mono sub amp. I couldn’t remember where my old x-over point was set as the amps I had are now in new hands, from Hawaii to North Carolina!
So I tweaked and toiled for a good week, even emailing FOCAL for some help…BTW, they didn’t answer //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif I finally got it ‘acceptable’, and have been listening for a few days now. It was pretty nice, but his little wire session made it incredible!
So, the verdict? Superb amps. Lets work on front stage first, the FP 2.150. Superb looks and superb sound. I had great midbass from my CDT’s with the installation of the X001. Well, now? Holy cow! I had to readjust my x-over point to about 75 hz. I used to run it about 55 hz, with no issues, now the speakers “POP” noticeably on certain tracks. I turned the xover up til it stopped, and it’s just right!
The midbass really strikes! I was listening to Bruce Hornsby’s “Rainbow's Cadillac” track from “Harbor Lights” disc and was amazed at the HIT of the snares! I was listening…making sure it wasn’t the subs coloring the playback….nope, it’s coming from the doors! The highs are clear, powerful and very detailed! I can hear the drum sticks actually hit the drums! The 150 (actually 158.2 watts) was the most I’ve run, and it’s something else having some headroom for a change! Especially some HIGH END wattage.
I ran through my usual mix of Focal demo disc, Bruce, Styx, Rob Zombie…the best part was the hard stuff, which you wouldn’t Think Focal was good for, was the best! I do give credit the the CDT HD set of mine as well…for keeping up and sounding better than ever! But it was the new Focal amps that MADE them sound better!
The sub amp, FP 1.800 was another story. I couldn’t figure this beast out! I pulled my hair our for weeks trying to get it right. I hate turning the remote too high to get some powerful hit, but it always seemed to work that way. So, I gave in to that and went about trying to tune it…argh!
I posted a few things for help, I was stumped. I couldn’t tell quite what was missing…maybe nothing? Maybe I was used to just shear POWER, vs. a finesse power?
Turns out the 8 ga. Power cable was one culprit…a system is only as good as it’s weakest point.
I now have approx. 800 watts going to 3 12’s, running at 1.33 ohms. And it’s every bit as powerful as my old NINe.1 and DEI1100D! Yes, the way the remote works I have to turn it about 2/3’s or so to get the POWER, but maybe that’s the way it works? I have yet to have it all the way up, I’m just used to a ¼ crack on the remote and BAM! BAM!
I put my old trusty Candlebox “Blossom” in to give her a test. This is now after a few weeks of messing you see. WOW! The bass is sooo clean, smooth and powerful! I can hear the kick pedal hitting the kick drum…it’s pretty impressive, this “HIGH END” amplifier //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif I see now what I spent all that money on…and I’m now “ok” with the FOCAL amps that I had thought about, gulp, selling. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/suicide.gif.a649d21efc0d1fd4890a6428166586c1.gif
The subs go so low and play it so smooth! I was listening to Styx Renegade on the way home... and when the bass hit it sounded like, well, it was bottomless! It's hard to explain but I've never heard bass recreated this way. I wish you guys could have heard that track, and that bass note play. It was simply amazing what I heard reproduced...
These are impressive pieces of aluminum and wiring. I found a great amp and I’m in no hurry to change. Yes, I still have some tuning to do…I need some new front speakers eventually, but for now the subs are wonderful, the source unit is great and the amps are first rate!
Speaking of source? I tried something with my iDA. I imported a few original CD’s in the Apple LOSSLESS format, hearing it’s a “noticeable difference in sound quality…” Hogwash! I put Bruce on LOSSLESS, taking up almost 10 times the space as the original 256k import version…and nothing! I noticed no difference, but lost a lot of disc space! I went back and forth between the 2 versions…over and over, and didn’t even catch a slight variation. And? I’d put the iDA up against a CD unit all day long ☺
The FOCAL amps are great, I’m now glad I purchased the.
now? To find a component set that meets the new standard set in my Civic Si!
Now…blah blah blah…I’ve used a lot of stuff over the years, but, to be honest, nothing this “high end”. I spent some time looking over a lot of amps. Sundown, Mmats, JL Audio, ARC, Memphis, DLS, Audison, Rainbow, etc…settling on the FOCAL amp line was a hard choice…I had to give up some things, to get others. Not sure what the ‘last straw’ was…but I went back to the original amp that I had considered. SQ was my main goal, and I felt the FOCAL product best would allow me to achieve that.
You all read the initial review…opened box, installed amps, etc…
Now comes the listening test. I was a BIT worried about the sub amp power. The 1.800 rated a few hundred watts under what I was used to, even though I never used all 1000 watts! But the call to FOCAL/ORCA, and the info I got on the “actual” power was enough to make me feel better ( benched at 1100+ watts). The amp was rated at 400 watts @ 4 ohm. The certificate it came with said more like 430.1 watts.
After install, I got the iPod out and plugged it into the iDA-X001...
Whoa!
Ok…let me backtrack a bit. On initial install, I had to use an 8 ga. Power wire as the 4 ga. I had didn’t fit. I was confused?! It says a 0 ga. Will fit the amp? It turns out that once the wire was old, it was opened up a bit from being pressed into the old amp. So the frayed end was too large to fit the amp fitting.
I JUST went out ( as in just now!), curious about something…I cut a new wire, 4 ga, and installed the fresh cable. It fit nicely! Just as it was meant. So…what did this accomplish? A LOT! I did a test run and, ummm, wow. The bass was as I remembered it with my old NINe.1, just better!
It goes back about a week. The problem was that I couldn’t seem to get the 1.800 in line! It has quite an array of adjustments, for a mono sub amp. I couldn’t remember where my old x-over point was set as the amps I had are now in new hands, from Hawaii to North Carolina!
So I tweaked and toiled for a good week, even emailing FOCAL for some help…BTW, they didn’t answer //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/confused.gif.e820e0216602db4765798ac39d28caa9.gif I finally got it ‘acceptable’, and have been listening for a few days now. It was pretty nice, but his little wire session made it incredible!
So, the verdict? Superb amps. Lets work on front stage first, the FP 2.150. Superb looks and superb sound. I had great midbass from my CDT’s with the installation of the X001. Well, now? Holy cow! I had to readjust my x-over point to about 75 hz. I used to run it about 55 hz, with no issues, now the speakers “POP” noticeably on certain tracks. I turned the xover up til it stopped, and it’s just right!
The midbass really strikes! I was listening to Bruce Hornsby’s “Rainbow's Cadillac” track from “Harbor Lights” disc and was amazed at the HIT of the snares! I was listening…making sure it wasn’t the subs coloring the playback….nope, it’s coming from the doors! The highs are clear, powerful and very detailed! I can hear the drum sticks actually hit the drums! The 150 (actually 158.2 watts) was the most I’ve run, and it’s something else having some headroom for a change! Especially some HIGH END wattage.
I ran through my usual mix of Focal demo disc, Bruce, Styx, Rob Zombie…the best part was the hard stuff, which you wouldn’t Think Focal was good for, was the best! I do give credit the the CDT HD set of mine as well…for keeping up and sounding better than ever! But it was the new Focal amps that MADE them sound better!
The sub amp, FP 1.800 was another story. I couldn’t figure this beast out! I pulled my hair our for weeks trying to get it right. I hate turning the remote too high to get some powerful hit, but it always seemed to work that way. So, I gave in to that and went about trying to tune it…argh!
I posted a few things for help, I was stumped. I couldn’t tell quite what was missing…maybe nothing? Maybe I was used to just shear POWER, vs. a finesse power?
Turns out the 8 ga. Power cable was one culprit…a system is only as good as it’s weakest point.
I now have approx. 800 watts going to 3 12’s, running at 1.33 ohms. And it’s every bit as powerful as my old NINe.1 and DEI1100D! Yes, the way the remote works I have to turn it about 2/3’s or so to get the POWER, but maybe that’s the way it works? I have yet to have it all the way up, I’m just used to a ¼ crack on the remote and BAM! BAM!
I put my old trusty Candlebox “Blossom” in to give her a test. This is now after a few weeks of messing you see. WOW! The bass is sooo clean, smooth and powerful! I can hear the kick pedal hitting the kick drum…it’s pretty impressive, this “HIGH END” amplifier //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/yumyum.gif.0556df42231b304b9c995aefd13928a8.gif I see now what I spent all that money on…and I’m now “ok” with the FOCAL amps that I had thought about, gulp, selling. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/suicide.gif.a649d21efc0d1fd4890a6428166586c1.gif
The subs go so low and play it so smooth! I was listening to Styx Renegade on the way home... and when the bass hit it sounded like, well, it was bottomless! It's hard to explain but I've never heard bass recreated this way. I wish you guys could have heard that track, and that bass note play. It was simply amazing what I heard reproduced...
These are impressive pieces of aluminum and wiring. I found a great amp and I’m in no hurry to change. Yes, I still have some tuning to do…I need some new front speakers eventually, but for now the subs are wonderful, the source unit is great and the amps are first rate!
Speaking of source? I tried something with my iDA. I imported a few original CD’s in the Apple LOSSLESS format, hearing it’s a “noticeable difference in sound quality…” Hogwash! I put Bruce on LOSSLESS, taking up almost 10 times the space as the original 256k import version…and nothing! I noticed no difference, but lost a lot of disc space! I went back and forth between the 2 versions…over and over, and didn’t even catch a slight variation. And? I’d put the iDA up against a CD unit all day long ☺
The FOCAL amps are great, I’m now glad I purchased the.
now? To find a component set that meets the new standard set in my Civic Si!
