TECHWEEK
The new DS 9 sedan of Citroen’s luxury DS brand will be equipped with a 14-channel Focal Electra audio system . For the higher trim levels of Opéra and Esprit de Voyage, such an audio system will be installed as standard, and for the rest it will be offered as an option. The Focal Electra system does not replace the DS IRIS multimedia system, but works in conjunction with it.
Focal emphasized that when developing the Focal Electra sound system for the DS 9 sedan, engineers and designers worked closely with the DS Automobiles team to determine the best places to install speakers so that every passenger feels like in a concert hall.
The 14 Focal Electra loudspeakers are equipped with lightweight and at the same time rigid polyglass cones and tweeters with a branded aluminum inverted dome. And the powerful Power Flower magnet system provides perfect control over the behavior of the subwoofer. Finally, 16 channels of amplification, operating in an energy-efficient class D, are capable of delivering 690 watts of power.
During the fine-tuning phase of the Focal Electra audio system, the emission from the various speakers in the car’s interior is phase-aligned to reach the listener’s ears at the same time. Two two-way speakers are located in the front doors and, together with the center channel speaker system installed on the dashboard, create a large-scale three-dimensional soundstage. At the rear of the car, two more two-way speakers are located in the doors, and two surround speakers are mounted in the rear luggage rack, providing true cinematic surround sound.
The system’s subwoofer uses three of the 16 amplifier channels and is described by the manufacturer as “extremely powerful and punchy”. Two listening modes are offered: “All-Passengers” , a stereo mode optimized for each passenger, and “Front Optimized” , which pays special attention to front seat passengers.
The DS 9 is a car that offers the highest degree of luxury. The higher Opera and Esprit de Voyage trims offer high-quality interior materials, including Nappa leather, Alcantara trim, which blend seamlessly with the Focal sound. Esprit de Voyage features acoustic glazing and Focal Electra designer grilles.
