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- Focal teams up with DS Automobiles
- Jointly unveil DS No 7, new electric SUV
- Said SUV has an advanced sound system to turn audiophile heads
You might know the brand from its beloved Focal Bathys headphones, or more recently for its expensive floor-standing speakers, but Focal is also making great strides in another musical arena: automotive.
The company has teamed up with car company DS Automobiles to unveil a brand-new audiophile-adjacent car: the DS No 7.
I'm no automotive journalist, but even I can tell you that this is a partially- or fully-electric SUV which seats four people comfortably and — given the 14 Focal speakers that'll be dotted around them — rather happily too, I'd venture.
The electric model costs £49,190 (about $66,000, AU$100,000, though DS Automobiles doesn't sell in those regions) while the hybrid one goes for £38,290 (roughly $52,000, AU$80,000). Although that may sound pretty pricey, it's actually cheaper than some Focal tower speakers…
The Focal point
Let's get to the meat of the thing: audio. Focal's presence here is to make an in-car audio system sound sublime. To that end, the French audio specialist has kitted out the DS No 7 with 14 speakers, to create a surround-sound system. These include two tweeters mounted on the roof, four woofers and a subwoofer called a Power Flower (yes, really). The 14 are spread across the vehicle, to fill the car with sound.
Keeping the car audio running is a 690W class D amplifier. It also uses a Focal-made DSP to emphasize the spatial benefits of all these speakers, whether you're seated in the front seats or the back ones.
Focal has also contributed some design ideas to the car, to improve audio. The windows are laminated, and materials used in the design absorb sound, to control audio nasties like echo and diffraction.
As an audio journalist, I've always been led to believe that car sound systems are a means to fight a losing battle. No matter how refined your driver set-up is, if it's fighting with the noise of the street and other vehicles (and the fact that the driver isn't seated in the middle 'sweet spot' unlike on a motorbike where the driver's ears are naturally equidistant from speakers), you're going to be having an imperfect time.
So maybe Focal's found a way to fix this. Or perhaps it's a sound system for when you're idling somewhere quiet, watching TikToks on your phone…
➡️ Read our full guide to the best hi-res music players
1. Best overall:
Activo P1
2. Best budget hi-res player:
Fiio JM21
3. Best step-up hi-res player:
Astell & Kern A&norma SR35
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