Mobile Electronics Australia

Going by the FOCAL number plates (and the fact that they’re affixed to a Ferrari 360) we can either assume vehicle owner Paul Mann is either a huge fan of the French car audio brand or a far too highly paid Focal sub distributor. If it’s the latter, well at least you know where your money went if you purchased a Focal product recently, but we tend to think it’s the former – which makes Paul quite the Focal aficionado indeed.

The most interesting aspect of the installation into Paul’s 360 is the sheer fact that at no time was there a single hole drilled or panel cut that would harm the 100% originality of the car – thus retaining the car’s value. This isn’t normally the kind of hurdle installers like Northfield Capalaba need to overcome, but in the case of a Ferrari 360 and an owner waving an open cheque book who is going to complain?

So with strict instruction not to tamper with anything that couldn’t be removed or restored to as it was prior, Brad Hickey from Northfield set about a 60 hour mission to endow the Fezza with not only a supremely accurate sounding system design but one which was elegant in its simplicity. Those of the predisposition to throw everything bar the kitchen sink at their system designs please take note.

First of all Paul insisted on retaining the factory Becker CD tuner, with the only provision being the need to add an input for his iPod. It was a fair ask given that anything aftermarket would have looked kind of silly in the dashboard. As is common amongst the European source unit manufacturers, most of their units can be upgraded by simply plugging additional looms. The Becker from the Ferrari offers front, rear and subwoofer RCA outputs by simply purchasing and plugging in one small ISO lead with the RCA outputs attached, while a similar optional plug-in solution gave the iPod and auxiliary input. In lieu of a pukka iPod adaptor that provided charging capabilities Brad simply adapted a 12V to USB charger and used to iPod docking port lead that took the audio signal from the lower port while still providing charge. If only every factory source unit upgrade was that easy.

Now however, it was time to open the Focal catalogue. Being the discerning chap he is Paul was never going to settle for anything less than the best from the range, and when you’re talking Focal’s best you’re talking some very serious kit. Utopia Be series Kit No.6 components were joined by a pair of their matching 21WX 8-inch subwoofers in a simply 3-way arrangement. Here the one concession made was to opt for the lesser grade Uniq passive crossover network between the 6.5-inch midrange and Beryllium inverted dome tweeters. Not commonly advertised, the Uniq crossovers can be optioned at far less cost over the more elaborate Crossblock versions. Having said that, the single concession is that the Uniq crossovers aren’t adjustable - which in most cases is just fine. In fact, compared to other passive networks the Uniq filters are amazing, and in the case of the Ferrari the Crossblock crossovers were simply deemed overkill.

Preparing the doors was done with layers of Dynamat sound deadening material on outer and inner skins, while MDF mounting rings were fabricated to offer a sturdy platform into which each midrange was secured. The factory metal mesh grille covers were replaced with more acoustically transparent mesh trim, though for all intents and purposes still look original. The only aspects about the installation that is outwardly non-factory are the tweeter mounts. Here the original sail panel trims were neatly altered to accept the oddly shaped Utopia Be tweeters in their machined alloy housings. After reshaping them with epoxy filler they were sanded and sent off to be painted to match the factory finish. The Focal clip-on tweeter covers were modified to remove their mesh material to expose the gorgeously crafted driver behind while still affording protection from wayward fingers.

The dual 21WX 8-inch subwoofers were placed behind the seats into what was the only viable location available. A compact sealed enclosure was fashioned from MDF and then sealed and further strengthened by using fiberglass and resin internally. The whole enclosure can be removed easily thanks to a bracket and bolt system that uses existing mounting points in the car, allowing Paul access to the car’s main fuse panel and jump starting position when required.

Amplification and signal processing tasks are normally conducted separately in most system design, but thanks to Focal’s unique approach to product development Paul was able to kill these two birds with one proverbial stone – all thanks to the Focal Dual Monitor Limited Edition 2-channel amplifier. At a cool $2500RRP, the Dual Monitor LE is a stereo amplifier offering 250WRMS per channel into 4ohms (at 13.8V) while also housing a 30-band digital graphic equalizer, 1-band parametric ‘Q-Bass’ equalizer channel, plus digital time delay for either channel. To control the signal processing you connect a PC via the supplied USB port on the side of the amplifier, and up to five pre-set EQ curves can be stored and can be recalled via a supplied dash-mountable module.

The Dual Monitor is mounted with the Uniq crossovers under the Ferrari’s hood, and is joined by the FP 1.8100 LE mono amplifier of the same range that provides 600WRMS of power for the pair of 21WX 4ohm subwoofers. The mounting board for the amplifiers and crossovers was further shaped with epoxy resin and smoothed prior to being trimmed in black carpet that was imported from overseas to match the factory carpet perfectly. A set of red neons back-light the amplifiers for when Paul wants to show the system off, while a concealing cover panel was also fashioned for when he wants to keep things under wraps.

All in all it’s a wonderfully simplistic system design that is certainly in keeping with the Ferrari’s revered levels of performance. The Focal Utopia Be speakers are some of the most fluent and tonally-balanced on the market today – even with minimal additional tuning. They also lend themselves well to every manner of music style. As an addition to the Ferrari’s already amazing capabilities it just makes one incredible car all that more special.

Photography: Tim Kavanagh

Northfield Car Sound Capalaba is an MEA Specialist Retailer Partner.