Focal Utopia Be User Manual

Utopia Beryllium

the Spirit of Sound

Français page 31

2

Summary

Page

Precautions 4

Utopia Be line: User’s manual 5

Tweeters installation 7

Woofers / midranges mounting 9

N° 5 and N°6 Crossblock wiring 13

N°7 Crossblock wiring 15

Crossblock installation 17

N°5 and N°6 Crossblock settings 19

N°7 Crossblock settings 21

Utopia Be Active Kit 23

Subwoofers installation 25

Box enclosure mounting 27

Kits specifications 28

Subwoofers specifications 29

Conditions of guarantee 30

Dimensions 59

International guarantee 62

Notes 64

Serial numbers 68

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Precautions

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Special precautions regarding
the Beryllium dome tweeter

In its solid form, Beryllium is harm­less. However, due to its nature,
certain special precautions should
be observed to avoid exposure to
unnecessary risk.

• Under no circumstances the
Beryllium dome should be subjected
to any form of abrasive action. To
ensure no accidental damage to the
tweeter dome it is advised to carefully
replace the protection cover.

• In the unlikely case of damage to
the dome, of any form, the supplied
piece of adhesive tape should be
immediately used to seal the whole
front surface of the tweeter. The
protective cover should then be
replaced and also taped securely
in place. You should then inform the
dealer from whom you purchased
the product so that the tweeter can
be removed by a professional and
returned to the product distributor
for replacement.

• If the dome is broken in any way
giving rise to loose particles of
Beryllium, they should be carefully
collected with the use of a supplied
adhesive tape and sealed in a zip­top bag to be returned with the
tweeter.
For further information, please contact
Focal-JMlab directly:

[e-mail]

4

Warning

Continued listening at high volume
levels above 110dB, can damage
your hearing durably. Listening
above 130dB can damage your
hearing permently.

Running-in period

The drivers used in the Uopia
Be Line are made up of complex
mechanical elements and requires
an adaptation period before they
deliver their full potential. They must
get adapted to the temperature
and humidity conditions of their
environment. This running-in period
depends on the encountered con­ditions and can last several weeks.
In order to shorten this period,
we advise you to let your speaker
operate for about twenty hours at
medium level, playing standard
music programs, but with a large
amount of bass. Once the com­ponents of the speaker are com­pletely stabilized, it is possible to
enjoy the real performances of your
speakers.

Utopia Be line: User’s manual

Congratulations on purchasing
a product from the Utopia Be
range. We are happy you share
our passion for “the Spirit of
Sound”. Designed using the latest
technologies, these speakers
continue Focals perfectionist
beliefs, developing products
with high power handling, and
unrivalled sound quality. To
obtain the best results from
this product, we recommend
that you follow carefully all the
information contained in this
user’s manual.
If not followed correctly any fault
observed, may not be covered by
the guarantee.

To confirm Focal-Jmlab’s guarantee, please register on line on our website: http://register.focal-fr.com,
or send the guarantee back to us within 10 days of purchase.

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• Fig. 1

• Fig. 2 and 3

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6

• Fig. 4 and 5

Tweeters installation

Location

TBe tweeter has been designed for
flush mounting (recommended)
or surface mounting installation,
using the two fixing kits provided.
Installation’s choice position is
extremely important. This is a major
factor for high frequency SPL, stability
of the acoustics, stereophonic
imaging, and overall staging. The
standard recommendation for an
ideal stereo imaging, is to ensure
the “left” and “right” tweeters are
installed in the same positions.
Also they are approximately at
equal distance to the driver (vice­versa for the passenger). Various
positions advised should be checked
and comparatives made, for an
ideal positioning. Tweeter should
always be positioned ahead of the
normal listening position. The main
preferences are the outer positions
of the dashboard (fig. 1, A),
on the windscreeen pillars (fig. 1, B)
(only requires a small amount of
install work). The location close to
the door mirror (fig. 1, C) is also
regarded as a good position. Lastly
a position high in the door (fig. 1, D)
is also acceptable even if it is not
considered as the best to optimize
staging. It is imperative to check
before any installation is attempted,
that enough space is available
(especially for flush-mounting
appli-cations). Crossblock (included

in n°5, 6 and 7 kits) contains all
necessary functionalities to optimize
the tweeter setting, according to its
location and vehicle acoustic.

Surface mounting

Surface mounting fixing kit offers
various possibilities, thanks to its
wave guide which allows different
alignments. Fix the assembly using the
screw provided on vehicle trim. Don’t
forget the washer to avoid rubber
joint’s slide shearing (fig. 2, 3).
Thread the cable from the tweeter,
through the back. Then fix tweeter
using the four stainless steel screws.

Flush mounting (highly recom­mended)

Best results will be obtained by a
tweeter flush mounting. Cut trim
using tweeter as a mould. Push in the
support and ensure it remains flat on
the surface. Ensure it is locked in
place with the screws supplied. Lock
the screw. Thread the cable from the
tweeter, through the back, then lock
in place the tweeter using the four
screws provided (fig. 4, 5).

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• Fig. 1

• Fig. 2

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8

• Fig. 3

Woofers / midranges mounting

Woofer location

Woofers positioned ideally high
in the doors (fig. 1, A), produce
optimal midrange frequencies.
Woofers positioned mid in the
doors are also a solution to
obtain good linearity (fig. 1, B).
If the woofer-mids are positioned
low in the doors (fig. 1, C),the
loss of midrange will be im-portant.
The woofer-mids from the Utopia
Be range can also be placed low in
the “kick-panels” (fig. 2, D) of the
vehicle. This is to further optimize the
stereophonic imaging and staging.
This mounting only suits to Utopia
Be 5“. Crossblock will allow to
obtain a fine setting according to
the location.

Midranges location

3“ midrange (n°7 Utopia Be kit) is
made to be install near tweeter, on
dashboard (fig. 2, E), in order to
have the better staging. 0.5l volume
aims at going down to 180Hz.

Mounting advises

Utopia Be woofers and woofer­midranges have been designed for
a multitude of vehicles installations.
It is worth understanding the basic
requirements for installing such
products. These woofers and woofer­midranges are abble to deliver
enormous amounts of energy, during
their positive / negative movement.
Therefore it is imperative that they
be fixed rigid to the desired location

(fig. 3, A). Resin might be used
(fig. 3, B). The fixing location should

also be strengthened when necessary.
Panels should be strengthened to
eliminate any unwanted vibrations
and screwed on a metallic part
of the vehicle (fig. 3, C). Such vi­brations will drastically reduce the
overall performance. These drive
units should be fixed and sealed
to the baffle or location panel. The
use of the foam gasket is advisable
for correct air sealing. For added
performance, and to better reduce
such unwanted vibrations and other
acoustical losses, we recommend
the use of “plain chant”. Easily
positioned behind the woofer, on

the metal-work of the vehicle, Plain
Chant soaks-up vibrations as well
as acoustic reflections. Always en­sure before that enough space is
available for the magnet assembly,
that it doesn’t interfere with safety
mechanisms or general working
parts. In the case of not using the
grilles supplied, it is important to
ensure the speakers will fit correctly.
Ensure there is enough depth
behind the speaker has already
been explained,but enough thought
must also be given for the forward
movement of the cone and surround
assembly.

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• Fig. 2

• Fig. 1

10

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• Fig. 3 • Fig. 4

Woofers / midranges mounting

Woofer

Set up fixing clips to accept the
fixing screws later (fig.1). Set up the
fixing ring, ensuring it lines-up with
the fixing clip positions.Fix the foam
gasket to the back of the drive unit
chassis. Fix with the screws provided.
Add the grille, clip on the screws
head, then push in place. To remove
the grille, pull on the tongue.

Midrange

Set up fixing clips to accept the
fixing screws later. (fig.1). Set up the
fixing ring, ensuring it lines-up with
the fixing clip positions. Fix with the
screws provided. Add the grille, clip
on the screws head, then push in
place. To remove the grille, pull on
the tongue.

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12

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• Fig. 1

• Fig. 2

• Fig. 3

N° 5 and N°6 Crossblock wiring

N° 5, 6 Crossblock can be connected
to amplifier according to 3 ways:

• Monowiring: one cable per spea­ker’s group (left/right fig. 1)

• Biwiring: two pairs of cables from
amplifier to woofer section and twee­ter section. This is an interesting solution
for high cabling lenght between
amplifier and Crossblock (fig. 2).

• Biamplification: crossblock is po­wered separately from woofer and
tweeter amplifiers (fig. 3).

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14

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• Fig. 1

• Fig. 2

• Fig. 3

N°7 Crossblock wiring

• Monowiring: one cable per spea­ker’s group (left/right fig.1 ).

• Biwiring: two pairs of cables from
amplifier to woofer section and
midrange/tweeter section. This is an
interesting solution for high cabling
lenght between amplifier and
Crossblock (fig. 2).

• Biamplification: Crossblock is po
wered separately from woofer and
midrange/tweeter amplifiers (fig. 3).
Switch the amplifier outputs on “IN”
crossover inputs. Switch woofer on
“W” inputs, midrange on “M” and
tweeter on “T”.

• Warning: ensure both speaker is
wired in phase, thus polarities are
respected “+” to “+” and “-” to
“-”. If not done correctly, a hole or
a peak may result, due to a phase
reversal. This will dramatically impair
the overall performance.

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16

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• Fig. 1

• Fig. 2 • Fig. 3

Crossblock installation

Warning
When using Crossblock in bi­wiring or biamplification, you
must remove the 4 jumpers
backside, if you don’t, you can
damage amplifiers (fig. 1). Keep
them on for monowiring.

Mounting

To access to Crossover fixing holes,
remove the fixing screws (fig. 2).
Fix Crossblock with the four screws
provided on a perfectly flat area
(fig. 3). Please bear in mind that you
must keep enough space at the back
of the Crossblock to easily access
the cables.

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• Fig. 1

• Fig. 3• Fig. 2

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• Fig. 4 • Fig. 5

N°5 and N°6 Crossblock settings

N°5/N°6 Crossblock is an exclusive
high technology crossover offering
4480 different filtering combinations
to adapt kit’s characteristics to car’s
environment and to your own tastes.
We advise you to refer to the
Quality Control Certificate provided
with each kit in order to know the
reference setting (fig. 1).
This setting corresponds to an
optimized linearity obtained ac­cording to normalized measuring
conditions (see file for more infor­mations) and is a good base to
refer to before begining settings.
The response curve may change
according to vehicle acoustic,
speakers location, woofer / tweeter
distance and speakers orientation.
An adapted Crossblock setting will
allow to have a flat response curve.
We advise you to use a measure
equipment (RTA) for a fine setting.
We advise you to note the different
settings in order to refer to them as
often as you need.

S1 setting (Low-pass)

This setting changes the low-pass
frequency value (12dB/octave). “1”
refers to the higher value and “10”
refers to the lower one (fig. 2).

S2 setting (Q factor)

This setting allows to boost midrange.
It aims at correcting medium when
the woofer is out of the listening
axis, low in the door for example,
midrange’s losses may occur. “8”
refers to a linear response whereas
“1” refers to maximum midrange’s
boost (fig. 3).

S3 setting (Hi-pass)

This setting changes the hi-pass
frequency value (12 dB/octave).
Seven settings are available. “1”
refers to the higher value whereas
“7” refers to the lower one (fig. 4).

S4 setting (Level)

It refers to tweeter level setting. Each
value change level around 1dB per
step. “8” refers to minimum boost
whereas “1” refers to maximum
boost (fig. 5).

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• Fig. 1

• Fig. 3• Fig. 2

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• Fig. 4 • Fig. 5

N°7 Crossblock settings

N°7 Crossblock is an exclusive high
technology crossover offering 4480
different filtering combinations to
adapt kit’s characteristics to car’s
environment and to your own tastes.
We advise you to refer to the
Quality Control Certificate provided
with each kit in order to know the
reference setting (Fig. 1).
This setting corresponds to an
optimized linearity obtained
according to normalized measuring
conditions (see file for more
informations) and is a good base
to refer to before begining settings.
The response curve may change
according to vehicle acoustic,
speakers location, woofer/tweeter
distance and speakers orientation.
An adapted Crossblock setting will
allow to have a flat response curve.
We advise you to use a measure
equipment (RTA) for a fine setting.
We advise you to note different
settings in order to refer to them as
often as you need.

S1 setting

It combines two settings in one.
It changes low-pass crossover
frequency values (12dB/octave).
Steps “1” to “5” refer to different
low-pass frequency values, whereas
steps “6” to “10” also refer to the
same “1” to “5” values but a boost
is included. Steps “6” to “10” are
interesting in solving level losses due
to woofer location (low in the door
for example). Steps “1” and “6”
refer to the higher frequency pass,
whereas steps “5” and “10” refer to
the lower one (fig. 2).

S2 setting (Hi-pass)

This setting changes high-pass
frequency values (12dB/octave).
Step “1” refers to the higher
frequency pass, whereas “7” refers
to the lower one. The midrange low­pass value remains fix (fig. 3).

S3 setting (Level)

Midrange level setting according to
8 values, 1dB per step. Step “1”
refers to the higher boost whereas
“8” refers to the lower one (fig. 4).

S4 setting (Level)

It is the tweeter level setting. Eight
steps increase or decrease tweeter
level (1dB per step). Step “1” refers
to maximum level, whereas “8”
refers to minimum one (fig. 5).

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