Focal ELECTRA HI-FI OPTION User manual

USER MANUAL
FOCAL ELECTRA®HI-FI OPTION
DS 3 CROSSBACK
FOR

Two leading
French brands
unite
DS Automobiles and Focal share a set of powerful values
centred around exceptional products, with the aim of offering
a unique experience that blends technology with elegance.
These two brands, symbols of innovation and tradition
combined, dedicate their expertise to absolute performance,
comfort and sophistication. With their second collaboration
on a series-production car, both are hoping to share this
common vision of excellence and the purest pleasure, in a
French-style ‘haute couture’ spirit.
Acoustic
signature
and co-design
The teams from the car brand and Focal have been working
together since the conception of the DS 3 CROSSBACK
Premium SUV.
Beyond the choice of the system’s location, the engineers
and designers from DS Automobiles and Focal have
collaborated to adapt the car’s architecture and internal
structure to the requirements of the FOCAL ELECTRA®label.
Thank you for choosing Focal to equip your DS 3 CROSSBACK.
Enjoy a unique immersive experience.
To make the most of all of the Hi-Fi system’s features, and to fully benet from its performance,
or to adapt the system to your personal taste, we advise you to carefully read the instructions
in this manual and to refer to it if you have any questions.

Introduction P. 2
Description of the FOCAL ELECTRA
®
HI-FI system P. 4
Format quality and play modes P. 5
Accessing the Audio settings P. 7
The FOCAL ELECTRA
®
sound signature nominal settings P. 8
Using the interface – Ambience tab P. 10
Using the interface – Balance tab P. 12
Optimisation – Going further P. 14
FOR

x4
x2
x4
Ø 165MM WOOFER/MIDRANGE
POLYGLASS CONE TECHNOLOGY
Ø 35MM TWEETERS
ALUMINUM INVERTED DOME TECHNOLOGY
Ø 80MM MIDRANGE
POLYGLASS CONE TECHNOLOGY
Ø 80MM CENTRAL LINE
POLYGLASS CONE TECHNOLOGY
Ø 200MM SUBWOOFER
TRIPLE VOICE COIL POWER FLOWER™ TECHNOLOGY
515 WATTS AMPLIFIER
HYBRID AB CLASS/D CLASS TECHNOLOGY
DS 3 CROSSBACK
Hi-fi Premium System
FOCAL ELECTRA r
FRENCH ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE
THE FOCAL ELECTRA® HIFI AUDIO SYSTEM
KEY POINTS
Designed by DS Automobiles and Focal engineers, the FOCAL ELECTRA®system will have driver and passenger(s) hooked from the moment the
music starts...With 515 watts of power and 12 speaker drivers ideally positioned around the cabin, the system delivers a rich, chiselled sound.
The four Aluminium inverted dome tweeters guarantee a precise, detailed treble.
The four woofers and three Polyglass midrange speakers provide an expert compromise between damping and rigidity. The sound denition is
perfect; a perfection facilitated by the midranges installed in the front doors and which enable precise positioning of the soundstage.
To complete the experience, the Power Flower™ subwoofer built in to the oor of the boot gives a powerful magnetic ux, which unveils a deep,
stable and controlled bass register.
12 speaker drivers: 3 exclusive Focal technologies
• 4 tweeters.
• 4 Polyglass cone high-delity woofers/midrange speakers: precise and balanced sound.
• 2 active Polyglass midrange speakers and 1 Polyglass central speaker.
• 1 triple coil subwoofer, combined with Power Flower™ technology: controlled and dynamic sub-bass.
• Active 12-way amplication; 515 Watts; Class D / Class AB hybrid technology: rich and sophisticated high frequency signals, deep
and effective bass.

MP3 < 320Kbps
< 75%
MP3 - 320Kbps
90%
FLAC/WAV
98%
HI-RES
100%
COMPRESSION WITH LOSSES
LOW SOUND QUALITY
REDUCED FREQUENCY RANGE
LOSSLESS COMPRESSION
HIGH SOUND QUALITY FULL
FREQUENCY RANGE
FORMAT QUALITY
AND PLAY MODES
Over the past two decades, the music industry has experienced a digital revolution. For many years, quantity has been valued over quality. Slow
Internet speeds, combined with the still-high cost of Mb data storage, saw the MP3 audio compression format grow in popularity and become very
widespread.
Despite clearly being easy to use, MP3 compression inevitably resulted in partial loss of the data contained in the audio les: reduced frequency
range (less bass and treble), digital noise, loss of dynamic range (the music becomes atter, less vibrant).
Here are a few general concepts surrounding the quality of audio formats (Kbps = Kilobits per second):
• Low quality: MP3 encoded at a slower rate than 256 Kbps (for example, 96 Kb/128 Kbps).
•Average quality: MP3 encoded between 256 and 320 Kbps. A 320 Kbps MP3 is enough to allow listeners to enjoy the qualities
offered by the FOCAL ELECTRA®Hi-Fi system.
• ‘Lossless’ quality: WAV at 44.1 KHz/16 bits or FLAC from 16 bits, 44.1 kHz. These formats offer a quality that is strictly identical to
that of a CD.
• High-resolution quality: WAV or FLAC at 192 KHz/24 bits. These formats have only started to emerge over the past few years and
require very high-quality hardware. They allow us to enjoy the live studio quality of the album’s original recording.
The multimedia system of your DS 3 CROSSBACK is compatible with high-resolution les in FLAC or WAV format, allowing you to fully enjoy your
lossless music library.

• Use MP3s at a minimum of 320 Kbps, and make sure you can trust the exact origin of the les.
• Ideally, use FLAC at a minimum of 16bits/44.1kHz, or WAV at a minimum of 16bits/44.1kHz.
Note:
Apple supports native FLAC decoding from “IOS 11” onwards.
Android integrates native FLAC decoding from its “Android 3.1” operating system onwards.
Note that these general concepts of format quality are also valid for online music streaming platforms. Listening to tracks via these platforms
inevitably results in a limited bit rate. Contact your streaming platform for advice on the actual bit rate available for your subscription and the
resulting audio quality.
In addition to the compression of MP3 source les (data compression), the wireless functions of audio systems may also result in transmission
compression (Bluetooth® for example), even if they are very practical to use. This can often lead to an accumulation of successive losses in quality,
and this is irreversible.
The FOCAL ELECTRA
®
Hi-Fi system in your DS 3 CROSSBACK has been designed and developed to reproduce every tiny detail and to provide
the dynamics that reect the artist’s initial intention, without compromise. We advise you to pay attention to the quality of your source les and
how you play them, in order to enjoy the full audio experience; the way everyone involved in the process of its creation (artists, sound engineers,
producers) intended you to hear it.
Beyond the quality of the audio stream or source les, the mode you choose to play the music can also have a signicant impact on the nal sound quality.
Despite all of the improvements made to Bluetooth®technology over recent years (aptX for example), this mode of playing audio will only achieve
a quality equivalent to MP3 –320Kbps, regardless of the quality of source le on your smartphone.
To sum up, here are a few tips to help you benet fully from the FOCAL ELECTRA® Hi-Fi system’s performance:
•If possible, play via USB key to avoid adding any compression that may result from Bluetooth®.
• To decode your les on a smartphone, use the CARPLAY and ANDROID AUTO wired functions, which often provide better sound quality
than Bluetooth®.
•For radio, use DAB if available in your region, as this is better quality than FM.
•If you use a music streaming subscription, select the better quality, high-speed offers with no destructive compression, which are now
available on the market.
Focal and DS Automobiles recommend the following playlists to test a panel of varied audio tracks, demonstrating the main benets of the FOCAL
ELECTRA®Hi-Fi system.
The tracks can be accessed using the links below on the main distribution platforms (by streaming or purchasing individual digital les).

ACCESSING AUDIO SETTINGS
Then Audio Settings:
To access the sound modication screens, from the screen for the source currently playing, press OPTIONS:

Note that the audio setting is unique to each media source used.
You access the audio settings screen, which contains two main tabs: Ambience and Balance. These are the two main tabs that allow you to control
the sound signature of your FOCAL ELECTRA®system.
THE FOCAL ELECTRA® SOUND SIGNATURE
NOMINAL SETTINGS
The system’s default congurations are nominal settings and Loudness activated, i.e.
AMBIENCE TAB:
• Ambiances Eq : User
• Loudness activated: As this is dynamic, its correction changes depending on the car’s speed, making it possible to stabilise the perceived
volume when accelerating or braking, but also to compensate for natural variations in hearing due to equal-loudness contours.
• Base/Mid-range/Treble Equaliser: 0 (central position).

BALANCE TAB:
• Balance:
- All passengers if there are several in the vehicle.
- Driver, if you are alone.
• Central speaker level: 0 (central position).
• Subwoofer level: 0 (central position).
• Fader/Balance: 0 (central position).
With these settings, the goal of the FOCAL ELECTRA®sound signature is to offer you three key criteria for the car audio experience:
• A balance unique to the Focal brand signature, with a precise and detailed treble, present controlled low-end frequencies, and very clear vocals.
• A system that does not generate vibrations or noise, regardless of style of music or the volume played.
• A stable front soundstage for all five seats to reconstruct a faithful soundstage comparable to that of a traditional home Hi-Fi system.
Nevertheless, the pleasure experienced when listening to a Hi-Fi system remains a question of personal taste and there are no set rules.
Using an audio system in a car setting can also vary depending on expectations and uses.
This is why Focal and DS wanted all drivers to be able to customise their experience to their personal tastes using the multimedia system
interface.
The following paragraph describes how these settings work, and the effects you should expect.
It is also an opportunity to provide some tips on to enhance your Hi-Fi experience and how to adjust the settings according to your preferences.

OPERATING
THE INTERFACE
In addition to the ‘Custom’ ambience allowing you to configure your own settings, five equaliser Ambiences are pre-set and can be accessed using
the drop-down menu:
• Classical
• Jazz-Blues
• Pop-Rock
• Techno
• Vocal
AMBIENCE TAB:
By pressing Ambience, you can choose the type of spectral balance. The ‘Custom’ mode corresponds to a setting that can be changed using the three
ranges: Bass/Mid-range/Treble.

-15
-10
-5
0
5
10
10 100 1000 10000
Correction appliquée (dB)
Fréquence (Hz)
Classique Jazz-Blues Pop-Rock Vocal Techno
Classical
Spectral correction (dB)
Frequency (Hz)
For reference, here are the spectral corrections applied by each of the pre-set ambiences:

OPERATING
THE INTERFACE
There are three pre-defined balance settings, which can be accessed via the drop-down menu:
• All passengers
• Driver
• Front only
BALANCE TAB:
By pr e s si n g ‘All pa s s en g e rs’ ( d e fau l t ), y o u a c ce s s a dr op - d own m e n u of pr e - d e n e d aud i o bala n c e set t i ng s .
NB: these settings are different to those you can change using the Balance/Fader arrows located on the right of the screen.

• All passengers
Select this mode when there are several people in the vehicle. Audio settings are optimised so that all passengers enjoy the best sound image
and texture.
• Driver
Select this mode when you are alone in the car. Audio settings are optimised for a sound image positioning and balance focused on the driving
seat. The experience observed is a tighter focus, a more precise frequency balance, and an impact in the upper bass.
Note that the other passengers will not enjoy the system’s full quality when this mode is activated.
• Front only
This mode is equivalent to the All passengers mode, but with all rear speaker drivers deactivated. This mode allows you to quickly limit the
volume in the rear seats, while maintaining a symmetrical and nominal listening experience up front.

OPTIMISATION -
GOING FURTHER
The FOCAL ELECTRA®nominal sound signature can be customised to achieve this:
• Moving the fader two or three notches to the back (i.e. arrows symbolising the power displacement on the picture of the seats in the balance
tab) will reduce the power coming from the central speaker even further, increase the power sent to the rear doors and provide you with a truly
enveloping sound.
INCREASED SOUND IMMERSION:
Some people are particularly sensitive to the distribution of power in the space and prefer more sound immersion, coming from the rear of the vehicle.

With this setting, the front passengers will have a very immersive listening experience, but the rear passengers less so. We advise this type of setting
for very monophonic radio stations, for example.

OPTIMISATION -
GOING FURTHER
LESS SOUND IMMERSION / A VERY FRONTAL SOUNDSTAGE
Conversely, some people want a very Hi-Fi, frontal listening experience with very precise source and voice positioning and a very tight focus.

It is possible to customise the FOCAL ELECTRA®nominal sound signature to achieve this:
• Increase the power from the central speaker using the dedicated setting in the balance tab, by moving it one or two notches to the right.
• One or two fader notches to the front (i.e. the arrows symbolising the power displacement on the picture of the seats in the balance tab).
DS AUTOMOBILES AND FOCAL WISH YOU AN EXCELLENT MUSIC EXPERIENCE IN YOUR DS 3 CROSSBACK EQUIPPED WITH
THE BEST FOCAL ELECTRA®HI-FI TECHNOLOGY.

car audio
headphones & multimedia
classic loudspeakers
studio monitors
custom integration
Focal-JMlab®- BP 374 - 108, rue de l’Avenir - 42353 La Talaudière cedex - France
Tél. [phone] - Fax. [phone] - © 2020 Focal-JMlab® - SCCG - v3 - 14/09/2020
For development purposes, Focal-JMlab® reserves the right to modify the technical specications of its products without prior notice. Non-contractual photos - Photos by L’Atelier Sylvain Madelon
Photos DS : © DS Automobiles / PROD, DS Automobile / William Crozes, DS Automobile / Jérôme Lejeune, DS Automobile.