Focal Access 1 bus 25 underseat

Anonymous · March 24, 2013, 12:21

Hi

I am well aware of my sub choices, and have read up on the underdash subs but I have a feeling they are going to be more hassle to fit than their worth!!! It will also mean if I go down the underdash sub I will need another amp... which I cant be bothered with!!!

So instead my option is to look at the underseat options, these are small subs that have an on board amp, yey! Which should fit nicely under the drivers seat and will be stuck down with industrial velcro!!! The whole reason I am considering a sub is not out of choice!!! But I want to take a bit of the strain and vibrations out of the doors, im not after teeth rattleing bass but something that can play the low notes clearly. Each time im om the motorway and want to really raise the volume high im worried because I can start to hear the speakers distort each time the bass comes in, so right now I cant have the music extremely loud. My alternative is to reduce the bass on the EQ but I dont want to lose a good balance of frequencies. So now I hope you understand my needs, and objectives

What I want to know is, has anyone experienced an underseat sub? In particular a Focal Access 1 bus25. Has anyone tried an alternative? Ive looked around on google but I cant seem to find any reviews which is odd

I would really appreciate some feedback!

Rich

AndyM · March 24, 2013, 12:42

Have you measured it up Rich? I had hopes of squeezing an amp under there but even with the seat jacked right up (I'm a short arse) I didn't think there was much room to work with.

I think if the seat is too close to the active sub driver you'll end up with baffling which will kill it's performance.

I know you're not keen on the UD but I think it would give you the sound you want. Perhaps a small mono amp could be mounted onto the enclosure effectively making it active?

Anonymous · March 24, 2013, 13:11

really DONT want the faff of installing it... good point about measuring it up tho... shall do it this afternoon..

stargazer30 · March 24, 2013, 13:55

The UD subs are not that hard to fit. By the time you take the seat out and hide the wiring its probably the same amount of effort for less quality with the active subs. There's a how to on here for the UD sub that me and nathan did too.

*EDIT* Actually you know what, heres another really good reason for a UD sub. You have lovely focal A165s and then make them suffer a halfords special vibe amp? s:roll: :roll: s:roll: A nice JL 4ch amp would really set both the sub and those focals off.

Flipside · March 24, 2013, 16:37

I can Defo recommend the UD sub box with jl 6.5 subwoofer.

Anonymous · March 24, 2013, 16:52

Why the hate on vibe amps??? I got a full vibe install and to me its spot on.

s12vea · March 24, 2013, 16:54

I rate the vibe stuff I agree with Rich they sound spot on! They have a range of audio to suit all budgets!

stargazer30 · March 24, 2013, 18:24

I tend to shy away from Halfords stuff as usually its over priced tat. I had a vibe black box amp for a while, it did the job but it was on par at best with lower end budget stuff.

Anonymous · March 24, 2013, 18:34

Ok lets not diss the vibe stuff... until you have heard my set up for the price you cant complain.
Keep on topic with the sub please.

If you havent got something solid and constructive on the underseat subwoofer idea, be it positive or negative then please dont mention it on this post. Therefore, unless you have actually tried or listened to an under seat sub then im not sure you will be able to help

I dont mean for this to be an attack, but im getting fed up with my posts going completely off topic.

Flipside · March 24, 2013, 18:39

I was told the vibe under seat sub is quite good if that helps

Anonymous · March 24, 2013, 18:43

thank you s:)

s:)

stargazer30 · March 24, 2013, 19:06

Quote from: "dj vinxy"Ok lets not diss the vibe stuff... until you have heard my set up for the price you cant complain.
Keep on topic with the sub please.

If you havent got something solid and constructive on the underseat subwoofer idea, be it positive or negative then please dont mention it on this post. Therefore, unless you have actually tried or listened to an under seat sub then I'm not sure you will be able to help

I dont mean for this to be an attack, but I'm getting fed up with my posts going completely off topic.

Fair play, back on topic then.....

I've had a blakpunt (spelt wrong) under seat sub. It didn't go under the seat it was too deep, so it was in the rear bin instead. It worked but I'd say it had about a 3rd to maybe half the bass output of the UD sub. I think that was a combo of the lower profile driver and the lack of enclosure. The cabin in the MR2 is not very bass friendly with the soft top. The UD box uses corner effect to get around this. I sold it and then tried a 4 ch amp with a regular 8" Sub and box in the rear, that was better. I tried a rear centre sub box betweeb the seats, not so good and finally got the UD box. Out of all the combo's I've tried it is the best by a decent margin I'd say.

dj2k21 · March 24, 2013, 19:19

Hey just to add when I was 17 I had a vibe black air edition twin sub set up with a built in amp like an all in one unit and it was blooming rediculous! ... I sold it to a friend when I got my mr2 to go in his rx7 and it popped the back window... I think the vibe stuff is great for the money... certainly not the best but decent enough... until u have heard a proper SQ build in a car done by a professional installer you dont know what audio is... SQ builds are literally on another level

Anonymous · March 24, 2013, 21:13

ok thats interesting..

Stargazer - much more useful knowledge to me, thanks! Will consider what you have said.

DJ - Ive contacted a couple of "professionals" in my area and they have said under seat subs are the way to go, but I'm not sure if they saw me coming and was trying to shift slow stock?

I dont understand why focal would try and sell an underseat amp if it doesnt work?

dj2k21 · March 24, 2013, 21:36

Actually under seat and under dash subs are very common in an sq build. Providing the box has the correct dinensions to suit the speaker then location of it shouldnt really matter. At the end of the day your never going to get an award winning system in an mr2 for the simple fact of the huge hole above ur head where the sound escapes from. Put it this way the lad I bought my bmw from was very into audio and he replaced all the speakers and tweeters in that with focal ones. They sound lovely to me. As with anything the more u spend on decent wiring the better it will be. Gold connectors and decent wiring etc. Keep wires as far from eachother as possible to avoid distortion, where possible solder wires rather than use spade connectors. Heat shrink all exposed wiring. Keep wire length to a minimum. Importantly too when setting up the system ensure the least amount of "gains" used as possible on the stereo... ie dont fiddle about turning the bass and treble etc up from the head unit because it disrupts the speakers. U want it as natural as possible. Im in no way an expert but know people who are and have had experience with full fiberglass custom builds in the mr2 etc
Hope this helps mate.