What's a component sub and why would I want one?

A component sub is simply a speaker that's designed to reproduce bass once it's installed in a compatible enclosure. Think about the impact of a movie soundtrack in a big theater or even in your own home HDTV setup. A component sub can add the same kind of power to the music in your car. And a car sub is not all about the boom that you hear on a street corner (although that's cool too) - you can pair a component sub with your choice of enclosure to get bass just the way you like it, from tight and punchy to fat and loose. And once you experience music in your car with a well-tuned subwoofer, you'll never go back.

Our take on the Focal Polyglass 27 V2

by Dominic Devito

Focal's Polyglass subwoofer uses precision craftmanship and advanced materials to create a big bass impression. Focal creates the Polyglass cone by depositing a layer of hollow glass microbeads over a layer of cellulose. This unique material combines the warm sound of cellulose with the incredible strength of glass, for a cone that responds rapidly with low resonance. The exceptionally resilient zinc alloy basket teams up with the Polyglass cone, butyl rubber surround, and an advanced motor structure to deliver uncolored bass that'll please the discerning ear.

The Polyglass 27 V2 11" subwoofer handles up to 300 watts RMS, and Focal optimizes this sub to work in sealed enclosures for ultra-tight, accurate reproduction. The dual 4-ohm voice coils allow you to draw maximum power from your mono sub amplifier. Complete your system with an enclosure, a compatible amp, and some wiring to experience Focal's bass finesse.

Note: If you are wiring this DVC sub for lower impedance, make sure that your amp is compatible. Most 2-channel car amplifiers are stable down to 2 ohms in standard mode, or 4 ohms in bridged operation. Most mono amps are stable down to 2 ohms.

See more info on this item

Highlights:

11" subwoofer with dual 4-ohm voice coils
Polyglass cone with butyl rubber surround
zamak (zinc alloy) basket
power range: 50-300 watts RMS (150 watts per voice coil)
peak power handling: 600 watts
frequency response: 35-500 Hz
sensitivity: 84.19 dB
top-mount depth: 5-1/8"
sealed box volume: 0.53-1.06 cubic feet
warranty: 1 year
Our 60-day money-back guarantee

Priced per speaker

Hands-on research from the Crutchfield Labs (what are the Labs?)

Features and specs chart | What’s in the box? | In-depth notes

Features and Specs


Size Loading...	11 -inch
Impedance Loading...	4 ohms
Cone Material Loading...	Polyglass
Surround Material Loading...	Butyl rubber
Ideal Sealed Box Volume (cubic feet) Loading...	0.71
Ideal Ported Box Volume (cubic feet) Loading...	N/A
Port diameter (inches) Loading...	N/A
Port length (inches) Loading...	N/A
Free-Air Loading...	No
Dual Voice Coil Loading...	Yes
Sensitivity Loading...	88 dB at 2.83 watts 84.19 dB at 1 watt
Frequency Response Loading...	35 - 500 Hz
RMS Power Range (Watts) Loading...	50-300
Peak Power Handling (Watts) Loading...	600
Top Mount Depth (inches) Loading...	5 1/8
Bottom Mount Depth (inches) Loading...	N/A
Cutout Diameter or Length (inches) Loading...	9 3/16
Vas (liters) Loading...	21.32
Fs (Hz) Loading...	38.51
Qts Loading...	0.63
Xmax (millimeters) Loading...	11
Parts Warranty Loading...	1 Year
Labor Warranty Loading...	1 Year

Product Research

What's in the box?

Download owner's manual

11" DVC 4-ohm woofer
6 Hex-head mounting bolts
6 Nuts
Self-adhesive foam gasket
User Manual (Eng/Fre)
Serial number card
FOCAL logo sticker
2 "Remove Before Using" notes (attached to each pair of speaker terminals of woofer)

Our Product Research Team

At Crutchfield, you'll get detailed, accurate information that's hard to find elsewhere. That's because we have our own in-house Product Research team — they open the box, verify contents, check the owner's manual, and record dimensions, features and specs. We stay on top of new products and technologies to help people make informed choices.

Features
Enclosure Compatibility

Features

Polyglass Cone: The FOCAL Polyglass 27V2 features an 11" polyglass cone woofer for a wide, dynamic frequency response of 35-500Hz that offers neutral, coloration free sound. The uniform deposit of hollow-glass microballs over the entire cellulose pulp cone greatly increases its rigidity without adding significant weight, so you get a woofer that is durable, yet efficient, and sounds great.

NBR Surround: The FOCAL Polyglass 27V2 features a NBR (Nitrile Butyl Rubber) surround for long excursion, deep bass, and added durability to promote long life.

Kapton Former Voice-Coil: The Polyglass 27V2 woofer features a 4 layer, 2.5625" diameter, dual 4-ohm, Kapton former (aluminum) voice-coil for higher power handling capabilities up to 300 watt (RMS) and 600 watt (Peak).

Dual 4-ohm Voice Coils: This woofer features dual 4-ohm voice coils that offer flexibility in wiring. When the voice coils are wired in parallel with each other, the woofer presents a 2-ohm mono load. When the voice coils are wired in series with each other, the woofer presents an 8-ohm mono load. In addition, each coil may be connected to a different amplifier channel and each channel will see a 4-ohm load.

Louvered Cooling System: The Polyglass 27V2's Louvered Cooling System is self-regulated ventilation system which increases air cooling, prevents heat build-up, and provides optimized reliability with performance consistency.

156mm Magnet: The Polyglass 27V2 woofer features dual 156mm (6.125") ferrite magnets for higher sensitivity up to 88dB (2.83V/1m).

Die Cast Chassis: The FOCAL Polyglass 27V2 features a die-cast Zamak chassis which is a rigid, non-magnetic, and non-resonant frame that provides a strong, reliable structure for the woofer.

Spring-Posts: The FOCAL 11" woofer is equipped with two pair of nickel-plated spring-post speaker terminals for easy connection up to 10AWG wire.

Foam Gasket: The Polyglass 27V2 comes supplied with a self-adhesive foam gasket mounting-ring for better chassis damping and to prevent air leakage.

Enclosure Compatibility

Recommended Sealed Box Volume: The FOCAL Polyglass 27V2 is designed to be installed in a sealed box with a volume between 0.53 cu/ft to 0.106 cu/ft. FOCAL recommends a sealed enclosure made out of 3/4" MDF with an internal volume of 0.71 cu/ft.

Sealed Enclosure Specifications (using 3/4" MDF construction)
Internal Volume	0.53 cu/ft.	0.71 cu/ft.	0.106 cu/ft.
Dimensions	Width: 14.1875" Height: 11.0" Depth1: 11.0" Depth2: 7.0625"	Width: 16.125" Height: 11.75" Depth1: 16.125" Depth2: 7.0625"	Width: 14.9375" Height: 14.5625" Depth1: 14.5625" Depth2: 9.3125"
Bass Type	Fast and tight bass	Punch and dynamic bass	Deep and articulate bass

Product reviews from the Crutchfield Labs (what are the Labs?)

Video: Introduction to Focal Car Audio

Zak Billmeier, Ken Nail

4/14/2009

Crutchfield's car audio experts Ken and Zak present an overview to Focal car audio products. Focal is a leading name in high-quality sound and Crutchfield is proud to have them in our lineup.