Focal Cinema SUB Reference Home Cinema Subwoofer

The Focal Cinema SUB is the dedicated bass system for Focal's reference Cinema LCR and is built for private theaters where conventional subwoofers simply aren't enough.

Using dual 13-inch W-cone woofers derived from Focal's professional Sub12, Cinema SUB delivers the output, control, and physical impact required for large-scale private cinema.

This is a passive bass-reflex subwoofer, meaning amplification is selected separately based on the size of the theater, number of Cinema SUBs, system configuration, and required output.

And like Cinema LCR, it's modular.

We can use multiple Cinema SUBs throughout the room and engineer the bass system around the theater rather than forcing one or two conventional powered subwoofers to do everything.

Dual 13-Inch W-Cone Woofers

Each Cinema SUB uses two massive 13-inch W-cone woofers.

These drivers are derived from the Sub12 in Focal's professional audio range, bringing technology designed for professional monitoring environments into the private cinema.

The large drivers provide substantial excursion and displacement while Focal's W-cone construction maintains the control required for a reference system.

The result isn't simply more bass.

It's bass with the speed and definition needed to keep up with Cinema LCR.

Professional Focal DNA

Cinema SUB and Cinema LCR are part of Focal's Utopia Cinema platform.

The idea is straightforward: take technologies developed for Focal's high-end HiFi and professional studio products and engineer them specifically for large private cinemas.

That's an important distinction.

A serious theater needs enormous dynamic capability, but it also needs accuracy.

An explosion should have physical impact.

A musical score should have weight and texture.

Subtle low-frequency information should remain controlled.

Cinema SUB is designed to do all of it.

Focal W-Cone Technology

Both 13-inch drivers use Focal's W sandwich-cone technology.

The cone consists of a structural foam core positioned between two sheets of glass.

This allows Focal to carefully control three critical properties:

• Lightness
• Rigidity
• Damping

The result is low distortion, fast transient response, and excellent control even when the drivers are producing substantial output.

For a reference theater, that's exactly what we want.

95dB Sensitivity

Cinema SUB has a rated 95dB sensitivity, giving it the efficiency needed for large-scale cinema systems.

Focal recommends 400 watts at 8 ohms or 800 watts at 4 ohms.

Because Cinema SUB is passive, we aren't locked into an amplifier built into the back of the enclosure.

Instead, The Grid can engineer the amplification around the actual system.

The number of subwoofers, room volume, listening distance, desired playback level, impedance configuration, processing, and required headroom can all be considered when selecting amplification.

Modular Bass for Large Private Cinemas

Bass behaves differently in every room.

Simply putting one enormous subwoofer in the front corner doesn't guarantee great bass throughout a theater.

Cinema SUB gives us a modular platform.

Multiple units can be incorporated into the room and positioned according to the acoustic requirements of the space.

That can give us considerably more control over bass distribution across multiple rows of seating.

For larger theaters, that's critical.

The person sitting in the second row shouldn't have completely different bass than the person sitting six feet away.

Vertical or Horizontal Installation

Cinema SUB can be installed vertically or horizontally.

It can also be installed on-wall or integrated into the wall.

That gives us substantial flexibility when working around the screen wall, framing, equipment spaces, room dimensions, and other architectural requirements.

At roughly 46 inches tall, 22 inches wide, and 13 inches deep, it's a substantial piece of equipment—but it's designed specifically to become part of the theater rather than something we have to place in the room afterward.

Behind the Screen

Cinema SUB is a natural fit for a properly designed baffle wall or screen-wall system.

We can position three matching Cinema LCR speakers behind an acoustically transparent projection screen and integrate Cinema SUBs into the same front-wall architecture.

The entire front sound system disappears.

The screen becomes the visual focus of the room while the loudspeakers and bass system operate behind it.

That's the direction we prefer for a serious purpose-built private cinema.

Designed for Cinema LCR

Focal designed Cinema SUB and Cinema LCR together as a complete Utopia Cinema system.

Cinema LCR provides the dynamics, clarity, and scale required for the primary channels.

Cinema SUB provides the bass foundation.

Multiple Cinema LCR and Cinema SUB speakers can then be combined based on the requirements of the room.

This makes it possible to scale the system from a substantial residential theater all the way to an extremely large private screening room.

Complete the Theater with Focal 1000 Series

Cinema SUB and Cinema LCR can also be combined with Focal 1000 Series architectural speakers.

That gives us a complete Focal solution throughout the room.

Cinema LCR can handle the front soundstage.

Cinema SUB can provide the primary bass system.

Focal 1000 Series speakers can handle the surrounds, rear surrounds, and Dolby Atmos channels.

Because these products share Focal technologies such as the W cone, we can maintain a consistent design philosophy throughout the theater.

Key Specifications

• Type: Passive Bass-Reflex Subwoofer
• Woofers: Dual 13" W-Cone Drivers
• Driver Technology: Focal W Sandwich Cone
• Frequency Response: 42Hz–2.5kHz
• Sensitivity: 95dB
• Nominal Impedance: 5 Ohms
• Minimum Impedance: 4.1 Ohms
• Recommended Amplifier Power: 400W at 8 Ohms / 800W at 4 Ohms
• Vertical or Horizontal Installation
• On-Wall or In-Wall Installation
• Multiple Cinema SUBs Can Be Combined
• Height: 45.87"
• Width: 21.62"
• Depth: 12.8"
• Weight: 160.94 lbs.
• Fabric Grille Included
• Designed to Complement Focal Cinema LCR

Focal Utopia Cinema at The Grid HiFi

The Grid HiFi is a Focal Powered by Naim store and private cinema design and integration specialist in Houston, Texas.

With Cinema SUB, the question isn't simply, "How many subwoofers do I need?"

We engineer the bass system around the room.

That means looking at room dimensions and volume, seating locations, number of rows, screen-wall construction, room modes, required output, crossover points, subwoofer locations, amplification, processing, and acoustic treatment before deciding on the final configuration.

For a complete Focal reference cinema, we can combine multiple Cinema SUBs with three matching Cinema LCR speakers behind an acoustically transparent screen, then complete the immersive system with Focal 1000 Series architectural speakers.

From there, The Grid can handle the entire private cinema—Focal loudspeakers, subwoofers, high-end processing, amplification, projection, acoustically transparent screens, acoustic treatment, theater seating, lighting control, networking, and Control4 automation.

A reference bass system shouldn't be added to the room after everything else has been decided.

It should be engineered into the theater from the beginning.

Let The Grid HiFi design and build your complete Focal Utopia Cinema in Houston, Texas.