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Performance Optimized · Datasheet

Performance Optimized Wedge Sealed Dual 12" Enclosure Focal SUB 30 KXE · Dual 12" Sealed enclosure

Net volume
1.25 cu ft per chamber after the divider and Focal's published 4 L displacement per driver
Max mounting depth
6.77 in required; 4.35 in clearance above the motor against the raked rear panel
External dimensions
32.00 in W × 16 in at the seat face H × 17.44 in at the base D
Front baffle
1.5 in double baffle, outer layer machined as a flush recess
Buy at Audio IntensityFactory-direct, ships from Tullahoma
Focal SUB 30 KXEBuy at Audio Intensity
  • Best For: Dual Focal SUB 30 KXE Trunk-Fit Builds
  • Net Volume: 1.25 cu ft per chamber (2.85 cu ft Gross Total)
  • Driver Match: Pair of Focal SUB 30 KXE (dual 4 ohm), matched
  • Construction: Dual Chamber | Rear-Firing Wedge | V-Groove/Dado | Double 1.5" Baffle | 1 Shared Terminal Cup | Insert Kit

Spec of record

Technical specifications

SpecificationValue
SeriesProline X Performance Optimized Wedge
Compatible DriverFocal SUB 30 KXE (K2 Power), quantity 2. Direct fit
ConfigurationDual 12 inch, two separate chambers, sealed wedge
Mounting PositionTrunk or cargo area, tall face against the rear seat back
Firing DirectionRearward into the trunk. Not a down fire design, no feet included
External Width32.00 in, the dual width cap
External Height16 in at the seat face
External Depth17.44 in at the base, tapering to 11.62 in at the top
Internal Volume, Gross2.85 cu ft total
Internal Volume, Net Acoustic1.25 cu ft per chamber after the divider and Focal's published 4 L displacement per driver
Driver Mounting Depth6.77 in required; 4.35 in clearance above the motor against the raked rear panel
Alignment per chamberQtc 0.714, fc 45.0 Hz, F3 44.6 Hz anechoic; about 0.75 if Vas is 58 L rather than Focal's 50
Focal Closed-Box ChartDrawn at 25 L and 35 L, Focal technical sheet
Woofer Opening11.23 in (285 mm), two; clears the 284.2 mm basket on Focal's drawing
Frame Outer Diameter12.52 in (318 mm), Focal drawing
Bolt CircleNot printed by Focal; threaded insert kit included
Driver Displacement4 L / 0.14 cu ft, published by Focal
Fs / Qts / Qes / Qms29 Hz / 0.46 / 0.49 / 6.1
Vas / Mms / Cms / Bl50 L / 183 g / 0.15 mm/N / 21.3 N/A
Driver Sd502 cm2, published by Focal
Xmax22.5 mm one way, Focal spec
DC Resistance3.2 + 3.2 ohm (6.4 ohm in series)
Driver Sensitivity86.5 dB at 2.83 V / 1 m, Focal spec
Driver Power Handling800 W RMS / 1600 W maximum per driver
Wiring OptionsDual 4 ohm coils: 2 ohm in parallel, 8 ohm in series; two drivers give 1, 4 or 16 ohm, see the wiring section
Voice Coil65 mm dual 4 ohm, CCAW on a glass fiber former, 4 layers
Parameter SourceFocal SUB 30 KXE technical sheet, v1 29/09/2023
MaterialLangboard Elite MDF
ConstructionCNC cut, V-groove and dado joinery
Panel Thickness0.75 in
Front Baffle1.5 in double baffle, outer layer machined as a flush recess
Internal BracingFull-height 3/4 in divider
Driver MountingThreaded insert kit included, NOT pre-installed: Focal prints no bolt circle
Terminal CupsOne Proline X ABS and carbon fiber composite, side mounted, pre wired 12 gauge OFC to both driver positions
Acrylic InsertGloss black acrylic baffle insert standard
DampingLight polyfill wall lining in both chambers, does not alter acoustic volume
CarpetPlush black
Shipping Weight60 lb
Warranty1 Year Limited
Built InTullahoma, Tennessee

Modelled response

Performance in this enclosure

Net airspace
1.25
cu ft per chamber
System Qtc
0.71
sealed
Half power
44.6
Hz · F3
Xmax at
976
W RMS · no filter
With 25 Hz subsonic
1329
W RMS · +36%
Amplifier
800
W RMS recommended
This enclosure holds 1.25 cu ft net per chamber. In it the Focal SUB 30 KXE runs a system Qtc of 0.71 with half power at 44.6 Hz, and the cone reaches its 22.5 mm travel limit at 976 W, above the driver’s 800 W thermal rating, so heat stops you before travel does. Run a subsonic filter at 25 Hz and that becomes 1329 W — +352 W, or 36 percent more power for the same 22.5 mm of travel.

01Is it a sealed driver?

Efficiency bandwidth product places the motor before anything else is decided.

EBP = Fs ÷ Qes = 59.2
SEALED 0–50 TRANSITION 50–100 PORTED 100–150 0 50 100 150 dual 4 ohm, coils in series 59.2
dual 4 ohm, coils in series · EBP 59.2
At 59.2 the SUB 30 KXE sits in the transition band, not the sealed band. That is not a mismatch: a transition motor works in either alignment, and sealed buys a smaller box and a gentler roll-off at the cost of some low-end output. Stage 02 shows what this airspace actually does with it.

02What the box does to it

1.25 cu ft against a 50.0 L Vas.

α = Vas ÷ Vb = 1.41  ·  Fc = Fs√(α+1) = 45 Hz  ·  Qtc = 0.71
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 +6 +0 -6 -12 -18 -24 FREQUENCY · Hz LEVEL · dB −3 dB
dual 4 ohm, coils in series · Qtc 0.71, Fc 45 Hz, F3 44.6 Hz
The box lifts resonance from 29.0 Hz free-air to 45 Hz and half power lands at 44.6 Hz, anechoic, before any cabin gain. Figures are Focal’s own SUB 30 KXE technical sheet. Vas is the one soft number: Focal prints 50 liters and draws its closed-box chart on it, while its own compliance implies 52.5 and the moving mass and resonance nearer 58; at 58 liters every Qtc on this page would read a few hundredths higher. Each chamber of this dual holds 1.25 cubic feet, just under the 1.30 Butterworth box, which keeps the cabinet to 17.44 inches deep at the base.

03The watts that reach Xmax (in this enclosure)

Travel scales with the square root of power, so there is one wattage that puts the cone exactly on 22.5 mm — and a bigger one once a subsonic filter stops it wasting travel below the passband.

PXmax = 976 W unfiltered  →  1329 W with a 25 Hz subsonic
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 0 8 16 24 FREQUENCY · Hz CONE TRAVEL · mm PAST LINEAR TRAVEL · Xmax 22.5 mm 976 W reaches Xmax here
dual 4 ohm, coils in series · 976 W, no filterdual 4 ohm, coils in series · 1329 W with subsonic at 25 Hz, 24 dB/octXmax 22.5 mm one-way
Every trace touches the limit and no further, because each is drawn at the exact power that puts that coil on 22.5 mm. Unfiltered that is 976 W, reached first at 20 Hz. It sits above the 800 W the driver can take thermally, so the voice coil gives up before the suspension does. The dashed traces are the same driver behind a subsonic filter at 25 Hz, 24 dB/oct: stopping the cone wasting travel below the passband lets it take 1329 W before hitting the same 22.5 mm. That is 36 percent more amplifier for the price of one filter setting.
ParamValueUnitNote
Fs29.00Hzfree-air resonance
Qts0.460dual 4 ohm, coils in series
Vas50.00Lequivalent compliance
Sd502.0cm²effective piston area
Xmax22.5mmone-way linear travel
Pe800Wcontinuous RMS
SPL85.8dB1 W / 1 m, derived from T/S

Driver parameters as published by Focal SUB 30 KXE technical sheet. Curves computed against this enclosure’s actual net airspace.

From the shop floor

Installer's take

Built at 1.25 cubic feet per chamber, just under the KXE's 1.30 Butterworth volume, to keep the base at 17.44 inches: Qtc 0.714. If Vas is really nearer 58 liters, as the moving mass suggests, it reads 0.75. Either way it is flat, not boomy.

Two chambers at 1.25 each, pinned at the 32 inch cap, 16 tall, 17.44 at the base. Wire the pair identically; each driver in series and the pair in parallel is 4 ohms.

Cutout is 11.23, not the 284 mm Loudspeaker Database lists: Focal's own drawing puts the basket at 284.2 mm, so a 284 mm hole would not take it. The 318 mm frame covers 11.23 fine.

Inserts ship in the kit, not pressed: Focal prints no bolt circle. Mark from the driver, drill, press. If we get the hole pattern later this changes to pre-installed.

Before you order

Questions

Does this fit the Focal SUB 30 KXE, and will any other 12 inch fit?

The SUB 30 KXE, yes. The baffle is cut to 11.23 in (285 mm). Loudspeaker Database lists a 284 mm cutout, but Focal's own drawing puts the basket at 284.2 mm just under the flange, which a 284 mm hole would not pass; the 285 mm cut clears it and the 318 mm frame still covers it with margin. The 6.77 inch motor clears the cabinet with 4.35 inch to spare, and the KXE ships in one version, dual 4 ohm, so there is no coil variant to choose. Run two so the chambers match.

Any other 12, no. The airspace is engineered around the KXE's 0.46 Qts and 50 liters of Vas, and a different woofer that happened to drop into the hole would not see the alignment printed on this page.

Why 1.25 cubic feet per chamber, and what alignment does it target?

It sits just under the 1.30 cubic foot Butterworth volume on Focal's published Fs 29 Hz, Qts 0.46 and Vas 50 liters, which keeps the cabinet to 17.44 inches deep at the base: system Qtc 0.714, a hair above maximally flat, with resonance at 45.0 Hz and half power at 44.6 Hz. Focal's own closed-box response chart for this driver is drawn at 25 and 35 liters, and this volume sits at the larger of the two.

One caveat on Focal's sheet: its moving mass and resonance imply a Vas nearer 58 liters than the printed 50. If that is the truer figure, this cabinet reads Qtc 0.75 instead, a touch livelier. Either way it is a well-behaved sealed alignment.

What amplifier power should I run, and how should I wire it?

Focal rates the SUB 30 KXE at 800 watts RMS per driver and 1600 watts maximum, so target 560 to 800 watts RMS per driver at the final load.

Each SUB 30 KXE carries two 4 ohm voice coils (3.2 ohms DC each): series for 8 ohms, parallel for 2. Wire both drivers identically. Each driver in series with the pair in parallel gives 4 ohms, the safe load on any amplifier; each driver in parallel with the pair in series also gives 4; all four coils in parallel is 1 ohm and needs an amplifier rated for it; all in series is 16 ohms. Confirm your amplifier's minimum stable impedance first.

Why the wedge angle, and why rear-firing into the trunk?

The seat-side face carries a 20 degree rake that matches the lean of a factory rear seat back, so the cabinet sits flush against it and the cargo space in front stays usable. The baffle is the vertical trunk-lid-side face, so the drivers fire rearward into the trunk cavity.

The trunk acts as an acoustic extension for the sealed box, and the cabin adds real output below 50 Hz, so in-vehicle response runs deeper than the anechoic 44.6 Hz on this page.

Why two separate chambers instead of one shared volume?

Two drivers sharing one sealed volume load each other: each driver's compression stroke becomes the pressure the other works against, which blurs the alignment either would have alone. A bonded full-height 3/4 inch divider gives each driver its own 1.25 cubic feet and its own polyfill.

It also means a failure in one driver does not unload the other, and the alignment on this page is the alignment in each chamber, not an average across a shared box.

What is the expected low-frequency extension?

Anechoic F3 is 44.6 Hz per chamber with system resonance at 45.0 Hz. At Qtc 0.71 the response is maximally flat into the rolloff, so F3 and fc coincide.

Those figures exclude cabin gain. In a car the cabin's transfer function adds real output below 50 Hz, so in-vehicle response runs deeper than the numbers above.

Do I need to add polyfill or damping?

No. Polyfill is already installed in both chambers as a light wall lining to control internal reflections, and the quantity is chosen so it does not change the acoustic volume.

Do not add more. Packing a sealed box with fill makes it behave as though it were larger, which walks the alignment away from the 1.25 cubic feet per chamber this cabinet was built to.

Is the driver included, and are the threaded inserts installed?

No driver. This is an enclosure only. You receive the cabinet finished in plush black carpet with the gloss black acrylic baffle insert, one side-mounted pre-wired terminal cup to both positions, the polyfill lining already in place, and a threaded insert kit with stainless machine screws.

The inserts ship loose on purpose: Focal prints no bolt circle for the SUB 30 KXE, so you set the driver in the recess, mark its holes, drill and press the inserts. The pair of Focal SUB 30 KXE is purchased separately, and the cabinet is cut direct fit to it, not a general purpose 12 inch box.

Same series, same size

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