Focal 100 OD8 black

Designed for outdoor use, the Focal 100 OD8 incorporates technologies developed by Focal over its forty years of expertise in acoustics. It combines these technologies with a design tailored to withstand harsh weather conditions, offering a durable audio solution without compromising sound quality.

Acoustic Design Inherited from Focal’s Expertise

The 100 OD8 is built around a meticulously crafted two-way architecture. At the heart of its design is a 210 mm woofer featuring a polypropylene cone treated with Focal’s exclusive Polyglass process. This technology, developed in the Saint-Étienne workshops, involves applying fine glass microbeads to the cellulose pulp cone. The process combines the excellent natural damping of paper with the exceptional rigidity of glass, resulting in a stiffness index nearly ten times higher than that of standard polypropylene.

This waterproof cone not only ensures faithful reproduction of deep bass down to 45 Hz (-6 dB), but also delivers remarkable clarity in the midrange. The Polyglass treatment gives the cone outstanding frequency response linearity right from the design stage, virtually eliminating the unwanted colorations that often affect conventional outdoor speakers.

The inverted aluminum dome tweeter is the other key component of this speaker. A Focal signature since 1981, this inverted geometry features a much less pronounced curvature than traditional positive domes. This architectural feature provides superior spatial dispersion and particularly low directivity, allowing for even sound coverage over a wide listening area. The small-diameter voice coil, directly attached to the rigid dome, ensures optimal acceleration and exceptional transient response, extending up to 23 kHz.

The high-density polypropylene damping enclosure does more than just house these exceptional drivers. Its specific design minimizes unwanted resonances while offering an optimized internal volume for the desired tonal balance. The non-removable, anti-corrosion aluminum grille, fixed for protection, also contributes to acoustic diffusion without creating obstacles that could hinder sound waves.

Resistance to Extreme Conditions: IP66 Certification as a Guarantee

The IP66 certification of the 100 OD8 is much more than a mere marketing argument. This international standard, established by the International Electrotechnical Commission, certifies total protection against dust (rating 6) and resistance to powerful water jets from all directions (rating 6). In practical terms, the speaker can withstand water jets equivalent to 100 liters per minute at a pressure of 100 kPa from a distance of 3 meters.

Beyond this certification, Focal has integrated several additional protection technologies. The anti-UV treatment applied to the entire enclosure and grille prevents degradation caused by prolonged sun exposure, maintaining the speaker’s structural and aesthetic integrity year after year. The spring terminals are protected by a rubber cap that ensures watertightness while allowing speaker cables up to 12 AWG to pass through. This protection can remain in place when using bare wires, but must be removed for banana plugs.

The woofer cone, specially designed to resist humidity, retains its acoustic properties even after repeated exposure to rain or sea spray. This waterproofing does not come at the expense of performance: the cone maintains its optimal lightness and rigidity, ensuring a dynamic response identical to that of an indoor speaker of the same range.

Versatile Installation and Architectural Integration

The reinforced, notched aluminum mounting bracket is one of the 100 OD8’s key strengths when it comes to installation. Treated against corrosion, this robust component allows for 180-degree rotation, offering remarkable flexibility in sound orientation. Whether the speaker is mounted vertically under an eave or horizontally on a side wall, the mounting system ensures perfect stability while allowing precise adjustment of the diffusion angle.

The Focal logo on the grille is rotatable, a detail that reflects the attention paid to aesthetics. This feature allows the logo to remain correctly oriented regardless of the chosen mounting position, thus preserving the visual elegance of the installation. The speaker’s dimensions (390 x 258 x 280 mm) have been carefully designed to provide optimal acoustic volume while remaining compact enough for discreet integration into various architectural environments.

The option to paint the grille and enclosure opens up virtually unlimited integration possibilities. The original finishes, available in black or white, provide a neutral base that blends with most environments. For installations requiring deeper integration, the paint-ready surface accepts most exterior paints, allowing the speakers to visually disappear into their surroundings or, conversely, to become bold decorative elements.

Self-adhesive black and white felt pads are provided to protect mounting surfaces and reduce potential vibrations. This detail, often overlooked by manufacturers, demonstrates Focal’s philosophy: every aspect of the user experience deserves attention and care.

Electrical Performance and System Configuration

With a nominal impedance of 8 ohms and a minimum impedance of 7 ohms, the 100 OD8 presents a particularly stable load for the amplifier. This feature not only optimizes power transfer but also allows two speakers to be connected in parallel to the same amplifier output, resulting in a 4-ohm load that is perfectly manageable for most modern amplifiers.

The sensitivity of 88 dB (2.83V/1m) places the 100 OD8 in the upper range of outdoor speakers, ensuring comfortable sound levels even with moderately powered amplifiers. The recommended power range, from 20 to 150 watts, offers great flexibility in amplification choices. A 50-watt-per-channel amplifier is more than sufficient for a medium-sized patio, while more ambitious setups can fully exploit the speaker’s dynamic potential with higher-powered amplification.

The passive crossover frequency, set at 2,800 Hz, has been carefully optimized to ensure a seamless transition between the woofer/midrange and the tweeter. This value, the result of many hours of listening and measurement in Focal’s laboratories, guarantees exemplary tonal coherence across the entire reproduced spectrum.

Technical Specifications

Transducers

• 210 mm waterproof Polyglass woofer
  • Waterproof design for outdoor use
  • Deep bass and clear midrange
• Inverted aluminum dome tweeter
  • Wide sound dispersion
  • High-fidelity reproduction of high frequencies

Acoustic Performance

• Frequency response: 60 Hz – 23 kHz (+/- 3 dB)
• Low cutoff frequency: 45 Hz (-6 dB)
• Sensitivity: 88 dB
• Sound quality comparable to an indoor hi-fi speaker

Electrical Specifications

• Nominal impedance: 8 Ω
• Minimum impedance: 7 Ω
• Recommended power: 20 – 150 W
• Possibility to connect two speakers per channel

Construction and Durability

• IP66 protection rating
  • Resistant to rain and dust
  • UV protection
• Aluminum grille with rotating logo
• Available finishes: painted black or white
• Paint-ready finish
• Design resistant to extreme weather conditions

Installation and Mounting

• 180° adjustable mounting bracket
• Rotating arm for easy installation
• Can be positioned vertically or horizontally
• Black and white felt pads included (self-adhesive)
• Dimensions: 390 x 258 x 280 mm (H x W x D)
• Weight: 5.8 kg