Velodyne SPL 1200R

[bullitt731]

Anyone own this new model? My old Velodyne F1000 bit the dust over the weekend so my local dealer suggested I buy this sub as a replacement. The new EQ feature should help with my rooms acoustical issues and it seemed to blend well with the 805s in their soundroom which I am also running. Any hands on experience would be welcome.

Thanks, Ed

[audioqueso]

I have the SPL800R. I purchased it after extended listening to the SPL1000R. Care to hear my opinion?

[bullitt731]

Only if its good, just kidding of course let her rip.

[aud19]

Velodyne makes great subs but for my money I'd probably go SVS with a BFD

[audioqueso]

Ok, good and bad. First of all, I have the 805s as well, so I think that may help some. I was looking for a sub to musically match my 805s. I actually did try (bought them, took it home, returned it)some Circuity City subs just for the fun of it as a joke (no... really, just for the fun of it), but that's all it ended up being. A joke. They may sound good to some in movies, but they all sucked for me in music. I tried SVS PSB-12, and it was awesome for movies, but once again I could not stand it for music. It had way too much excessive ported bass. I started looking at the Velodyne's sealed subs. I figured sealed was the way to go for me since I was only really concern with music. I use my stereo for 50/50 music/movies, but in all honesty, most subs do the job for me with movies. I listened to the SPL1000R and DD10 at Sound Advice (Tweeters) with a couple of my selected CDs. They both sound just the way I liked it. Tight, fast, strong, clear. THe DD10 did sound better, not night and day, but yes a lot better. However, the DD10 was not in the price range I wanted. I made my comments on the SPL1000R, and they let me borrow the demo model for the day. It wasn't until I hooked it up in my home that I realized just how small it really was. Music instantly sounded so much better. It blended it quite nicely with my 805s. Never over-powering them. I had the remote which was a really convinient feature, however I did not have the microphone to use the auto-eq function. Regardless, I was satisfied. I returned it the next day. Mainly because I wanted it in cherry and they told me it would take 6-8 weeks. No way. I found the SPL-800R for $700 online, and that was a huge savings from the $1200 I was going to pay for the SPL-1000R. Ordered my brand new cherry sub. This thing is tiny. If you have your 805s in cherry, this cherry will match almost to a T. VERY close in color. Off by a few shades. Hooked it up, sounded very similar to the 10" I borrowed. I noticed the difference between the two when I played movies. I played around at first with location, found my spot, then used the auto-EQ function. Noticed a change, but not that much. It wasn't really until about 4 days later that the sound really changed. I really feel this sub matches my 805s perfectly. I have the volume on the sub very low because this thing can get very powerful easily. It works great for rock and hip-hop music, but I think it really shines with jazz, classical, and music with that uses basses, organs, and other low playing instruments. Just like at the store, this sub plays low, tight, fast, accurate, and powerful. There could be a better sub, but to me it doesn't seem like I have a sub. I think the small size really makes it sound like one speaker with a very low extension. With movies this thing sounds awesome. I think some people may want a lower extension, but I tend to dislike too much boom. I don't actually like the presets. For R&B/Rock, they increase only a specific frequency by 1db, movies it's an exaggerated 6db. I keep the preset on jazz which is it's reference level. Then for movies I increase the volume by 2, and for hip-hop/rock, I increase the volume by 1. Sounds more natural this way. I tried something just today. I reset the sub to the factory settings and listened a bit, then used the auto-EQ. There is a very nice difference in change. I think I may have not heard it so much before because the speaker hadn't been broken in properly. Well, that's all for now. Please feel free to ask any questions. I love this sub. Mine in particular is small (lol), but it fills in the lower frequencies very smoothly with my 805s.

[bullitt731]

I basically came to the exact same conclusions.

DDSeries was not in my price range of $1,200 to $1,500.
SVS subs would be great for HT, but I was unsure about music and they have a fairly large footprint.

I was able to buy one locally for $1,250 which I thought was reasonable. As you said this sub seems to compliment the 805s well in regards to music and HT both. The subs small footprint will make my wife happy and I hope the EQ will help compensate a little for my Cathedral ceiling and hardwood floors. My only concern is if it is big enough for my listening room which is 16x23 and opens up in the back to a 15x20 kitchen. Based on your experience with the output of the 8" model, the 12" should be OK. Should have it by the end of next week, if anyone is interested in a follow up, let me know.

Thanks for the detailed review audioqueso, I am printing it out for reference.

Regards, Ed

[audioqueso]

My room is about 18x30 and the 8 fills it up nicely. I'm sure the 12 is fine.

[bullitt731]

That is what my local AV dealer said after he visited my house. However, if you go to the Velodyne web sight and enter my square footage which is around 4,000, they suggest at least one 15 inch sub. I would also like to do some evaluations with this sub to determine how effective the automatic EQ software is. Any ideas on experimenting with this feature?