ASW875 or Velodyne DD series?

[SRT-10 Viper]

I am trying to decide what sub to add to my 2 Channel / HT setup. I listen 50/50 HT to 2 channel. I have a Classe Delta 2 Channel sysem with HT pass thru with a Denon 5803A for HT. I also have 2 Classe CAM350 mono amps connected to both the Classe Delta and the Denon fronts. My speakers are 800D in front, N802s in the rear and will be getting a HTM2D front channel. My room is 20X19 with 8 1/4 foot ceilings. What sub should I go with? Should I wait for the B&W later this year or get a DD 15 or 18 now?

[jahlion]

Both subs have class-D amps, both have room-eq, but the Velodyne is servo-controlled. I would still take the B&W 875 anyway. A sub can be just as accurate without servo if it is built right. I heard the ASW 875 won't be available until Q3. You can always buy the Velodyne now, and then sell it if you like the B&W better when it is available.

[Phil Rose]

I also have a pre-amp with HT bypass and a pre/pro for HT duties with N802s for the fronts and use a Velodyne HGS18 which is the predicessor to the DD-18. I haven't yet figured out a good way to use the Velo with 2-channel material because of cross-overs, etc. and really don't find the need to. Before I got the N802s I used my HGS18 for music and it was great. No boom or flabby bass, just tight, fast bass. In your case, I'd think that you'd have even less reason to use the sub for 2-channel. Not to say that it wouldn't help the very bottom end because it would but, it just might not be worth the effort.

Anyway, my recommendation would be for the DD-18 which really is one of the best subs out there. The servo produces incredibly low distortion and the 18 can really move some air. The 18 is a take no prisoners animal. I imagine the 15 is good but, won't give you all that the 18 will. The built-in sub equalization is great and will really give you the best setup. Finally the DD-18 is available in medium cherry, gloss black, light maple and six custom colors so you have options to suit your decor.

[Stevebez]

I have same problem ... sorry don't want to hi-jack the thread

DD12 vs ASW865 (DD12 smaller chassis suits space requirements) - 865 is pretty large.

Currently have 803D's with Rotel amplification and processing with Arcam front end. Thots ?

Rgds Steve

[ZX10 Guy]

This is what I did in my setup. I have the N804s for the fronts and a Velodyne HGS12II that is dedicated for to these two speakers. I am biamping the 804s via 2 Carver TFM 25 stereo amps. My Bryston BP25 preamp has two unbalanced outs that I am using to drive both amps. The amps are setup in a vertical biamp configuration (one amp drives one whole speaker.) For the channel that drives the woofers, I have the line level connection routed through the HGS12II's internal high pass crossover. The output of the crossover is then fed into the amp. Before I connected everything up in this manner, I did sound checks via a test tone CD and a SPL meter. I got my baseline and then proceeded with the system reconfiguration. After adding the sub into the system, I redid the sound checks and adjusted the crossover and volume of the sub to closely match and fill in the area where the sub is no supplementing the sound compared to when the speaker was running full range. I am very satisfied with the results and the sub's addition is a huge improvement. The sound is seemless to me and I notice less strain from the 804s when driven hard but now I get the extra bass slam which is extended and not boomy. With a DD, you can actually do a sound sweep check and visually see the curve of the speakers before adding in the sub. Then you can add the sub into the mix and then do the adjustments via the onboard parametric EQ which I would think would be more accurate than me using a SPL meter and only a crossover point/volume as adjustments. For LFE, I have a HGS15II I use specifically for that purpose.

[greggz]

Check out this video interview with Bruce Hall of Velodyne.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/videos/secrets-studios/bruce-hall-velodyne-2-8-05/bruce-hall-velodyne-2-8-05-index.html

The first 10 mins or so is chit-chat but after that he gets into a technical discussion of DD. VERY interesting!

[EAmin]

I bought two DD-15s recently, replacing my ASW750. I love them.

My whole thing going with the Velo was it is made by a subwoofer company. All that R&D goes into their subs. B&W is known for their loudspeakers than for their subs, but maybe this will change.

I wasn't as happy with the response of the ASW750. I felt it slower and more boomy than I expected. And it never really heard the really deep bass I was looking for. I tried putting the B&W in several places in the room, but never got the results I wanted.

The Velos are great subs with a lot of features. I really like the night mode, but the highlight is the EQ. My room had some issues with responses at 20Hz and 50Hz. Using the EQ, we were able to flatten them out, and it sounds marvelous.

I wish the Velos could better match my Rosewood 703s, but I think the Piano Black gloss is very elegant.

As for the 875, I hope B&W does well with it, and you too if you go with it. But you will not go wrong with the Velos.

[Stevebez]

2 DD-15's ... :E wow ... thats some serious umph ... may I ask why two and not 1 ?


Rgds Steve.

[Phil Rose]

My room is 20X19 with 8 1/4 foot ceilings. What sub should I go with?

Maybe with a room that large you should get the Velodyne 1812 8O

[EAmin]

My HT area opens up to a kitchen/nook. It's about 30 ft wide and 20 ft in length with the kitchen, with 9ft ceilings. To pressurize the HT area, I needed to fill the whole room with bass. I think I could have gotten away with two DD-12s, but I decided to get the 15s instead as we may be moving in a couple of years. Don't know what kind of room the new house will provide for so I invested a little more. I would rather have more than I need just in case.

The subs rock, I love them. I will never need to buy another sub again.

2 DD-15's ... :E wow ... thats some serious umph ... may I ask why two and not 1 ?


Rgds Steve.

[EAmin]

I think getting two subs may be a better option for a larger room. I paid $6K for two DD-15s, which is much cheaper than the 1812. I think the 1812 retails for $14K. Plus, you can also create a virtual sub with two (properly placed) offering more flexibilty for placement.

Just my .02.

Maybe with a room that large you should get the Velodyne 1812 8O

[PewterTA]

If you want GREAT performance at a very cheap cost I would suggest getting two ACI Maestros... http://www.audioc.com/speakers1/maestro/maestro.htm

Those (I felt) did much better than the DD-15s, and for a lot less than the two DD-15s.

Course then there's always two B12-Plus/4 from SVS http://www.svsubwoofers.com/subs_b12_plus_4.htm.

...or if you can find some used HSU TN-1220HO ones, those rocked, but are no longer made.