Velodyne subwoofer impact 12 - my first impressions

raja2001

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Got a chance to try out my impact-12 over the weekend.

Tried various combinations (with SW volume, phase, LFE setup, Cross over) and found that the following suited the best to my listening ears to match my speakers.

This config/placement didnt give a boomy effect (inline with my liking) and no directional effect for the sub. It blended very well with the rest of the system and gave the thumps and pumped the heart beats & startled me at times were required.

One gripe which might be an issue for some is, it doesnot come with a remote and the indicator light to signal it is 'on' is at the back. Couple of times i wished, the indicator light was in the front, when doing the setup as it is auto-on. But once configured didnt feel the need for remote/light yet.


Setup:

- Connected it to my Denon AVR 3310ci via straight co-axial cable via LFE out/in. This is the recommended way to connect it per velodyne.
- LFE set to 80Hz on my AVR, cross-over about 100Hz on the SW.
- Phase is '0'.
- Placement of SW is about 1 feet from the corner and 1/2 feet from back wall. The velodyne setup videos suggest placing the SW at un-even distance from the wall to avoid resonance effects.
- For music only, the AVR stereo setup had to be changed to output to SW as well, otherwise it is not on by default.
- room size : 22ft * 13ft * 10ft
- Have Floor standings speakers capable of going till 45Hz.
- Volume on SW set to mid.

Pinch of salt:

My setup didnt have a subwoofer earlier ;-), so have gone from no to with subwoofer.

Tried the following video/audio :

Overall felt no harshness or unnecessary thumps from the sub. It was able to fill my room more than necessary and infact had to turn down the volume in the sub to half. So probably it should be able to fill a bigger room.

The sub was loud and clear and would send down the shivers as necessary.

Movies (rated in that order for audio effects):

1. Inception - the background music is great in this movie and is a good movie to own for audio effects i guess. the opening scene with mob blasts, the scene when train enters the road all of a sudden, some of the gun firings scenes etc sounds just awesome. The thump, vibrations got transferred all the way from the couch to us. Loved this movie with the SW.

2. Iron Man 1 and 2 - the landing/take off of iron man, the firings had the needed support from the SW.

3. Dark Knight (Batman) - except for couple of scenes, wasnt very impressed. Feel this is probably not the movie to showcase the audio-system.

Songs/Audio:

1. Sexy Back album by Justin timber lake - has lot of bass in many of the songs, enjoyed them more than i did earlier without the SW. SW was able to keep up with the fast/frequent thumps and didnt feel any noise/harshness.

2. Taxi 9211, Ra-one, Billu Barber Songs, Wanted songs - the dhols sounded natural.

3. Bassotronics I love you - could feel the bass in sound and as well in air (that feeling in the heart of the thump)

Warranty:

Still havent heard back on the warranty/service part from my dealer. Will update the warranty/service thread once i have more details. Hoping this sub will give me its moneys worth without any service headches. Fingers crossed....
 
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Bassotronics I love you was clean sounding?without distortion?
Dark Knight (Batman) opening scene(Bank)has much more work for Sub.So was the performance low in that?
 
Didnt hear any distortions with the bassotronics i love you. Dont know how a great sub's would sound on this one, but felt it more in vibrations than in sound at times (might be because of frequencies that are below what humar ear can hear or what the sub can play)

In dark knight :

that bank scene is probably the best scene i like for audio effects.

When the thug blasts the building glass at the beginning - effect was ok (not great, thump didnt throw me out of my seat, tried different volume settings).

When the bank mgr fires at the thugs - sounded amazing. All the other gun shots/drilling shots sound powerful as well.

Just felt overall in this movie, the audio dose wasnt served frequently enough as was done in inception :). Coming from a batman fan.
 
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Thanks for detailed review.Overall this sub is looking tight sounding with movies & music.
 
Raja try changing the positioning of the sub and check again I am very happy with this sub
 
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Assuming you are playing from the blu-ray, check the Dark Knight scene with DTS HDMA. Check also the tunnel chase scene.

Good to know that the music integration is good, I would have normally put the Velodyne as a cinema subwoofer which might struggle with music esp. in comparison with floorstanders.
 
Hi all,

Need an info. Are velodyne subwoofers dual voltage compatible. From the below picture of rear of impact 10, we can see a 115/230 and 50/60 hz. Does it mean we can use it directly in India without any modifications, if bought from US sites.


velodyneimpact10.png


Thanks,
Antony
 
az2325 -
The Indian models are fixed at 220V.

Yes if the sub has a knob like below it can be set to 220 or 110. Might be best to check with the dealer you are buying from in US .

Also if you buy from US & bring it to india, double check on international warranty.
 
which one is better BIC america F12 or velodyne impact 12?

Has any body experienced / auditioned / used both? what are your views?

Thanks
 
I have a Velodyne Impact 12 which is great for movies and must say satisfied with music (wont say they sound great for music).
I have a problem, the Sub hums every now and then (not every time though)
The bigger problem is the sub makes a loud buzzing noise all of sudden, I have a rush my blood to go pull the plug, until then the buzz doesn't stop.
Is there anything I can do to fix this???? Any help is appreciated.
 
Last time when i enquired from HT store, i got this reply on 4/11/2015 , may be useful for you
"Dear Sir,

Sorry for the delay in responding

SPL800i is priced at Rs62000/-
SPL800U is Rs79000/-
SPL1000U is 99000/-
SPL1200U is 119000/-

Can be arranged. Please call Mr.Lokesh on 9845545429


+918088871000
Know What You Need"
 
A beautiful, well-constructed speaker with class-leading soundstage, imaging and bass that is fast, deep, and precise.
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