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I am considering a Velodyne DD-18...

...to complement my Joseph RM25 siII speakers. When I went looking for speakers with more bottom end the dealer who sold me the Josephs said that in my room, 16'X13'X9', I'd have trouble with resonations. He suggested that a sub that could be tuned to the room would give better results. After much reading, I'm gravitating toward the dd-18 but I have heard it said that a smaller room may prefer the dd-15. I assume that the dd-18 will better reproduce the very, very bottom end and that the equalizer eliminates the issue with the room size. Anyone have opinions on the above? Thanks for any replies.
fosolitude

Showing 3 responses by dgarretson

dgarretson
2,394 posts
 
Velodyne tech support will tell you that the larger the DD, the better the performance, due to the larger, lower-excursion cone placing an easier load on the 1250W plate amp common to all models. I'm using a DD-15 in a similar room sized 16x16x9. If the Joseph's stated bass extension to 32Hz +/-2db is true, then you should be able to crossover at a low 30Hz or 35hz, where the xover is unobtrusive and bass is very omnidirectional. In this application one sub should be fine.
dgarretson
2,394 posts
 
Well, I've found the DD-15 sounds clean and powerful in my 2CH set-up with Merlin VSM-MXs and a BAT VK75SE. If the DD creates excessive floor resonance, try elevating it on an Aurelex foam platform. If you have good electronics, you'll prefer using the DD in LPF (bass augementation) mode, rather than HPF xover back to the main speakers.
dgarretson
2,394 posts
 
Very nice system. You might compare both A & B options. Personally I prefer line-level inputs from pre to sub, even with tubes in the main amp. I think interconnects make a big difference in the quality of bass. I use a long DIY copper ribbon that's very good with LF extension and dynamics, and cheap to build. Room placement is less critical with the DD than with other subs. The spectrum analyzer, 8-band digital EQ, and granular phase settings, can compensate for most room anomalies. There is enough headroom in the sub amp to stack several bands of the equalizer on top of each other if necessary. Corner placement usually provides the most reinforcement, but not necessarily the cleanest bass. If you buy used, update to 2.0 control software via the Vel web site.
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