What Hi Fi Sound and Vision
21 SEP 2006
Velodyne SPL-800i
Yes, it’s much more expensive than its nearest rival, but it fully justifies its price - a fabulous little bass mover
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Like many American companies, Velodyne is known for making ’em big, and it’s also a leader in automatic set-up and calibration for subs. However, not everything in its range is massive, as is clear from the tiny SPL-800i we have here.
The casing is just 27x26x33cm, making even the MJ Acoustics Pro 50 MkII rival tower over it. Yet crammed inside is an amp delivering no less than 1000w, or 2000w peak. Actually, crammed isn’t quite the word, since the Velodyne uses space-efficient Class D digital amplification to drive its forward-facing 20cm drive unit, with its cone made of Kevlar-reinforced resin.
Daisy-chaining an option
There are both preamp and speaker-level inputs, and a pair of preouts to allow additional subwoofers to be daisy-chained on to this one. Controls are provided for level and crossover, and there are switches to control phase, the auto-sensing power function, and take the crossover out of circuit when the sub’s used with the dedicated output on an AV amp.
This tiny box can really shift air! With live music, it instantly immerses you in the atmosphere, then goes on to delight with its power and precision.
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