Subwoofers — Velodyne MiniVee X

The Velodyne Acoustics MiniVee X places an 8 inch active driver and an 8 inch passive radiator in a cabinet of roughly 30 cm per side. In the compact part of the range it sits above the MicroVee X and the step up brings a larger driver pair and a switch from that model's aluminium housing to a lacquered MDF enclosure and a Class D amplifier.

Key specs that matter

Velodyne rates the amplifier three ways - 350 W RMS at 0.5 percent THD, 600 W at 2 percent THD and 800 W maximum. The response is 32 Hz to 180 Hz within 3 dB and 18 Hz to 300 Hz overall. The low-pass control spans 30 Hz to 200 Hz with a 12 dB per octave slope, while phase is variable from 0 to 180 degrees. The cabinet measures 30 x 29 x 29 cm and weighs 15 kg, rising to 20 kg with packaging. The only finish is high-gloss black acrylic lacquer. Of the three power figures, the RMS rating is the one tied to the strictest distortion limit, and the 800 W number is a maximum rather than continuous output.

Engineering and use context

The active unit is a proprietary long-throw design with a precisely tuned overhung motor. Its voice coil is 2 inches in diameter, wound in four layers of high-current, high-purity copper wire, and sits in a dual ferrite magnet assembly. The passive radiator shares the closed enclosure with the active driver and is moved by the internal air pressure, extending bass output without a port. Internal bracing stiffens the high-gloss MDF cabinet. A USB socket on the rear supplies power to the optional Wi-Connect II wireless transmitter system, so the subwoofer can be placed away from the source with no interconnect running to it.

Pairing

Unlike the MicroVee X, the MiniVee X has balanced connections - XLR stereo or LFE inputs and outputs sit next to unbalanced RCA inputs and outputs, so the sub can take a balanced sub feed from a studio-style preamplifier or AV processor as easily as an RCA line from a receiver. A 3.5 mm mini-jack accepts a 12 V trigger, so the sub follows the power state of any component with a trigger output. The pass-through outputs allow a second subwoofer to be linked in the chain, and the high upper filter limit covers small bookshelf and satellite speakers.

Alternatives

The Velodyne MicroVee X is the smaller model in the range, with a 6.5 inch driver, two side-mounted 6.5 inch passive radiators and a 300 W RMS Class AB amplifier in a 23 x 23 x 25 cm aluminium housing.