Сабвуферы — Velodyne Digital Drive 15 Plus

The Digital Drive 15 Plus is a powered subwoofer from Velodyne Acoustics and one of four sizes in the Digital Drive Plus series, which comprises the 10, 12, 15 and 18 Plus. All four share the same amplifier, crossover ranges and connection panel, so the 15 Plus differs from its siblings mainly in driver diameter, cabinet volume and low-frequency extension.

Key specs that matter

A single 15 inch forward-firing driver draws on a Class D amplifier section rated for 1,250 W RMS and 3,000 W dynamic. Velodyne quotes 14.6 Hz to 120 Hz within 3 dB and an overall range of 9.0 Hz to 300 Hz, with typical total harmonic distortion under 0.5 percent. The motor uses a six-layer 75 mm voice coil and a magnet structure weighing 18 kg. The cabinet measures 51 cm high, 46 cm wide and 57 cm deep, with a stated weight of 54.4 kg. Finishes are black gloss ebony or piano black.

Engineering and use context

The 15 Plus is a sealed single-driver design with active servo control. Its Digital High-gain Servo compares the signal sent to the amplifier with the actual motion of the cone and corrects the difference, sampling cone movement nearly 16,000 times per second, which is how Velodyne keeps distortion below the stated figure, since the amplifier output is adjusted to what the cone actually does rather than to what it was asked to do. The low-pass filter runs from 40 Hz to 199 Hz in 1 Hz increments with a selectable slope, defaulting to 80 Hz at 24 dB per octave, and phase moves from 0 to 180 degrees in 15 degree increments. A built-in high-pass filter at 80 or 100 Hz, 6 dB per octave, can feed the main channels, and a set of user presets stored in the unit can be recalled from the remote handset to switch between film and music settings.

Pairing

Line-level inputs cover LFE and left and right channels in RCA and XLR form, letting the sub take a single-ended or balanced output from a surround processor, an AV receiver or a two-channel preamplifier. Speaker-level terminals take bare wire, banana plugs or spades, which suits integrated amplifiers without a dedicated subwoofer output. Thru outputs on RCA and XLR pass the full signal on, while the high-pass outputs let the main speakers or power amplifier be relieved of the lowest octaves when the sub carries them. A mini-XLR socket accepts the measuring microphone supplied with the unit.

Alternatives

The Velodyne Digital Drive 18 Plus sits one step above in the same range, with the identical amplifier and connection panel.