Сабвуферы — Velodyne Digital Drive 10 Plus

The Digital Drive 10 Plus, also listed as DD-10+, is the smallest model in the Digital Drive Plus range of Velodyne Acoustics active subwoofers, offered with 10, 12, 15 and 18 inch drivers. It combines a forward-firing woofer with a class D amplifier and digital signal processing that monitors cone motion and adjusts output in real time. At launch the US price was USD 3,299, and the later European price was EUR 4,590.

Key specs that matter

The amplifier delivers 1,250 W RMS and carries a dynamic rating of 3,000 W. Velodyne quotes a response of 18.7 to 120 Hz within 3 dB and an overall range of 10.5 to 300 Hz, with typical distortion below 0.5 percent. The low-pass crossover moves from 40 to 199 Hz in 1 Hz steps, and a high-pass output can be set to 80 or 100 Hz. The cabinet is 36 cm high, 33 cm wide and 42 cm deep, and the subwoofer weighs 34 kg. Finishes are black gloss ebony, satin cherry and walnut veneer.

Engineering and use context

For the Plus generation Velodyne redesigned the driver motor. The magnet grew from 8.8 to 15.9 kg, and the voice coil was shortened and given more copper, now a hand-wound six-layer coil of 65 mm that sheds heat more easily. The cone changed from a Kevlar-reinforced type to a laminate of fiberglass and Rohacell foam. The amplifier includes the patented Energy Recovery System. Settings are stored in five user presets, and the supplied remote selects listening modes named Theater, Rock, Jazz and Games plus a custom slot, and also offers volume, mute, a night mode and control of the front panel light. A Windows program connects over USB, a calibrated microphone plugs into a mini-XLR input, and the rear panel also carries RS-232, Ethernet and a 12 V trigger, plus S-video and composite video outputs.

Pairing

Inputs cover LFE on RCA and XLR, stereo line level on RCA and XLR and speaker-level terminals for bare wire, banana plugs or spades. The RCA and XLR thru outputs carry the unfiltered signal onward, while the high-pass outputs send a filtered feed to a power amplifier so the main speakers are relieved of the lowest octaves. That arrangement suits a stereo system with a separate preamplifier and power amplifier as well as a home cinema with a balanced LFE line from a processor.

Alternatives

The Velodyne Digital Drive 12 Plus uses a 12 inch driver in a 40 x 37 x 46 cm cabinet and extends the lower 3 dB limit to 17 Hz.