Ability to play very low, small size, ample power, ability to play only down where it is supposed to, features that allow this unit to be versatile to any system

the fixed crossover point for the pre amp input may not appeal to some. however this unit does have variable crossover for speaker level hook up

When I began looking for a replacement for my Infinity 10" powered sub, I listened to a few of my favorite speaker brands. I had it in mind I probably would buy a Dynaudio. All my other speakers are Dynaudio & I have always been impressed with their bass response. I heard of Velodyne, but didn't know much about them. When my local Velodyne dealer turned on the SPL 1200, I realized this sub was in a class by itself. I tried to contain my excitement. The other subs I listened to had bass, but the 1200 was unique in the way it played extremely low frequencies, played them with control, & didn't infrenge on the rest of the soundtrack. As well as awesome performance, the 1200 is a amazingly small package. It has many usable features that shows some thought went into this unit. It has auto on/off, which I don't know how I lived without, it has bypass switch to bypass the internal crossover for use with home theater ( almost all HT processors & receivers already crossover the LFE), preamp inputs & speakers lead hook ups, phase control (either on or off, on is 180 degrees out of phase with off). I gave this unit a 5 for value, you get incredible performance & power for this price. The SPL 1200 is the only true SUBwoofer I have ever heard. As I mentioned it has the ability to play very low without overlapping on the bass frequencies from the other speakers. I always understood this to be the job of the crossover, but other subs tend to boom or drowned out some of the other low frequencies. Even in bypass, the 1200 just plays down. You will hear octaves of low bass you don't normally hear, or feel, with other subs. If you haven't heard this unit yet, you owe it to yourself to listen to it before you buy anything else. My room is carpet over concrete & with that the 1200's power is only set somewhere between 1 & 2. The explosions in Pearl Harbor are awesome with this unit. The lows are as apparent as the rest of the soundtrack & you really get a sense of realism. I usually don't write reviews this soon after using a product, but the SPL 1200 is an outstanding product. I can't imagine anyone listening to it & not hearing what I am talking about. I was always opposed to using subs on 2 channel music & I still only use the 1200 in HT, but I would not be opposed to trying this unit with 2 channel, if it was necessary.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity & auditioned others, even some more expensive

This is a continuation of my previous review.........Since I wrote my last review of the SPL-1200, almost directly subsequent to buying it, I have had the opportunity to listen to the 1200 a great deal. Over this listening time, I''''ve been particulary pleased with its excursions. The largest excursion yet has been about 1 1/4" inches....incredible! Even more impressive was that the 1 1/4" excursion was very linear. The driver probably could reach about 1 3/4" - 2" though this large an excursion would probably be a bit distorted. If you want an example of the 1200''''s massive excursion, refer to the depth charge seen in U-571....... I guarantee it will be worth it. I have been equally impressed with Veldyne''''s deep bass extension for such music as that being played by pipe organs. Primarily I listen to "Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child" on First Impression Music''''s Audiophile Reference IV SACD. Though I am generally not a devotee of pipe organ music, the deep extension provided by the 1200 makes listening well worth it. Frequencies are reproduced below 20Hz, though not with excellent response. Aside from sheer power, bass has been quick, taut, and quite clean, which makes the SPL-1200 a great sub for music. With the 1200, the sound of a kick drum, for instance, has real "punch" and articulation to it. Though, at higher amplification levels, the 1200 can sound a bit bloated and uneven. That is, the lower bass frequencies tend to sound louder than the higher bass frequencies. Despite a couple small problem areas, the SPL-1200 is an overall excellent subwoofer for both music and movies. Moreover, it is truly deservant of a 5 star rating.

Solid

Could go lower with higher output. Don''t expect alot until it is properly broken in.

I bought this sub about 2 weeks ago. I bought it for lower freqs. My system consists of 4 BP2006s and C/L/R 2300 center. The all the speakers have built in subs but rolloff alot below ~ 35hz. At first I was very unhappy with the SPL1200... After about 30 hours playing some really bass heavy tracks the sub came to life! This sub is very good. It can literally cause everything in my 1 floor 1450 sq ft house to vibrate. After a good break-in this sub can really perform. I can get about 70db at a teeth rattling 16hz - but true useful freq is down to 20hz. Response in my room is a fairly flat ~100db from ~ 20-80hz.

Similar Products Used:

PF15tl , PF12 , B&W ASW650

Just about everything, though, specifically the amplifier and driver.

Has a frequency response down to only 22Hz (as opposed to 20Hz), though, the infinite baffle enclosure provides for a shallow roll-off after 22Hz. The 1200 can reproduce 20Hz, though with a significantly rolled-off response. 22Hz response is not much of an issue though, when considering everything else the 1200 has to offer.

In short, the SPL-1200 is built like a brick subwoofer, as it were. The amplifier can deliver tremendous amounts of power, in part due to its extreme efficiency. Specifically, 1500 watts dynamic and 750 watts RMS. The magnetic structure is indeed built to handle this enormous amount of power; the SPL-1200''''''''s 3" dual layered, high temperature voice coil exemplifies this. The 12" driver is just as well built as the 1200''''''''s other "systems". The cone is Kevlar reinforced resin in nature and the surround is massive!!! One can tell by just looking at it (the surround) that it is capable of handling high excursions, even those close to 2". The SPL-1200 can produce VERY POWERFUL bass, and, can at the same time, reveal the subtle details that one might find in music. Moreover, distortion is minimal, even when the SPL-1200 is asked to play loudly. The SPL-1200''''''''s cabinet is well designed; it does not seem to have any resonating problems, even when the 1200 is playing loudly.

Similar Products Used:

Velodyne CT and VLF series subwoofers

tight and musical

on/off amp problem.

Before buying the SPL-1200, I listened to the CHT series of Velodyne subs to get a comparison and determine if the 1200 was worth the extra money. The difference was incredible! I absolutely love the 1200. I am not sure whether i like it better with music or movies. When i watched The Fast and the Furious, i thought my windows were going to brake...and the volume was set to just over 3. like others have mentioned, my auto on/off is defective and i am working with velodyne to resolve the issue. after MUCH shopping around, i got the best sub for the money!

Similar Products Used:

velodyne cht series, different m & k subs

small size, powerful bass, fast

vinyl finish is ok but could be better

I have not had any problems with this sub. It has performed it's task of providing low bass extremely well. It is a powerful sub which is surprising due to it's size. It is also very quick and non-directonal.

Similar Products Used:

energy, mirage, boston acoustics, B&W

size, crisp bass

design problems, remote control not an option for this unit

As soon as I hooked up the power to this sub, It produced a very loud humming sound. After some experimenting, I figured out it was being caused by the dimmer switches in the house. After exhausting suggestions from my dealer, I called Velodyne. They were aware of the problem and suggested that I get a Monsterpower SW200 subwoofer power center. The power center did nothing to stop the noise, so back to Velodyne I go. This time they sent out another amplifier with modifications. The noise stopped.
After a very frustrating month of dealing with this design flaw, I am very happy with the performance of this unit. It fills up my 16'x 20' room very nicely. Movies are now a experience. The crisp, clean sound that this small sub puts out has made my troubles worthwhile. By the way, Velodyne informed me that all new units now have the modified amplifier.

Similar Products Used:

none

compact,Powerful,unbelievable acuracy in bass reproduction on all music levels.

none that I can find

This is my second Velodyne subwoofer I have owned. The last one I bought in 96 worked great and I traded it in and received a fair price. This subwoofer knows how to play a note. and it is a solid value if one can not shell out for the HGS series. Don't get me wrong i'd love an HGS but not this time. Next time. I played a chapter from Lion heart. let me tell you the Dragon (Sean Conery's) voice is so accurately reproduced. I coul'd feel it in my chest. The amplifier is powerful and the driver is solid. I was suprized of it's overall cabinet size compared to the other Velodyne series. It is more compact but do not under estimate its appearance. I currently have this hooked to my Integra DTR 9.1

Similar Products Used:

Velodyne 1215

Small foot print, loud and low distortion

Not very musical, position sensitive

Very impressive subwoofer. I have it to replace my old MK MX125 MK2. The bass was tight and strong. Yet, its not blend smoothly with my main speaker, esp for music.

Anyhow, for movies, its tough not to be impressed with this sub. Perhaps due to its servo control.

Similar Products Used:

MK MX125 MK2, BW 2500

Small footprint, good build quality, outstanding bass quality and power

No variable phase control, only 0 or 180 degree setting. Wish blue power led was on the front face rather than on top.

The Velodyne SPL-1200 is replacing a Paradigm PW-2200 sub. The Paradigm although a good sub, was very hard to place due to its size and rear porting. I was never able to get it placed to the point where its bass was satisfactory in the room. Acutally other locations in the house had louder bass than the room the sub was in. I simply was never 100% satisfied, and finally decided that there had to be something better out there that I would be happy with. After much researching for a front firing only sub with a smaller footprint, I became interested in the SPL-1200.

I was able to compare the Velodyne vs. the Paradigm PW-2200 at a local hi-fi dealer in the area and immediately I could notice a difference in quality in volume and quality of the bass. The Velodyne's bass was much tigher, faster, and louder than the Paradigm. There was no contest, the Paradigm was good, but the Velodyne was just no doubt in another league. After purchasing the Velodyne I've experienced the same results at home as well. I could make out each bass note very distinctly, even on fast bass rifts, at very, very low volumes. The same music on the Paradigm more of a continous, nondistinct, muddled low level noise (that is probably too harsh, but you get the idea).

The Velodyne's bass is so clean that initially it sounds like it is not too loud, but only after a minute or so you realize the power and underpinning it is providing, it is tremendous -- it loads the room whereas the Paradigm never could. You can crank it up and simply pound you to the point where your ears are ringing and hurting, and you feel the pressure in your chest. This is one truly amazing sub at the $1000 price range for both music and home theater. During my review at the local hi-fi shop, I listened to Velodyne HGS series as well, but I could not tell any significant difference between the SPL-1200 and the Velodyne HGS-12, so the decision was made - the SPL-1200 was it.

For those of you who are looking to step up to a more musical sub and want ground rattling power as well for HT, I could not recommend a better sounding sub. This sub was also given the highest marks in a recent subwoofer shoot-out in Sound & Vision magazine (the review can be found on-line at www.ecoustics.com under the "speakers" link).

Similar Products Used:

Previously owned JBL PSW-1200, Paradigm PW-2200, but reviewed many others before buying the Velodyne.