* Offical Velodyne Support Thread * - Page 266

Rob

This reply makes me want to sell my perfectly working Velodyne. Ultimatly he is at a loss at the end of the day because he bought a product of Velodyne. Yes the product was used and already serviced once, however competition is to fierce to let a future customers get burned so badly. If he is honest and has treated the sub properly only to have it malfuction in a way that is common to his model, the only positive solution is for Velodyne to replace his amp free of charge.

It should be clarified that this statement was not intended as an attack on the poster, but rather addressing the perception that there is some type of systemic problem with the amplifier platform.

Hi catdog2, can you check your PM's when you get a chance? I would like to place an order for the replacement amp that we discussed previously.

Thanks
Jeff

Hello Jeff
I did reply with the info this morning I will send it again

Hi Rob-

I've done hours of Googling on the SPL Series II and SPLR series subwoofers. It does appear to be a very common trend for the servo amplifiers on these specific subwoofers to fail (popping, hissing, crackling), and this appears to happen at a frequency of 2-4 years. In fact, I already knew that the repair cost was $230 even before I called Velodyne since I've seen so many posts about broken Velodyne Amplifiers.

At the end of the day, all I can do is compare my experience with Velodyne with other manufacturers that I've used. I've owned NHT, Energy and Paradigm subwoofers. Not once has any of them failed on me. I've owned this SPL-1200 mkII for 18 months. It had already been in to Velodyne for repair, and now 3 years later, it's toast once again.

At the very least, it would be nice to see Velodyne recognize that there is a problem with the amp, and perhaps split the repair cost with the comsumer. As of now, though, there's no way I'm paying $250 for something that may give up the ghost in 2 years time. That's ridiculous.

Like I said, I can't comment on the other subs in your lineup, but my experiance with the SPL-1200 mkII is over and I will NEVER buy a Velodyne again. It's that simple.

Regards, Phil

Rob-

If you do a Google search for "velodyne amplifier repair spl forum" you will see plenty of instances in which the SPL amplifiers have gone belly up on consumers. I don't think my experience is a rare by any measure.

-Phil

Competition is fierce. I find that those companies who focus on customer service and really aim to back their product will earn my business every time. In this case, Velodyne seems to have dropped the ball on the SPL amplifiers, leaving the owners of these models high and dry.

Thanks so much for the assistance.

I sent an email to Pete with the required info.... not sure if that is you or not.

Thanks again.

Jeff

Hello Jeff
Yes that me, We will ship your amp tomorrow

I was wondering if it is possible to get repair parts for a FSR-15 which suffered lightening damage to the amp(or so I assume). If not, are there any electronics repair places that repair these circuit boards at the component level? I am in the Chicago area.

Hi Rob, thanks for the advice but the problem is still present.
I do all adjust that you said and I feel that the only way to Optimum work is when the receiver is sending a medium or high volume(above 40%)
My Optimum have 2 days of use, do you believe that is going to work well after burn in?
I stay close to sub and can confirm the amp is not sending signal to speaker all time when receiver volume is below 40%, even in bass passages.
The sub work and then after 2 seconds stop and then return, all with the same bass signals.
It's just like the optimum amp needs a very strong receiver signal to work.
Thanks for the help.

The FSR-15 can be repaired at any stereo repair shop on the component level. We are happy to provide schematics to them at no charge to assist in servicing the unit.

Burn in is not going to help in this case. Please complete and return the attached service request form so we can take a look at it for you.

 

RMA Request Form.doc 106.5k . file

I was able to get my FSR-15 repaired at Midwest Audio in Chicago area.
They had it back to me in 3 days at a cost of $150. Great service and fast turnaround!
Although I must admit, I was salivating at the thought of a new DD-15 or DD-18. Maybe down the road!

It is quite salivating... I picked up one (DD-18) last year. Star Wars just came out on Blu-ray and I chucked in Episode I last night. . . Some impressive LFE. Much clearer master than DVD version being on Blu-ray - and I would say the Velodyne quality of reproducing the LFE recorded has got to be so accurate. Everything just sounded so right and full of muscle.

Anyway.... I know this is a support thread... ! But the DD are a great range is what I wanted to say.

FWIW, the number of companies of any kind that extend warranties to anyone other than the original purchaser and when purchased from anyone other than an authorized dealer is quite small.

As an example, the warranty for forum favorite JL Audio states as bullet point #2 under Warranty Limitations:


Likewise, the OP referenced Energy:


and Paradigm, who state:

The site is down, velodyne.com. Any clue when will be up again? I need info from the site. Thanks

Is the company still in business?

What's with the website? 2 subs and some military boots for sale???

My saved link didn't work; but, I was able to get to the site when I entered http://www.velodyne.com.

Hello
The web page is being updated and should be up and running shortly.

Hello All
The web page is being updated and should be up and running shortly.
For any question please call us at 408-465-2851

The website should be up again now.

Not quite. September 22 it seems.

The site was up, but they pulled it back down. A completely redesigned website should relaunch Thursday. Thank you for your patience.

Hi -

I purchased a DLS-5000R a little over a month ago and have just now had the chance to hook it up, but something is wrong - there is no sound, no air movement, nothing.

Using a Yamaha RX-A800 receiver; purchased a 15ft. Acoustic Research subwoofer cable (came with "Y" splitter, but not currently using).

Hook up - set speakers to "small", set receiver crossover at 80Hz, set crossover dial on the back of the unit to "Direct", connected to the input marked LFE.

When I turn it on, the blue light comes on but there doesn't seem to be any input. Not even the slighest hum.

I've rechecked my connection from the AVR (I did attach it to the Subwoofer 1 pre-out); the cable has signal direction arrows on it and they point out from the AVR and in to the woofer.

Have I done something wrong? Is there something else I should try? Does it sound as if this unit is defective? Is it possible my subwoofer cable is bad?

Hopefully there is an easy fix (fingers crossed).

Touch your thumb to the AVR end of the cable-the sub should make a hum/pop if sub is working. BTW, the little arrow makes only a subtle difference, if any. Any extra RCA cable you have around can be used to R/O your cable as the problem using the same technique.

I am not familiar with this model and the website is down. But have you reviewed the OM as to proper setup? Sounds silly but is the vol turned up? (I have a DD model with complex electronics so first thing with a used one it should be reset to factory defaults.)

Thanks, I'll try that when I get home tonight. OM says the volume is pre-set at 35/100 (unit is new). I did try turning up the volume, but no difference. But maybe I will also try resetting to factory defaults.

The OM for this is not very long - I re-read everything about 3 times last night wondering if I missed something; rechecked all settings on my AVR. The cable has locking connections on both ends, so there is/should be a good snug fit - I don't think there should be a bad connection.

BTW, my AVR is currently just hooked to an HD satellite box - but I assume there should still be some LFE produced that the woofer can detect? (I even tried setting the AVR crossover at 110). I get some music channels through my satellite provider and I even switched to the bass-pumpingest music I could find and still nada from the sub.

Frustrating.

^I'd assume this is some silly settings issue rather than a bad sub and troubleshoot it mercilessly.

I'm not familiar with that AVR (I have no idea if one needs to do some extra step like set sub to yes and run autosetup) but your bass management settings seem correct. So you should be getting a sub signal whether your source has LFE (DD5.1) or is just 2.0. That is because the sub channel consists of LFE + all freqs under the xover, in your case=80. The thumb test will help you narrow it down.

I am sorry to hear you are having problems with your Velodyne subwoofer.

To test and verify there is a problem with the subwoofer:
1. Connect the left and right outputs of a working CD or DVD player directly to the subwoofer's inputs using a different cable than you normally use.
2. Turn the cross-over all the way up to 120 and set the volume to 30% volume.
3. Play a CD with some beat

If the subwoofer is working you will hear the bass portion of the music, this means the problem is elsewhere in your system. If the same problem persists, the problem is likely in the subwoofer. If there is a problem with the subwoofer we can service this unit for you.