* Offical Velodyne Support Thread * - Page 290

Our subwoofer lines tend to remain in production for several years, the Optimum is still a current product with no replacement currently in development..

The Digital Drive series and its replacement the Digital Drive plus are designed for the listener who is seeking the cleanest most accurate bass response possible. The DD+ has many design improvements that increase cabinet rigidity, increase the output, and reduce the distortion over the original. In addition to the performance enhancements, we have added some interface improvements, such as the ability to calibrate the subwoofer using a PC connected to the front USB port, the ability to save your settings to the computer and restore later, and the addition of Auto EQ+ which will automatically adjust not just the eight band graphic equalizer, but also the phase, volume, and crossover.

For those that seek performance on a budget, Velodyne offers the Optimum series. These subwoofers borrow many design features from the Digital Drive series, play deep accurate bass, and offer an automatic 7 band room equalization system to optimize the bass response of the subwoofer to your specific listening room.

Thank you, Rob! That's very helpful.

If I leave my sub on 24/7 (even when the receiver is off) will that have any long term effect on the life expectancy of the sub?

Thanks Rob,

Looking forward to hear from you again !

Regards

Ming Sir

Which model subwoofer? Those with class D amplifiers should suffer no ill effect of being "on" 24/7 as the amplifier switch to an off state without signal, the auto on/off feature essentially controls power to the DSP and the LEDs. These draw little power and create virtually no heat. The older class A/B amps, which will have heat sinks on the back panel, should be powered off when not in use to reduce the heat build up which could degrade the components over time.

PM sent

Hi Rob,

Thanks so much for your help !

Regards

Ming Sir:D

Been back here a while researching for a replacement system since my 5200es recently blew at a party...

Thought I'd let you guys know my pair of (ancient) CT-100's are still going strong after replacing all caps on the AMPs over a year ago because a massive hum developed on one of them. (did the replacement myself for about $80 worth of Caps.)
Not bad for almost 14 year old kit!
Upgrading to 11.4 now so might have to consider a pair of new DD-12 series... Would a pair of DD-10's be more "musical" than 12's?

Also if using Audyssey XT32 SUB EQ on an Onkyo 5010 is their another simliar quality velodyne sub outside the DD range that has less expensive room correction as I plan on using the Audyssey room correction.
Edited by Phatboy69 - 10/24/12 at 12:55am

I can not say that there is any difference musically between the 10 and 12, there is plenty of motor structure to start and stop those drivers accurately. The other subwoofer you may consider would be the Optimum series. It does not have the elaborate room equalization or the servo control of the Digital Drive, but does borrow many design elements and is a phenomenal performance value.

SMS-1 question

What volume setting on the SMS-1 is considered to be "pass-thru" (no gain, no attenuation)? I believe it is 18 or something close to there. It was posted earlier in this thread but I can't find it now.

Thanks!

Approximately 14 is neutral gain

Hello Velodyne Support thread,
Here's my dilemma (Long story short);
I purchased an SPL1000II some years ago, around 4Q 2004-1Q 2005 and I used it for about 5 months before I had to move and place it along with the rest of my new HT gear into climate controlled storage* for several years. (*Allied Moving & Storage... friend of family.)
Now when I retrieved my beloved system and set everything back up (2009), to my horror the SPL1000II did not function... Blue Light - No Audio!
So I boxed it back up and it's been sitting in a closet ever since :-(

I am baffled as to how a barely used and pricey Velodyne sub could have died sitting in storage while the rest of my gear and a much older inferior Radio Shack RCA PRO-SW220P still works in all it's muddy glory to this day.
Mind you I purchased the SPL1k along with a complete 5 pc. matched MA Silver Series set to replace the cheap entry level RCA boombox some 10 years later, so this RCA was acquired around 1994-95.
My only guess as to how the Velodyne mysteriously died in storage was that someone that worked at the storage facility took the unit home to play with, but Nobody knew anything there when approached and they assured me that the sealed crate tomb everything was in was buried behind and under other crates in their gigantic warehouse so it was an impossible theory.

It's obviously well out of warranty so I've been totally bent over and hammered on this purchase which I am still Very sore about.

Any ideas from the Velodyne guys on how to go about getting this unit repaired?
(Hopefully at a discounted rate.)

Thank you in advance for your help.
Edited by rjbradlow - 10/31/12 at 11:04pm

The most likely cause of a failure in a subwoofer that has been sitting in storage is an electronics failure. There is a small chance the fuse could be the issue, this can be checked by removing the back panel of the subwoofer (10 screws around the perimeter of the metal plate). The fuse is located on the small pc board near where the power cord connects internally. If this fuse is still good then the unit would need to come in for service. The cost of service on this unit runs $230, and would require your removing the back panel to send in for rebuild. If you are interested in this service you can complete the attached Return Authorization request form and send it to service@velodyne.com . RMA Request Form.doc 106k .doc file

Thank you for the reply Rob.

Been there done that. Fuse is good, nothing is burnt or smells abnormal. Blue light comes on (It's got power), driver moves in/out by hand ok, NO: binding / voice coil rust.

I've downloaded the RMA, but I'm gun shy wondering how long that $230 repair plus shipping will Last.

If your products just fail from sitting in their original packaging; It's not grocery store produce for pete's sake.
Velodyne - Use it or Lose it.

Little known fact: electronics need to be used. Think of it like charging your car battery. Power amps, like the one in your subwoofer are especially prone to problems if not powered up occasionally. Most often, the capacitors dry out. So once your sub is repaired, use it. Your model is exellent (I have several of them) and IMO well worth repairing.
Edited by curt c - 11/1/12 at 2:47pm

Curt C,
Thank you for your reply. Yes I have been impressed with Velodyne products for a long time now and agree they are nice with the exception of my lucky purchase.
I'm thinking I may have just got a bad apple or lemon from Sound Advice* and that the repair should be OK. (*my local store now closed)
I'm just in a bad mood over this and letting my bad attitude shine thru a little.

I'm sure Velodyne is a great company and their products are just dandy.

But, being an electronics professional myself I can assure you that none of my electronics have ever exhibited this kind of failure; even those that are over 20 years old still work just fine today.

I understand about certain types of Caps drying but not all will, and if that were the case in this Velodyne, then it is only natural to question the quality of the electronics inside it.
Nobody is perfect so maybe I got a bad unit and the repair will have an upgrade in electronic components.

As for the go bad if not used theory:

How is it that my 16 year old RCA sub and Yamaha RX-V995 Still work just fine?? .. since they sat just as long in the same climate controlled environment along with the newer 2004-05 velodyne and this same RCA and Yamaha have also previously been stored in an uncontrolled environment being exposed to wide temp and humidity fluctuations???

My Older Yamaha RX-V995 that my Monitor Audio Silver Series S10's, SCLR, and 2 Sfx's plus a variety of other old electronics are connected to also sat in storage with the Velodyne are all just fine. Even an old JVC HR-S5902U SVHS deck still works just fine. Look that one up, lol.

Mind you that when I bought the Velodyne and the MA Silver set I also bought a Monster Power HTS 2600 along with them and have used it to power everything through it every time my system has been setup since the purchase; so It's not a power surge issue.

There you have it.
I don't believe that a high quality expensive sub should go bad from sitting especially when a much older and inferior RCA sub still works just fine to this day.
I also don't believe that I should have to pay for the repair and that Velodyne should defend their honor by at least investigating this bad apple at their expense.
After all I've already given them / a retailer $1200 for the darned thing.

Hi,
I've been involved in the audio industry for over 50 years. I have a lot of equipment, so much so that I forget what I have. I often store equipment for long periods, even knowing I should not. I'm at a loss as to explain why some stored items power right up and others are dead. It has absolutely nothing to do with price or perceived quality. Many of my friends are engineers and they agree that is no way to predict what items are more likely to fail. Most agree the power amps are most at risk. Anyway all agree to power up components occasionally if not used often. I also owned a high-end audio store in the 90's and remember stored units failing. Good Luck.

Thanks for the info Curt,
Fair enough. Guess I'm just being unrealistic. I've not experienced or heard of this before as my clients all use their equipment and I'm apparently just a victim of circumstance here due to a series of unfortunate life events that forced the storage of my equipment. Live and learn, as they say.
Well, at least this lesson is shared here so that others may avoid my pitfall.
Blessings to all.

Thank you Curt...

Hi,

I would like to ask a question. I bought a CHT 8Q, about 3 1/2 years ago. It developed a nasty high frequency chirp (thermal related, starts after 15 minutes or so) after about 2 1/2 years, here in Germany just out of warranty. First I did not regognize where it came from, blamed the heating, but now I carried it back to the dealer which came back to me with a quote for EUR 250 for the repair. This leaves me puzzled, Velodyne claims to be 'industrial leader' offering high quality products and this product did not survive 3 years of usage? For me this does not go together well. Is this the normal pricing for repairs, which obviously is neccesary because of a faulty component?

Thanks

Karsten

I am certainly sorry to hear you are having difficulties with your subwoofer, and I understand your dissapointment. Unfortunately, no matter what the product is or who makes it, there are always some that do not last as long as one might expect. Component failures do occur in electronics, it is the nature of the beast. As to your repair cost, Velodyne does not set the repair rate of product outside of warranty. When they repair the subwoofer they will be replacing the entire electronics assembly, not just swapping one component.

Hi Rob, my SPL1200 Series II has started to have an issue with the internal crossover. For some reason it now only works on subwoofer direct. When I flip the switch to internal crossover, there is no sound. Everything is hooked up correctly and this just happened recently. It worked on internal crossover ever since I got it.

Is there an easy fix or am I looking at amp replacement?

Maybe this will be the perfect opportunity to upgrade to the DD-10+ I've been lusting after.

Without seeing the unit it is hard to say if there is a simple fix, but for the most part the repairs are done at the board level, hence our ability to provide flat rate. The question is, do you need to use the internal crossover? Since most people are using A/V receivers with bass management controls you may be able to get away leaving the subwoofer on direct and getting some more time out of it. Though I must say I love my DD10 plus subwoofers.

I do not use a dedicated preamp with bass management for my 2 channel setup. I go directly from the DAC to the sub and need the high pass out to my amp. I noticed the DD10+ even has high pass out on XLR, that's nice!

What is the flat rate to fix my amp if I should decide to do that?
Edited by drewTT - 11/13/12 at 7:55pm

The current flat rate for rebuilding and updating this electronics pack runs $230.

*Disclaimer: current pricing is subject to change, this post does not constitute a binding quote, for current pricing please contact Velodyne product support at 408-465-2851

HI,

this is my first post in this forum and my english is not very good.

I bought a new DD 12+ one month ago and i have configured my subwoofer with the "active" power mode.

When my stereo pre-amp is switched off, I noticed that my subwoofer powered on, every 3 minutes then switched off 10 minutes later.

This is not what it is described in the user's manual and it is a very annoying situation.

Is there a problem with my subwoofer or is it a known problem with european velodyne subwoofer ?

Rob,

I'm not extremely familiar with Velodyne subs, but I own a SMS-1to assist with EQ dutues.

As I understand it, th Digital Drive subs offer a variant of the SMS-1 built into the sub itself. Is that correct? Would Velodyne sell this product? Or is the DSP and amp built-in together as one unit?

I'm looking to try to incorporate something like this (internal DSP) in my next build.

Just thought I would inquire.

My speculation is that your are located somewhere in Europe. The EU has implemented stringent requirements for electronics that require them to draw no more than 1/2 watt while in standby. This "feature" must take priority over everything else. The DD+ is the first of our subwoofers to come into production under this new law, other models are grandfathered in. The result is that European models will always shut down when not in use for 10 minutes, additionally the 12 volt trigger does not function properly as it is not allowed to override the 1/2 watt circuit. Unfortunately your experience is not a defect, but the new reality for Europe. With regards to the manual, I will address the need to create a European version that address these differences in operation from the US version.

The SMS-1 has all the same DSP and equalization found in the original Digital Drive series subwoofer.

Understood. However, if one wants the SMS-1 DSP capabilities built into an all in one package, is the only option your Digital Drive subs? Or is there something along the lines of a "plate" version of the SMS-1 that can be purchased and used in conjunction with other XYZ plate amps?