Velodyne – DEQ-12R Subwoofer – Hardware Review
January 31, 2010 – 4:53 PM - Posted by: James SegarsTags: DEQ-12R, Subwoofer, Velodyne
NOTE: This is now our fifth Hardware Review so let me describe how we will be doing things. You can view the Hardware Review in either HTML (Web) format below or you can download the Adobe Acrobat PDF file presentation by clicking the image below. The second option reads more like a magazine hardware review. This PDF layout was created by myself (James Segars) with the help of Justin Sluss and will be the style that all our future hardware reviews will be published in, as well as the basic HTML below.
this requires Adobe Reader to view.
Is Velodyne’s DEQ series up to snuff? We weigh the pro’s and con’s of Velodyne’s excellent mid-level digital EQ subwoofer. They say you never forget your first car. I on the other hand will never forget my first subwoofer, the VRP-1000. It was my first standalone subwoofer (one that is sold separately from a home theater in a box (HTIB) system) and it remains as one of my all-time favorite Christmas gifts that I’ve received over the years.
It’s difficult to put into words just how much that upgrade changed my life and my view of home theater audio overall — particularly the quality of low frequency effects that could be achieved in the home — and the VRP-1000 remained a constant in my home theater eco-system for many years, that is until it was recently replaced by the A3-300 subwoofer from Elemental Designs that I previously reviewed, and subsequently purchased following the completion of the review.
If you recall the A3-300 review, I was blown away by the increased low end output, and the overall decibel increase offered by the A3-300 over my slightly aged (but still potent) VRP-1000. Fast-forward a couple months to CEDIA 2009 where I popped into the Velodyne booth in order to see what sorts of subwoofer technology they were sporting at the show.
Alongside the absolutely stunning Digital Drive 1812 Signature Edition series subwoofer, there was another set of subwoofers that appeared unassuming, the DEQ-R series. But knowing Velodyne’s track record, small form factor doesn’t mean less impact. They’ve got a real talent for engineering small boxes that pack a real punch, so it’s safe to assume that virtually any sized Velodyne subwoofer will provide a pleasant listening experience, depending on your preferences and budget of course.
As for me, I took an almost immediate liking to the DEQ-12R unit — one that sports a 12 inch driver — because I thought that it would be great to review it alongside my A3-300 (also a 12 inch driver) in order to see how the two units differed, and also to see how the new Velodyne unit improved upon the performance of my older VRP-1000.
— Review by: James Segars —
Within a couple months after CEDIA I would finally have the opportunity to do just that when a brand new DEQ-12R showed up on my doorstep.
The DEQ-12R series subwoofer comes packaged very well, and very tightly — something that is paramount in every way when it comes to shipping electronics equipment. It came double boxed, with sturdy white foam inserts sandwiching the subwoofer which was wrapped in a loose plastic. Accompanying the unit is a remote control, an EQ microphone, microphone stand, and a user manual — oh and yes, batteries are included for the remote control, a simple, but welcome inclusion indeed.
The entire unboxing process was very quick and painless because there are so few parts and the unit itself is considerably lighter than most 12 inch subwoofers on the market, weighing in at 61 pounds. In other words, this makes placement a snap and you can most definitely do this all on your own without the need for a second pair of hands, which is a relief if you find yourself wanting to move the subwoofer around freely to find the sweet spot in your home theater that yields the most output/even performance.
In the first week, I was forced to setup the subwoofers (my A3-300 and the DEQ-12R) at ninety-degrees to each other, with one on the front wall, and the other on the right wall. This was only a temporary solution though, as I was merely waiting on the shipment for a center speaker stand that would replace the table it was currently resting on and thus yield more floorspace that would facilitate the placement of both subwoofers in a front wall, front firing configuration, which is widely believed to be one of the most optimal configurations for dual-subwoofer installations.
I sought to establish this placement standard because I wanted to provide the most constant and equal playing field for the evaluative listening tests. In an ideal world, or a home theater sandbox environment (where space is virtually limitless and of no concern) I would have stacked the subwoofers on top of one another, but because that would block my projector screen that is simply not an option here.
At any rate, let us get back to the initial settings. The first order of business was to run the auto EQ function. I plugged in the supplied microphone after removing the subwoofer grille that otherwise conceals the microphone jack, and I ran the mic to my central seating area, raising it to ear level. After I held the EQ button on the remote for a few seconds, the subwoofer began to emit a series of subwoofer sweep tones, which took no more than a minute to complete, perhaps less. It should go without saying that you should remain quiet during any equalization process, for fear that you might throw off the adjustments. Once that was complete, I decided that it was time to level the subwoofer using my SPL meter.
With no signal running to the subwoofer, I wanted to check just how high the volume control on the subwoofer went. Viewing the digital display on the front, I learned that the subwoofer’s max volume is at 80. After noting that, I promptly returned it to it’s factory standard volume and set about balancing the output level.
In order to do this, I maintained my receiver’s subwoofer output level (as it is matched for my A3-300) and I dialed down the DEQ-12R until it read roughly 75dB on my SPL meter — which was, in my case, 24 on the subwoofers master volume control.
Next up was the phase control. Normally, this has little effect on the subwoofer, and it should typically be left at 0, however in the event that you get better/louder bass with a different phase setting whether it’s a toggle switch (0 or 180), free range dial (0-180) or select preset variables in this case (0, 90, 180, 270) you should stick with what yields the best bass.
In my installation, I found that a phase setting of 0, even when I was running both subs at once was perfectly fine, and there appeared to be little advantage or difference in performance when I toggled/cycled through the phase control settings.
With the phase properly dialed in, I thought it was time to tinker with the four provided presets for the unit. Overall, while watching/listening to a variety of material I noticed differences in the subwoofer performance, but none that were particularly desirable. I prefer to have a reference-style setup where everything plays back on an even sound stage, and so presets such as these that tweak the original settings to enhance a single type of listening material aren’t really my cup of tea. However, I think there’s no harm in having them in the event that someone enjoys the performance differences they yield, and there’s no doubting the “cool” factor that comes along with a novel feature such as this that can be switched on command via a remote control. Another one of these convenient features is the “night” mode that is enabled/disabled exclusively on the remote control. From what I could tell, this throttles the overall output subtly but not quite as pervasively as I thought it would, which, depending on what you’re hoping to get out of that feature may or may not be satisfactory. In other words, if you were hoping for a more aggressive output restriction you would probably be better off scaling back the master volume control over using the night mode exclusively. That would be the best way to ensure that you don’t end up waking up the kids, or agitating your neighbors. Just my two cents on the otherwise nice feature.
Lastly we come to the crossover control. Because the master crossover control is set in my receiver at 80Hz I usually disable (turn the subwoofer’s crossover control all the way up to the max, usually 120Hz) the subwoofer’s crossover. Usually you do this in order to avoid using the crossover twice. However, in the case of this DEQ-12R unit, I found it was necessary to drop the onboard crossover to 90Hz in order to curb the subwoofer’s high end response. I determined this using a subwoofer sweep signal, and by disconnecting the other speakers in my system to ensure I was only hearing the DEQ-12R. Sure enough, despite the master crossover being set in my receiver at 80Hz, I was indeed getting sound above well above 90Hz from the DEQ-12R, and so I promptly set the subwoofer’s crossover to 90Hz in order to diminish the high end frequency output. What’s also important to note is that I opted not to have both crossovers match perfectly (at 80Hz) but that I actually staggered the subwoofer’s onboard crossover because of the frequency roll-off that occurs naturally in the subwoofers crossover control.
With all of the settings properly dialed in, I was just about ready to begin my month long evaluation, but in doing some preliminary evaluation, I noticed an odd performance issue with the unit. It’s one that’s hard to put into words, but the best way I can describe it is as an occasional muted delayed response, or in other words, a very subtle low volume “echo” or hum after a bass note was output. I only noticed this during my night time viewing where the overall volume of the programming was low, but it was consistently there. The good news is that it is extremely subtle and I’d venture to guess that very few people would ever notice it at all. However, it is a persistent issue with my unit, but one that hardly warrants any further complaint because it is so faint and only apparent during very low volume watching. As for what could be causing this, I’m not comfortable speculating because it could be specific to my unit and not the entire production run.
My viewing evaluation method was broken up over the course of four weeks. During that time I sampled/viewed twenty-five films on blu-ray/hd dvd as well as select video games. Many of the films that I sampled make up what will be referred to as “The Gauntlet” from here on out. This group of films that will remain constant for the most part, with a couple substitutions whenever appropriate, will represent my metric for deducing the performance capacity of subwoofer units. I believe that the wide variety of material, and the outstanding bass information found on many of these discs make “The Gauntlet” one of the best ways to put a subwoofer to the test. I’m not concerned with charts, graphs or specs. I want to know if a subwoofer has what it takes to reproduce some of the best bass on disc and perhaps more importantly whether or not it can reveal new and exciting bass passages that had otherwise been obscured or neglected by underpowered units.
It may not be wholly scientific, but I think it’s what really counts — performance. And “The Gauntlet” represents quite a few of the greatest LFE bullshit detectors on the market today.
Without further ado, let’s get rolling.
Viewed: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Wanted, Sunshine, Shoot ‘em Up, The Dark Knight, Domino, Quantum of Solace.
Without question, the latest and greatest LFE demo disc is the latest Transformers film, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Surpassed only by Cloverfield and it’s predecessor Transformers, the sequel boasts some of the most pleasing, detailed and bombastic LFE material to date. Having seen the film in IMAX theaters upon release, I had astronomical expectations for the home video release on Blu-ray, and I was very eager to get the DEQ-12R off to a smashing start in order to see if it would deliver the goods.
I was pleasantly surprised. The DEQ-12R handled virtually everything in the film remarkably well, sporting very nice low frequency extension, commendable output and relatively outstanding stability, only buckling under the weight of the bass heavy material a couple times. This is expected of course because the film’s sound design is extremely aggressive, and it doesn’t shy away from tossing out some earth-shattering bass. Still, the unit held up extremely well considering I had the volume cranked quite high on my receiver.
In fact, it wasn’t until I ran back the film for a second time with my A3-300 (and the DEQ turned off) that I was made aware of the times where the DEQ faltered, failed to dip as low, or belt out the bass notes as loudly as the A3-300. However, as I said before, it performed extremely well and I was excited to see how it would handle the rest of the listening material I had planned for it.
With Wanted, Sunshine, Shoot ‘em Up, and Domino the performance of the DEQ-12R was more or less transparent to that of the A3-300, if only slightly less impactful at times. The differences between the two units though were highlighted in viewing The Dark Knight and Quantum of Solace. With Quantum, a few of the explosions, crashes and gunfire lacked a bit of “oomph” and weight that is achieved by the A3-300, and with The Dark Knight, the same is true, but beyond that the bat mobile and the bat pod in particular didn’t have nearly as commanding an on-screen presence as I’ve come to expect from the A3-300. In particular, the ultra-low-end that is present on the The Dark Knight (nearly sub-sonic bass material) wasn’t nearly as powerful with the DEQ-12R, even with the receiver volume turned up quite high. Surely, I could crank the subwoofer volume itself but doing so would result in an overpowering/unbalanced and potentially boomy listening experience. That being said, I never found the DEQ-12R unpleasant or weak, but instead slightly lacking in overall ultra-low-end output and impact.
All in all, my first week with the DEQ-12R was a very enjoyable one, with only a few shortcomings/differences brought to light. One thing is for sure, the DEQ-12R is leaps and bounds beyond my old Velodyne unit.
Viewed: Cloverfield, Transformers, John Mayer: Where The Light Is Live In Los Angeles, Top Gun, Tropic Thunder, 300, Superman Returns.
With one week behind me, it was time to initiate phase two of “The Gauntlet.” Those of you that read my review of the A3-300 know that Cloverfield was one of the key discs that blew me away when evaluating the Elemental Designs subwoofer, and here too, the DEQ-12R delighted me, filling the room with excellent, pulse-pounding bass. However, I did find that it lacked the earth-shattering, gut-punching output provided by the A3-300 in the most demanding scenes. Nonetheless, the DEQ-12R succeeded in reproducing virtually everything else in the film’s low end to perfection, creating a harrowing and terrifying atmosphere.
Of course, just because the new Transformers film is out on Blu-ray doesn’t mean that I’m going overlook the first one (arguably the best audio demo disc until the sequel’s release). Here, heard on the DEQ-12R, Transformers sounds excellent, with an impactful atmosphere and substantial weight behind all but the most extremely low notes/tones in the film. Again, it didn’t go as low as the A3-300 but it did a fine job reproducing almost all of the low frequency material found in the film, of which there is a ton like its successor.
As for the rest of the films viewed in the second week, the DEQ-12R did a fine job handling the musical passages on the John Mayer disc, the screaming jets and flat spins found in Top Gun, pyrotechnics and gunfire in Tropic Thunder, the crash of waves and thunderous marching elephants in 300, and last but not least the thrilling sonic booms and earth splitting cracks found in Superman Returns.
Upon wrapping on week two of my evaluation, I reflected on the overall performance of the DEQ-12R subwoofer thus far. While it never revealed any new details in the low frequency range, it rarely failed to produce a powerful and satisfactory atmosphere, and perhaps that says far more than where it’s weaknesses lie. If the unit can go toe-to-toe with the A3-300 and only falter a handful of times, that’s saying quite a lot about the performance of the DEQ-12R because I consider the Elemental Designs A3-300 the best subwoofer you can buy in its price range ($550). On to week three we go.
Viewed/played: Iron Man, Band of Brothers, Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut, V for Vendetta, Halo 3, The Orange Box: Half Life 2, Heat
Much of this section of “The Gauntlet” remains unchanged, although I’ve subbed in the new release of Watchmen: The Ultimate Cut (DD TrueHD, instead of DTS-HD: MA) and also the highly anticipated Michael Mann crime-epic, Heat. Both of these films boast a great deal of low frequency demo material, however the sound design and low frequency material featured in Heat can hardly compete with the earthquake-inducing LFE track that is featured on Watchmen, nor should it. Heat is a perfect film, and so is its soundtrack, just don’t expect it to rock your house the way modern film soundtracks tend to do these days.
Anyway, getting back to the evaluation of those two films, the DEQ-12R presented both films to the best of its ability, delivering a virtually transparent rendition of Heat to the A3-300’s performance, but the same can not be said of Watchmen. For the most part, the DEQ-12R went note for note with the A3-300 in Watchmen, but as in the past, there were times where the A3-300 simply went lower and louder than the DEQ-12R was able to go. In particular, the monstrous kicks and punches in the film lacked some low-end emphasis and the Archimedes fly-bys didn’t rattle the room as much as I expected, nor did the nuclear bomb dream sequence. Of course, these are minor complaints and minor shortcomings. As usual, the DEQ-12R brought the pain wherever appropriate and I was generally quite impressed with its output given the demanding source material.
Outside of the new additions, the ever-indomitable LFE experience on Iron Man was a real treat to behold on the DEQ-12R, as was the bombastic explosive finale in V for Vendetta, and the countless explosions, artillery reports and gunshots in Band of Brothers. Nary an LFE detail was lost on the DEQ-12R.
As for the video games, Halo 3 sounded as good as ever, complete with resonant grenade explosions and pleasantly full sounding gun fire. Naturally, the video game evaluation wouldn’t be complete without giving Half Life 2 a go, and firing off more than a few rounds of the combine pulse rifle. Here I was very pleased to find that the reproduction of the pulse rifle’s gut-thumping kick was preserved almost entirely. It still sounded very powerful, but it did lack a bit of the weight that the A3-300 lent the sound effect. Still, the DEQ-12R held up quite well with respect to the A3-300’s rendition of the video game soundtracks.
Viewed/played: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Australia, Hot Fuzz, The Incredible Hulk, Sigur Ros: Heima, The Fountain, Gommorah.
Once more, I decided to start the week off with a bang. This time however, it would be with the latest (and greatest) addition to the long line of Call of Duty franchise games with the release of Modern Warfare 2. Fans of the game franchise will be quick to agree that it boasts some of the most awe-inspiring multi-channel gaming sound design and effects across the board. Along with that, there are more than a dozen cool ways to evoke a bombastic LFE experience, whether its the concussive report of the Barrett .50 Caliber sniper rifle, a remotely detonated C4 explosive device, frag grenades exploding all around you, or strategically planted claymores there is no shortage of low frequency material. Predictably, the DEQ-12R did an excellent job with the LFE track present on the game. In fact, in comparing this particular game between the A3-300 and the DEQ-12R, I came to notice that the DEQ-12R actually had a bit more pronounced and fuller high-end low frequency response, which should not be confused with “boominess.” Why I hadn’t noticed this until now, I can’t say for certain, but doing A/B comparisons, toggling back and forth between the two subs the difference was definitely apparent. So you see, where the DEQ-12R lacks a bit of the low-end extension, it narrowly bests the A3-300 in the upper register of the low frequency range.
Moving on to the film portion of the final week evaluation, I found certain segments of the haunting Italian film, Gommorah, to be particularly resonant via the DEQ-12R. Of note, the scene where two of the trouble italian youths are firing grenade launchers and machine guns in a desolate coastal locale to be very powerful and startlingly realistic, but also beyond that, the drive-by execution of a character and subsequent car crash gripped me thoroughly.
Another favorite of mine that didn’t make the cut for “The Gauntlet” last time around is Aronofsky’s The Fountain. It is a powerful film on its own, but the soundtrack (both the score and the sound design) carry a healthy bit of LFE all-their-own. The climax of the film is without question the most powerful scene in all respects, and I was glad to hear the DEQ-12R keeping up with all but the lowest notes in the finale. It performed very well.
However, while the DEQ-12R kept up with nearly everything during this week’s evaluation, it struggled a bit with the triumphantly powerful low end featured on The Incredible Hulk. As I previously stated in my A3-300 review, this film is incredibly demanding and it churns out a massive amount of ultra-low-end material, and in many ways (alongside some of the aforementioned titles in weeks past) it is one of the greatest bullshit detectors around. Thankfully, the DEQ-12R only faltered sporadically, and even then it wasn’t that it became distorted, only that it couldn’t dive as deep as the track wished to go.
Moving on, the DEQ-12R finished off the fourth week of evaluation quite well, offering up a splendid rendition of the Sigur Ros documentary, Heima, while also reproducing the thunderous hooves of stampeding cattle in Australia, as well as the big-time-booms resonating from a flurry of shotgun blasts and gunfire featured in Hot Fuzz. All in all, it was the perfect sign-off to a rather impressive evaluation period.
All things considered, the DEQ-12R is a very capable 12 inch subwoofer. It was able to go toe-to-toe with what I believe to be the best “bang for your buck” subwoofer on the market today (the A3-300 @ $550), and in the end it really only loses points on the areas of Extension, and Output. It simply can’t compete with the A3-300 in the ultra-low-end of the frequency range, but in many ways, that may work for consumers who aren’t looking to reproduce near-subsonic bass and really shake things up. In that way, perhaps the DEQ-12R would be the best option. It’s a very stable, highly precise subwoofer with great extension, great output and a host of features that you won’t find on the A3-300, including the convenient auto-EQ feature. However, all of the bells and whistles do come at a price, as does the established Velodyne brand name; the DEQ-12R rings in at $650, making it a whole hundred dollars more than the Elemental Designs offering.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to what you, the consumer, values more. If you’re a die-hard Velodyne fan, chances are you’ll likely stick with the familiar brand even though the DEQ-12R might be slightly underpowered compared to the cheaper unit from Elemental Designs.
Rest assured though, no matter which you choose (if either) you will be purchasing an extremely capable and potent subwoofer that will outperform virtually anything in its class/price range, internet direct or otherwise.
It has been a real pleasure reviewing the DEQ-12R series subwoofer. Velodyne is constantly improving their products, finding new and exciting ways to provide the consumer with excellent bass, and the DEQ series is no exception. I’ll be sad to see it go.
Product Image:
click the thumbnail below for a larger view
