Clean TIGHT BASS on the cheap
Written: Sep 08 '04 (Updated Nov 10 '08)
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Pros: clean-tight bass, low cost, good controls
Cons: large box may not pass the wife-test, not carried in big box stores
The Bottom Line: Great sound. no need to adjust a thing after your initial setup. Bass is a wonderful thing to feel. Great features and performance for the price.
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| generic916's Full Review: Velodyne CHT-15 Subwoofer Speaker |
For an inexpensive way to add much needed clean tight bass to your home theater, you should look no further than the Velodyne CHT 15. Well, it really depends on the size of your room. Velodyne's website recommended for my 3000 cubic-foot living room that I need the CHT 15. Only if my room was 2000 cubic-feet, could I then use the CHT 12. Basically, they were right. I had previously grown tired of my old Harmon Kardon 8" subwoofer and installed the Athena Audition Series speakers, including a 10" 100 watt rms/400 watt peak powered subwoofer. Let's just say what a little extra volume, weight and wattage will do to your sound. With the Harmon Kardon, there is no comparison. It was on an old system. The Athena sounded good with my new Onkyo playing a movie (with the bass on the receiver maxed out and the volume on the subwoofer maxed out). However, playing any sort of music, whether it was a CD or digital audio from my satellite system, I was in serious trouble. Even when turning the knobs down, the bass was horrible. Horrible that there was none. If I left the knobs up, then there was much distortion. If I cranked the receiver's volume up, I had much treble and no bass. The opposite is true in every way with the Velodyne CHT 15. First of all, it is massive. At almost 24" in every dimension and 86 lbs, it is made to handle thunder. The built-in amp has twice the power of my Athena. Also, I have yet to read any reviews of durability issues. Some JBLs have been known to blow their circuit boards (you're out of luck once the warrantee ends), and the Klipsch's have been know to blow fuses (unless you upgrade the fuse). Velodyne named the CHT after "Classic Home Theater".
I have had the subwoofer for only a week. In this period, I have watched Top Gun (peaking at 104 decibels) at midnight. I would have turned the volume up louder, but feared I'd wake up my neighbor. It was only at this high level, that my plates started rattling in my adjacent kitchen.
My wife gave me props for the sound quality, but gave a thumbs down on the looks. Its not ugly, but just large. We ended up moving the subwoofer to an opposite corner. It still sounds great. I matched it with the MonsterBass 400 subwoofer cable. My Onkyo TX-SR502 A/V receiver sends a clean signal to the subwoofer through the pre-amp rca jack. I have the MonsterBass 400 connected to a Y split adapter so I can feed a signal into both of the line level inputs. This supposedly will reduce the chance of the subwoofer shutting off on a low-line signal. Also, this subwoofer is good at not clipping. If you have your system turned up too loud, its electronics will automatically lower the volume so it doesn't clip and cause damage. I haven't experienced that yet. I've had the sub's volume at varying loudness between 2 and 5 with no problems. Even the heat sink doesn't get too hot. I would say if you want to spend $500 on a good subwoofer, look no further. Many big box stores do not carry this. You will have to go online to order it.
Update: It's been almost a month now, and no issues with the subwoofer. It sounds great. I have managed not to annoy my neighbor. I think she is hard of hearing anyways.
2nd Update: 4 years later and we've moved twice and it is still working fine. I'm glad I bought this because it can accomodate any room. If it's to big for it, then turn the bass volume down a little and if your room is larger, then turn it up a little higher. I'd rather have a speaker that you can tone down a little if needed, rather than a weaker one that you can not turn up.
Sound & Vision's 9/8/2003 review noted the following:
What’s in the Box
• Cabinet design ported
• Finish flat black
• Driver size 15 inches
• Rated Power 300 watts
• Controls 40- to 120-Hz variable low-pass crossover, 80/100-Hz selectable high-pass filter, level, variable phase, audio and video EQ switch, auto-on
• Warranty 2 years
How Big Is It?
• Dimensions (WxHxD) 18 1/4 x 21 x 23 inches
• Volume 5 cubic feet
• Footprint 3 square feet
• Weight 83 pounds
Ins & Outs
•line- and speaker-level inputs and outputs
How Low Does It Go?
•Bass limit 25 Hz at 92 dB SPL
The Velodyne had 6 to 12 dB higher SPL at 25 Hz than any other sub tested. Translation: It kicks major butt.
How Big the Bang?
• Average SPL from 25 to 62 Hz 107.3 dB
• Maximum SPL 116 dB at 62 Hz
• Dollars per dB $6.51
The CHT-15 can produce peak SPLs that beat subs costing three to four times as much.
The Bottom Line
The Velodyne CHT-15 delivered the biggest bang of the lot, hitting a tooth-rattling 116 dB max SPL. Its all-black styling can be considered either mysterious or menacing depending on your perspective.
Manufacturer Velodyne Acoustics, www.velodyne.com, 408-465-2800
http://www.soundandvisionmag.com/article.asp?section_id=3&article_id=478&page_number=5
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 508 shipped
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Epinions.com ID:
generic916
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Reviews written: 7
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