Velodyne Previews The World's First Digital Subwoofers

25-Feb-03

Velodyne Acoustics, Inc., a leading manufacturer of powered subwoofers for home theatre and consumer audio, announced the introduction of a new approach to the design of high-performance subwoofers. The Digital Drive Series subwoofers are the industry's first all-digital, high-gain servo-controlled subwoofers. Featuring new 18-, 15-, 12-, and 10-inch custom-designed drivers, and powered by Velodyne's patented 1250-watt RMS ""ERS"" switching amplifiers, these subwoofers are also the first to incorporate Velodyne's patent pending ""Digital Driveô"" system. This announcement was made by Doug Smith, Velodyne's Director of Sales.The Digital Drive Series features Velodyne's new Digital Drive technology that takes subwoofer room equalization to a new level. This latest Velodyne innovation allows the subwoofer's frequency response in any room to be measured using a calibrated microphone, digitally corrected, and stored in the unit's memory. This is accomplished with an on-screen graph of the system's actual frequency response, and on-screen feedback as the user makes digital adjustments to subwoofer equalization, phase, and crossovers. The consumer or custom installer can also modify additional overlaid curves to realize optimum performance for various source materials such as action/adventure movies, rock, pop, jazz, or classical music, or through custom settings to match the consumer's taste.The Digital Drive Series subwoofers also incorporate Velodyne's patent pending Digital High Gain Servoô technology that uses Velodyne's proprietary sealed digital accelerometer that measures cone movements 10,000 times per second in order to correct for any distortion. The results are subwoofers with over 3000 watts of dynamic power that deliver sound from 15 to 120 Hz with total harmonic distortion below 0.5%.The Kevlar-reinforced drivers designed for the Digital Drive Series incorporate Velodyne's unique 3-inch Dual Tandem Voice Coil Design that delivers very high power handling, linear travel, and low distortion. Velodyne President David Hall noted, ""These drivers generate less than half the distortion of conventional motor designs, and are capable of four times the heat dissipation."" These subs feature incredibly light, stiff, low-resonance Kevlar-reinforced cones, custom-designed, variable thickness EPDM surrounds, and unique new die-cast aluminum baskets.The Digital Drive Series subwoofers are scheduled to be available for audition and purchase at Velodyne's authorized dealer network in the second quarter of 2003.