Velodyne F-1800R Subwoofers:

   AS IS: TWO for Parts or you can repair them?

 IF YOU PICK up Two Available priced both $295 pick up OR: $400 if shipped (box and time & materials to get them ready to ship) + shipping costs + tax or 3% if it applies..

AS IS condition one hums and the other is broken. Both were working a year ago when put in storage.

Due to size and because we don't have factory boxes we prefer a local
Los Angeles pick up and if your local we can sell one @ $200 each or two for
$395.

             Each one comes with wireless remote & owners manual.

                           

Velodyne F-1800R Subwoofer; Servo-feedback
sealed enclosure subwoofer; One 18" front firing driver;
Built-in 600 watt amplifier; Two RCA line-level inputs, two RCA
line-level outputs, two speaker-level inputs, two speaker-level
outputs, two line-level balanced inputs; Variable low-pass 40 Hz
- 120 Hz; Variable high-pass 80 Hz - 100 Hz; Crossover (second
order initially, fourth order ultimately) defeatable; External
remote trigger; Phase inversion; Auto-on; Remote control for
standby and volume; Size 23 1/2"H x 21"W x 18
1/2"D; Weight 105 pounds; $1,999. (This model has been replaced with the FSR-18 which has a 1,250 watt amplifier and is $2,600 in 1998.)

The Velodyne ULD-18 Subwoofer has been the
big sub to beat for some time. Well, if anyone could do it,
Velodyne could, and they have. The F-1800R is the latest entry
into the world of 18" subs, with the F-1500R being its
little ("little"?) brother [click here
to see review]. However, this bass
machine is not simply the F-1500R with a larger driver. The
amplifier is more powerful (600 watts), and it is also Class D
instead of B. This is sometimes called a "switching
amplifier" because the rail voltage switches as the demand
(input signal) increases. This way, the output transistors are
not required to dissipate so much heat. In fact, the F-1800R does
not have an external heat sink, it runs so cool. The driver
itself has been completely redesigned, although on the surface,
it appears quite similar to the driver in the ULD-18. The cone is
still made of heavy paper, but the dust cap is constructed of a
plastic foam . . . sort of reminds me of the stuff I use to seal
the edges of my door for the winter. The voice coil is dual
wound, and large excursion is allowed (we measured just more than
an inch at 20 Hz, so Xmax = + or - 13mm). That is a lot of air
being moved! We would estimate, based on the formula for the
volume of a cone (truncated in this case), plus the increased
excursion capability, that the volume of air moved by this driver
is about twice what it is for the F-1500. The nominal impedance
of the driver is 2.5 Ohms, its free air resonant frequency is 18
Hz, and the weight of the magnet assembly is 20 pounds.

The enclosure is sealed, finished in black
wood-grained vinyl, with 1" MDF front baffle - 3/4" MDF
sides and rear, and looks very much like the others in the F
series (see photo). The driver is controlled by a servo-feedback
600 watt amplifier that phase inverts electrical signals fed to
it by a solid state motion detector attached near the voice coil.
The feedback signal occurs 3,500 times per second, and the
difference between the input signal and the feedback signal,
after inversion, passes through the amplifier to the driver,
canceling distortion (movement of the driver that is not from the
original signal).

We tested the F-1800R with several laserdisc
movie sound tracks, including "Jurassic Park",
"Cliffhanger", "Return of the Jedi", as well
as CDs that have a lot of deep bass, such as those with film
scores. This subwoofer shook everything in the room, in fact, so
much so that we started putting all of our sensitive components
under AudioQuest Sorbothane Big Feet and Little Feet (we will
talk about these at another time). Whether it was Starcruisers or
kettle drums, the Velodyne did not blink. Clean, deep, no
boominess (we like the 50 Hz low-pass setting). The balanced
inputs are VERY handy if you require long cable runs (in fact,
that is exactly what they are for). So, this sub can be placed on
the other side of the home theater from the preamp/processor . .
. no problem (as long as you have a balanced output to drive it).
Even with just the standard RCA inputs, we noticed no hum. The
hiss that can be heard with the F-1500R (the servo-feedback
circuit) is not present in the F-1800R (but it is present in the FSR-18), even with the preamp
volume control turned all the way up (no music playing of
course). A phase inversion switch allows more flexibility in
placement, and an auto-on switch, as well as remote trigger
socket, along with the remote control handset, allow turning the
sub on or off without having to reach behind the enclosure to
flip the rocker switch.

Frequency Response Test Results (These data
represent tests in a real room with furniture, not anechoic tests
or simulations, and thus, may be somewhat different than you
might experience in your own listening room of other dimensions
and contents):

F-1800R, 1 meter, on-axis, grille off,
low-pass set to 120 Hz, 10 Hz volume set just below clipping:

10 Hz
- 97.0 dB


12.5 Hz
- 100.2 dB


16 Hz
- 97.8 dB


20 Hz
- 93.0 dB


25 Hz
- 95.0 dB


31.5 Hz
- 97.6 dB


40 Hz
- 93.4 dB


50 Hz
- 88.4 dB


63 Hz
- 96.7 dB


80 Hz
- 89.7 dB


100 Hz
- 83.7 dB


125 Hz
- 83.6 dB

F-1800R, 13 feet, on-axis, grille off,
low-pass set to 120 Hz, 10 Hz volume set just below clipping:

10 Hz
- 96.6 dB


12.5 Hz
- 100.3 dB


16 Hz
- 99.5 dB


20 Hz
- 95.6 dB


25 Hz
- 97.0 dB


31.5 Hz
- 91.4 dB


40 Hz
- 90.0 dB


50 Hz
- 74.8 dB


63 Hz
- 89.8 dB


80 Hz
- 87.3 dB


100 Hz
- 80.2 dB


125 Hz
- 75.0 dB

(We should note here that our microphone is
only calibrated to 0.1 dB down to 15 Hz.)

The 50Hz dip is a room effect. As you can
see, the F-1800R has very usable response down to 10 Hz. We could
not hear anything at this frequency, indicating that no audible
harmonics are produced, even at full output. I could feel the
wind from these low frequencies. My pants leg shook, and fern
leaves on the other side of the room fluttered. This is an
incredible audio instrument, and it brings up the question of
what a subwoofer really is. The woofer is the low frequency
driver on a speaker system, but these drivers do not reproduce
frequencies down to the lower limits (20 Hz) of human audibility,
in most cases. This is where the "subwoofer" comes in.
It reproduces the frequencies that the woofer cannot. Even if the
subwoofer does not go down to 20 Hz, as long as it fills in some
of the frequencies left out by the woofer, it is still a sub. If
we can hear, on average, down to a limit of 20 Hz, why bother
with frequencies below that? Because of vibrational sensors that
we have throughout the largest organ in our bodies (the skin).
Someone said that the sound is 50% of the home theater
experience. Well, I believe it may be even more than 50%, and the
subwoofer may account for the lion's share of the sound
experience. Recently, I watched "Broken Arrow" on a TV
in a hotel room. Then, when I returned to work, I reviewed the
laserdisc version of this movie, using our home theater lab
equipment. To me, there was more than a doubling of the sensory
experience, and I believe it was due to the surround sound,
particularly to the extraordinary feelings produced by the
subwoofers. There is more than "hearing" the low
frequencies; there is the "feeling" as well.

More and more, movie sound tracks are
including very low frequency material. Whether it is produced by
natural sounds, or digitally synthesized, is irrelevant. The fact
is that it is there, and it should be heard or felt. So, it comes
down to this: there are subwoofers that simply augment the home
theater experience, and there are subwoofers that complete the
home theater experience. The F-1800R is in the latter category.
This sub is easily the finest product that Velodyne has ever
produced. If you are familiar with the Velodyne sound, and you
want a sub that will do it all . . . and I mean ALL the way down
. . . place your order now, because they won't be sitting around
in the audio shop stockrooms, that is for sure.

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Editor

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Making Audio Systems better

   one system at a time,

    

David Weinhart

Weinhart Design, Inc.
President & CEO
e: [email protected]
www.weinhartdesign.com

The Audio and Video Expert

2337 Roscomare Road, Studio #1
Los Angeles, California 90077

Showroom) 310-472-8880
Cell) 310-927-2260