Customer Reviews

VELODYNE ACOUSTICS VRP1000 Powered Subwoofer

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I usually don't take the time to write reviews but this sub's ratings here are not giving it a fair shake at the current ~$105 shipped price. I wrote this review almost only to try and counteract the retard giving it a 1 star because it's not as good as a $1,500 sub.

Though Velodyne offers much higher quality units, this sub will compare favorably to any 10" model you can find at your local shop from big brand names like Polk, JBL, or Klipsch.

The unit is plain-finished and relatively compact. Output is limited by the relatively small box and 10" driver, but is just fine for such a unit and is more than enough for a small room or apartment. It will be much more accurate than any HTIB type "sub", and louder than most of them except for maybe the really boomy Onkyo's that have terrible one-note peaky boomy output around 60Hz.

It's without a doubt better than the 150-type JBL's or 10" base Polks, and there is really nothing comparable to it for $105 new, shipped. Some options open up at $150-180, but not at $105. The build and finish quality is solid if basic, and Velodyne has good support.

I look around for a sub for a while. I found this Velodyne VRP and bought it due to its price and features. I'm no audiophile but it sure sounds good in my medium sized living room. I have a HK amp and Klipsh tower speakers and wanted a little more bass, this Velodyne sure does a good job. It is also magnetically shielded and has a relatively high rms, for the price point (under 150$). And for the guy that gave this sub a one star, I'm not sure what his point was, except to say this isn't a 1000$ sub.
Also I was worried that since the sub came out in 2005 it would be old stock, but it is not it was made 5 months ago.

For an inexpensive subwoofer is works well. It doesn't play as low as some more expensive subs but the price is right. It looks good and has been reliable.

I am unsure why someone said this item was a great deal for "$105" shipped because that must only have been a temporary price reduction. I paid $300 for this sub a few year back. After only a few months the thing sounded terrible - it really produces very little bass. It is boomy - not a good thing - and the woofer can handle very little before it distorts.

I had this subwoofer paired with all Boston Acoustics speakers - my two fronts were/are dual 6.25 4-way setups. This sub could barely do better than the front speakers for bass. What bass it brought was muddy and boomy...terrible. Several months later a spent $300 on Amazon and ordered the Boston Acoustics XB8 subwoofer. Let me tell you that it seems tame most of the time, but if you put on "extreme bass test" tracks the plaster will start to fall from the ceiling. If you are looking for an older sub of this era, I would go with the Boston XB4 if you want a 10". People really love it, though you would be much better off to get the XB6 12" or the XB8 12" (Higher Output). The Boston subs also have a circuit that models the output of their woofer - the circuit knows when the sub is about to reach distortion and eases off a hair. I have never heard mine distort even under the hardest bass. Though I have felt a sharp pain in my ears from the sound pressure levels with the sub test tracks!

For me this subwoofer was a COMPLETE WASTE of $300. It is worth roughly $80 new I would say. Supposedly Velodyne makes good subs - I was fooled by their below-entry-level garbage.

I bought this sub about 4, maybe even 5, years ago from Circuit City for $249. For starters, I'm quite happy to see this sub still, even online, carry the same price tag.

Now this is the first sub I've ever owned and is paired up with Paradigm speakers: Mini Monitors, CC-350, ADP-350, and a CC-170 (Rear Center). It's hooked up through the Sub out on my Marantz SR-4400 A/V Receiver.

I have a small dedicated theater in on of my spear bedrooms where this sub, even at low volumes, sounds great! For the price, the performance is excellent! Now, don't expect crazy low bass from this sub. It lends itself more towards music than movies. When watching movies, it can get a bit muddy, even at low volumes. This sub acts best as a complement to the main speakers rather then being able to handle quick, low, hard punches on its own. It's range is quite limited.

However, I've never heard any distortion and it can be turned up and will rock pretty loud. Best with Rock and Jazz. Rap track tend to get lost and almost looses it's bass passages. If you're used to a huge punch in your car like I am, you'll be disappointed in this sub.

Overall, I've enjoyed this sub for my own personal needs. It's perfect for an apartment. My main problem with this sub is it's auto on/off feature. Sometimes, you need to turn up the receiver a bit before it decides to turn on as low volumes. For instance, some movie passages will get half way through an explosion before the sub kicks on. And if it goes to long without any substantial bass passages, it will turn off. A bit strange. I'd expect any sub to turn on if any audio information is received, regardless of how small.

The only other issue is the cheap 'sticker' that is the back of the sub. It began to peal from the top on the first day.

In the end, it's good entry level sub. Well worth the $249 price tag.

For the price (I paid ~$140) this speaker does a nice job filling in the low end on my system. It's in a good sized room (20X20 with high ceilings) and, while not trying to rattle the windows it does give a good 'feel' to the action. It seems to cut out just a little above the lowest lows, so true audiophiles would probably be more particular, but my instance is a simple mainstream system. I did choose the direct speaker line in configuration because the crossover frequency on my receiver is set at 120. This is higher than what I wanted since my front speakers have decent low end. This way, I can use the crossover on this unit and set it in the 80 - 100 range. My only gripe is not with this speaker but with Amazon. After paying $140, I watched the price drop a handful of times to an ultimate low price of $105. Amazon abandoned it's price match last year, but since this was carried and sold by Amazon, frustrating they wouldn't make up the difference - the drop was all within a few weeks of my purchase. However that's Amazon's bad, not the speaker, so no star deduction.

I placed an order when the price was $105 last week. I have received the subwoofer on Saturday and immediately hooked up to my Onkyo Receiver(sr606) running bose speakers(301's as mains, VCS-10 as center and 161's as surround). I did not used Y cable but just connected the line level only for left channel. I played Jurrasic Park-1 and man this sub rocks the whole house. I am really impressed with it so far. BTW, the color is black unlike dark blue color you see on the photo.

You are not going to find better quality in the low $200.00 range than you find in this Velodyne Sub. This has added some serious depth to my home theater sound. I would recomend this Sub to anyone who is looking for great quality at a reasonable price.

I have Bose 301s & 101s and my music and movies sounded good. I had know idea what I was missing. For the price I found this sub to be a great addition. It's sweet to not only hear explosions and thunder, but to FEEL it makes the experince complete. This sub adds great bottom to my audio experince. I did have to purchase a sub cable (obviously) AND a splitter (surprise). Still trying to figure out why I occasionally get a bass dicharge (low frequency pop).

...Velodyne created this whole VRP line mainly to make money off of its name brand recognition, and cut a lot of corners in the process. The CHT line is far better, for both movies and especially for music.

This model was just very weak and underpowered.

In this price range you would be better off going with the one hundred twenty five dollar Dayton sub from partsexpress dot com, or save your money for a much better sub from Internet-direct specialty subwoofer manufacturers like SVS and Hsu, who start at around the four hundred dollar range.

I personally went cheap on my subwoofer, a JBL e150 for about one hundred seventy shipped new from eBay...talk about buyer's remorse! You do not want to go cheap on your subwoofer, you'll never stop kicking yourself like me.