What Hi-Fi? Verdict
Cracking – Velodyne’s strongest budget offering in an age
Pros
- +
Automatic installation, potent sound, value for money
Cons
- -
A little slower than some, but not enough to cause too much heartache
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Velodyne has been working hard to maximise the competitiveness of its affordable subwoofer range.
To that end, the new CHT-Q line-up (available in drive-unit sizes from 20cm up to 38cm) includes digital power amplification, coupled to impressive onboard DSP (digital signal processing).
Together with a microphone-based automatic calibration system, this is designed to ensure an optimised sound regardless of your system and your room's acoustic properties.
Combined with a remote control and an LED display, the result is a subwoofer anyone can configure in moments – and as proper configuration is 90 per cent of the battle of setting up any subwoofer, that's an asset that really shouldn't be underestimated.
Serious bass stomp
The CHT-8Q belies its status as the baby of the range with 180W of output and a gutsy, potent sound: for many real-world rooms, its bass will be more than adequate, especially since the Velodyne's relative agility makes it more suited to music use than some of its forebears.
True, a B&W ASW610 is faster still, but for outright stomp – and for ease of use – this Velodyne more than merits a five star rating.
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