I was looking at the HGS-12 reviews an noticed something quite similar. Eventhough Velodyne makes a strong unit in both sound and structure, it is a hit or miss purchase. I am presently using my third HGS-10. The first went bad within two weeks, the second blew up while playing, and the third...well....is working great. Overall good sound during audio and better sound with video.

Compact size, plays low.

Maybe reliability.

I read in past reviews that people were having some reliability concerns with the HGS-10. I felt myself lucky or perhaps relieved that mine had lasted 2 years, well, 2 years and 8 months (2 year warrantee). While listening to classical music on FM earlier in the morning at low volume there was sudden 'whooop' and the HGS was dead.

Sent the amp section off to Velodyne, $185 plus UPS and packaging of $26 lighter in the wallet, I got it back and have used it for a week now and it is playing as advertised. They fixed the amp and added 'improvements'.

All I can say is I have had a very modest Yamaha SW YST-120 that has performed flawlessly for 7 years. The YST-120 has been in the kids' video game set up so it is getting a work out.

The point is that while the HGS-10 performs, I am disappointed that a top shelf product quits after a short life while the SW-120 just keeps on going (paid $259 for it).

If this product is still around in 3 years and mine is still operating, I will raise the rating. If it not operating, well no more Velodynes.

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Yamaha YST SW-120

none

breaks down repeatedly

The most expensive part of my system was this piece of @&*% subwoofer, and it's the only thing that doesn't work. After about 3 months it started making fluttering noises. Velodyne took 2 months to "fix" it, and within a month it was making the same noises. Velodyne took another couple of months and "replaced it with a new unit." This thing sounded like world war III was occuring in my house - think the rice krispie trio on steroids - SNAP, CRACKLE, POP! Turns out they shipped me some demo unit from Michigan. Only took them about 6 months to replace this one with a new unit. Within two months this product from hell starts emitting a low hum. Doesn't even need to be connected to the rest of the sound system - just plug into electrical outlet and listen to it hum. I will never buy Velodyne again - it's evil.

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bsr

power and air movement in such a small package

amp blew in just over 2 years, and Velodyne won't do anything about cost of repair

Do not buy this sub!!! One night I was watching Madonna live on HBO, and the next morning I was hearing morse code coming out of the box with the my system turned off.
I called Velodyne and speak to "Dave" in tehnical service, and waited 2 days for him to call back! He was indifferent and almost angry at me when I stated that a piece of equipment of this stature should not need repair at the customer's expense. He told me that I must have had a power surge (which I didn't), or turned it on with the volume up high (which I didn't), and that a resistor on the amp's power supply, must have blown. He gave me the name of a authorized repair person in my area who disappeared for a month after obtaining my sub. The repair shop told me that my "whole" amp was blown, and that the repair fee was $400.00. I called Velodyne to complain, and received more indifference from Dave.
People who care about their sound are willing to pay more for higher quality items, and being that I am not the only one complaining about this problem, Velodyne "should" take care of their consumers!!!

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carver sunfire, rel stadium

Super powerfull amp peak 3000watts

none

This sub has a nice crisp clean deepy sound with no distortion. reaches high SPL and fills my theater room with
room filling ground shaking bass ( 20hz ) .
The Velodyne HGS-10 has reach verry high volume level
with no distortion i have to of these Velodyne HGS-10's hooked up to my Pioneer Eilite amp

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Wilson Audio

I bought the Velodyne HGS-10 recently to push down the frequency spectrum of my Bang and Olufsen Beolab 6000 active speakers. I am very pleased with the product. The HGS-10 is based on Velodyne's patented High Gain Servo technology and is one of the smallest subwoofers in the market. It has a built in 1000 W amplifier and has the option of bypassing the built in crossover. More on the specs in their official website.
I find the sub a triffle slower than my Beolab 6000s, but this is not palpable more often than not. Maybe this has to do with my placement as well. Overall a very neat sub in a neat little package, the size being one of my considerations when I out hunting for a sub. It performs very well, very sweet and tight bass. There is no boominess unless you have a large overlap between the frequency spectra of the sub and the two channel speakers.

I would heartily recommend this product to anyone who needs fantastic bass, not the bone jarring types, in a small package. Five stars in my book.

I purchased this subwoofer to push down the frequency spectrum of my Bang & Olufsen Beolab 6000 active speakers. I love this sub.
It is one of the smallest subwoofers in the market, which is what I was looking for, with a built in 1000 watt Class D amplifier. You can get more on the specs at the Velodyne website.

I find the sub great, a little slower than my Beolab 6000s, but then I really don't mind that as it definitely is not palpable, unless you pay attention. Maybe this has to do with my room dynamics as well. Overall, I am very pleased with this product and would heartily recommend it to anyone who wants a neat little sub that delivers clean and tight bass, not at all boomy, unless there is a significant overlap in the frequency spectra of your speakers and this subwoofer.

I compared this subwoofer against the Sunfire Signature subwoofer. The Sunfire was better for home theater because it played the low bass louder but the Velodyne was much better for music. The Sunfire volume control was difficult to adjust to match the satellite speakers because there is a small window of opportunity to find the right setting, not so with the Velodyne. The Velodyne for me was more than adequate for my home theater needs let alone my musical needs. There was bass that I have never felt before with my CDs and DVDs. Also, the Velodyne is much easier to adjust to the satellite speakers. Lastly, the Velodyne looks much better than the Sunfire.

enormous power reserve, compact size, built like a tank

unsubtle musicality, price

I've auditioned my HGS10 for two months. Its performance on DVD's is nothing less than astounding. It's so compact l you can practically hide it anywhere. Great for small rooms or if "invisibility" is your desire.

On music, it takes quite a bit of tweaking and positioning to seemlessly blend this little brute with your mains. I'm still experimenting with it's integration with my B&W CDM 7SE's.
It tends towards the "boomy" side on electric bass recordings but sings with acoutic material. Overall though it's a pleasure to use such a finely constructed piece.

My only caveat is the price. The price of admission for playing with this mini marvel is rather high ($1699 in my case). But the quality of construction (not to mention the 1000 watts of output power) somewhat justifies the steep pricetag.

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Sunfire True, Velo FSR

small, small size. Undetectable levels of distortion. Able to really belt out some serious bass.

Rather expensive.

I'm in the audio biz, so price really isn't as much an issue, but these ARE expensive in comparison to some other subs. You're really paying a premium for the small size because more engineering is necessitated. In comparison to the sunfire, the HGS-10 only plays a couple of decibels behind, but the quality is a whole'nother story. It is exceedingly tight and the best thing is how well it will play into the midbass region, thus making it blend VERY well with smaller satellites. Don't get me wrong, this thing WILL play down into the twenties pretty darned loud, but not quite AS loud as the sunfire. To be honest, I've had a number of customers purchase the velo from me AFTER getting tired of the sunfire. I would imagine that sooner or later, sunfire will get around to addressing these issues.
My room size is approximately 3500 cu.ft., and I have 2 HGS-10s stacked atop one another. Absolutely AWESOME sound!!
A big priority for me was size, and let me tell ya, 2 of these combined are just a bit smaller than an HGS-12, but will play louder(price is a different story). In fact, there ain't NO similar sized sub made that will play louder and cleaner than my double-stack HGS-10(2783 cubic inches). Pricewise, you can do better by buying BIGGER, but then again, that's the whole reason for the HGS series. If you have any questions, email me.

audiobum

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Sunfire