Hi, can any sifus here advice me on my purchase of a velodyne spl 1200r from ebay (US)? specifically on the stepdown transformer issue. the woofer does a 1000w rms, therefore what kind of transformer should i be looking at? or.. would it even be a good idea for me to get the US model for this??

/ps. if im not making any sense with my question, its because i am a n00b with this things.. lost

This post has been edited by callmevil: Aug 8 2008, 02:36 PM

Hi Callmevil, nice to see you here. I Sorry I'm not in the know about this stepdown transformer thing, but I'm also curious about it. Let's hope the sifus here can help.

Hi,

Hv u really tot tis out?

First is like u say de step down transformer..

2nd is shippin for such a bulky/heavy object is not cheap, hv u calculated shippin yet?

3rd is our custom is not gonna be bothered tat its used(it is used, rite??)..

Regards
Dirtrun

haha spend 2 days thinking about this..

2nd shipment cost have all been calculated and + the cost of the item is still within my budget

3rd have considered this too and its still within my budget.

issue is not with money here. its just usability of it with our 220/240 current..

help~~

He's in Brunei and apparently the tax rate there is very low

...

is aiman interested with subbies too?

This post has been edited by callmevil: Aug 8 2008, 03:04 PM

Which Aiman?

Of course he is.

first, I don't think there is any step down transformer that can sustain 1000w of power. Mostly I see in the range of 200-300w max. That's why I get the DD-12 locally although is bloody expensive. No choice. SPL-1200 should be around RM 5k locally.

this is 1 bad news.. oh noes.. anyone with any good news? the spl is 1000w rms, 2000w dynamic.. should my transformer be 1000 or 2000w ?

this link have a 2000w transformer.. is this what i need or??

This post has been edited by callmevil: Aug 8 2008, 03:37 PM

ask Velodyne directly sell it to you with factory setting at 220-240V....like what Hsu Research can do if buy from them direct....

Ok,

Noted.. Money not an issue..

I d get de svs pb13ultra (or cylinder if u prefer) if tat is de case.. summore can ask for 230v .. issue closed..

Why wanna pening kepala on transformers??
Dirtrun
PS why ebay??

Don't you guys think its unnecessary noise introduce into the system if we use these type of converters? ....or am I too paranoid

1. Money not an issue as all the cost related to this velodyne is still within my allocated budget. moving on to subs higher up the food-chain may not comply well with my budget

2. firstly, the pb13ultra is over 150pounds.. that is insane for my room.. and yes the svs pb13 ultra/pc-ultra are amazing subs. but I have no idea which online store ships it to Brunei at a reasonable price. if u can advice me on this?

3. Why want to pening? because no country with 220-240v current do international shipping for velodynes to Brunei. unless u can advice me with one?

4. Ebay does international shipping..

I have no idea, can anyone advice us on this?

This post has been edited by callmevil: Aug 8 2008, 06:23 PM

1000w RMS is the power rating for the amplifier and it doesn't represent the actual power consumption of the unit itself. Some sites are saying that this Velodyne SPL-1200R consumes about 220w in power consumption but to play it safe, get a stepdown transformer with at least 500 watts, it should cost you around RM200 plus. I'm using EKK stepdown transformer and it has two inputs so you can connect two devices to it.

ahh experience guy! any impact on sound using the transformer??

You can order online directly from SVS. They have 220-240v versions. Write them an email to get shipping quotes.

http://www.svsound.com/

This post has been edited by aiman04: Aug 8 2008, 09:23 PM

thx for the advice aiman i sent email to svs and hsu. also in the background im x-finger with htkaki's "member" hehe

My hd-dvd player, game consoles are all on 110V so I'm just sharing what I know. Well, there are no side effects using a stepdown transformer but do take note cheapo stepdown transformers might run a little hot if you're using it continously so it's better to get an industrial grade stepdown transformer. I'm using EKK myself, switched on 24 hours everyday.

SVS will reply to you very soon, Callmevil. I can imagine someone named Erik will reply to your email. He's the co-owner/director himself.

He replied to many times, without any hesitation at all. Really friendly guy and willing to help. I feel bad that I didn't proceed to order from SVS.

I emailed HSU and SVS on friday, HSU replied that they dont ship to Brunei due to some complications with FedEX here,

but SVS ( ure right Erik) replied me with something very assuring (they going to ship a sub to some bugger in brunei on monday). He replied asking my room dimension, preferred volume db, budget, etc. well i replied to him yesterday morning (at the svs email and his personal svs email) and have been waiting for him to reply since. I guess they dont reply mail over the weekend. Hah, I cant stand the wait

But if all goes well with this, then daddy is gonna bring home an SVS this month.. ooooo~~

/ps why didnt u proceed with the order?

This post has been edited by callmevil: Aug 10 2008, 12:53 PM

It could be due to the hassle should anything happens on the sub even with its long warranty period.

htkaki, whats ur comment on this? how often do svs subs breakdown compared to velodyne?

ive been reading all over the net that velodyne have poor customer support on this issue and their subs tend to just not work after some time.. but since ur an expert on this, what is ure perspective?

sorry, cant comment on svs as nvr try it b4. Subwoofer unlike spkrs is more complicated as it has an internal amp and more circuitry than spkr. So, tendency of breaking down is higher.

Since u r in Brunei, aint sure who can assist u. Over here, A&L is the distributor. So, at least it is easier.

Yep sometimes its ok to pay a bit more buying locally so if anything happen, easier to return for warranty claim.

lol no choice for me.. is either order or... drool over the internet maybe i should open shop.. haha.. but i wouldnt know how to :\

For shipment, choose door-to-door, the sub will be delivered directly to your door. You'll just pay taxes/fees/etc at that time (if any).

About warranty, SVS is well-known for their excellent support and warranty. They will even pay for any shipping costs for you. But of course, all that shipping back and forth could be a real hassle.

I didn't buy it because it will be way out of my budget, considering taxes, etc.

Most subwoofers run pretty hot so make sure it is placed in a well ventilated place to avoid the risk of frying the internal amp. Class A rated amp in subs run even hotter so do take note on this.

ahh very useful information.. lol i wouldnt want my investment to go up in smokes.. haha still waiting for SVS to reply my mail.. 4th day now..

I have decided on the Velodyne against the HSU STF-1 due to the same warranty claim issue although Dr. Hsu himself promise the claim if any will be hassle free as they have several pick up center throughout Asia, we just need to notify them and sent the driver only to the center and they'll do the rest.....

but...still look like a hassle to me as need to open up the Sub

haha hopefully i wouldnt have to go through this kinda things... HSU replied to me saying
"Unfortunately we are unable to service your location due to complications with
FedEx in that area."

grrrrrrr

Settle for Velodyne then. DD-15 for you?

as of now, it looks like im going to get an SVS cylinder sub.. waiting for quotation.. no idea how long itll take.. the weight difference svs and velodyne is sooo much.. 70lbs vs 150lbs.. crazy..

This post has been edited by callmevil: Aug 12 2008, 02:56 PM

I have got my svs cylinder sub about a month ago.. type 20-39PC+. Which type u r going for? PC ultra 13? i m surprised u r waiting 4 days for a reply. in my case, when i wrote to them , say around 9 am, i received reply 1 hour later.

This post has been edited by MYLordElrond: Aug 12 2008, 07:26 PM

Did you ordered them from their website? How much is the shipping and were you taxed for it?

Here's a shipping quote I got for PB10-NSD, which is 60lbs.

Door to door $250 Bax Quote Number 3239690
Door to airport $205 Bax Quote Number 3239692

yeah they been ping-ponging emails with them the whole morning.. i get a free cap and tshirt for my wait! haha wub freebies~
considering room dimension (especially ceiling height) they advised me to get the 20-39 pc plus.. grrrr i want the ultra, but they not sure if itll sound ok for my room... sadddd but nvm.. at least this one is light (55lbs).. cheaper shipment lol, they still waiting for their shipping ppl to give them the shipment cost..

yes..i ordered thru their website..door to door usd245..door to airport usd205...tax 15%+10%

oh forgot about that.. brunei tax for speakers is at %5

lol... people want to buy more expensive item but they don't allow

No too bad, 25% tax only

15+10 bro. Meaning 15%, and then another 10% on top of that.

Example, for RM1000 value, 15% --> RM1150, then another 10% from that --> RM1265 #

This post has been edited by aiman04: Aug 12 2008, 08:25 PM

yeah in other words.. XX * 15% * 10% . not XX * (15%+10%).. now u learn something new again.. but yeah.. the support ppl (3 of them) from svs are VERY helpful ppl kept on emailing me this morning apologizing and talking me through which subs i should go for.. vvery nice..

This post has been edited by callmevil: Aug 12 2008, 08:44 PM

Told ya.. The SVS people are really friendly, I'm also impressed with their customer service. But I only dealt with Erik. Maybe he's too busy this time.

Erik, Ron (Co-Founder, SVS), and Alex (Customer Service) attended to my cry this morning haha so good service, kena offer freebies by that alex guy

This post has been edited by callmevil: Aug 12 2008, 08:53 PM

and note that xx = purchase price + shipping cost = cif price

Erik is the co-owner/director right? Kinda strange that top management replies to your email.

Yup. Must include shipping cost too. In other words, everything you paid for the thing.

lol yah erik is co-owner/director from what his sig says.. i dunno why they replied, i was surpised too but.. all good~ haha

funniest testing pic i see for the svs (testing the 20hz)

Walau 20Hz? What they wanna test? See can punch a hole on the floor?
Look like a piling machine to me jk

Just curious what they use as audio source, 20Hz...signal generator?

This post has been edited by ongbs: Aug 13 2008, 04:24 AM

Nice but kinda overkill for normal home use

no idea what they use to test.. maybe theres a reference disc they use.. but i do see a mic being layed on the ground in the picture.
haha about it being overkill.. nahhh its just the height, but in terms of floor space its quite space efficient.. eheehe

---

Added on August 13, 2008, 6:07 ambro, may i ask how the sub is for u? btr than expected? below expectation? hard to calibrate? etc?

This post has been edited by callmevil: Aug 13 2008, 06:07 AM

This how the professional reviewers test the subs. That thing make the hair on my neck stands up.

There are a lot of calibration discs with 20Hz test tones, my DVE HD Basic calibration disc also have it.

---

Added on August 13, 2008, 6:07 am
bro, may i ask how the sub is for u? btr than expected? below expectation? hard to calibrate? etc?

[/quote]

yes, the sub meets my expectation. I was worried initially since not able to test, but reading from the glowing comments made by svs owners in other forums, i decided to take the risks. I also bought together with the sub the bettercable sub interconnect - length 5 metres - can play around with the placement of the sub. also bought the avia/spl meter bundle.
It is not difficult to calibrate the sub. the manual is quite comprehensive. The sub comes with parametric equaliser(peq). but i didnt use it. havent try it yet. need to plot the frequency response curve first before can use this facility. Now since i have avr with built-in audyssey mult- eq, i dont think it is necessary to use the sub's peq

I am planning to get the bettercables from them as well but... is the SPL /avia useful to u? if yes i might get it too.. just worried that it might complicate things.. :\

ure avr got audyssey?? denon is it??

spl meter is a must-have item for calibration..as for the avia..not necessary
my avr is onkyo..got built-in audyssey..settings are done automatically..in this case, spl meter is not necessary but still useful to have the spl meter..u can crosscheck the settings done by the audyssey

is audyssey = to ypao?

i dont know about yamaha's ypao. in the case of audyssey multeq, it is supposed to measure the room characteristics and apply correction accordingly

Both Denon and Onkyo use Audissey ar?

YPAO is Yamaha's own auto-calibration tool, same as Audissey. Quite accurate actually.

One note, make sure your AVR properly warmed up before doing calibration, this to make sure the AVR is in normal operating condition. And of course, be quiet! (I actually left the room once I clicked "Start").

Aiman, I wonder if you don't leave the room but stay there quietly...the amp will notice you are there and give you different setting

Anyway, as accurate as it can be, I always don't agree with ypao setting. Suka suka set my speakers to large, crossover at 160hz

My YPAO is quite accurate, all speakers correctly set to small, distance, level, etc. Though the crossover was never right, I agree on that. It sets the crossover to be 100Hz. That's why I've been saying many times, use the YPAO first, then make changes where appropriate.

Maybe you should leave the room? Your breathing too loud! No really, I read somewhere that if possible, leave the room, not really sure why.

ok.. been meaning to ask.. what does "crossover" mean?? alot of speaker forum talks about setting crossover bla bla bla.. but i dont know what it means..

also.. what constitute as Large speakers?

large spk= full range spk can produce bass.
Small spk= mid to high range, no bass normally those small sat spk.

This crossover thingy is most important if your speakers are not full range, and a sub is needed to do the low frequencies.

How is this possible? We put the speakers all around us, shouldn't the speakers be directional?

Yes, for frequencies higher than 80Hz (according to THX). Frequencies lower than that are not directional, so it can be taken to the sub instead. You won't hear those low frequencies coming from any speakers, if you set the phase right. Crossing it higher will only make the sub as directional, meaning our ears can pinpoint the location of the sub. That's not right because that frequencies are supposed to come from the directional speakers, not the sub.

So why we want to cross those low frequencies over to the sub? It's because most speakers, especially surrounds, can only go down to a certain frequencies only. Some of the speakers the lowest frequency they can only do 80 Hz, so if there's 50Hz signal being sent, you won't hear it, so you're not listening as the filmmaker intended. It could also hurt the speakers actually.

But what if you have a true full range speakers (can go down to 20Hz, or at least 30Hz)? Then, you don't even need a sub anymore. Just let the speakers do all the job! Though some would still use a sub, just to get more power to the low frequencies.

PS: The AVR bass management will only do this crossover for small speakers, so if you're speakers are not truely full range, set it to small. If set large, the AVR will assume your speakers can do all the frequencies.

This post has been edited by aiman04: Aug 14 2008, 09:11 AM

huh.. ok more lost.. but now i know i need it, so.. how do i crossover?? is it software or hardware wiring? how?? behind my speaker only got 2 red and 2 black input.. where to set crossover?

diamond 9.1 (bookshelf) and 9.4 (floorstanders) are small right and need to crossover?

btw, my 9.4, i can hear 30 Hz Tone sound from "http://www.eminent-tech.com/music/multimediatest.html" test..

shpecs from warffy site

if not, would it be bad if i just get new fronts and use this 9.4 as SL/SR speakers?

This post has been edited by callmevil: Aug 14 2008, 10:52 AM

Dude...you set the crossover at your amp setting. Read your manual. No need to mess up at the back of your amp

For example my speakers:

Front: 55–21,000 Hz
Center: 62-21,000 Hz
Surround: 65-21,000 Hz

So I set my crossover at 80hz and all my speakers to small so any frequency below that will go to my sub. I can also set my crossover at 60hz since my speakers can support that but that will stress them to their limit.

You can set your 9.4 to large if u want it to also handle those frequency below your crossover setting but why do you want to do that if you have a sub? A sub is meant to very efficiently handle those low frequency so let it do its job

I learnt a lot this morning. Thank you guys.

Wahh... Thanks mate. Been googling to try to understand what crossovers mean in laymen terms. All I found is this technical terms which is more difficult to understand.
Noob here by the way. Been reading reviews and forum to start my HT sometimes this year.

thought there was also an analog crossover behind the subwoofers?? pls excuse me if i'm wrong.. another noob here but hopefully will grow up once i get my set this weekend

hah thx for much.. as im sure that should answer my question.. i am just too n00b to understand it.. haha but nvm later when i reach home i will read my manual 9 9 lol, if lost i post here again..

Set the crossover at your sub to max. Meaning...if the knob is from 40-200Hz, set it to 200Hz. Let the amp do the job coz if the amp has been set to crossover at 80Hz then your sub will only receive 80Hz and below even you set the sub at 200Hz. So no harm.

ic.... so is there any advantage in setting at amp level instead of at sub level? or either way is fine? excuse me again for noob question

Only to make your life easier la. If you set both at 80Hz then later if u change amp to 100Hz you also need to change sub to 100Hz. If you forgot to change sub to 100Hz meaning you will loose frequency between 80 and 100Hz. So just set the sub at max and make adjustment with your amp.

got it... thanks dude

can anyone comment if i use the wharffy 9.4 as SL/SR speakers? ill get a pair of 9.6 for fronts if so..

I don't see any problem doing that. Even my surround speakers now actually bookshelf meant for front channel. I kept thinking by using them as surround will never actually fully utilize them but I hope it will change when I got my BD player

I don't recommend doing that. Always set at maximum or direct/bypass.

If you set at the sub at 80Hz, but at the AVR at 100Hz, there'll be a 20Hz gap that non of your speakers or sub are producing. In other words, you'll not hear anything from 80-100Hz frequencies.

Easy to understand, your AVR will send everything below 100Hz, but your sub will reject everything above 80Hz.

This post has been edited by aiman04: Aug 14 2008, 02:15 PM

Door to door $660 Bax Quote Number 3577047

Door to airport $380 Bax Quote Number 3577034

shipment cost of my woofer.. waaahhh howwww lol

If I were you I'd choose door to door. The thing is frickin' huge! Then there might be some customs paperwork involved as well. I'd rather pay extra for the convinience of having somebody handling everything then have it delivered to my doorstep

usd wor~ haha damnit.. there goes my budget for the SPL meter. LoL ok now i hope that the only extra cost would be the tax.. and no other administrative cost.. ahaha

Yup. After adding everything, just over US$2k is not too shabby for the Ultra

how i wish they allowed me to get the ultra.. maybe i shouldve lied about my room size.. hahaa

how come so much difference between door to door and door to airport.

because of this thing called "brokerage fee" .. pain~~ i dont even know what it is...

it's your choice. this is what erik said about ultra when I asked him whether any significant different between pc+ and ultra:

"That floorplan helps a lot. Considering the size of the room and that you don’t listen at excessive levels (assuming that the level is correct but if the installer calibrated the system it should be) I think that the 2039PCPlus would be a great choice. The Ultra is definitely a significantly better sub, it will be capable of more output and have a cleaner sound; but I don’t think you really require it. If you tell us the complete shipping address I can do a shipping quote for you."

This post has been edited by MYLordElrond: Aug 14 2008, 11:47 PM

check ure pm.. hmm whats this brokerage fee all about??

This post has been edited by callmevil: Aug 14 2008, 11:46 PM

I'm not sure..maybe clearance costs at the airport

It's the cost for negotiating and handling with the customs, clearance, speeding up processes, and for electrical stuffs, SIRIM (if Malaysia) approval, etc. They will also pay in advance for you any tax/fees. When they deliver to your door step, you'll have to pay it back to them.

The door to airport simply means they will only be responsible to bring your sub to the airport only, everything else, customs, etc, you have to do it yourself. You have to go to the airport to settle this.

Read this excellent report by mys_terious, who faced all the hassle and was kind enough to share with us:

http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/685346

This post has been edited by aiman04: Aug 15 2008, 12:44 AM

thx aiman~