I think I have a few reasons why they are doing different things at odd times.
Firstly there is the issue of the R232 leads that connect the subs to each other to keep them in sync. These trailing spaghetti are a real hazard to passing traffic, and the super long one that connects the two stacks even more so. It makes one wonder if Velodyne's designers have kids or animals- i dont believe they would have gone with this approach if they had. For my application this long run is not practical, so this means the two stacks operate independently instead of all being controlled by one master sub.
With the other kit I have cables run along the floor and then attach to the base of the instrument.
With the stacks these wires are rising vertically and jutting out as they plug into the upper sub, like this:
View attachment 33707
I have a 65kg Ridgeback and twice in two days he has run through them when a delivery driver came to the door, breaking two rca leads
Another factor is my subs don't seem to have been built consecutively and I suspect have subtlety different electronics or software, so don't respond in the same way at the same time. When I play music perhaps just one stack will awake from sleep mode, so I manually switch on the other side, only the top one comes on, so I switch the bottom one off at the wall and on again, only now it comes on at a different volume, the left stack seems to come on at the volume I turned it off at (most commonly 12) whereas the right stack will come on at the level Nick eq'd it at (18)
So now I have listened to the same intro three times and am beginning to lose spontaneity.
What I like about the Velodynes;
I love the curvy tapered design of the cabinets, the solid construction and attractive wood finish, and I like the sound....but I suspect more is possible.
However the trailing leads are just unacceptable
So I have been in conversation with Mark Seaton about going with six of his F18's and he has bent over backwards to accommodate my specific requirements, all at a cost (including freight and accessories) roughly equivalent to two Velodynes. I can honestly say that if you are reading this thread considering going down the Seaton route, go for it, you will be dealing with someone very helpful who really knows what he is talking about.
However, and this is intensely personal, I am not a fan of square boxes and sharp corners. My components, from Wavac pre amp to Stella Utopias exhibit curved casework and baffles and this is my preferred design language. I asked Mark about curved boxes and he says that to offer them would more than double his prices, and he understandably wants to offer the best bang for your buck.
So really that leaves three designs on my short list.
Focal sub Utopia has the curved design and would obviously match my speakers. But it has the same bass driver with the same specs as my Stellas, and I want subs that go deeper. Why can't they release a sub built around the 18 inch bass driver of the Grande Utopias? I would bite their hands off. Never mind. Also I suspect we would end up with the trailing wire scenario again, I am asking Focal about this
JL Gotham....is it really better than the Velodynes? Not sure
Top of the list would be a pair of Thor's Hammers.
I'm going to speak with Nick about these when he returns from holiday. The breakthrough came yesterday when I read a thread on here (titled 'Thor's Hammer) and came across the fact that Dave Wilson drives his with Parasound Halo A21 amps, previously I had been thinking in terms of needing to stump up for another Boulder 2060 or even 2050's to drive them, doubling their effective price.
The Parasound amps were available in the UK for £2350 at the time of that tnread, they may be a little more now. Or there are the JC1 monoblocks, which were $6k, not sure what they are now.
While I am not wild about the cabinet design of the Wilson's, (I prefer the Focals), they are acceptable and should get away from the multiple trailing lead scenario whilst moving things along in the sound quality stakes. Since my 2060 has returned i am feeling that the Dd18+'s are not as fast as my main speakers now are, resulting in a thickening of the bass where previously it felt more nimble and cohesive