Velodyne DEQ-15R Build Quality

One doesn't have to be in the Home Theater game long to hear the name Velodyne. While they haven't quite permeated as far as some Home Theater in a Box manufacturers, they are probably one of the first "real" speaker companies you were introduced to. If you are anything like me, you've got Velodyne envy. If you don't have one, you want one. Even if you have a sub you are happy with, there is always that nagging question in the back of your mind… "What would a Velodyne sound like in my room?" Well, I can't say I answered that question for myself with this review but I did get to play with a Velodyne sub. And that's almost as good.

Build Quality

This is one of those rare reviews that doesn't involve an official review unit from a manufacturer. In this case, my parents needed a subwoofer. If you remember, about a year ago I did a review of The Speaker Company NTIW25 and NTIW26 in-wall speakers. This was conducted at my parent's home and at the conclusion of the review, I had all of about 30 minutes to do listening tests before their sub died. Well, it's a year later and they still don't have a working sub. As I visit once a year, they decided to buy one so that I can help install/calibrate it during my visit. So off I went scouring the Internet for a deal on a sub that I could be proud of. In no small way, my parent's system is a reflection of me as I'm the one that picks/installs all their speakers. The tSc speakers have been performing well and my parents have been thrilled with them, now I just had to find a sub up to the task.

Of course, one of the first names I came up with was Velodyne. I went searching and found out that their DEQ-R series was on sale over at the Audioholics store so I did some research. While I loved the prices of the Chrysalis line (which is basically a lower cost Velodyne), I knew that my parent's room has problems. It has carpet and a fluffy couch but that is about it. The walls are at angles, there is an alcove that rings so bad that you sound like a Cylon when you talk in it, and room treatments have been vetoed. Any little bit of EQ my parents could get would help. The Chrysalis subs didn’t offer a model with an EQ so that was out.

What immediately drew my attention was the DEQ line. With it's automatic 5-band EQ, we have a product that has all the functionality of the similarly priced DLS-R line but without the gloss black finish. As I value an EQ over a finish any day of the week (especially in this application as you'll see), I was definitely interested in the DEQ. Generally speaking with subwoofers you either need a big enclosure or a big amp. Velodyne has a few offerings that have the latter with boxes that are barely bigger than the driver. These subs tend to have slightly less extension than their larger counterparts. I contacted my parents and asked if they wanted a smaller sub or one that went lower. I also asked how much they cared about the appearance of the sub. They had decided that the sub would go on the right side of the room and would be obscured by the couch (which is in an L shape) so they didn't care about the size or the looks as long as it fit in the space and wouldn't be visible (i.e. too tall). A few quick measurements later and we quickly determined that any of the DEQ line would work as long as their budget allowed.

The DEQ-R line of subs has 8, 10, 12, and 15 inch woofers. The boxes of course increase in size/weight with the driver size. After a bit of discussion, we decided that either the 12" or 15" would work. The price was right for the DEQ-15R (they were on sale for $750, at the time of this writing they were going for $850) which was only about $100 more than the 12. At this price point, my parents decided to go with the "big boy" and bought the DEQ-15R. I have to say, I felt an emotion akin to the pride you feel when your son rides his two-wheel bike for the first time at the news.

The only problem we were up against was time. The sub wasn't going to arrive until the last day of my visit. So I had to do the measurements and listening tests in a very short period of time. As you might predict, UPS took their sweet time delivering the sub which arrived after 6pm. Not only that, but they had beat up the box pretty good. Velodyne packs their subs fairly well with foam endcaps and double boxing but UPS had managed to mishandle the boxes so badly that they had dinged up the edges and one of the corners and even broke off one of the grills posts. I've spoken to the managers of the Audioholics Store and they have decided (based on this experience) to reinforce the edges of all larger subwoofers like the DEQ-15R from now on to ensure that others don't have a similar experience. This should eliminate any such incidents in the future. While the sub would have been covered under the UPS insurance, anyone that has had dealings with submitting a claim knows how long it can take. For a little extra expense on the Audioholic's store's part they will save you that hassle.

The sub itself is substantial in size but not overly so. I actually expected something quite a bit bigger. After experiences with online subwoofer manufacturers, I guess I'm used to seeing subs that are the size of coffee tables or cribs. Anything smaller than that ordered online is sort of a welcome surprise. The DEQ-15R measures 21" x 18.375” x 20.75”. The sub fit perfectly in the space provided and my parents were very happy with the size. From the front of the sub, you see a gloss black plate at the top with the digital readout and grill. The grill posts were disappointingly small and, as I often find with grills of this size, it felt flimsy. The only real workaround for this is a grill constructed out of MDF instead of plastic but at this price point, you are really paying for the electronics and driver.

There are no threaded inserts for feet. The provided rubber feet are conical with a sticky bottom. The sub comes with a remote, a power cord, a mic and a mic stand, and directions. There is a slot-style port just below the huge 15" driver. Behind the grill on the top left of the front baffle is an IR receiver while the top left has a mic input. The amp sports most of the things you'd expect including low pass crossover dial (40-120Hz), RCA inputs and outputs, and line level inputs and outputs. Conspicuously absent is a volume dial which is replaced with volume up and down buttons. There is no phase control on the amp backplate as that is digitally controlled. One thing I think all subs should have is a ground lift. While I didn't have any problems with a ground loop, subwoofers are notorious for introducing such problems and I think that a ground lift should be standard equipment on all subs. The DEQ doesn't have one.

Usually, this is the portion of the review where I post all the internal pics and tell you how well the DEQ-15R was constructed. Unfortunately, I ran into two problems. The first was that there was a plastic cover over the screws securing the driver to the enclosure. It did not give under my gentle probing and frankly I wasn't going to push it as this was my parent's sub and I didn't want to break it. While I could have probably gotten around this (removing the amp for example), I ran into my second and more serious problem - time. The sub arrived after 6pm and my kids go to bed at 8pm. When we visit my parents I sleep in the home theater room (apropos don't you think?) so I literally had less than two hours to unpack, measure, setup, and calibrate the sub. That didn't leave much time for listening tests much less taking apart the sub. Something had to give. I did do a knock test and it was about what you'd expect at this price point from a company like Velodyne - somewhat more inert than you'd imagine for its size but there definitely could be more bracing in there.