Review Velodyne Acoustics Deep Waves 10:Features and technology
With a price of around 1,700 euros, the Deep Waves 10 has outgrown the entry-level segment and has a lot to offer in terms of its features and technology. First of all, there are connections for all kinds of scenarios: An LFE input establishes contact with an AV receiver and a stereo RCA input enables connection with integrated amps and preamplifiers. Speaker-level inputs also allow the Deep Waves to be connected to integrated amplifiers that do not have a preamplifier output.
As the smaller model in the series, it has a 10" driver and thus joins the ranks of "grown-up" subwoofers, but with a width of 38 centimetres, a height of 40 centimetres and a depth of 32 centimetres, it remains within dimensions that are compatible with living space. A black textile covering is included in the scope of delivery; the Deep Waves cabinet is only available in "matt black". This is not due to a red pencil, but rather to a consistent focus on the needs of home cinema: TVs or projectors can easily cause reflections on shiny surfaces, but the Deep Waves, thanks to its non-reflective finish, is not a source of interference.
The 250 mm active driver of the Deep Waves 10 has a double-vented, flow-optimised basket, which is manufactured in an aluminium die-casting process. Its diaphragm is made of a paper composite, which is finally coated to further minimise partial vibrations. Although the diaphragm, suspended in a wide nitrile rubber surround, is relatively light, it is driven by a powerful double ferrite magnet system. The large 63 mm voice coil has a four-layer winding and contributes to the fact that the long-stroke driver moves wobble-free even at large excursions. A 10" driver is already something to be taken seriously, but the Deep Waves, following the example of other Velodyne models such as the MicroVee X, is equipped with additional passive radiators that are positioned exactly opposite each other on the sides and are also 250 millimetres in size. These drivers, also called passive diaphragms, are not directly electrically driven, but are moved by the airflow in the cabinet resulting from the stroke of the active driver.
Power wants to be tamed
The amplifier section of the Deep Waves 10 is designed in Class D topology, with four 40-amp MOSFETs in the output stage providing generous current reserves. Together with the power supply, they provide a remarkable output power of 350 watts, for short impulses even up to 600 watts are mobilised - more than enough for all situations. Of course, so much power and diaphragm excursion must first be brought under control so that at the end of the day they can show off their sonic advantages. Avoiding sound-damaging resonances, however, is not so easy in view of the forces at work here, especially in the case of a closed cabinet. Here, too, the engineers have drawn on their wealth of experience and designed the Deep Waves' MDF cabinet with a wall thickness of 22 millimetres. In addition, massive internal bracing makes the cabinet resistant to vibrations. Alongside the mechanical aspects, digital signal processing also plays a role in resonance optimisation: The powerful DSP not only processes the input signal according to the set parameters, it also ensures distortion-free reproduction in real time and actively avoids resonances. Furthermore, the DSP protects the electronics and the driver from overload under all operating conditions.