| Velodyne SMS-1 Subwoofer Management System |
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| Sunday, 01 October 2006 | |||||
Page 3 of 3 The Downside The SMS-1’s manual set up options can be a bit overwhelming at first. The unit is capable of doing so much that if you want to do something other than the Auto EQ at first it could seem to be insurmountable to those new to room tuning. I think Velodyne has done a pretty good job with the manual that walks you through the set up process, providing tips and warnings as appropriate. I would also recommend downloading Outlaw Audio’s free guide to the SMS-1 as it provides good information and is (relatively) easy to follow. One change that I would like to see is an option for stereo subwoofers, each with their own individual controls. Currently one can hook up multiple subwoofers, each receiving the same signal or you can daisy chain multiple SMS-1’s. I for one would be happy to pay a small premium to have a stereo option available which would make it quite easy to Auto EQ a pair of subwoofers. Conclusion I heartily recommend the SMS-1 to anyone who has a decent subwoofer yet is unhappy with the bass response in your room. Those of you with a downright awful subwoofer would be better served by upgrading your subwoofer first as the SMS-1 can only do so much and may actually be too much for a lesser subwoofer. No matter what signal you feed to a subwoofer, you can’t make it play louder or lower than the unit is physically capable of. That said there are a lot of subwoofers out there that can benefit from the processing of the SMS-1. The SMS-1 provides high quality room correction at a relatively low price by limiting itself to the 15Hz to 110HZ frequency range. This is a smart idea as this is the range that is often so problematic to solve without unacceptable compromises. If you are completely happy with your bass response or are buying a full frequency DSP for your entire system, move on to the next review, if not, find a local Velodyne dealer and see what the SMS-1 can do for your system. Like this article? Bookmark and share with any of the sites below.        |
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