Velodyne Acoustics - Company History

Company History

It was 1983 when David Hall, Velodyne’s founder and chief engineer, introduced a technological breakthrough in subwoofer design that revolutionized the reproduction of low frequency sound. The invention was the driving force behind the ULD-18, which incorporated a patented, accelerometer-based High Gain Servo System to control the woofer cone movement. The massive 120 lb. speaker system went lower, played louder and produced distortion levels to 20 to 30 times less than anything else on the market. The ULD-18 garnered dozens of international awards and acknowledgments. In 1987, the Ultra-Low-Distortion (ULD) 15 was released, representing a breakthrough in small subwoofer performance. The ULD-12 followed the ULD-15 in 1989.

A year later, the Audio Series VA was born, David Hall’s ground breaking design that orchestrated sound based on the coupling of an active forward-firing woofer with a passive radiator. The F series was released next, with a contemporary granite design, and it was the first servo controlled subwoofer series that fired only forward instead of down with a full range of sound. Two years later, Velodyne introduced the Subwoofer Direct, which delivered optimum performance from any surround sound technology and limited amplifier distortion using anti-clipping circuitry. Velodyne also released the Classic Theater (CT) Series at this time, based on a slot-loaded design.

In 1995, the company developed a highly efficient, low noise, digital amplifier featuring a switching-mode power supply. This amp design generated minimal heat making it incredibly reliable. The patent was granted in 2002 for the Energy Recovery System (ERS®).

In 1996, Velodyne introduced the world’s first remote controlled subwoofer, the F – 1800R. Velodyne’s High Gain Servo, HGS-10 also emerged as the world’s first under 12” cube, single powerful driver subwoofer. The same year, Velodyne created the Dual Tandem Voice Coil to deliver extremely high power handling, linear travel and low distortion. These drivers generated less than half the distortion of conventional motor designs and were capable of four times the heat dissipation.

A year later, Velodyne’s extended excursion drivers were designed with vented pole-pieces that increased power handling and assure long-term reliability. The High Gain Servo Series was expanded to include a 12", the HGS-12. These subwoofers packed 1250 watts of digital switching power into their small forward-firing cabinets. HGS-15 and 18 were added in 1998.

In 1999, Velodyne developed the Dynamic Driver Control System (DDCS), an exclusive active, signal-based system that controlled driver displacement and excursion. Soon afterwards they released the SPL™ (Small-Plays-Loud) Series. These were among the smallest subwoofers ever made for their cone sizes and had an incredibly loud and clean output. The VLF Series followed, continuing the use of an active forward-firing woofer with a passive radiator.

In 2002, Velodyne introduced the Digital Drive 1812 Signature, Limited Edition Series. It boasted 2500 watts of RMS power and 6000 watts peak, in a two-way powered design. Also introduced was onboard auto-EQ; the first time a subwoofer is capable of adapting itself to the listener’s audio system and room size.

Next up, Velodyne engineered the Patent-Pending Digital Drive® Room Equalization System. This all-digital innovation allowed the subwoofer's frequency response in any room to be measured and digitally corrected in real-time using a supplied microphone, and stored in the unit's memory to assure ideal performance in the consumer's listening area. Velodyne also created the Patent-Pending Digital High Gain Servo System at this time, which used a proprietary sealed digital accelerometer to measure cone movements 15,800 times a second in order to correct for any distortion. The results were subwoofers with over 3000 watts of dynamic power that deliver clean, accurate, high-impact sound from 15 to 120 Hz with total harmonic distortion below .5%.

The following year, the company released the Digital Drive (DD) Series with high performance power in an elegant cabinet. This series was later transformed into the Optimum Series. Velodyne also invented the Distortion Limiting System (DLS) at this time, which further limited distortion and cone over-excursion.

In 2004, Velodyne introduced the VRP Series, an affordable rear-ported subwoofer series. This was followed by the DLS-R / CHT-R Series which came with a remote control with presets for movies, music and games. Shortly after, Velodyne designed the SPL-R Series which featured a remote control with a one-button room digital bass EQ that automatically adjusted to provide the best bass performance in the room. They also introduced the MiniVee/SPL-800i, which produced powerful bass out of a smaller than 12" cube. This was followed by the SubContractor Series, Velodyne’s in-wall subwoofer, which fired vertically with a unique t-shaped driver that minimizes wall vibration. Then Velodyne’s smallest subwoofer hit the market, the MicroVee, a 9" cube featuring a three driver system with one active and two passives and a ribbed extruded aluminum cabinet to dissipate heat.

For a more affordable in-wall subwoofer, Velodyne released the "Cut, Plug and Play" SC-600 IW in 2007. The company also added the MiniVee-10/SPL-1000i to the lineup, a high value 1000 watt RMS "ERS" amp with a Dual Tandem Voice Coil producing deep, powerful bass out of a 14" cube.

The following year, Velodyne designed an affordable line of small, high-impact subs called the Impact Series. Soon afterwards, the DEQ-R / CHT-Q Series hit the market as moderately-priced remote controlled subwoofers with one-button, room bass EQ. Velodyne then introduced the Optimum / SPL-Ultra Series with high output, low bass extension, remote control with one-button room bass EQ, and an intuitive front panel display. An addition to the SC-600 Series was soon released called the SC-602 Dual-Mono Amp, which had an amp capable of running two SC-600 Series subwoofers. In 2009, David Hall and Marta Thoma married and joined in spirit, committed to creative projects with inventive technology and artistic design.

During this time, DD+ was released as Velodyne’s flagship subwoofer, top of the line in size, technology, and aesthetics. In 2011, Marta Hall became President and joined CEO David Hall at Velodyne Inc. The two refocused attention on the company’s direction. They also dedicated themselves to promoting and building on Velodyne’s engineering departments. Shortly after, Velodyne launched headphone products with Marta Hall as the chief industrial designer and David overseeing the sound technology. Applying 30 years of experience in sound reproduction, Velodyne released their first headphone product, the in-ear vPulse. In 2012, two more headphones were introduced, the vFree wireless on-ear headphone, and the over-ear vTrue studio headphone. Also in 2012, Velodyne released a series of affordable remote controlled subwoofers with bass EQ, called the EQ Series.