# Velodyne Optimum 12



## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

*Velodyne Optimum 12"*







*Manufacturer Specs*

*Specifications* 



Optimum-12
12” forward firing (9.7” piston diameter)
2400 watts Dynamic 1200 watts RMS Power
80Hz (6 dB/octave)
40-135 Hz
12 dB octave initial, 24 dB octave ultimate
13-240 Hz 21-135 Hz
<5% (typical)
346 oz. (21.6 lbs.)
3” Dual Layer inside/outside wound
Line and Speaker Level
Line-level, 80Hz up
0°, 90°, 180°, 270°
Yes
15.5” x 15” x 18.5” (39.4 x 38 x 47 cm)
Sealed enclosure
Hand-rubbed black gloss lacquer or cherry veneer
Mic, mic stand, and remote control
Three years (electronics) Five years (drivers)
49 lbs. (22 Kg)




*Manufacturer Published Measurements*
N/A

*Frequency Response*









*Max Output Before Compression* 









*Spectral Decay*









*Group Delay*









*Waterfall*









*Spectrogram*









*Harmonic Distortion*










*Measurement Methods* 



*16 Hz*
65536-point spectrum using Rectangular window and no averaging
Input RMS 93.0 dB
Distortion at 16.1 Hz, -23.6 dB FS based on 8 harmonics:
THD 5.0547 %
THD+N 41.7272 %
2nd harmonic 4.2307%
3rd harmonic 1.8043%
4th harmonic 1.0203%
5th harmonic 1.0665%
6th harmonic 0.7946%
7th harmonic 0.8691%
8th harmonic 0.5551%
9th harmonic 0.7226%

*20 Hz*
65536-point spectrum using Rectangular window and no averaging
Input RMS 103.1 dB
Distortion at 20.1 Hz, -13.1 dB FS based on 8 harmonics:
THD 6.1898 %
THD+N 29.9717 %
2nd harmonic 5.6656%
3rd harmonic 2.2470%
4th harmonic 0.7636%
5th harmonic 0.6018%
6th harmonic 0.3267%
7th harmonic 0.1778%
8th harmonic 0.2249%
9th harmonic 0.1792%

*25 Hz*
65536-point spectrum using Rectangular window and no averaging
Input RMS 107.6 dB
Distortion at 24.9 Hz, -8.3 dB FS based on 8 harmonics:
THD 5.1316 %
THD+N 10.7319 %
2nd harmonic 4.8430%
3rd harmonic 1.5122%
4th harmonic 0.4158%
5th harmonic 0.4607%
6th harmonic 0.2492%
7th harmonic 0.2455%
8th harmonic 0.2258%
9th harmonic 0.1814%

*32 Hz*
65536-point spectrum using Rectangular window and no averaging
Input RMS 109.6 dB
Distortion at 31.6 Hz, -7.0 dB FS based on 8 harmonics:
THD 2.7735 %
THD+N 40.4219 %
2nd harmonic 2.2835%
3rd harmonic 1.2134%
4th harmonic 0.5341%
5th harmonic 0.5604%
6th harmonic 0.3091%
7th harmonic 0.4096%
8th harmonic 0.2588%
9th harmonic 0.2751%

*40 Hz*
65536-point spectrum using Rectangular window and no averaging
Input RMS 110.1 dB
Distortion at 39.9 Hz, -6.0 dB FS based on 8 harmonics:
THD 3.4163 %
THD+N 26.9466 %
2nd harmonic 2.8329%
3rd harmonic 1.1930%
4th harmonic 0.6278%
5th harmonic 0.6911%
6th harmonic 0.6569%
7th harmonic 0.6910%
8th harmonic 0.5123%
9th harmonic 0.4237%

*50 Hz*
65536-point spectrum using Rectangular window and no averaging
Input RMS 109.7 dB
Distortion at 49.9 Hz, -6.2 dB FS based on 8 harmonics:
THD 1.7099 %
THD+N 10.9974 %
2nd harmonic 1.5703%
3rd harmonic 0.4450%
4th harmonic 0.3073%
5th harmonic 0.2394%
6th harmonic 0.1909%
7th harmonic 0.1810%
8th harmonic 0.1404%
9th harmonic 0.1387%

*63 Hz*
65536-point spectrum using Rectangular window and no averaging
Input RMS 109.3 dB
Distortion at 63.1 Hz, -6.5 dB FS based on 8 harmonics:
THD 1.0388 %
THD+N 9.9867 %
2nd harmonic 1.0196%
3rd harmonic 0.1644%
4th harmonic 0.0637%
5th harmonic 0.0456%
6th harmonic 0.0219%
7th harmonic 0.0582%
8th harmonic 0.0448%
9th harmonic 0.0199%

*80 Hz*
65536-point spectrum using Rectangular window and no averaging
Input RMS 109.2 dB
Distortion at 80.1 Hz, -6.6 dB FS based on 8 harmonics:
THD 0.7626 %
THD+N 4.5419 %
2nd harmonic 0.6870%
3rd harmonic 0.2862%
4th harmonic 0.0977%
5th harmonic 0.0784%
6th harmonic 0.0758%
7th harmonic 0.0589%
8th harmonic 0.0418%
9th harmonic 0.0336%


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## cobraguy (Oct 2, 2011)

Thank you for the specs. This is one of the subs I've been considering. I've heard it in a retail shop and it sounds pretty nice. But I have yet to take it home for an audition. Everything sounds different at home!


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## cobraguy (Oct 2, 2011)

Dale- In your personal opinion, how did the Optimum 12 and the SVSound SB13 compare?
Would you pick one over the other for a music/movie combo system? I love watching movies but I still like sitting down to 2-channel music quite often.


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## cobraguy (Oct 2, 2011)

Wow - double post.


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

There's no comparison, the SVS SB13 Ultra is absolutely phenomenal! I actually ended up buying the SB13 I reviewed because it was that good.


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## traianescu (Dec 13, 2013)

i am thinking at one of these 2 subs and i am wondering why it is velodyne not as good as sb13 ? from the measurements, optimum-12 seems having even more spl (a couple of db).. it is weaker in a large room (mine is 3200 cf) for the fact that the driver is 12 and the other one is 13,5 ? let's say, i didn't heard the cabinet ringing, why velodyne should be a lower class than sb13 ?


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## Goodfellas27 (May 13, 2016)

Funny, I heard both system (SVS,Velodyne) and I think the Velodyne sounded better, with more bass slap and authority. The SPL differences is not address by Dale; isn't that funny?


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