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Every once in a while a product comes along that wasn’t really on your radar but once you have it you wonder how you ever did without it. The Velodyne Digital Subwoofer Management System (SMS-1) is one such product and I have now added it to my arsenal of audio products with great effectiveness. It’s currently offered by both Velodyne and by Outlaw as a sell-through product since, as Peter Tribeman of Outlaw stated, “We couldn’t possibly have come up with a better unit so why try?” I could write all about what the SMS-1 is and how you set it up and use it, but this has already been done in a most commendable way by a good friend and fellow “Outlaw Saloon denizen” Jim “gonk” Prillaman on his excellent web site. Jim has graciously given me permission to post a link to his full report. Click here to access Jim’s review of the SMS-1. I couldn’t have said it better (or probably not even as well) than Jim and I appreciate his cooperation in this matter. Once you have finished looking over his comprehensive review come back here and I’ll relate an interesting personal story about my serendipitous experience with the SMS-1.
Here’s my story. Several of my friends had told me about this little black box that “automatically tunes your room” so that you get maximum performance from your subwoofer(s). And with Peter Tribeman’s hearty endorsement of the SMS-1 as one of those products that is the “best in show” I was more than intrigued. Those who have been following these pages know that I’ve gone through several generations of excellent subwoofers, including offerings from Velodyne, M&K, and the very popular internet-based SVS. With my acquisition of an SVS PC-Ultra a few years ago I actually thought that this one subwoofer was doing such a great job that I no longer needed to have the very capable M&K MX-350THX subwoofer in my system. So I disconnected it and it’s been sitting in my home theater basically hiding some wires.
When I finally got my new 1080p display up and running (so that I could see the SMS-1 menus as explained by Jim in his review) I decided to run the auto-calibration. I connected the SMS-1 to my system as per the instructions and pressed “3-2-1” on the remote. The automated process started with a series of 25 sweeps from <15Hz to >120Hz which you either feel or hear. Interestingly, the sweeps ended after about 7 or 8 passes. I later found out that this occurs when your auto-calibration has reached a curve that is flat enough by basic standards (which I believe is +/- 3dB or so for a 6dB range). The manual explains that you probably won’t get a completely flat curve but you should aim for a reasonably flat one within this range.
I noticed that there was a distinct dip in the curve at ~63dB (but still within the 6dB envelope) so I decided to use the manual adjustment to try to compensate for this node which I assume was caused by the placement of the SVS PC-Ultra in the room. (I’ve heard this referred to as a “room node”). Since I’m limited in where the SVS PC-Ultra can go I was hoping that the SMS-1’s equalizer could take care of this. Unfortunately, no matter how I adjusted the settings I couldn’t boost this 63Hz dip manually without causing more problems than I was solving. Then it occurred to me that perhaps placing the M&K MX-350THX subwoofer back into the system would help. (The SMS-1 will handle up to 3 powered subwoofers). Since the M&K was just sitting there it was worth a try. After making the appropriate connections I tried the auto-calibration once more and within 12 “sweeps” I had a curve from 15-80 Hz that was flat within 1-2 dBs! (I’m using THX bass management with 80Hz and below going to the subs). Evidently the M&K was filling in the 63Hz hole and the SMS-1 adjusted everything else to allow for the presence of an additional subwoofer.
When listening to source material with a lot of sub-frequency energy we tend to concentrate on the very bottom end (which in the case of my SVS PC-Ultra is done very nicely in the 16Hz tuned range.) The “upper” low frequencies sometimes get lost in the shuffle because you don’t feel them as much. In fact, in a “before” and “after” comparison I would say that the deepest low end performed similarly with and without the M&K added to the mix. However, once the curve was flattened, there was definitely a difference in the overall listening experience. It’s very hard to explain in words, but the middle low end of the spectrum (~60-65 Hz?) was definitely smoother and it definitely made the audio sound more alive. This all makes sense on a scientific basis, especially when you see the graphs that the SMS-1 paints on the screen. And I’m not saying that the sound in my home theater was not good before the SMS-1 performed its magic. But this is one of those things that I probably would have never stumbled upon without some major room measurements that, quite frankly, I would have considered more trouble than they are worth. But the fact that the SMS-1 identified a problem with my room acoustics extremely painlessly (how many people would automatically say, “I think I have a problem at 63Hz”?) shows me that in the first half-hour of its use, it’s earned its keep! And I’m poised to make corrections if and when I change anything physically in the room knowing that I’ll extract the maximum performance out of my audio system. Anyone with serious subwoofers should consider the possibility that the SMS-1 might be just the thing needed for that final low frequency tweak. I’m sold.
Click here for more information about the Velodyne SMS-1
Click here for some pictures of all the new equipment in place
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