Velodyne Impact-10 review

It may be sizeable, but the Impact-10 lacks much needed control compared to rivals in the same class Tested at £295.00

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

Goes deep, sounds punchy and powerful but there's subtlety too – just needs a touch more control

Pros

  • +

    Like the name says - great impact and power

Cons

  • -

    Needs a little more control

Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.

This is the big boy of subwoofers, positively dwarfing its nearest rivals and leaving some of them cowering in the corner.

This is normally a good thing where generating low frequencies is concerned, though you'll need to make sure you can give your subwoofer enough room to breathe.

With a downward-firing port, the Velodyne claims 150 Watts of continuous power, and there are line level and LFE inputs on that gloss black cabinet.

As you may have guessed from the name, the Impact-10 has a 10in driver – there is also a 12in sub and a smaller, ‘mini' subwoofer, in this Velodyne range, too.

Air-shifting sound
Sure enough, the Velodyne delivers deep, air-moving bass notes, with the endless explosions of Behind Enemy Lines sounding punchy and powerful.

As the Impact name suggests, this Velodyne is quite capable of waking you up should you doze-off during the late film, but there's subtlety and detail on display, too.

All that's missing is a little more control to tighten-up the power available when the action really gets going – particularly fearsome and frantic scenes do see the Velodyne losing its cool a little.

If your main concern is getting your trousers flapping then this Velodyne should be on your shortlist. But there are others available that offer a little more control.

What Hi-Fi?

What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath. Our coveted five-star rating and Awards are recognised all over the world as the ultimate seal of approval, so you can buy with absolute confidence.


Read more about how we test