Over the last 5 years or so, most companies who manufacture subwoofers have started offering compact models. And by compact, I mean less than a foot on any dimension. The iPod movement simply accelerated this trend, with its emphasis on music from little packages.

Velodyne has marketed a number of compact subs, and the MicroVee is their smallest one yet.

However, what differentiates the MicroVee from its ancestors is that this product has a new long throw (about 2") active driver (6.5") along with two passive radiators (6.5"), plus a much more powerful amplifier (1,000 watts RMS) than was used in the other models.

The product photo at the top of this review shows the MicroVee without the grille. The photo below illustrates what it looks like with the grille, and you can also see one of the side-mounted passive radiators more clearly.

The MicroVee has an extruded aluminum enclosure which makes it very strong, but also, there can be no rattling or buzzing at seams, because there are no seams except at one spot where the one-piece extrusion is joined together. The aluminum also makes the subwoofer lighter, so it is easy to move around. There are four small rubber feet on the bottom.

The amplifier panel on the rear is shown below. It has line-level inputs and speaker-level inputs and outputs. Besides volume, you can dial in the low-pass frequency or switch the crossover out altogether. Phase is selectable between 00 and 1800.

Now, when I was introduced to the MicroVee at CEDIA a couple of months ago, and they told me it was going to sell for $799, I thought they might have trouble competing with other small subs that are less expensive. However, once I saw that it has such a long-throw driver with a 4 pound magnet, two passive radiators, and 1,000 watts RMS of available power, I concluded that this one is worth the additional dollars.

So, there it is. I might have added the old platitude, "warts and all," just to be prosaic, but there are no warts. This thing is gorgeous.