Design and FeaturesBlaupunkt is a medium-sized for a powered sub, and is lighter than regular subs. The exterior is aluminum, with a very smooth shape consisting of semicircular sides and flat parallel top and bottom faces. These faces are broad, so they give the piece considerable depth. I still feel this unit is very nice and compact for a car boot. The multiway car cable is provided, along with an AC adapter and a 3.5 mm jack both-ways cable.
The front is a glossy black hard plastic surface with the Velocity 2Go label etched on it, and a blue backlight illuminates it nicely when the unit is turned on. There is one input called MP3, and there is a pair of RCA at the back. The switches are in the form of cool three-way sliders on the top panel, with an auto mode. This mode turns the unit on when it detects a signal – typical car audio stuff.
The rear panel has flush-mounted dials for volume and subwoofer controls, something that irritates me, as we have to use our fingertips and move it awkwardly. Regardless that this is meant to be used in a car boot, the fact that it also serves as a boombox should have persuaded the designers to make a better volume knob.
There are 2x130 mm polypropylene cone woofers, with 2x19 mm silk membrane tweeters, attached on braces that extend out of the rim of the body into the front panel frame, thus covering the woofers slightly. The woofers are exposed (not good) while the tweeters are nicely housed within a grille (good).
The unit works on batteries for portable operation; and you'll need eight AA batteries. Special rechargeable batteries can be used too, which get charged when AC power is connected, or the car engine is on. The power output is 80 watts RMS.
Performance
First off we tried out the unit as a full range stereo system, then connected a couple of MP3 players consecutively, and also ran it purely on batteries. The first thing we noticed was that this unit is effin' loud. But not necessarily refined and good loud, the sound distorted audibly at high levels. In both inputs the problem persisted; distortions were there at loud levels. But after lowering the volume at source level and adjusting the optimal volume level on the unit, it was pretty powerful.
The sound was obviously bass-heavy, and the lows most impressive, even if at times they eat up the highs and mids. In subwoofer mode the player is way better; in fact it makes more sense to use this as a sub, even for the home. The sound does spread out and the LF extension is impressive, though it doesn’t reach the lowest frequencies in the book. It works best for modern electronic or rock music: stuff with pounding bass and big sounding drums.
Conclusion
This unit works well as a subwoofer, and adds a nice low-end nudge. As a boombox it’s a little heavy going, though young bassheads will like it. It’s physically heavy too, so carrying it around will require some effort. It’s not cheap either, at Rs 24,500, so only those with deep pockets as well as bulging biceps would want to try it out for their car.
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