Hertz Mille ML3000 - Review Subwoofer

Listening
Jazz
Diana Krall Love ScenesWith the ML3000 broken in, I got on with the audition. As I listened to Diana Krall's Love Scenes, I was impressed with the ML3000. Note details and frequency shifts were clearly defined. Even the lowest notes were fully developed and tight - not sloppy - and they exhibited some punch. Everything was well controlled and the imaging of the bass instruments blended into the front of the system amazingly well. I couldn't pick out any locational cues from the rear of my truck where the ML3000 enclosure was mounted.Score: 9/10

Rock
Lenny Kravitz "Believe in Me"With rock, the ML3000 was forceful. Lenny Kravitz's "Believe in Me" was tight and punchy. The bass reproduction was very smooth and clear in its articulation through the uniquely shaped cone of this sub. It was neither overpowering nor overwhelming, but was nice and forceful, like getting hit with a velvet anvil.Score: 8.5/10

Trance
Yello "Resistor"On the trance side of things, I listened to Yello's "Resistor." The song's opening 12 bars feature an open pipe organ that goes very, very low. On these low notes, the ML3000 didn't give back the full output level I expected. However, with the standard trance "repeat-a-babel" disco bumpin' stuff on the rest of this track, the ML3000 kicked heinie. Just like most trance songs that go on and on, the ML3000 sounded like it could easily play this stuff all day and night at whatever volume you crank it up to and never run out of performance.Score: 8/10

Session
Focal N 4 "Boxenkiller""Boxenkiller," one of my favorite tracks from the Focal Test discs, had a good amount of violence to the playback of the bass drum and tom toms. The sound was engulfing and expansive with very low colorization of the bass sound. At times the ML3000 was almost too smooth and rounded that I almost got bored listening to it. OK, maybe I was being a tad too picky with that statement. In fact, the ML3000 is a subwoofer that you could listen to for very long periods of time, because it doesn't wear on you and cause ear fatigue. I liked it a lot because it imaged well.Score: 8/10

Easy Rock
Switchfoot Dare You to MoveThe ML3000 played well on every type of music I played through it, including my final selection, Switchfoot's dual-disc Dare you to Move. The DVD side has much more punch and dynamic range than the CD side. It's a shame that you can't find that many dual-discs anymore. Tight, punchy and great imaging, the Hertz engineers have done a great job on creating a subwoofer that can excel in all formats and at every volume.Score: 8/10

SPL in-car measurement at 2.83 volts, 1 meter with Bruel & Kjaer Type 2231 Level Meter set to: Un-weighted, SPL, and Fast.

80Hz 95.5d
40Hz 94.1dB
20Hz 91.5dB
Max SPL 127.7dB