Official HSU Subwoofer Owner's Thread

[mrtripleone]

Just upgraded to the VTF-15 from the VTF2-MK3. I must say this is one good sounding sub!


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[CALIBER]

Glad to hear you are enjoying it!! Gotta be the best $1,000 sub out there.

[mrtripleone]

I am glad you recommended it! This thing is killer! I have not had much time to mess with the Q settings all that much yet. This weekend I will have time to play with it a little more.

[Barney_DaPurple1]

My buddy has one of these coming across country by Fedex today. The things bout 120 lbs shipping weight. He's probably gonna need my help to bring it up to mancave at lunch today... as long as he has some Red Oak, I'm in.

[mrtripleone]

Your buddy will need your help. I had to roll mine on its side to get it around my living room. Could not wait for help. Had movies to watch!

[Barney_DaPurple1]

Got beer? I'll be right over to give ya a hand.

[robsong]

Running freq response sweeps in order to help find new spot for my sub, noticed that my center channel was putting out a lot of sound when running the really low freq sweeps, 10hz, 20hz and 30hz. Verified that center was set to small and crossed at 80z. I can understand getting some noise from the center channel at say 50ish hz and above, but at 10 and 20hz???...and not just a little, the sound was more prominent from the center then it was from the sub, and my sub is more then capable of playing the low freq test tones, and yet I got virtually no sound from it until 30hz to 40hz tones.

Confused as to weather this is normal or not. Interestingly though, there was no noticeable sounds coming from the mains until around 50-60hz tones. Volume on the avr was set between -10 and -15 for the duration. Turned audyssey off and tried the sweeps again and got virtually no sound from any speaker including the sub until around 40hz. If anyone can give some advice or explanation as to what I'm experiencing it would be most appreciated. My sub is HSU VTF-15H, speakers KEF Q900 fronts, Center KEF Q600 and receiver Denon 4311ci.

[MDRiggs]

No, not normal. If the center is set to Small it should not be reproducing low bass. That said, I find it hard to imagine that a Q600 could produce meaningful output at 20 Hz, let alone 10 Hz, even if fed an unfiltered signal. Even if it could generate 10 Hz, you wouldn't hear it -- just feel it, maybe, if you pushed it really hard. And for 20 Hz to be audible it has to be very loud, because the ear's sensitivity falls off so steeply at very low frequencies; when reproduced cleanly, and at adequate level, it's still more like a presence in the room rather than what you might ordinarily call sound. So I wonder if what you're hearing from the Q600 on these extremely low tones is actually distortion. Especially since it's a passive-radiator design, as these tend to behave badly when driven below their tuning frequencies.

Anyhow, does the center seem to be crossed over properly when Audyssey is off? If so, perhaps Audyssey is doing something goofy. The best location for a single subwoofer is almost alway in a room corner away from open doors or windows, so I would stick it there for the purposes of troubleshooting this.

[CALIBER]

Something is off here robsong, there is no way way that your center is reproducing 10-25hz test tones, that are audible and louder than the sub, my HSU cannot hit 10hz. I know a KEF center channel is not hitting 10hz, also as MDRiggs stated there isn't any way you would hear it unless it was just pure distortion. All that being said there is definitely something wrong here.

Honestly I am at a total loss on this one you say there was no noticeable sounds coming from the mains until around 50-60hz tones. Volume on the avr was set between -10 and -15 for the duration. Turned audyssey off and tried the sweeps again and got virtually no sound from any speaker including the sub until around 40hz.

I would try turning Audessey off and changing those crossover points to where they should be (60hz-80hz). and see if the same thing happens. Not getting any LFE under 40 hz is a drag and defeats the purpose of a HSU sub. When it is all said and done I think you will need to run Audessey again, making sure you have sub placement,level,and phase all correct first.

[robsong]

When doing sweeps is it better in stereo mode with no bass management on.

[robsong]

Did some more testing in 2ch stereo to see what happens. I could hear my sub at 20hz and my fronts at 50hz.

[gadgtfreek]

Ok, as many know Ive been contemplating two subs, or an upgrade for awhile, but have yet to do anything. Here is my dilemma now, Im def gonna upgrade, I just dont know what to do lol

At some good advice, I was told to get the PB13 ultra, but I like my Hsu. Im still stuck on whether to get a second VTF2, a VTF15 (would pair it with the VTF2) or the PB13. Anyone thats heard em able to answer one simple question:

Is the PB13 worth $1000 more?

[robsong]

It's hard to say yes or no are you going to keep your VTF2 MK4. The PB13 will deliver more output down low at higher levels then one VTF15. But if you got two VTF15's that would provide better coverage and better frequency response. I'm looking at getting one more VTF15 for my room.

[gadgtfreek]

Ive spoken with Hsu about a second VTF2, or a VTF15 to use along with my current VTF2. They said either will work and they would help me with the setup.

I dunno, I kinda think keeping the VTF2 in place and then buying a VTF15 to add might be a better move.

[vläd]

Anytime you begin discussing speakers and prices, you run into the detectable performance per price issue.

Say you looking at a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best speaker made at a "price is no object" price point, and 1 is the bottom of the barrel speakers. The range of 1 to 5 is probably pretty clear cut going from $29.99 book shelf speakers to about a $4000.00 pair of towers. But the scale of 6 to 10 becomes very blurry, sometimes an increase or $1k in price really doesn't deliver perceptual advantages and you may have to jump as much as $3k to notice any improvement.

The same can be said for a sub, (although the price range is a different ratio). I think that we can agree that JL Audio's Gotham may be the best sub currently available at $12k, but that price is out of the range of most budgets.

The difference that you hear between a VTF15 and a PB13-Ultra would probably be minor. More along the lines of why someone prefers Klipsch to KEFs. Personally, I've always liked a very fast and tight bass, and from everything that I've seen in reviews and forums led me to think that the PB13-Ultra was the sub I was looking for. It also seems to have more tuning possibilities of most subs with the addition of the new digital amp and port plugs.

Back to your original question;

Is the PB13 worth $1000 more?

Your ears will need to tell you after you have heard both in your house. You just need to pay the return shipping costs to whichever you decide that you want to return!

[gadgtfreek]

Im kinda suffering from information overload. One thing Ive learned, is try and buy the right stuff first and save yourself some headache, budget permitting. In this case, after going round and round and round, I still think the PC13 Ultra is the best move. It fits where I need it, will have more output and go lower than a VTF15, has a durable woofer, great amp and I can easily add a second if I need to down the road for my HT room without using a lot of space.

I like a lot of bass, plus Im gonna pay for an audio calibration, so I need to get the best my budget allows, and thats an Ultra.

[lennie paz]

I am seriously considering getting the VTF-2 MK4. I have a Pioneer Elite VSX-01TXH which uses MCACC, and not Audyssey. Would I use the same settings posted for Audyssey, even though my receiver uses MCACC?

[CALIBER]

If it were me I would give those same settings a try.

[gadgtfreek]

Ordered this AM

[CALIBER]

Shit, thought you were waiting till the 23'rd or something?? Must have woken up and got bit by the sub woofer bug or something.