Hsu Research VTF-2 mk5 Subwoofer Review

[snakeeyes]

Hello, can you explain or point me to something to read that explains this?

It boosts the signal if you Y it to both the L and R inputs of the sub. This can help if the sub is not staying on when music is playing using the auto-on setting. If your sub stays on, don’t worry about it.

There are also smart power strips that have a control outlet for turning the other outlets on when power is sensed on that outlet (such as the AVR). This method would work if you use the “on” setting. (Power strip would control the on/off)

 

[Old Onkyo]

It boosts the signal if you Y it to both the L and R inputs of the sub. This can help if the sub is not staying on when music is playing using the auto-on setting. If your sub stays on, don’t worry about it.

There are also smart power strips that have a control outlet for turning the other outlets on when power is sensed on that outlet (such as the AVR). This method would work if you use the “on” setting. (Power strip would control the on/off)

Thanks Snakeeyes

 

[Jamesrxx951]

I am looking at buying 2 subs for my home theater. 4000cuft room that has 9' ceilings. Right now I have 2 Polk PSW505's and they are alright but that's about it. They can fill the room with bass but they seem unhappy doing so and they make some bad noises at times. So I would like to replace them with either 2 of these HSU's or SVS PB2000's. Are the SVS's worth the extra money for a little more mid bass? Especially when buying 2. It is dual purpose for movies and bass heavy trance style music.

 

[everettT]

I am looking at buying 2 subs for my home theater. 4000cuft room that has 9' ceilings. Right now I have 2 Polk PSW505's and they are alright but that's about it. They can fill the room with bass but they seem unhappy doing so and they make some bad noises at times. So I would like to replace them with either 2 of these HSU's or SVS PB2000's. Are the SVS's worth the extra money for a little more mid bass? Especially when buying 2. It is dual purpose for movies and bass heavy trance style music.

Mid bass is probably close, the SVS digs a bit lower.

 

[kini]

I am looking at buying 2 subs for my home theater. 4000cuft room that has 9' ceilings. Right now I have 2 Polk PSW505's and they are alright but that's about it. They can fill the room with bass but they seem unhappy doing so and they make some bad noises at times. So I would like to replace them with either 2 of these HSU's or SVS PB2000's. Are the SVS's worth the extra money for a little more mid bass? Especially when buying 2. It is dual purpose for movies and bass heavy trance style music.

Ths HSU is the better value and is close in performance. Enough so I don't think you would notice a difference. SVS has its perks, like the two way shipping included in the price with 45 days to try them out, a complete 5 year warranty and the ability to receive full credit (less shipping) if you decide to trade up to a bigger sub within a year.

 

[shadyJ]

I am looking at buying 2 subs for my home theater. 4000cuft room that has 9' ceilings. Right now I have 2 Polk PSW505's and they are alright but that's about it. They can fill the room with bass but they seem unhappy doing so and they make some bad noises at times. So I would like to replace them with either 2 of these HSU's or SVS PB2000's. Are the SVS's worth the extra money for a little more mid bass? Especially when buying 2. It is dual purpose for movies and bass heavy trance style music.

The SVS subs have a deep bass advantage, while the Hsu subs have a midbass advantage. That gives the SVS an edge in movies that dig deep, but it gives the Hsu an advantage in music, at least for headroom. But both subs do well in midbass and deep bass.

 

[Jamesrxx951]

Thanks guys. Looks like it still is not an easy decision but I am leaning towards the HSU. Has anyone played with the variable port tuning? That is what really interested me. My room is untreated right now and with my Polk subs at 60hz it just drops completely out according to my REW measurements. In fact to get that back I had to set my front towers to 40hz to get it back.

 

[shadyJ]

Thanks guys. Looks like it still is not an easy decision but I am leaning towards the HSU. Has anyone played with the variable port tuning? That is what really interested me. My room is untreated right now and with my Polk subs at 60hz it just drops completely out according to my REW measurements. In fact to get that back I had to set my front towers to 40hz to get it back.

There are no room treatments that can really help in subwoofer band frequencies. What can help is a multiple sub approach, so where one sub placement creates a null at some frequency, another placement can shore up that null for an overall flatter response.

 

[snakeeyes]

Thanks guys. Looks like it still is not an easy decision but I am leaning towards the HSU. Has anyone played with the variable port tuning? That is what really interested me. My room is untreated right now and with my Polk subs at 60hz it just drops completely out according to my REW measurements. In fact to get that back I had to set my front towers to 40hz to get it back.

These feel strong all the way through that range. The SVS sound like great subs too, but cost more obviously.

 

[Jamesrxx951]

There are no room treatments that can really help in subwoofer band frequencies. What can help is a multiple sub approach, so where one sub placement creates a null at some frequency, another placement can shore up that null for an overall flatter response.

It may be the Polk subs then causing the issue. They seem to measure high 30-50hz, drop off the cliff at 60 and then level back out around 70 -120ish. That was after 2 hrs of bass crawls, adjusting, playing with settings. It measures really bad at first. So after I found the best spot, I used the front towers to level out 60hz.

 

[Jamesrxx951]

These feel strong all the way through that range. The SVS sound like great subs too, but cost more obviously.

Thanks. The SVS would be around $600 more to own and part of it is I have to pay Ohio tax. I would spend the extra if it is worth it, but if I could use the money elsewhere, I would rather do that.

 

[everettT]

You cant go wrong with either. I'd think the only real difference between the two is the amp with SVS having extreme protection and gloss finishes.

 

[snakeeyes]

Thanks. The SVS would be around $600 more to own and part of it is I have to pay Ohio tax. I would spend the extra if it is worth it, but if I could use the money elsewhere, I would rather do that.

I would go HSU.

 

[Jamesrxx951]

Looks like I will order 2 HSU's. That extra money be repurposed to something else in my system. Thanks for the input guys.

 

[The Chukker]

The new one arrived today and it is installed. It sounds amazing -- no issues.
Big shout out to Leo at HSU for helping me diagnose the issue and the quick turnaround on a new unit -- it was here in less than a week.
Turns out the issue was a rare manufacturing defect with one of the ports not the cracked mdf like I thought.

 

[Jamesrxx951]

I received both of mine today also. I played some music with my Polk PSW 505 and then hooked up the HSU's. Messed with some tuning and it sounded pretty good. Then I did the accuEQ on my receiver. When it was testing the subs, I heard low frequency tones I never heard when it was testing the polks. Then I played more music including some bass heavy and bass bass guitar music. The lows never sounded so good. It is very accurate sounding. Some stuff felt like it was punching you in the chest it was so isolated and clean. No more low hz noises either. I could only imagine what some of the more expensive subs sounds like. I still have more tuning and playing with REW but it was worth the money.

 

[esumsea]

Considering these the PB 2000 and the PC 2000. Any idea why the Hsu VTF-2 mk5 got a 5 on bass extension and performance in the review when the PC 2000 only got 4 in each despite the fact that it beat the Hsu from 20-40 Hz and only got bested by 2 dB at 16 Hz? Is there something about the Hsu that makes it a better performer? Am I missing something?

 

[ryanosaur]

I can't speak for the reviewer, but Performance Quality:Cost has been cited from time to time in cases like this. For the Cost, the Hsu by most accounts is a very good quality product and among the best when it comes to the price.

 

[shadyJ]

I can't speak for the reviewer, but Performance Quality:Cost has been cited from time to time in cases like this. For the Cost, the Hsu by most accounts is a very good quality product and among the best when it comes to the price.

 

[esumsea]

OK. Thank you both for your responses. I still don't understand why the PC2000 did not get a Bass Extension score of 5. So it is a value score for performance? That is odd, since there is a value category, but it's helpful to know. At this point, this sub is almost the same price as the PB2000 and the PC2000. Considering the state of affairs, would they be rated equally. I am trying to chose between these and SVS offers better support and more piece of mind, but the sound is what counts.

Are these all really on par with each other?