I’ve bought a Denon 4400 and a set of SVS Ultra Towers.

[William Lemmerhirt]

Y’all realize I don’t sven know what “headroom” really is? I mean, I surmise it gives you more room at the top, but do I totally understand what the hell that means? Nope!! Crossover?? Not really. Impedance, EQ setting importance, when to plug the ports, this negative decibel difference rating. Hell, about the only thing I actually is sensitivity, but even that I don’t get the scale it runs on. This is like Greek, man!! It’s crazy as hell!! Haha!! I just KNOW that killer sound is hard to beat, and I WANT IT!!

Yeah, we probably bombed you with tons of stuff that we’ve all learned over the years. Don’t be afraid to ask. That’s the point of the forum. The hard part is for you to sort through all of our blah blah blah-ing lol

My nutshell version. Rearrange the room. Stick with the Denon/ultra combo for now. Soon, add a new sub. Enjoy for awhile and save(unless you don’t need to) for 3 ultra bookshelf’s.(one for center). Install them and enjoy some more! After tweaking the 2.1 or 5.1 system then worry about a second sub. Normally I’d push the second sub earlier but after reflecting on your above quote, I think it should be simpler for awhile.

 

[snakeeyes]

HSU mk2, huh? Hmmm...

I think @William Lemmerhirt meant the HSU Research VTF15 MK2 sub.

 

[lovinthehd]

Was wondering which one he meant until I looked at the site, forgot the VTF-15H is a mk2 instead of 5 like the others . VTF3 Mk5 is another one at a good price point tho....

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I think @William Lemmerhirt meant the HSU Research VTF15 MK2 sub.

Was wondering which one he meant until I looked at the site, forgot the VTF-15H is a mk2 instead of 5 like the others . VTF3 Mk5 is another one at a good price point tho....

Yep. That’s what I meant. I will admit that I loathe dr “shoes” numbering system.

not necessarily saying that’s THE one, but HSU is a great value and very likely one would work. I am partial to SVS cylinders too though!

 

[Steelers252006]

Yeah, we probably bombed you with tons of stuff that we’ve all learned over the years. Don’t be afraid to ask. That’s the point of the forum. The hard part is for you to sort through all of our blah blah blah-ing lol

My nutshell version. Rearrange the room. Stick with the Denon/ultra combo for now. Soon, add a new sub. Enjoy for awhile and save(unless you don’t need to) for 3 ultra bookshelf’s.(one for center). Install them and enjoy some more! After tweaking the 2.1 or 5.1 system then worry about a second sub. Normally I’d push the second sub earlier but after reflecting on your above quote, I think it should be simpler for awhile.

Why the bookshelf for center instead of the dedicated center channel speaker, curious?

 

[Steelers252006]

So HSU MK2 is the flagship?

 

[Steelers252006]

Okay, I see now, the VTF MK2 Is their big daddy. Man, looms damn nice. This sounds on par with the Monolith and SVS offerings?

 

[snakeeyes]

Why the bookshelf for center instead of the dedicated center channel speaker, curious?

The Ultra Center is considered quite good for a center. I would not write it off but using an ultra bookshelf would work well according to many here. Keep in mind keeping up with your towers is easier with the center with its dual drivers.

 

[snakeeyes]

Okay, I see now, the VTF MK2 Is their big daddy. Man, looms damn nice. This sounds on par with the Monolith and SVS offerings?

They are an amazing value actually. I won’t say which subs they may out perform at their price point. The SVS subs cost a bit more.

 

[ryanosaur]

After some recent conversations, it sounds like the Hsu has a bit more mid-bass presence than some of the others we love to recommend.
The VTF3 and VTF15 are almost identical: same driver and amp... all you are paying for is a larger box with slightly lower extension in the VTF15. Either one will own that room. Put two in there, and you should be solid. This is why I also recommended the VTF2... its a touch smaller, but two of those would still own that room.

 

[Danzilla31]

Why the bookshelf for center instead of the dedicated center channel speaker, curious?

It's cheaper and centers are always a compromise on design if you can fit a bookshelf or tower under the TV where the center channel would go you get better performance.

But center channels aren't bad not that one designed by SVS but they always have compromises to sound you won't find with the bookshelf or tower or less likely to find. I might say

 

[Danzilla31]

Okay, I see now, the VTF MK2 Is their big daddy. Man, looms damn nice. This sounds on par with the Monolith and SVS offerings?

For the price that HSU can't be beat. It's on par with the Monolith 15 and the SVS PB 4000 it gives up a bit to them tho on extension that's playing below 20hz and out put. In those deep bass waters. But not by much and I guarantee you you won't miss it. Just a fantastic sub for that price 1 of this right now would give you an eargasm. 2 of those when you budget for the 2nd would give you something impossible to put into words but it wouls be better then an eargasm

 

[Danzilla31]

Yeah, we probably bombed you with tons of stuff that we’ve all learned over the years. Don’t be afraid to ask. That’s the point of the forum. The hard part is for you to sort through all of our blah blah blah-ing lol

My nutshell version. Rearrange the room. Stick with the Denon/ultra combo for now. Soon, add a new sub. Enjoy for awhile and save(unless you don’t need to) for 3 ultra bookshelf’s.(one for center). Install them and enjoy some more! After tweaking the 2.1 or 5.1 system then worry about a second sub. Normally I’d push the second sub earlier but after reflecting on your above quote, I think it should be simpler for awhile.

+ infinity to everything William said this is in one paragraph all the advice you and me have been going with on our PM. This is the course of action I hope you go with

 

[Steelers252006]

For the price that HSU can't be beat. It's on par with the Monolith 15 and the SVS PB 4000 it gives up a bit to them tho on extension that's playing below 20hz and out put. In those deep bass waters. But not by much and I guarantee you you won't miss it. Just a fantastic sub for that price 1 of this right now would give you an eargasm. 2 of those when you budget for the 2nd would give you something impossible to put into words but it wouls be better then an eargasm

Haha, LOVE IT!! Eargasm!!!! Haha

 

[shadyJ]

For the price that HSU can't be beat. It's on par with the Monolith 15 and the SVS PB 4000 it gives up a bit to them tho on extension that's playing below 20hz and out put. In those deep bass waters. But not by much and I guarantee you you won't miss it. Just a fantastic sub for that price 1 of this right now would give you an eargasm. 2 of those when you budget for the 2nd would give you something impossible to put into words but it wouls be better then an eargasm

Your assessment is largely correct. I actually had the PB-4000, Monolith 15" THX, and VTF15h mk2 lined up in my room at one point. You can imagine all of those beasts working as a team! The difference between them is not just output at 16 Hz, but cabinet build. The 15h is good, the Monolith 15 is excellent, and the PB-4000 is overkill, but that all adds weight. Weight might not be an issue for some people, but for me, it can be a hassle since I move the subs around so much. This is why I really like some of the Hsu designs and SVS cylinder designs in this bunch. Moving them around is not such a daunting chore.

 

[Steelers252006]

After some recent conversations, it sounds like the Hsu has a bit more mid-bass presence than some of the others we love to recommend.
The VTF3 and VTF15 are almost identical: same driver and amp... all you are paying for is a larger box with slightly lower extension in the VTF15. Either one will own that room. Put two in there, and you should be solid. This is why I also recommended the VTF2... its a touch smaller, but two of those would still own that room.

I assume mid

Your assessment is largely correct. I actually had the PB-4000, Monolith 15" THX, and VTF15h mk2 lined up in my room at one point. You can imagine all of those beasts working as a team! The difference between them is not just output at 16 Hz, but cabinet build. The 15h is good, the Monolith 15 is excellent, and the PB-4000 is overkill, but that all adds weight. Weight might not be an issue for some people, but for me, it can be a hassle since I move the subs around so much. This is why I really like some of the Hsu designs and SVS cylinder designs in this bunch. Moving them around is not such a daunting chore.

So if moving them around were not the issue, your choice would be the Monolith?

 

[shadyJ]

So if moving them around were not the issue, your choice would be the Monolith?

It depends on your application. The Hsu has the most powerful mid-bass but the SVS has the most powerful deep bass. The Monolith is somewhere inbetween, with just superb overall good performance. All three are terrific subs though, and don't have any real weaknesses, so while the Hsu does have the most powerful mid-bass, its deep bass is very good, and the SVS has very good mid-bass output as well. You can't go wrong with any of them.

 

[Steelers252006]

It depends on your application. The Hsu has the most powerful mid-bass but the SVS has the most powerful deep bass. The Monolith is somewhere inbetween, with just superb overall good performance. All three are terrific subs though, and don't have any real weaknesses, so while the Hsu does have the most powerful mid-bass, its deep bass is very good, and the SVS has very good mid-bass output as well. You can't go wrong with any of them.

Nice!!!

 

[Steelers252006]

The SVS Ultras, donyou just use the bottom two speaker ports on the back? Why is there four?

 

[ryanosaur]

There should be a jumper between them. Leave that in place and wire into the bottom two: positive and negative only.
(This goes back to all those ‘bi-‘ questions.)