Need help considering options

[Parallax982]

I have Audioengine A5+ speakers hooked up to my Sony A8G OLED television. I've long taken an interest in video quality but have lagged behind in audio.

Recently decided that I'd like to get a sub to mate with the A5+ speakers. My first thought was the Audioengine S8 but it seemed pricey for the the performance. On the other hand it's designed to go with the A5+. I began looking on Craigslist to see what I can find that's affordable. Picked up a Velodyne Acoustics CT-100 because it was nearby and only $40. Got it hooked up and tuned as best I could. I felt it really improved the A5s. Did my best to set it so that the speakers wouldn't be overwhelmed. Found I could enjoy listening to music without turning up the volume as much as I typically do because the sound was richer and fuller than without the sub.

The problem was that my wife, who is very sensitive, was feeling the vibrations throughout our home. It's a 2800 square foot, well built home but she couldn't find a spot where she could have the peace she craves even though I was playing my music softly. When I played a sample of her favorite music with and without the sub, she preferred it off. Often she prefers silence to music. She extremely introverted and usually loves silence most of all, particularly when it's late and she's tired. (None of which is a problem. She's a wonderful person and I want to do right by her. At the same time, she wants me to be able to enjoy my music. So we're looking for the win-win, if there is one.)

There's a Hsu VTF-1 MK 2 sub available for $220. It comes in a beautiful rosenut wood case. Don't ask me what rosenut is but the finish seems attractive, though that's not really my priority. I've heard good things about Hsu and my sense is there may be a way to tune it to enhance the music for me without driving my wife crazy. At least that's my hope. But I don't know anything from personal experience and I don't know if it's worth buying the VTF-1 Mk2. If it's going to bother my wife just as much, there would be no point.

Can anyone provide insight into what I'd get with the VTF-1 Mk2 and whether it's worth it? Is it substantially better than the Velodyne CT-100? What doe better mean when it comes to subs? Hsu claims it's very adjustable but I have no concept of what I'd be adjusting and how it would impact her or me.

For what it's worth, we don't watch many movies and when we do it's serious stuff. Nothing with car chases or things blowing up. Our tastes in music match pretty well and we like stuff that's mostly mellow. I enjoy artists like Coldplay. She likes female singers and has a special place in her heart for Barbara Streisand. So we're obviously not the type of family to put cracks in the pavement with our audio equipment. I read that certain subs are more musical but I don't know what that means. As I've said, I appreciated the improvement that came from mating the CT-100 to the A5s, even though my music isn't particularly deep or "thumpy".

I like buying used equipment because it's so much less expensive than new. We're have the resources to spend whatever it takes, but we're financially careful by nature and would have to be convinced of the value before spending large sums.

 

[XEagleDriver]

In a word, no.
Given your wife's sensitivity to LF sound she will find the HSU as objectionable as the Velodyne.
Maybe even more so, since the HSU is a bit more capable. The two subs are pretty similar; 10" woofers, ported designs, etc.

I would look into getting a sub isolation platform like the Auralex Sub Dude II (a goofy name, but it works well).
- It helps decouple (isolate) the sub from the house structure, thus lowering the LF rumble heard/felt in other parts of your home.

Cheers,
XEagleDriver

Found a used one at this link for$34:
"Used Auralex 1x15x15" SubDude-II Isolation Platform for 200 Lbs Subwoofer SUBDUDE_V2" https://www.adorama.com/us 1411838.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwtpGGBhBJEiwAyRZX2kBoAm3d8mGcQs7Tyy2STXqvjFRI4vK5p9RcTmfp0cnq576rCnM0gBoCEq8QAvD_BwE&gclid=CjwKCAjwtpGGBhBJEiwAyRZX2kBoAm3d8mGcQs7Tyy2STXqvjFRI4vK5p9RcTmfp0cnq576rCnM0gBoCEq8QAvD_BwE&utm_source=adl-gbase-p

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[Parallax982]

Thanks for your answer. Hsu made the claim that the VTF-1 Mk2 is more adjustable and can be tuned to be more musical and less "thumpy". I don't really know what that means or whether it's true or would be helpful.

In the case of the CT-100, the sub is front rather than down firing. Would it still benefit from an isolation platform? If so, might I just put in on top of a throw rug and get the same effect.

 

[XEagleDriver]

Thanks for your answer. . . .

The CT-100 is front rather than down firing.
1) Would it still benefit from an isolation platform?[\B]
2) If so, might I just put in on top of a throw rug and get the same effect.

1) Yes, I have a front firing SVS ported and it helped a lot.
2) No, rug does not provide enough isolation to get same effect.


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[Parallax982]

Right now it's sitting on a hardwood floor so that might be why she was having trouble. Thanks so much, XED.

 

[Pogre]

Trade the wife in for a bigger sub...

 

[lovinthehd]

Can't imagine what Auralex or the other fancy foam pads could do compared to some textile materials of sufficient thickness.....sure would be cheaper to try something that way than buying a $50 piece of foam (or foam/board or whatever they do now).

 

[PG55]

Hi,

I recently had to sacrifice and trade out my HSU 15 inch ported sub due to the WAF. I am still grieving however due to the small size of the SVS micro 3000's I was able to place 2 of them in the room with any objections. I ran REW and the results were nice and flat across the range. The one thing I am struggling with is now when listening to music when I switch from auto mode which uses the subs to direct mode which puts my main Monitor Audio silvers 300s in full range and turns off the subs it seems I get more bass?

Am I missing something? It doesn't seem likely the Monitor Audios play deeper than the micro 3000's.

PG55

 

[Parallax982]

Can't imagine what Auralex or the other fancy foam pads could do compared to some textile materials of sufficient thickness.....sure would be cheaper to try something that way than buying a $50 piece of foam (or foam/board or whatever they do now).

Are you saying the Auralex will improve things over a piece of carpet or that it won't? (Not sure if you meant "I can't imagine . . ." or "You can't imagine . . .")

 

[Parallax982]

Hi,

I recently had to sacrifice and trade out my HSU 15 inch ported sub due to the WAF. I am still grieving however due to the small size of the SVS micro 3000's I was able to place 2 of them in the room with any objections. I ran REW and the results were nice and flat across the range. The one thing I am struggling with is now when listening to music when I switch from auto mode which uses the subs to direct mode which puts my main Monitor Audio silvers 300s in full range and turns off the subs it seems I get more bass?

Am I missing something? It doesn't seem likely the Monitor Audios play deeper than the micro 3000's.

PG55

I'm new to all this. What you're saying sounds relevant but I don't understand the jargon. Could you restate it in a way that someone totally new to subs and the audio world can understand. REW? "Nice flat across the range"?? "Puts my main Monitor Audio silvers 300s in full range and turns off the subs it seems I get more bass"??? Huh?

What I'm getting from this, best I can tell, is you gave up a HSU sub that's significantly larger than the 10 inch I'm consiering and bought two of something else, and that seemed to work better for your wife. I don't have context to know how I might apply this to my situation.

 

[lovinthehd]

Are you saying the Auralex will improve things over a piece of carpet or that it won't? (Not sure if you meant "I can't imagine . . ." or "You can't imagine . . .")

Generally a sub radiates thru the air it moves, a good cabinet transfers little to the floor but some types of particularly wood floor construction could be excited somewhat. I'd just put a coupla towels/carpet pieces/blankets in between the sub and floor and see if that makes any particular difference in that regard before figuring out anything further....

 

[Parallax982]

Generally a sub radiates thru the air it moves, a good cabinet transfers little to the floor but some types of particularly wood floor construction could be excited somewhat. I'd just put a coupla towels/carpet pieces/blankets in between the sub and floor and see if that makes any particular difference in that regard before figuring out anything further....

Will give that a try. Thanks.

 

[PG55]

Will give that a try. Thanks.

In reference to my post that was on your thread. I am sorry I thought I was starting a new thread. But for what it's worth I had used a towel prior and now use use SVS Sound Path feet on my subs and it seems to disconnect them from the sub floor better which avoids shaking the house. Can't really tell if it changes the sound from the Sub.

 

[Eppie]

Will give that a try. Thanks.

In my experience the cabinet does not transfer that much vibration to the floor and house structure compared to how the low frequency waves can travel through the house, especially if it is open concept or has a lot of open door ways. With low bass you can get standing waves where the bass is much more pronounced in certain areas. It can sound fine in one spot, but be very pronounced a few feet over. When I have music playing I can be down the hall, through the den and inside my workshop 50 feet from the subwoofer and there are areas in my workshop where the bass is much more pronounced. That's just the way sound waves work sometimes. If your wife is very sensitive to low bass in multiple areas of the house, I would be very surprised if isolating the sub from the floor had any significant effect. You may find that you'll just have to do without or perhaps invest in a very good set of headphones. Sound sensitivity can be very difficult for some people to deal with.

 

[Parallax982]

In reference to my post that was on your thread. I am sorry I thought I was starting a new thread. But for what it's worth I had used a towel prior and now use use SVS Sound Path feet on my subs and it seems to disconnect them from the sub floor better which avoids shaking the house. Can't really tell if it changes the sound from the Sub.

Thanks. I don't care so much about changing the sound. I guess that would be a bonus. Just want to make it easier on my wife so I can use the damn thing. Or find another sub that will work better.

 

[lovinthehd]

Also might experiment with sub location to see if that affects the WAF sensitivity.

 

[Parallax982]

In my experience the cabinet does not transfer that much vibration to the floor and house structure compared to how the low frequency waves can travel through the house, especially if it is open concept or has a lot of open door ways. With low bass you can get standing waves where the bass is much more pronounced in certain areas. It can sound fine in one spot, but be very pronounced a few feet over. When I have music playing I can be down the hall, through the den and inside my workshop 50 feet from the subwoofer and there are areas in my workshop where the bass is much more pronounced. That's just the way sound waves work sometimes. If your wife is very sensitive to low bass in multiple areas of the house, I would be very surprised if isolating the sub from the floor had any significant effect. You may find that you'll just have to do without or perhaps invest in a very good set of headphones. Sound sensitivity can be very difficult for some people to deal with.

Thanks. That's a real possibility. She tried to find a spot where she was comfortable. Had she found one, I doubt she would have raised a concern. She was able to let me listen for a couple of hours but finally had to come up and ask me to stop. It may just be that I'll have to work around her sensitivities.

 

[Parallax982]

Also might experiment with sub location to see if that affects the WAF sensitivity.

She's so sensitive, I doubt it would make a difference but I could try. Do you think getting the Hsu VTF-1 MK 2 to replace the Velodyne might make a difference, particularly if I tuned it accordingly? It's said to be more tunable than most. If I had a sense that it might be the solution, I'd get it. I'm trying to reach Hsu technical service. Left a message requesting they call me.

 

[Pogre]

Now that's something I've never thought of. Finding the best spot to make a null where the wife sits. If it happens to work for the mlp that's a win-win.

 

[lovinthehd]

She's so sensitive, I doubt it would make a difference but I could try. Do you think getting the Hsu VTF-1 MK 2 to replace the Velodyne might make a difference, particularly if I tuned it accordingly? It's said to be more tunable than most. If I had a sense that it might be the solution, I'd get it. I'm trying to reach Hsu technical service. Left a message requesting they call me.

Well the sub placement more dictates how it will affect the audio in your room(s). If she's so sensitive as you make it sound I suspect there is little chance of success in this regard unless you have it in a corner perhaps and are getting boundary gain to accentuate the issue or something. Might try away from boundaries to see if that helps.

As to the "tuning" capabilities of subs like the Hsu and some others, not particularly. If she can't handle the frequency range of your current sub, then unlikely the deeper tuning variability of the Hsu would help out.