Hsu MBM-12

[abboudc]

Anyone get an MBM? Looking for actual user opinions.

Thanks.

 

[Tdekany]

many on hsu.com

better to ask there

 

[JimP]

I've got one.

What would you like to know?

 

[abboudc]

I've got one.

What would you like to know?

Overall impressions and impact it made on your system. Also what sub is it paired with.

 

[abboudc]

many on hsu.com

better to ask there

I actually only saw 3 threads there, and only one offered half an opinion (big difference, doesn't say whether good or bad). Most of the threads are "should i get an MBM".

 

[JimP]

Overall impressions and impact it made on your system. Also what sub is it paired with.

I have it pair with a Velodyne HGS-15 sub in about half of a 8,000 cubic ft room (combination living room dinning room open to other areas.)

Subjectively, I think it improved the sound in the 15 percent range in terms of a more natural sound coming from the MBM and freeing up the Velo to do the deep bass. Your experience may differ as room and equipment will not be the same.

I think there are issues in setting it up nearfield and found that just sticking it on top of the Velodyne at the front of HT area worked best for me. (at least that's where it was today.) It lends itself to a lot of experimenting until you find the best placement for your system. Unless you have an SMS-1 to monitor the changes in placement, you're likely to have a hard time intergrating it. By the way, in this position, I'm only using the SMS-1 for the crossover and to monitor placement changes. All equalization sliders are set to "0" as they're not really needed. The crossover network in the SMS-1 sounds better than the one in my preamp.

I had been considering getting either another HGS-15 or possibly the BMF or F113s, but now I'm not so sure that I wouldn't be just spending money without much of an improvement over my current HGS-15/MBM combo. At least, lets say that I'm no longer in any rush to do further upgrades.

Conceptually, I like the idea of using a specialized module for the midbass and freeing up the regular sub to do deep bass. In use, I can tell a difference in sound that's an improvement.

 

[mike c]

thanks for sharing Jim

one of the major "advantages" of mbm they say is the chest thump (which is why you have to place it nearfield) ... do you still get a better chest thump with the MBM on top of your HGS rather than the HGS itself?

 

[Sheep]

Wasn't there already a GIANT MBM-12 thread?

SheepStar

 

[abboudc]

Wasn't there already a GIANT MBM-12 thread?

SheepStar

Searching for MBM there was one 25 post thread (is that the "huge" one you're referrring to?). No one that posted actually *had* one and the only one that heard one was Peter Marcks from Hsu.

 

[JimP]

thanks for sharing Jim

one of the major "advantages" of mbm they say is the chest thump (which is why you have to place it nearfield) ... do you still get a better chest thump with the MBM on top of your HGS rather than the HGS itself?

I think the chest thump will depend on your room (mine's like 7400 cubic ft. and open to the rest of the house), how loud you turn it up and any other subs you have in the room. In addition to the Velodyne HGS15 up front, I also have a fairly old M&K 12" sealed sub in the back of the room running off of the rear surround channel. My other speakers are an Atlantic Technology 8200 system with front mains used also in the side and back surround positions. Yes I do get thumps in the chest when I play the system close to reference levels. Crashes and explosions will make you jump.

I have to admit that I would prefer one box to rule them all. Who wouldn't want less clutter. Its just that I don't think you can accomplish the same thing with either a sub or main speakers that the purpose designed MBM-12 will do?

 

[abboudc]

Thanks JimP. Good stuff.

 

[mike c]

Thanks JimP. Good stuff.

yeah thanks too JimP

 

[rollinrocker]

Jim,

I'm considering one of these units also. I also use a velo sms-1 so i'm curious how you set the crossover on the subs and the sms-1. Do you set the big velo subs crossover so that it plays only to 50hz and the mbm to play 50-100, with the sms-1 crossover set at 100? I'm just wondering how you integrate the mbm.

 

[mike c]

can someone share a picture of the amp section of the MBM? Peter?

 

[JimP]

More tweaking -- just can leave things along.

Jim,

I'm considering one of these units also. I also use a velo sms-1 so i'm curious how you set the crossover on the subs and the sms-1. Do you set the big velo subs crossover so that it plays only to 50hz and the mbm to play 50-100, with the sms-1 crossover set at 100? I'm just wondering how you integrate the mbm.

Sorry for taking so long to get back. Apparantly, I don't have the instant email notifications turned on.

Answering your question involves a recent tweak that includes the SMS-1, the Velodyne HGS-15 and the HSU MBM-12 is that I bypassed the SMS-1 for the HGS-15 (external splitter plug) and use the crossover in the HGS-15 set to about 50 hz. The MBM-12 does get its signal through the SMS-1 with the SMS-1 handling the 80hz crossover 24db slope and (if my memory serves me correctly) 90 degree phase adjustment. The crossover in the SMS-1 is bypassed by setting it to the "out" position.

Basically, the Velodyne HGS-15 is fairly flat from 50hz on down on its own. Running the signal through the SMS-1 seems to have curved the bottom end downward earlier, even with the subsonic filter set to 5 hz, 6db slope. Its more than the amount accountable by the measurement errors written about elsewhere. I don't know if its due to dual subsonic filters interacting or something else to do with the SMS-1, but its apparant that I'm getting better performance in the 20hz and below range by bypassing the SMS-1.

The MBM-12 going through the SMS-1 does have one of the equalizer slides used to knock down a peak, which is different than what I had before. Before, I didn't have to engage any of the slides.

Also, the subwoofer distance setting in the preamp has been readjusted to get the best SMS-1graph through the on screen display (OSD).

I've got a Velodyne HGS-12 on its way (from across the country, no less) that I'm going to use to replace the M&K sub that's in the back of the room (off of the back surround channel). I'm sure that I'll be experimenting with it some off of the main sub channel to see if I can eliminate a room mode that only seems to occur in the very spot I prefer to sit in. Should be interesting to see how that works out.