Best 5.1 system for my apartment

[ack_bak]

One of the options that he gives the best reviews to are the HSU HB-1H's. I could also get
* 1 VTF-1 Subwoofer
* 4 HB-1 MK2 Horn Bookshelf
* 1 HC-1 MK2 Horn Center Channel
for $1279 - $1429

He rates those above the Emotivas.... AND they would only account for 2.5 bags on the plane, leaving me with room for the HTPC..... hmmmmm Anybody else heard these and want to chime in?

These speakers get very solid reviews, but keep in mind that they are rear ported so if you have them in a cabinet or close to a wall, it may affect some of your bass. I really struggled with trying to decide between the HSU and the SVS speakes, but since my speakers will eventually be housed behind an acoustically transparant screen and close to the wall, I went with the SVS SCS-01 speakers since they are sealed. I called HSU and they recommended that the MKII's have at least 2" of clearance from the back port, so they probably would have worked for me, but I thought sealed would be the way to go for my room.

 

[samhfoley]

foiled again!

them darned ports and their requisite clearance! Always when I find a direction to go in I am thwarted! I definitely do not have 2 ft of clearance, be lucky to have 6 inches in fact!

 

[lsiberian]

them darned ports and their requisite clearance! Always when I find a direction to go in I am thwarted! I definitely do not have 2 ft of clearance, be lucky to have 6 inches in fact!

You only need the distance diameter of the port. So for a 2 inch port you only need 2 inches. Of course i'm not and advocate of ported speakers.

 

[ack_bak]

them darned ports and their requisite clearance! Always when I find a direction to go in I am thwarted! I definitely do not have 2 ft of clearance, be lucky to have 6 inches in fact!

It is 2" or 2 inches

There owners manual recommends ideal placement at 27" though from the wall. I only had 8-9", that is why I went with a sealed design vs a ported design. I did call and speak to an HSU engineer and he did assure me that these speakers would work in my space as long as I had at least 2" of clearance. But I did not want to create any limitation since I do not have the fake wall built yet and the acoustically transparent screen in place. So I would not be able to send them back and get my money back within their guarantee window.

And in your case (since you will be in Japan) you might want to play it safe as well and go with a sealed design.

You are going through the exact same thing I did

That is why I went with the SVS speakers. At the end of the day they met all my room requirements and get rave reviews. If you want to read more about SVS this site was very helpful as well:
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/svsound/

 

[samhfoley]

I just sent off an email to HSU, we'll see what they say as far as the clearance goes....

 

[samhfoley]

from HSU...

"Hi Sam,

4-6" of clearance behind the speakers should be plenty. In our demo room, the
rear speakers have no more than 3-4" of clearance in the back, and everything
sounds great!"

and from SVS with regards to that PB12–Ultra/2 sub....

"If that's still on the website it is old and needs to be removed; we sold the last one a little while ago. We haven't really done testing on the Japanese voltage since we don't sell to that market. From what I know I don't think there'd be any issue but I do have to re-iterate we won't knowingly sell a powered sub that's going to Japan."

 

[samhfoley]

I should say the 25-31PCi sub....not the PB12-Ultra......is now unavailable

 

[ack_bak]

I should say the 25-31PCi sub....not the PB12-Ultra......is now unavailable

Well, I guess that makes it easier

So what are you thining? HSU speakers or SVS? IMHO, you cannot go wrong either way.

 

[samhfoley]

looking more and more like the HSU's are going to be what I take back to Japan. They are lighter and will also allow me to transport the HTPC without having to buy another piece of luggage for the plane. Too bad I have to wait until July to see them and late August before I can get them back here and set them up!

 

[ack_bak]

looking more and more like the HSU's are going to be what I take back to Japan. They are lighter and will also allow me to transport the HTPC without having to buy another piece of luggage for the plane. Too bad I have to wait until July to see them and late August before I can get them back here and set them up!

I am sure the anticipation will kill you

I think the HSU's sound like a smart choice and they get excellent reviews. Dr. HSU is a standup guy from what I have read and the company has excellent customer service.

 

[lsiberian]

It is 2" or 2 inches

There owners manual recommends ideal placement at 27" though from the wall. I only had 8-9", that is why I went with a sealed design vs a ported design. I did call and speak to an HSU engineer and he did assure me that these speakers would work in my space as long as I had at least 2" of clearance. But I did not want to create any limitation since I do not have the fake wall built yet and the acoustically transparent screen in place. So I would not be able to send them back and get my money back within their guarantee window.

And in your case (since you will be in Japan) you might want to play it safe as well and go with a sealed design.

You are going through the exact same thing I did

That is why I went with the SVS speakers. At the end of the day they met all my room requirements and get rave reviews. If you want to read more about SVS this site was very helpful as well:
http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/svsound/

I think sealed designs are superior for bookshelves due to the slower rolloff.

 

[lsiberian]

I should say the 25-31PCi sub....not the PB12-Ultra......is now unavailable

Sam you should see what the shipping would be from HSU to japan. It might be much cheaper than you bringing them back. Plus you wouldn't have to worry about theft, lugging them around. ETC.

I strongly suggest you ship anything from America to Japan instead of flying it.

I've traveled a lot internationally and can tell you from experience that bad things happen to stuff being flown in an airplane. If you have a direct flight you may be ok, but if you have a connection your better off not flying these via luggage. Though I depending on weight your probably looking at a 200 for shipping depending on your location.

 

[browninggold]

Cannot let this thread stop....check these speakers out
http://www.aperionaudio.com/catalog/For-Small-Rooms,70.aspx

 

[ack_bak]

Cannot let this thread stop....check these speakers out
http://www.aperionaudio.com/catalog/For-Small-Rooms,70.aspx

I love the look of Aperion speakers. And I like the way they sound. But you pay extra to get that nicer look too vs an HSU, Emotiva, SVS, etc. A review I read recently nailed it IMHO. If the speaker looks really good on the outside chances are the company either cut corners with the components on the inside or they have to charge you more money. I think this is exactly the case with Aperion. I don't believe that they cut corners on either the look or the sound, but I think the SVS/HSU/Emotiva speakers are all a better value. And I also think the SVS and HSU subs are superior to the Aperion's hands down based on what I have heard.

That said, Aperion makes a solid speaker coupled with excellent customer service and their amazing demo policy (you don't have to pay anything if you do not like their speakers and want to send them back vs SVS and HSU which will charge you shipping costs). But you are definitely paying a little more to get that piece of mind. I have recommended Aperion several times in the past and one friend bought them and loved them.

 

[lsiberian]

I love the look of Aperion speakers. And I like the way they sound. But you pay extra to get that nicer look too vs an HSU, Emotiva, SVS, etc. A review I read recently nailed it IMHO. If the speaker looks really good on the outside chances are the company either cut corners with the components on the inside or they have to charge you more money. I think this is exactly the case with Aperion. I don't believe that they cut corners on either the look or the sound, but I think the SVS/HSU/Emotiva speakers are all a better value. And I also think the SVS and HSU subs are superior to the Aperion's hands down based on what I have heard.

That said, Aperion makes a solid speaker coupled with excellent customer service and their amazing demo policy (you don't have to pay anything if you do not like their speakers and want to send them back vs SVS and HSU which will charge you shipping costs). But you are definitely paying a little more to get that piece of mind. I have recommended Aperion several times in the past and one friend bought them and loved them.

Unless you take a speaker apart you can't know if they've cut corners or not. However Good enclosure will be large. A truly well built speaker can't be small. It's not possible because there is no way for a small enclosure to do all the things required to be hifi. This includes dampening with rockwool, bracing on every axis and a constraint layer. Most speakers are full of compromises because the costs of these type of enclosures is high and the size of the cabinets is big. For example I'm designing a box for a driver optimized for a 0.25 cu ft enclosure. Yet when tweaked for optimum performance. The dimensions can go up to 24 3/4"H x 19 1/4"W x 19 3/4"D

As you can see even a small amount of space becomes huge very quickly. Of course halfing dampenign can make it 20 3/4"H X 15 1/4"w x 17 3/4"d as you can see this makes it more palatable. And still is reasonably neutral, but it's still a compromise.

 

[samhfoley]

shipping...

To get my espresso machine and grinder here I paid roughly 400 dollars and they weigh considerably less than all these speakers w/ sub. I wish I could still ship to Japan by sea via USPS, but the cut that service 2 years ago. My flight back to Japan is not direct. I transit in Taipei.

A lot of this decision boils down to both quality of product and size/weight. those HSU speakers and sub will also allow me to pack my new HTPC along with them and not have to pay any extra baggage charges (I don't think!) That's a pretty sweet deal.

I looked at Aperion. In fact my family lives in Oregon where their shop is so they were one of the first I thought of. So far though the HSU set-up looks to be the winner.

 

[lsiberian]

To get my espresso machine and grinder here I paid roughly 400 dollars and they weigh considerably less than all these speakers w/ sub. I wish I could still ship to Japan by sea via USPS, but the cut that service 2 years ago. My flight back to Japan is not direct. I transit in Taipei.

A lot of this decision boils down to both quality of product and size/weight. those HSU speakers and sub will also allow me to pack my new HTPC along with them and not have to pay any extra baggage charges (I don't think!) That's a pretty sweet deal.

I looked at Aperion. In fact my family lives in Oregon where their shop is so they were one of the first I thought of. So far though the HSU set-up looks to be the winner.

I say just go with it. Most people are satisfied with that level of quality. Plus your room is small and easily filled.

 

[samhfoley]

back on the fence again...

I now have 2 choices again,

HSU enthusiast 1 package for $1300 delivered or

Ascend Acoustics
(2) CBM-170's
CMT-340 center
(2) HTM-200's for surrounds

plus HSU VTF-1 sub for $1331 delivered **package comes in at 134 lbs (16lbs under weight for the plane as well)

That debate started after i read this forum comparing similarly priced bookshelf systems...
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?t=18263

 

[ack_bak]

I now have 2 choices again,

HSU enthusiast 1 package for $1300 delivered or

Ascend Acoustics
(2) CBM-170's
CMT-340 center
(2) HTM-200's for surrounds

plus HSU VTF-1 sub for $1331 delivered **package comes in at 134 lbs (16lbs under weight for the plane as well)

That debate started after i read this forum comparing similarly priced bookshelf systems...
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?t=18263

Those Ascends are also rear ported. I recommend contacting them and make sure they will play nicely within your constraints to your wall.

Tough call. I really considered the Ascends, and had they not been rear ported, I was considering grabbing 3 x the S340 speakers via their B-stock sale link on their front page.

 

[lsiberian]

I now have 2 choices again,

HSU enthusiast 1 package for $1300 delivered or

Ascend Acoustics
(2) CBM-170's
CMT-340 center
(2) HTM-200's for surrounds

plus HSU VTF-1 sub for $1331 delivered **package comes in at 134 lbs (16lbs under weight for the plane as well)

That debate started after i read this forum comparing similarly priced bookshelf systems...
http://av123forum.com/showthread.php?t=18263

I must caution buying speakers based on the reviews and opinions of others.
There are numerous potential issues that come into play when reviewing speakers. Placement and room have a huge effect on sound. Some rooms just aren't good with some speakers. This is the whole problem with retail speakers in general. You can design them for a room and you don't know what works best for them.

If a speaker sounds bright chances are you need to move it closer to the wall. Brightness is a result of baffle issues and those are usually eliminated by putting the speaker directly against the wall. This helps the LFE to form and match the volume of the tweeters.

I must suggest you try to listen to these speakers if you can. You can at least listen to speakers in Japan and see your preferences.