Apologies for the lack of clarity - actually the entertainment is more of a low "console" type furniture... its very low profile, and will obviously be lower than the LCD screen (which will be mounted against the wall). So, if I place bookshelf speakers on top of this furniture, the tweets will be at or slightly below ear level.
If it's at or slightly below ear level, you should be fine. You can also use something like
MOPADS to tilt them up slightly.
Are ported enclosures more "boomy"? I remember from my car audio days that I preferred sealed enclosures because bass was sharper/crisper/tighter.
Ported enclosures can be boomy, but it depends on product quality and how hard you push it. My suggestion of a ported sub was more because of the amount of space it looks like you have to fill and I thought a $500-$600 sealed sub wouldn't get the job done.
If you like the sealed sound, I would give a second look at the Epik Legend - dual opposed 12" woofers in a reasonably sized sealed box.
Having said that, do you have personal experience with the HSU? The cost is right around my budget incl. shipping!
I do have personal experience with HSU. I have a STF-1 in my low cost, 2.1 music only office system. I picked it because a.) it was a low price b.) I needed a narrow sub for the space I could fit it into and c.) the room shares a wall with the neighboring apartment, so something with a lot of power might be unwise.
I am pretty happy with it for the application and circumstances I had when I put that system together. The room is only ~1100 cu. ft when I close the door, so having a small 8" sub isn't a detriment to me to the point where I want to upgrade right now.
As for the company, I haven't had any problems with my STF-1 that required a call to them. I have emailed HSU in the past to inquire about a sub for my living room and Pete got back to me within a day and was helpful & polite.
Having said all that, my experience with a sub that is half the size & price is a bit apples and oranges for your purposes. I would search around on here and on some other A/V websites for owner impressions of the VTF-2 MK3 and the Legend; those seem like the best choices in your price range. I will say that I have considered dual VTF-2's or dual Legends for my living room, but I'd rather not get into the mess I've made of my own living room sub shopping experience...
I'd prefer to have a 5.1 setup, even if I have to manually lower the volume on the rear surrounds. There's something to be said about hearing those bullets fly right by you in Call of Duty. I guess what I'm saying is that I'd be willing to sacrifice a little audio "precision" with just plain hearing stuff to my sides/rear!
Not a problem. Everyone loves more speakers.
Again, thanks a million for your responses - your insights and brand recommendations are immensely helpful.
My pleasure.
