4 uls-15 mk2’s vs 4 pb-2000’s

R

Reckel

Audioholic Chief
She has no idea about all the home theater stuff. I did buy her a awesome treadmill today for Xmas that she has no idea about
 
R

Reckel

Audioholic Chief
Here's my thought on this:
We are "audioholics", we're generally always going to encourage you to go for the best!
However, unless I'm misremembering, you said you were not a bass head, and 4 Hsu (or equal) ported 12" subs (or 4 sealed 15" subs, which is what I have) is a lot of low frequency energy to pump into any residential room. Of course, there is more/better to be had from a no-compromise perspective, but the question of "how much is enough" is one that ultimately only you can answer.
I can tell you that for me, four 15" sealed subs is more than I need! I never work them hard. I've forgotten how big a volume you are filling, but the immediate room my system is in is 4230 cu.ft.. If I add permanently open spaces to that area it gets just over 9000 cu.ft.
I do like the thrill of my subs causing a visceral sensation when a dinosaur stomps and my adrenaline kicks in, and 4 sealed 15" subs delivers that for me! I'm sure if I had 4 ported 15" VTF-3 to A-B compare, the VTF-3's would impress, but I do not feel deprived in the least with what I have (otherwise I would have changed it by now - no WAF concerns, but I do like my room more open, given the choice).
I have a Denon AVR which allows me to setup differently for different sources. So, I have my DVD input set to run the subs 4-5dB hot to get the "WHUMPF" I like.
I actually have my CD input set to -2dB! I think Audyssey did a good job of setting the level, but there are so many songs where the recording engineer recorded the bass hot (or maybe they did not use subs when mixing). For me, this totally destroys music (the attacks at higher frequencies seem to lose resolution - in other words it sounds sloppy instead of tight)! I am not one to adjust for every song that comes on, so I have found -2dB to be the best compromise of still having good bass on a well recorded songs, but not allowing the recordings of great music with heavy bass to totally suck!
(For my music system, I am looking at some options that have a subwoofer volume level on the remote for easy adjustments on the fly.)
OTOH, so much of this has to do with your room and how much room gain you get and how well Audyssey (assuming you are using it or another room correction feature) handles your specifics. Fortunately, the subs you have been considering all have good tuning options so hopefully you can get it good enough for Audyssey to be able to handle the rest (tune your subs as best you can before Audyssey).

VTF-2:

https://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-reviews/hsu-vtf-2-mk5/conclusion

ULS-15:

https://www.audioholics.com/subwoofer-reviews/hsu-uls-15-mk2/conclusion.

Good luck with your decision! The good thing is I don't think any of the gear you are considering would disappoint!
Appreciate the post man. I did read those reviews and many others on both and realize I be wrong going with either. I think I already asked this but if I got the vtf2s, would that be a dramatic change in performance compared to my 4 pl200’s?
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Remind me of the dims of your current BIC subs vs the vtf2s or ftf3s.....another way to visualize (and maybe show your wife or not ;) ), is to mock up something with cardboard boxes perhaps. Looks like you have room but....
 
speakerman39

speakerman39

Audioholic Overlord
Very nice room! Looks great! Wow! Congrats! Makes mine rather insignificant............LOL!!!!


Cheers,

Phil
 
R

Reckel

Audioholic Chief
Very nice room! Looks great! Wow! Congrats! Makes mine rather insignificant............LOL!!!!


Cheers,

Phil
Thank you, appreciate it man. We got water down there last Labor Day back near treadmill. That all got fixed and I started with the riser at the end of September and I finished beginning of April. If we wouldn’t have got water down there I wouldn’t have done anything. It was already finished before we moved in but needed repainting n trim n new flooring
 
R

Reckel

Audioholic Chief
Remind me of the dims of your current BIC subs vs the vtf2s or ftf3s.....another way to visualize (and maybe show your wife or not ;) ), is to mock up something with cardboard boxes perhaps. Looks like you have room but....
My bics are basically the size of the uls-15 mk2. Vtf2s are deeper, taller and I believe wider. Vtf3s are definitely bigger. There’s room but I’m debating if I want to spend 3400 vs probably 2400 for the vtf2s
 
S

shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
My bics are basically the size of the uls-15 mk2. Vtf2s are deeper, taller and I believe wider. Vtf3s are definitely bigger. There’s room but I’m debating if I want to spend 3400 vs probably 2400 for the vtf2s
Well, if you order 4 of any sub, I would call Hsu up and see if they can ship the subs to you via freight. That might not save you any money but it might not be more expensive either and it will be a lot less punishing then Fedex. You might also call Hsu up and ask them about the difference between the VTF-2 mk5, ULS-15 mk2, and VTF-3 mk5. Ask them what they recommend.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Keep in mind he's already got four ported 12" subs now.

If you don't want anechoically flat why buy a sealed sub that's already been eq'd as such rather than providing your own custom eq to match your room? :)
Exactly! I bought a pair of JL Audio e112's thinking they would be excellent subs. Unfortunately they had no way to adjust the FR to get it close enough in room for Audyssey to manage it.
The best value I have found in a sub was the PSA XS15se (I paid $625 or 650 each IIRC). However, the HSU ULS-15 seems to best value now that they have revised the ULS 15 and lowered the price and the XS15se has been discontinued and the current PSA has gone up in price).

Josh Ricci had the following comment about the PSA XS15se's frequency response:
The basic frequency response shape with the low pass filter bypassed shows a response that is cleanly extended up to 200Hz and beyond, with a gently sloping low end that corners at 30Hz and appears to enter a sealed systems natural 12dB/octave roll off below that point. It should be a good match with the boost often seen in the low bass once placed in room.
That was a very accurate assessment, for me at least!

But understand that I am not saying the FR of the ported subs are bad. Most of the modern offerings discussed here have various adjustments including a sealed mode with the ports blocked, so I think he'll be able to tune them as needed.
I mentioned the ULS-15's because they were an original consideration and I believe (based on my experience with 4 sealed subs, they will be enough).

@Reckel , I think given the specific situation, it might be advisable to look at SVS subs. Hsu represents a better value, but I'm guessing the added cost of the SVS is not too outrageous. The reason to consider SVS is they will allow you a 45 day trial period and pay return shipping if they do not work for you.
What do you think, @shadyJ ? What SVS subs would you say are closest to the ULS-15, Hsu VTF-2, and the VTF-3?
 

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