<$600 subwoofer: HSU vs SVS

[foxnews]

I am looking for a subwoofer under $600.

Based on Raigsub ranking:
SVS PB10-NSD ($429 ID): 83 points (43-40)
Hsu VTF-2 Mark III w/o Turbo ($499 ID): 86 points (40-46)

Based on spec, HSU has "6.5, treated paper cone" while SVS use "High-strength/Low-mass, polypropylene cone with inverted dust cap"

1) HSU woofer cone is made out of "paper"? will it last long?
SVS uses "polypropylene". does "polypropylene" have better quality and last longer than Paper cone?

2) VTF-2 Mark III has AMP power of 250w while SVS has 300w and cost less. why HSU has less power and cost more?

3) Axiomaudio uses "Aluminum Woofers" does this mean Axiom woofer has better quality than HSU and SVS?

 

[Midcow2]

Both SVS and Hu are good choices.

SVS and Hsu make some of the best subs. I don't think you can go wrong with either of your choices unless they are undersized for your room. Audtion them if you can.

 

[foxnews]

SVS and Hsu make some of the best subs. I don't think you can go wrong with either of your choices unless they are undersized for your room. Audtion them if you can.

I had SVS 10 for 3 years now, and want to build another HT room. I know both companies have good reputation.

can you reply specifically to those questions?

thanks,

 

[abboudc]

I am looking for a subwoofer under $600.

Based on Raigsub ranking:
SVS PB10-NSD ($429 ID): 83 points (43-40)
Hsu VTF-2 Mark III w/o Turbo ($499 ID): 86 points (40-46)

Based on spec, HSU has "6.5, treated paper cone" while SVS use "High-strength/Low-mass, polypropylene cone with inverted dust cap"

1) HSU woofer cone is made out of "paper"? will it last long?
SVS uses "polypropylene". does "polypropylene" have better quality and last longer than Paper cone?

2) VTF-2 Mark III has AMP power of 250w while SVS has 300w and cost less. why HSU has less power and cost more?

3) Axiomaudio uses "Aluminum Woofers" does this mean Axiom woofer has better quality than HSU and SVS?

1. Treated paper is a perfectly fine woofer material. I wouldn't call polypropylene higher quality or longer lasting. Either woofer should last you a long long time (the amp on either sub will die before the woofer).

2. Less power doesn't mean a less powerful sub. Don't look at wattage numbers on the amp, as much as overall performance of the sub. Many factors contribute -- driver size, efficiency, port size, enclosure size, etc.

3. No. Either the Hsu or the SVS will blow away the axiom at your stated price point.

 

[foxnews]

I use subwoofer for movie 90% of times

which one of the three below would get your votes?

SVS PB12-NSD ($599 ID): 86 points (43-43)
Hsu VTF-2 Mark III w/o Turbo ($499 ID): 86 points (40-46)
SVS PB10-NSD ($429 ID): 83 points (43-40)

by the way, I got a PB10 for three years now and the SVS logo fell off the grid
does Hsu has better quality than that?

 

[Midcow2]

Get a tube of glue and buy SVS PB12-NSD

I use subwoofer for movie 90% of times

which one of the three below would get your votes?

SVS PB12-NSD ($599 ID): 86 points (43-43)
Hsu VTF-2 Mark III w/o Turbo ($499 ID): 86 points (40-46)
SVS PB10-NSD ($429 ID): 83 points (43-40)

by the way, I got a PB10 for three years now and the SVS logo fell off the grid
does Hsu has better quality than that?

The quality of both is very good. Okay so the logo fell off SVS after three years. How is the sound quality? Does it still perform as well as it di when you first bought it? How hard do you drive it? Ehta type of music or HT do you exercise. You are asking specific questions that are hard to qualify without understanding your thinking process better. It is like saying do I think one set of speakers sounds better than another and I chose Def Tech and you ask me why I didn't choose B & W? Sometimes quality and perceprtion is in the eye of the beholder.Unless you are looking at historical MTBF statisitcs and I am not sure the vendor provides them.

Good Luck, it seems like from your posts on Audioholics you are upgrading your entire HT system with various components.

 

[rnatalli]

Both are excellent. I find HSU subs are a hair more musical and SVS subs dig a little deeper. I'm splitting hairs when I say that. Either would be great and last a long time.

 

[j_garcia]

Both are excellent. I find HSU subs are a hair more musical and SVS subs dig a little deeper. I'm splitting hairs when I say that. Either would be great and last a long time.

I'd tend to agree with that. I have owned subs from both, including the older VTF-2 and I also owned the PB-10. They don't sound terribly different, but the HSU did barely inch the SVS out in terms of music, however the SVS won on every other front for me. I never had a single issue with either of them. Paper is not an issue at all for speakers. Maybe over the course of 15 years or so it might be an issue, but not in the typical amount of time that people tend to keep speakers. For the price, I'd go with either the PB-12 or the VTF-2 mkIII to get a bit more output down low than the PB-10.

 

[gliz]

I have the HSU VTF 2 MK3 so far I love it. I like down firing subs my self, if for no other reason no one can accidently put their foot through it . Kick this baby and you will limp away

 

[foxnews]

I plan to match either HSU VTF2 MK3 or SVS with one of front speakers below:

Axiom M60
Freq Resp +/-3dB (Hz): 37 - 22kHz
or
Axiom M80
Freq Resp +/-3dB (Hz): 34 - 22kHz

since the M80 can go as low as 34hz, there is a huge overlap between the subwoofer and M80 in the range of 34hz to 100hz. anything below 80hz will off load to the subwoofer anyway.

does it mean that it is a waste to have M80 in the range of 34hz to 100hz?

in other words, can M60 can produce the same sound effect as the M80 if match with above subwoofer?

 

[j_garcia]

If you run the M80s with a 60Hz crossover, you would then reduce the "waste" however, depending on your receiver, that may not work for your other speakers if you can't set the mains independently. It isn't really a "waste" because a crossover is not an all or nothing thing, you will still get sound below the crossover point, just at a reduced level.

I tend to use my sub with everything, so I didn't see a need to have speakers capable of mid 30s. If I were buildng a music only system, I'd probably gravitate more toward a speaker with good extension, but for movies a sub is more or less a given.

 

[fredk]

can M60 can produce the same sound effect as the M80 if match with above subwoofer?[/B]

I'm not quite sure what you are asking. Will the M60 + sub give you as much bass as the M80 without? Nope, it will give you more. Thats the nature of a sub.

Is the M80 a waste if you are going to get a sub? Nope. I think the bass/mid crossover on the M80 is at around 350hz so you are still producing a lot of sound between the sub crossover and the mid crossover.

The M80 delivers more detail than the M60 across the spectrum. It is most notable in the high end where the M80 sounds more open/transparent than the M60.

The M80 with sub will give you better sound than the M60 with sub.

Fred

 

[foxnews]

I'm not quite sure what you are asking. Will the M60 + sub give you as much bass as the M80 without? Nope, it will give you more. Thats the nature of a sub.

Is the M80 a waste if you are going to get a sub? Nope. I think the bass/mid crossover on the M80 is at around 350hz so you are still producing a lot of sound between the sub crossover and the mid crossover.

The M80 delivers more detail than the M60 across the spectrum. It is most notable in the high end where the M80 sounds more open/transparent than the M60.

The M80 with sub will give you better sound than the M60 with sub.

Fred

you did answer my questions. one more detail question. M80 + sub > M60 + sub: good to hear. but by how much? 10%? or very significant like 20%?

 

[tomd51]

Keep in mind the M80s are rated at 4 ohms, whereas the M60s are 8 ohms, which translates to the M80s being more difficult to drive.

Depending upon how you plan to power the towers, this should factor into your decision. If just a receiver, the M80s may be a bit difficult to power at higher volumes, whereas you shouldn't have any issues w/the M60s.

If I were to choose btw the two and plan to always run a sub with them, I'd choose the M60s. If you plan to do more critical two channel music listening without a sub engaged, the M80s may be a better selection, the choice is ultimately up to you... -TD

 

[fredk]

which translates to the M80s being more difficult to drive.

Kinda-sorta...
There are many receivers which will handle 4ohm loads just fine: those from Denon, Maranz, Harmon Kardon, NAD, the more beefy Yamaha RXVs...

There are a few people using Onkyo sucessfully and they are generally not recommended.

The M80 is also very efficient so they are easy to drive.

Fox, its hard to assign a value to how much better they are. Thats a very personal thing. I chose the M80 because this will be a music first system for me. I went to Axiom thinking the M60 would be just fine, but as soon as I heard the 60s and 80s in an a/b comparison I changed my mind. There really isn't much of a price difference.

Fred

 

[foxnews]

Kinda-sorta...
There are many receivers which will handle 4ohm loads just fine: those from Denon, Maranz, Harmon Kardon, NAD, the more beefy Yamaha RXVs...

There are a few people using Onkyo sucessfully and they are generally not recommended.

The M80 is also very efficient so they are easy to drive.

Fox, its hard to assign a value to how much better they are. Thats a very personal thing. I chose the M80 because this will be a music first system for me. I went to Axiom thinking the M60 would be just fine, but as soon as I heard the 60s and 80s in an a/b comparison I changed my mind. There really isn't much of a price difference.

Fred

you made the point. I plan to use the coming Pioneer 1018 (130wpc) to drive M80. why pioneer is on your list?

 

[sam9007]

SVS! I just like them better.

 

[mike c]

SVS! I just like them better.

and out of the blue ...

 

[foxnews]

you made the point. I plan to use the coming Pioneer 1018 (130wpc) to drive M80. why pioneer is on your list?

I meant why pioneer is NOT on your list

 

[j_garcia]

Kinda-sorta...
There are many receivers which will handle 4ohm loads just fine: those from Denon, Maranz, Harmon Kardon, NAD, the more beefy Yamaha RXVs...

There are a few people using Onkyo sucessfully and they are generally not recommended.

There are very few receivers that can adequately handle a 4 Ohm load. NAD, Arcam and Rotel are among the few that I would typically recommend, while most of the brands mentioned can manage, but we aren't talking about the entry level models either, we are talking about the top 2 in their lines generally. For just 2 speakers out of the whole compliment, you can get away with it, but you may not get everything out of your speakers if you don't get something with enough oomph. I run all 4 Ohm speakers, thus the monoblocks needed to be added.