HSU VTF-15H Subwoofer Review

[GranteedEV]

a paper woofer...an amp that im not sure if it will burn up or get on fire?...i dont want that sorry...lmao......i think ill call at funkywaves finally........

re: paper woofer. i have a 450 dollar, 60lb beast of a driver with pulp/paper as cone material. for subs i consider material purely aesthetic. the box\motor\room interaction is more relevant and was NOT fully covered because of the high tuning mode used. material may be more relevant for midrange drivers where breakups and high frequency ability come into play.

re: amp. at worst you would blow a fuse and get a new one under warranty. this is not some big safety concern here. a review should point out any concerns and you should discuss these concerns with the company before shipping back an unreceived, unopened box.

 

[templemaners]

i tought i would upgrade from a 12incher and knowing this hsu isnt even recommended for HT i will return it.............i dont care i will pay the shipping twice....

Since it's going to be there in a day or two, why not try it out for a week or two and see what you think. Oh, and maybe you should wait till the Funky Waves review comes out before you break out your credit card again. Being so damn impulsive can't be good on the bank account.

 

[dalumberjack]

I still think this sub is a great deal. Especially when HSU does their sales it will drop in price just a tad.

I have two VTF 3.3's and are loving them. For the price point, can't complain.

 

[sholling]

I'm disappointed the Hsu didn't do better but not the quality of the review. On the other hand it would be nice to test native for the score and with a port plug. This review seemed to go into a bit more depth than the FV15 review.

 

[sharkman]

You know, I don't get it. The review of the Emotiva Ultra sub 12 is quite flattering for a sub that starts fading at 50 Hz even for $500, although the list is actually $599. It's recommended and it doesn't measure over 114 db.

The Hsu VTF 15 measures to 122 db, is still doing 110 db at 20 Hz ( which is pretty freakin' loud), and it gets a shoulder shrug for a review. A cheap volume knob? A paper cone?(7 yr warranty on the woofer) Grousing about size and weight? Really?

I guess we should all buy the little Emotiva and be done with it?

 

[Matt34]

You know, I don't get it. The review of the Emotiva Ultra sub 12 is quite flattering for a sub that starts fading at 50 Hz even for $500, although the list is actually $599. It's recommended and it doesn't measure over 114 db.

The Hsu VTF 15 measures to 122 db, is still doing 110 db at 20 Hz ( which is pretty freakin' loud), and it gets a shoulder shrug for a review. A cheap volume knob? A paper cone?(7 yr warranty on the woofer) Grousing about size and weight? Really?

I guess we should all buy the little Emotiva and be done with it?

It's all relative. If the Emotiva performance was being compared to this line up of large, ported subs it wouldn't have fared well. But for a small, sealed 12" sub it has decent performance.

This is a very competitive group of subs we're talking about here and I believe all of them will deliver copious amounts of bass.

 

[shadyJ]

The problem I have with this review is the tester uses the product at the highest available tuning point and then complains about extension?! That is absurd, especially since later on in the review he goes on to guess that the product does have solid bass below 20 hz. But in the introductory bullet points, he says "limited output below 25 hz".

Another problem is the reviewer says the adjustable Q had no effect on sound, even though he seemed to have only used the sub in one tuning mode the entire time. In this case, it really fair to slam the Q control? That is like reviewing a car but only ever driving it in first gear!

I appreciate the reviewer had limited time, but more exploration of the product would definitely have been helpful given how highly anticipated this review was.

 

[Sepen]

thx for your comments again..and billy p too...but can i get my money back even if dont unpack it??...i want to return it...it will be part of the 30 days!....no?....if one 15incher is unable to be worth for HT sorry but its a big mess from HSU.....i will just order the rythmyk...i dont care beeing another month with out a sub.....

At least try it out. Try it with the different q's and port settings and then be the judge. I am sure that it will blow you away.

 

[clouso]

At least try it out. Try it with the different q's and port settings and then be the judge. I am sure that it will blow you away.

You are right and the guys were right also last night...i think i had beer too much last night lmao.....i will keep it and try the multiple tunings and make it sound the best....i do think that its an upgrade from a 12incher...sorry if i was desapointed when i read it but im still certain that it will also blow me away!...it is due to get at my place today accodring to the tacking number....

 

[MinusTheBear]

This is still a solid performing sub however it would have been nice to see some additional measurements in different modes since the reveiwer was very critical of the limited extension with all ports open. Keep this in perspective.

Unfortunately we had time to only measure and listen to one mode (all ports open). As seen in the curves provided by the manufacturer, the one port open mode should provide true below 20 Hz extension (at reasonable SPL levels), an overdamped response (gentle downward sloping response), with stronger output at 16 and 20 Hz, but slightly less output in the 25 - 32 Hz range (port output actually cancels woofer output at 16 and 20 Hz in the two ports open position). With this model, you can choose your own set of compromises. When listening to music that does not require as much bass headroom, but you want very tight sounding bass, set it to one port open or sealed mode. When you are watching movies with lots of sub 20 Hz, set it to one port open. When you watch movies or listen to music that does not have sub 20 Hz content but want the most visceral impact with minimum compression artifacts, use the two port open mode (and set to lower Q if you want a tighter bass).

 

[MinusTheBear]

You know, I don't get it. The review of the Emotiva Ultra sub 12 is quite flattering for a sub that starts fading at 50 Hz even for $500, although the list is actually $599. It's recommended and it doesn't measure over 114 db.

The Hsu VTF 15 measures to 122 db, is still doing 110 db at 20 Hz ( which is pretty freakin' loud), and it gets a shoulder shrug for a review. A cheap volume knob? A paper cone?(7 yr warranty on the woofer) Grousing about size and weight? Really?

I guess we should all buy the little Emotiva and be done with it?

The HSU VTF is an entirely different class than the Emotiva.

 

[Pyrrho]

Not sure why people are so surprised. the thread on avs about this thing pretty much suggested what this sub would be like in the first few days.

It's also been well known that Dr Hsu doesn't think much of bass below 25hz.

I think people just sort of want vindication that Hsu invented some world beating driver. That would defy the law of physics.



Don't let the review bias your impressions. First of all, sealing this sub should really improve the damping issue that Paul ran into with the two ports open. Personally I would have run this sub with only the low tuning(one port open) if i'm going to run it portedat all. Unfortunately in this world output rules, not sound quality so the sub was tested in its highest tuned mode.

Listen to it for yourself. I'm sure it's a well designed speaker.

Some people were surprised because they had unrealistic expectations and judge these things foolishly (e.g., by diameter of woofer, etc.) rather than by actual performance.

I am sure it is a good subwoofer at its price point.

 

[Warpdrv]

one 18 inch isn't enough for HT. two 18s really arent either. ask warp. .. needed 6 to be fully satisfied. you have 30 days why not keep it for a week and decide for YOURSELF whether it is good for HT for your needs. many people are happy with stf 2s for HT!

Careful how you word this without adding all the explanations as to why...... My room with open area's is well over 15000^3... Not the norm for anyone by any stretch... Plus the fact that I should have gone ported for the room size or some other alignment that would have been more efficient but I chose sealed because thats the sound signature I prefer, that was my choice. You put a 18" in a reasonable size room (small to med) 1 x 18" will be more then adequate for HT... I'll have an LMS in my 1700^3 room soon enough, with room gain it will be more then adequate in hitting 10hz.... More then plenty for HT IMO...

 

[kevon27]

It seems to me if I had to get a new sub that's affordable, I should by 2 of the Emotiva sub 12 instead of the HSU sub..
See. It's not good to run out and buy stuff because how they look. This Hsu sub looks like a monster. Something that would play down to 1hz at 120db but yet, the end results show its tamer than Snuffaluffagus on Sesame Street.

 

[gene]

Can't seem to win with anyone in this business.

WE do our best to strike a balance between the manufacturers, consumers and people writing the reviews.

If a review is too positive, we get accused of it being a "paid' review. If a review is too negative, it offends the owners of said product while also offending the manufacturer. If we smooth out the reviewers comments that may be offensive too much, the reviewer feels like his integrity was compromised.

I will go back and soften words like "sloppy" as I don't want owners to be offended, nor do I want to have to defend every comment made in the review. People are fixated on a few poorly chosen words taken out of context for argument points in a discussion thread.

The HSU sub is a much different animal than the little Emotiva sub. Paul tends to be a very critical reviewer. I am more forgiving and tend to favor smaller subs over max SPL and extension just b/c I feel they are more practical. Just b/c a small inexpensive sub like the Emo got a 4.5/5 performance, doesn't mean it outperforms the larger more capable HSU sub that got a 4/4 for performance. The ratings are based on category of product and price points.

As a reader, I'd hope people could figure that out without it having to be spelled out to them.

I saw a review from another site the other day where a little 10" sub had "usable" extension down to 18Hz and people were so pleased with that. What they didn't realize was the measurement was taken at 80dB 1 ft away. Honestly, it sometimes seems people only care about a pretty graph rather than understanding the usefulness of the measurement and what it means with the accompanying text.

I haven't even checked AVS as I am sure HSU owners there are livid and hating on this review. Sorry to all HSU owners whom are offended but I stand by Paul's assessment that this sub is a great value but lacks the bottom end extension of the larger more expensive subs he compared it to. Plugging one port may add a bit more extension, but at an SPL trade off. There are no free lunches.

Dr. HSU did an amazing job on this product at its price point. He should be commended for his efforts at bringing high performance products to the market at affordable prices. No product is perfect however and I'd personally love to see a higher end more powerful model offered by HSU Research in the near future.

 

[MinusTheBear]

It seems to me if I had to get a new sub that's affordable, I should by 2 of the Emotiva sub 12 instead of the HSU sub..
See. It's not good to run out and buy stuff because how they look. This Hsu sub looks like a monster. Something that would play down to 1hz at 120db but yet, the end results show its tamer than Snuffaluffagus on Sesame Street.

You really are underestimating the HSU and overestimating the Emotiva. The HSU is a MUCH better performing subwoofer than the Emotiva sub 12.

 

[gene]

Honestly I went back and re-read the review. I couldn't find a "sloppy" comment. Not sure where I read that criticism. Overall Paul's review is quite balanced and I see no reason to make any major changes.

I did add the following statement in point of favor for the product:
Considering the relatively low cost of the product, one could opt for purchasing two VTF-15H's if more output is desired. We are champions of multiple subwoofers for better and smoother bass distribution across the entire listening area. Just make sure your spouse can handle two of these behemoths sitting in your living room.

Time to move on....

 

[RipcordAFF]

To me, the sloppy comment was not the biggest sticking point. Rather, to claim that the "statement" (read: most expensive and best performing) subwoofer that HSU makes is not recommended for home theater use is quite significant....

 

[kevon27]

I think I figured out the problem with Audioholics reviews.
It has to do with the first page. You get a summary and a pros and cons column and for most that's all they really read, including myself.
Now when you get to the meat of the review and in the traditional audioholics style, things starts getting complicated (big words, numbers and formulas are used). And some of us just glaze over the words and go to the end.
When you have performance rating bars that show the HSU having only 4 bars and the Emotiva having 5, without really reading and understanding the meat of the review, one would think the Emotiva is the superior product.
It's not the reviewer's fault that some readers are lazy but hey, this is life if you have pictures and words, pictures win.

 

[nelmr]

Some more graphs and charts

As regards the various tunings and settings the following graphs may help people. This is of my in-room response (Room is 18wx22dx10h feet with some adjoining open areas). Sub is corner loaded.

These graphs are from the sweet spot location (center seat of a couch) and each trace had 4 averages from slightly different spots on the sweet spot location 4-6 inches apart. It should be easy to see how the output is affected in deep base extension by the various tunings, Q, and EQ settings.