HSU VTF-15H Subwoofer Review

[bogrod]

Yes and b/c of people not spending the time to actually read the entire review and notice the product positives, it actually gave HSU second thoughts about becoming an advertiser on our site which is ridiculous when you see all of the free press and attention this review generated for them. This thread alone generated over 3200 views in one day!

Well, it's not positive press, for one. But I can understand HSU's position. The fact that you've had to go back and edit/add so much stuff in the review, since it was published, is one reason.

Not everyone is overlooking the positives. I think a lot of people are noticing the nitpick stuff (like the crossover situation, the dials) and flat out inconsistent and/or contradictory statements within the article. Did the reviewer not feel like spending the additional time to plug up a port and throw a switch in the back? I think a truly comprehensive review would have been fair to Audioholics.com, the people who come to this site, and HSU, and I doubt it would have taken that much more time to do. If you guys didn't feel like adding the additional data (for the different tuning settings) to the review to keep it "fair" within a shootout, then keep it separate, and add it in in a solo review - but make mention of it somewhere in the article.

I'm guessing that this review was looked over by others within your staff before being published. Did they not notice these same nitpicks and contradictions/inconsistencies?

 

[clouso]

My impressions on the VTF-15H

First off i apologise to any one i must have hurt or p-i-s-s-e-d off with my late posts on this thread!.....i got the thing today my time exactly at 12;00 pm i unpacked it and everything was in perfect condition and top notch!..very good packaging by HSU RESEARCH!.....i have been experimenting different tunings all afternoon.The very first thing i noticed is that the satin black finish is really awesome i could say it kinda look like piano black but less reflection and shinyness!....''the thing is a lot more appealing in real then all the pics on the net that youv seen yet!''......oh and yes the driver is black and not grey!....i didnt get and had the time to get any measurment tools so yes i trusted my ears again but i know i can trust them enough to compare with other subwoofers i had before!.The subwoofer arrives with the 2 ports plugged so i listen to it sealed at first....so 2 ports plugged with EQ2 and Q 0.3 was the first i tried..since my receiver can manage the bass i desactivated the crossover on the sub...right out of the box it sounded already ''bigger '' then the paradigm sub12 and also the seismic12 that were my last 2 previous subs.
What i mean by bigger is that it was filling my room already better then those 2 others.I found that in sealded mode even not broken in it is as tight and clean then the sub12 but bigger sounding!....''surprisingly to me''...with the exeption that it already goes lower and deeper then the sub12...''already +1 for the HSU''...i must tell you that i tried changing the Q control but it would take a measuring tool to see the difference since you cannot hear the difference by ear!...so i decided to keep the Q contol to 0.3 for all and the same goes for changing the EQ you cannot make the difference by ear!...then i pulled out the 2 plugs and tried it ported so i wanted to see the two extremes...i listened to the same songs of course...this mode can only be used on EQ2 so i kept the EQ to 2.This mode was filling the room with greater pressure but i felt like missing that tighness compared to sealed and since i love tightness i decided to try it one port plugged and still on EQ2 and then BINGO!..i found it the best damn subwoofer i ever had owned and heard!!...no problem earing the mid bass...very punchy and clean and also tighter then ported! with a lot of deep extention.....since i was disturbed by some neighbours and some friends this afternoon i didnt had the chance to watch and listen to any movies yet....now is that an upgrade for me?..YES...do i regret this purchase?...NO!...in fact i am so happy!!...this is the best damn move i made since a long time!...does that subwoofer cost less then the paradigm sub12 i had YES!...is it better then the sub12..YES!....does it cost twice less then the sub12 YES!....NOW..is this HSU the best subwoofer in the shootout maybe and surely not according to the reviews and price gap between them...is this HSU the BEST BUY like Paul staded?..i think yes!...a subwoofer at this price range sounding that good!...well i want another and another!!....I know this isnt a professional review with any measuring tools and its worth nothing for some of you but i wanted to post it anyway....A HAPPY GUY IS A HAPPY GUY!...OH AND YES I WILL GET MORE VTF-15H IN MY SYSTEM SOONER THEN LATER!!...thx.

 

[Pyrrho]

Well, it's not positive press, for one.

Jesus, Audioholics said it was the best subwoofer at its price point. What more positive do people want, that it will cure cancer and massage your feet?

The fact that it is not as good as some subwoofers that cost MUCH more should not surprise anyone.

But I can understand HSU's position. The fact that you've had to go back and edit/add so much stuff in the review, since it was published, is one reason.

Not everyone is overlooking the positives. I think a lot of people are noticing the nitpick stuff (like the crossover situation, the dials) and flat out inconsistent and/or contradictory statements within the article. Did the reviewer not feel like spending the additional time to plug up a port and throw a switch in the back? I think a truly comprehensive review would have been fair to Audioholics.com, the people who come to this site, and HSU, and I doubt it would have taken that much more time to do. If you guys didn't feel like adding the additional data (for the different tuning settings) to the review to keep it "fair" within a shootout, then keep it separate, and add it in in a solo review - but make mention of it somewhere in the article.

I'm guessing that this review was looked over by others within your staff before being published. Did they not notice these same nitpicks and contradictions/inconsistencies?

What contradictions and inconsistencies are you talking about? Name at least one, and give exact quotations from the article showing this.

Frankly, the way Hsu is reacting about this is making me not want to buy from them, even if it is the best subwoofer at its price point. People who behave in ridiculous ways do not encourage confidence in them.

 

[clouso]

BTW those 2 subs i compared the seismic12 and sub12 had much more powerfull amps...''specs''...and this bash on the VTF-15H doesnt get even hot and doesn even sweat at high volumes....

 

[bigbassdave]

I just checked Vegas and the over under for Clouso keeping the sub was 3 weeks with the over being -135 and the under +110. I took the under.

 

[clouso]

I just checked Vegas and the over under for Clouso keeping the sub was 3 weeks with the over being -135 and the under +110. I took the under.

Nope dude...this one i will keep it and not only i will keep it i will add more and more!...it finally gives me the deep extention and power i was looking for...sorry but the sub12 failed........

 

[templemaners]

First off i apologise to any one i must have hurt or p-i-s-s-e-d off with my late posts on this thread!.....i got the thing today my time exactly at 12;00 pm i unpacked it and everything was in perfect condition and top notch!..very good packaging by HSU RESEARCH!.....i have been experimenting different tunings all afternoon.The very first thing i noticed is that the satin black finish is really awesome i could say it kinda look like piano black but less reflection and shinyness!....''the thing is a lot more appealing in real then all the pics on the net that youv seen yet!''......oh and yes the driver is black and not grey!....i didnt get and had the time to get any measurment tools so yes i trusted my ears again but i know i can trust them enough to compare with other subwoofers i had before!.The subwoofer arrives with the 2 ports plugged so i listen to it sealed at first....so 2 ports plugged with EQ2 and Q 0.3 was the first i tried..since my receiver can manage the bass i desactivated the crossover on the sub...right out of the box it sounded already ''bigger '' then the paradigm sub12 and also the seismic12 that were my last 2 previous subs.
What i mean by bigger is that it was filling my room already better then those 2 others.I found that in sealded mode even not broken in it is as tight and clean then the sub12 but bigger sounding!....''surprisingly to me''...with the exeption that it already goes lower and deeper then the sub12...''already +1 for the HSU''...i must tell you that i tried changing the Q control but it would take a measuring tool to see the difference since you cannot hear the difference by ear!...so i decided to keep the Q contol to 0.3 for all and the same goes for changing the EQ you cannot make the difference by ear!...then i pulled out the 2 plugs and tried it ported so i wanted to see the two extremes...i listened to the same songs of course...this mode can only be used on EQ2 so i kept the EQ to 2.This mode was filling the room with greater pressure but i felt like missing that tighness compared to sealed and since i love tightness i decided to try it one port plugged and still on EQ2 and then BINGO!..i found it the best damn subwoofer i ever had owned and heard!!...no problem earing the mid bass...very punchy and clean and also tighter then ported! with a lot of deep extention.....since i was disturbed by some neighbours and some friends this afternoon i didnt had the chance to watch and listen to any movies yet....now is that an upgrade for me?..YES...do i regret this purchase?...NO!...in fact i am so happy!!...this is the best damn move i made since a long time!...does that subwoofer cost less then the paradigm sub12 i had YES!...is it better then the sub12..YES!....does it cost twice less then the sub12 YES!....NOW..is this HSU the best subwoofer in the shootout maybe and surely not according to the reviews and price gap between them...is this HSU the BEST BUY like Paul staded?..i think yes!...a subwoofer at this price range sounding that good!...well i want another and another!!....I know this isnt a professional review with any measuring tools and its worth nothing for some of you but i wanted to post it anyway....A HAPPY GUY IS A HAPPY GUY!...OH AND YES I WILL GET MORE VTF-15H IN MY SYSTEM SOONER THEN LATER!!...thx.

Glad to hear your post review buyers remorse went away after getting it. Aren't you glad you didn't just ship it back right away?

 

[clouso]

Glad to hear your post review buyers remorse went away after getting it. Aren't you glad you didn't just ship it back right away?

YEP im glad.....get it you will never regret it...

 

[Ron Temple]

Jesus, Audioholics said it was the best subwoofer at its price point. What more positive do people want, that it will cure cancer and massage your feet?

The fact that it is not as good as some subwoofers that cost MUCH more should not surprise anyone.




What contradictions and inconsistencies are you talking about? Name at least one, and give exact quotations from the article showing this.

Frankly, the way Hsu is reacting about this is making me not want to buy from them, even if it is the best subwoofer at its price point. People who behave in ridiculous ways do not encourage confidence in them.

If I made a subwoofer and measured it, published some numbers online and then when tested by a 3rd party, they disagreed, then I would 1) want clarification with the 3rd party before the review was published and 2) ask the publisher to hold off until it was clarified. Evidently neither of these things happened. This mystifies me. I'm not disagreeing with any of the 3 parties, just wondering how, if refutation of measurements are involved, this review got posted. The measurements were taken months ago and nobody at Hsu raised any objection? Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[bigbassdave]

YEP im glad.....get it you will never regret it...

I was kidding about returning it of course I'm very happy for you and I would kill to own that beast

 

[templemaners]

YEP im glad.....get it you will never regret it...

2 questions for you clouso:

1. How big is the room you're using the VTF-15 in?
2. Have you had any placement issues with the physical size of the sub? I have some pretty strict placement/size issues, so I'm either going to have to a.) get one big sub like this, b.) get two smaller subs or c.) get two big subs and use them as speaker stands for my mains.

 

[cantonguy]

.
What contradictions and inconsistencies are you talking about? Name at least one, and give exact quotations from the article showing this.

You serious Clark? It took me all of 2 seconds to find 2 contradictions. I'm a Rythmik fan, but this article did have several blatant contradictions. Can you find them?


Pros
Smart Styling and manageable size
Very Inexpensive for performance capabilities
Reasonable high outputs without high power
Interesting port design making maximum use of internal volume
“Q” control for fine tuning bottom end of woofer
Narrow cabinet profile containing most volume in the cabinet depth
7 year warranty on woofer, 2 years on amplifier
30 day satisfaction guarantee
Cons
Big and heavy – not easily moved by a single person (123 pounds)
Cheap Volume Control on Amplifier (No detents or easily repeatable settings)
No remote control
Plastic 5-way binding posts give amplifier a cheap appearance
Relatively low RMS power output capabilities (350 Watt “Continuous”) limits low frequency extension

 

[clouso]

2 questions for you clouso:

1. How big is the room you're using the VTF-15 in?
2. Have you had any placement issues with the physical size of the sub? I have some pretty strict placement/size issues, so I'm either going to have to a.) get one big sub like this, b.) get two smaller subs or c.) get two big subs and use them as speaker stands for my mains.

My room is 25'x15x8...3000cuft...open dining room and living room and with a hall way to the bedrooms and bathroom....it is not a perfect and didicated room for HT...not ready for that...but i can and i heard the difference in that exact same room and the sub is in the exact same spot then the sub12 was......

 

[clouso]

2 questions for you clouso:

1. How big is the room you're using the VTF-15 in?
2. Have you had any placement issues with the physical size of the sub? I have some pretty strict placement/size issues, so I'm either going to have to a.) get one big sub like this, b.) get two smaller subs or c.) get two big subs and use them as speaker stands for my mains.

well i would get 2 big subs and put the mains on top of them.....if you can save the place from the mains and add 2 big subs i would do it...2cents........im a bass freak..anything to get more bass..lmao........

 

[billy p]

I know it's just another cliche but what a difference 24hrs can make...lol. Now get rid of those neighbours and play some heavy bass movies and don't forget to post some pic's...

 

[clouso]

I know it's just another cliche but what a difference 24hrs can make...lol. Now get rid of those neighbours and play some heavy bass movies and don't forget to post some pic's...

Yes i will tomorrow...i will start with HULK...with Edward Norton... i think this blu-ray has some serious soundings and output...espacially the scnene in the field when the army is after him.........

 

[GranteedEV]

congrats on the new VTF-12.

 

[clouso]

congrats on the new VTF-12.

yeah vtf12...haha...

 

[GranteedEV]

sorry, vtf 15.


so what'dya think about maybe ordering some Aperion Verus Grands and comparing them side by side with you studio 60s? Now that you've gotten a taste of internet direct goodness...

 

[clouso]

sorry, vtf 15.


so what'dya think about maybe ordering some Aperion Verus Grands and comparing them side by side with you studio 60s? Now that you've gotten a taste of internet direct goodness...

i didnt look for the aperion's yet..i would have to check and wich dealer have them so i could audition them here near my place...that means at least one hour drive lol....but i have been looking at some jbl too..would those bests the studio60's?