HSU VTF-3 MK4 tuning, pre purchase question

[dwh]

I'm on the fence between the HSU VTF-3 MK4 and the SVS PB12-NSD. I was about to pull the trigger and get the HSU.

BUT, as I read a little deeper, the 25hz max output tuning is recommended for HT, and the 16hz max extension tuning is recommended for music.

I'm looking for a HT sub to go to 20hz and beyond, should I flip back over to the SVS or go with the HSU and run in the max extension tuning for HT purposes.

 

[GlocksRock]

It seems to me that you want max extension tuning for movies, and max output tuning for music. I hear that the HSU subs are more musical than the SVS subs, but as I've never heard or owned an HSU sub, I can't speak to that. However I have owned several SVS subs and they are amazing for movies, and good for music. If HT is what you are going to be mainly using the sub for, I'd go with the SVS, but either one will serve you very well.

 

[timoteo]

You can tune the VTF3-MK4 to whichever you like for both music & movies!

They recommend the lower 16hz tuning for music because music rarely gets that low. Electronica & a pipe organ will get down that low but not much else. Movies on the other hand have a lot of explosive dynamic peaks & a lot of the newer movies do get very low. So they recommend the higher 25hz tuning so that you can turn the sub up & not have to worry so much about pushing the sub past its limits!

Also, once you place a subwoofer into a room you get what's called boundary gain. This means your room naturally boosts the low bass. For instance I have my VTF-15H tuned to the Max Output mode 25hz. I actually measured my response & found that with it in the 15hz mode I got way too much low bass, way more than my midbass. So to even out the bass I have both ports open & EQ2. This gives me such great sounding, even & natural bass.

Plus this means I'm running it in the most efficient mode & it gives me piece of mind that I have plenty of headroom & the least amount of distortion.

Don't worry about how the different tuning modes are labeled (music or movie) once you get the sub home you can listen & choose the mode that sounds best to you. I still recommend the 25hz mode for most people. Again that's because your room will most likely boost the below 25hz frequencies naturally.

Make sure you do the bass crawl to locate the best spot to place the sub. If you place the sub in a bad location then the bass will cancel itself out at your listening position & it will sound horrible, like a fart. That goes for whichever sub you buy.

HSU makes a great sub, I can attest to that! SVS also makes a wonderful sub. For the money I still feel you get more performance for your money with HSU though. But others will argue that. At least you have narrowed your choice down to 2 really nice subs!!! I like how many tuning options the new MK4 lineup has. You can really fine time the bass with them!

 

[shadyJ]

I'm on the fence between the HSU VTF-3 MK4 and the SVS PB12-NSD. I was about to pull the trigger and get the HSU.

BUT, as I read a little deeper, the 25hz max output tuning is recommended for HT, and the 16hz max extension tuning is recommended for music.

I'm looking for a HT sub to go to 20hz and beyond, should I flip back over to the SVS or go with the HSU and run in the max extension tuning for HT purposes.

I would just leave it on 16 hz tuning, that does knock off some headroom in the 20 through 30 hz range, but it still has a lot of output, possibly more than you would ever need. If the Outlaw measurements are anything to go by, it would still have quite a bit more output than the PB12. It was originally recommended that the sub should be used with maximum extension for music and maximum output for movies, because back when the VTF subs were first introduced, not many movies had extremely deep frequencies but some instrumental music did, such as certain pipe organ recordings, but nowadays the converse is more true. It sounds great in either mode, in my opinion.

 

[timoteo]

I wouldn't go into this thinking that one setting will be better than the other. The room itself & the placement of the sub in the room play such a huge role in how it sounds that the OP needs to wait until he gets the sub in the room. He may find he has a midbass dip. In this case the 25hz mode would be much better. If he has a low bass dip then the 16hz mode would be better. It's all dependant on actual in-room response.

So to the OP I say to get your sub placed correctly in the room first. Then try out the different operating modes, with SPL meter in hand if possible, & see which gives the smoothest response.

Keep us informed on your sub choice!

 

[j_garcia]

I had a VTF-2 Mk1 and I left it in max extension mode all the time and it worked great for both movies and music.

 

[dwh]

I wouldn't go into this thinking that one setting will be better than the other. The room itself & the placement of the sub in the room play such a huge role in how it sounds that the OP needs to wait until he gets the sub in the room. He may find he has a midbass dip. In this case the 25hz mode would be much better. If he has a low bass dip then the 16hz mode would be better. It's all dependant on actual in-room response.

So to the OP I say to get your sub placed correctly in the room first. Then try out the different operating modes, with SPL meter in hand if possible, & see which gives the smoothest response.

Keep us informed on your sub choice!

I decided on the Hsu, after reading a bit more on Hsu's web site, the sub actually has 5 usable EQ/port combinations. Now the big decision, get my Klipsch refs now or the Hsu. I'm getting a package deal on the Klipschs, so I have to get them all at once.

Lets just say I find the sub sounds realy good in the front right corner with my crappy speakers, is there a chance that it might not soumd as good there with my new speakers?

 

[timoteo]

Well if the new speakers sound a lot better they might make your old sub sound noticably worse. It may stand out as the weak link. A better sub will help a crappy speaker system sound better. But ultimately, as you know, you will need both the new speakers & the HSU. That being said however, as to which you should get first, I'd still have to say, get the speakers first. Speakers will make the largest improvement with the subwoofer being the second largest. Specially if you are getting all new speakers at once, that is a fun upgrade right there!!

J Garcia: with your sub in Max Extension mode, did you measure the response or were you going by how it sounded? I only ask because I at first thought my VTF-15H sounded great in M.E mode. Then I took measurements & found that I got a MUCH flatter response in M.O mode & with a few adjustments it sounded noticabl better. That was a suprise to me because I had gone into it thinking the M.E mode would be the better choice. My thoughts initially were, "lower=better". I learned a lot during the week I spent measuring & fine tuning. Ive been so happy with the results that I haven't touched the settings for probably the 6-8 months since. Its because of that, that I now tell others to try all the settings & by all means to measure the response before settling on the mode.

 

[j_garcia]

J Garcia: with your sub in Max Extension mode, did you measure the response or were you going by how it sounded? I only ask because I at first thought my VTF-15H sounded great in M.E mode. Then I took measurements & found that I got a MUCH flatter response in M.O mode & with a few adjustments it sounded noticabl better. That was a suprise to me because I had gone into it thinking the M.E mode would be the better choice. My thoughts initially were, "lower=better". I learned a lot during the week I spent measuring & fine tuning. Ive been so happy with the results that I haven't touched the settings for probably the 6-8 months since. Its because of that, that I now tell others to try all the settings & by all means to measure the response before settling on the mode.

I didn't take any measurements, but the extension helped more with movies. It DID sound cleaner with it in M.O. mode though.