My Subwoofer Ratings Pt. 1!!!!!

[speakerman39]

Folks, thought I would write up some thoughts/initial impressions regarding the subs I have owned to date. This post is ONLY intended as a "General Guideline" as no scientific approach was employed. In other words, these findings are very SUBJECTIVE. However, my hope is that my findings will serve to aide those "Sitting On The Fence" so to speak. With that being said, here is the scale I will use:

Decent=1 Pt.
Average= 2 Pts.
Good=3 Pts.
Very Good=4 Pts.
Awesome=5Pts.

Please note, that I have a tendency to prefer a more tight, articulate presentation that has very good extension as well as containing "Distinctness" in the transient response. Now to my findings:

8" Cerwin Vega sub (sorry don't remember the model #) Rating of 1-
At times, it sounded half way decent when watching a movie. Forget about musicality.

Paradigm PDR12 12" sub Rating of 1
At times, this one was better than the Cerwin Vega when watching movies, but did bottom out quite often. Musically speaking, it left much to be desired. However, I did not know as much about the importance of placement at the time either.

Paradigm PS1000 v.4 10" sub Rating of 2-
Decent with ht. It could somewhat shake my room. Musically, kinda slow always sounding behind the music resulting in a somewhat muddy presentation.

Acoustic Research ARPR808 8" subs Rating of 3-
Was great musically. Tight, punchy, and articulate. However, being an 8" sub extension was the weakness. But, these little guys were built like tanks and packed quite a punch.

Mirage S12 12" sub Rating of 4+
Very good with music! Tight, punchy, and articulate. Had good definition in the transient response. For ht, it could shake my room quite well. However, the energy down low was just NOT there. Sure, it went down deep but was lacking in output regardless of where I placed it. Here, is when I really began to learn how important placement really is.

SVS PB10-NSD 10" sub Rating of 4
First thing that got me was the size! Second, had a hard time believing it was only a 10" sub. Very good with ht in that it offered excellent extension. The pitch of the sub is the best I have heard to date. However, musically, it was just a bit slow. Still was very impressive.

SVS PB12-NSD 12" sub Rating of 4++
Once again the first thing was the size! This sub does EVERYTHING the PB10-NSD does, but with more authority. Lots of energy down low. Great for ht! Musically, not as fast as the PB10-NSD. Great sub!

Hsu VTF-3 MK III 12" sub Rating of 5-
Very big-about the same size of the PB12-NSD. However, it was better musically due to me running it in MAX OUTPUT mode. For ht, it was also very good-not quite as good as the PB12-NSD. All in all, it is the BEST sub I have owned to date!

More to come..........


Cheers,

Phil

 

[agarwalro]

The pitch of the sub is the best I have heard to date

First time hearing the word "pitch" used for a sub .

Bump for a good read.

 

[speakerman39]

First time hearing the word "pitch" used for a sub .

Bump for a good read.

LOL.....thanks for your kind words. By "Pitch" I am referring to the tonal quality of the presentation/signature. Like I said, I am no professional-but as you can see I have owned a lot of subs.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Come on now...We are waiting on your impressions of the Dual Outlaw's...

 

[speakerman39]

Come on now...We are waiting on your impressions of the Dual Outlaw's...

Look at Part 2! It is all there. Just hope this is helpful to some members here. Thanks for posting Doug. I also hope all is well for you.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[tn001d]

I think SVS subs have a certain flavor that HSU subs lack.

 

[speakerman39]

I think SVS subs have a certain flavor that HSU subs lack.

Nothing wrong with stating your opinion. As I mentioned many times, it would be hard to go wrong either way. I sure liked the customer service I received from SVS. That is, they went way out of their way to make me happy. Kudos to them!

Cheers,

Phil

 

[MatthewB.]

I have tested many subs in my day and I own a SVS NSD12/2 and Loooooove it, but was at Mazers GTG two years ago and heard MajorLosers Hsu's and placed side by side with Mazers Ultra12/2, Majors Hsu's beat it. Just an impressive sub (forget Majors model number) but being a diehard SVS fan, I was duly impressed with the Hsu. Although nothing can compare to hearing an IB (Infinate Baffle) sub system.

 

[Matt34]

I have tested many subs in my day and I own a SVS NSD12/2 and Loooooove it, but was at Mazers GTG two years ago and heard MajorLosers Hsu's and placed side by side with Mazers Ultra12/2, Majors Hsu's beat it. Just an impressive sub (forget Majors model number) but being a diehard SVS fan, I was duly impressed with the Hsu. Although nothing can compare to hearing an IB (Infinate Baffle) sub system.

He has the HSU VTF3.3 HO w/ turbos.

 

[krzywica]

Thanks a lot for the mini roundup speakerman. I got my HSU because of your recommendation as you are one of the few people I talked to that have owned SVS, HSU, and Outlaw. As most people would upgrade to a better brand or model, you are rare in that you stayed in the same price range but tried different brands. Hard to get this sort of insight from people that have actually OWNED the products and not just heard them at a get together or a showroom floor.

 

[lsiberian]

Thanks a lot for the mini roundup speakerman. I got my HSU because of your recommendation as you are one of the few people I talked to that have owned SVS, HSU, and Outlaw. As most people would upgrade to a better brand or model, you are rare in that you stayed in the same price range but tried different brands. Hard to get this sort of insight from people that have actually OWNED the products and not just heard them at a get together or a showroom floor.

Welcome back from your 2 weeks off the AH forum

 

[lsiberian]

Folks, thought I would write up some thoughts/initial impressions regarding the subs I have owned to date. This post is ONLY intended as a "General Guideline" as no scientific approach was employed. In other words, these findings are very SUBJECTIVE. However, my hope is that my findings will serve to aide those "Sitting On The Fence" so to speak. With that being said, here is the scale I will use:

Decent=1 Pt.
Average= 2 Pts.
Good=3 Pts.
Very Good=4 Pts.
Awesome=5Pts.

Please note, that I have a tendency to prefer a more tight, articulate presentation that has very good extension as well as containing "Distinctness" in the transient response. Now to my findings:

8" Cerwin Vega sub (sorry don't remember the model #) Rating of 1-
At times, it sounded half way decent when watching a movie. Forget about musicality.

Paradigm PS12 12" sub Rating of 1
At times, this one was better than the Cerwin Vega when watching movies, but did bottom out quite often. Musically speaking, it left much to be desired. However, I did not know as much about the importance of placement at the time either.

Paradigm PS1000 v.4 10" sub Rating of 2-
Decent with ht. It could somewhat shake my room. Musically, kinda slow always sounding behind the music resulting in a somewhat muddy presentation.

Acoustic Research ARPR808 8" subs Rating of 3-
Was great musically. Tight, punchy, and articulate. However, being an 8" sub extension was the weakness. But, these little guys were built like tanks and packed quite a punch.

Mirage S12 12" sub Rating of 4+
Very good with music! Tight, punchy, and articulate. Had good definition in the transient response. For ht, it could shake my room quite well. However, the energy down low was just NOT there. Sure, it went down deep but was lacking in output regardless of where I placed it. Here, is when I really began to learn how important placement really is.

SVS PB10-NSD 10" sub Rating of 4
First thing that got me was the size! Second, had a hard time believing it was only a 10" sub. Very good with ht in that it offered excellent extension. The pitch of the sub is the best I have heard to date. However, musically, it was just a bit slow. Still was very impressive.

SVS PB12-NSD 12" sub Rating of 4++
Once again the first thing was the size! This sub does EVERYTHING the PB10-NSD does, but with more authority. Lots of energy down low. Great for ht! Musically, not as fast as the PB10-NSD. Great sub!

Hsu VTF-3 MK III 12" sub Rating of 5-
Very big-about the same size of the PB12-NSD. However, it was better musically due to me running it in MAX OUTPUT mode. For ht, it was also very good-not quite as good as the PB12-NSD. All in all, it is the BEST sub I have owned to date!

More to come..........


Cheers,

Phil

Phil,

I have to say this is an excellent subwoofer post. You really did many folks a favor. I think comments on their WAF would be a great addition since many of folks need a good WAF.

Good job.

 

[krzywica]

Welcome back from your 2 weeks off the AH forum

Yeah.....took a few weeks off.....I felt the burn man!

 

[lsiberian]

Yeah.....took a few weeks off.....I felt the burn man!

In such time I finished my first speaker boxes and then started planes on my next boxes. LOL.

 

[speakerman39]

I have tested many subs in my day and I own a SVS NSD12/2 and Loooooove it, but was at Mazers GTG two years ago and heard MajorLosers Hsu's and placed side by side with Mazers Ultra12/2, Majors Hsu's beat it. Just an impressive sub (forget Majors model number) but being a diehard SVS fan, I was duly impressed with the Hsu. Although nothing can compare to hearing an IB (Infinate Baffle) sub system.

Thanks Matthew for that tid bit of info. I am not surprised the Hsu subs do well when stacked up against other subs. However, the same can be said for SVS. Therefore, it is hard to go wrong with either one of them imho. Personally, I found the 3.3 to be more musical, but there is no customer service like SVS gives. In short, both make great subs!

Cheers,

Phil

 

[speakerman39]

Thanks a lot for the mini roundup speakerman. I got my HSU because of your recommendation as you are one of the few people I talked to that have owned SVS, HSU, and Outlaw. As most people would upgrade to a better brand or model, you are rare in that you stayed in the same price range but tried different brands. Hard to get this sort of insight from people that have actually OWNED the products and not just heard them at a get together or a showroom floor.

Yeah, I stay in the same price range because I am poor! Keep in mind, that this has been a process that involved (2) distinct listening environments. One close to 3000 ft. ^3 and the other ONLY 706 ft. ^3. In other words, there is a big difference in size which makes it impossible to do a fair comparison. Most of this revue is taken from my own observations and are very subjective. But, in spite of that, I do believe there is some useful info from my review. At least, that is what my intent was.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Alex2507]

Seems like you would need a wife before you could give it a WAF rating.
Unless of course you put a dress on and then talked about how the sub made you feel.

 

[speakerman39]

Phil,

I have to say this is an excellent subwoofer post. You really did many folks a favor. I think comments on their WAF would be a great addition since many of folks need a good WAF.

Good job.

Great idea! Sorry, never thought of the WAF because I reside alone. I may go back and mention this at a later date. Or, anyone with any specific questions regarding the WAF can always send me a PM. Thanks for your kind words. Hope this review is helpful.

Cheers,

Phil

 

[speakerman39]

Seems like you would need a wife before you could give it a WAF rating.
Unless of course you put a dress on and then talked about how the sub made you feel.

Alex, it almost sounds as if you been practicing..........Lmao!!!! Imagine that, a 6'4" man in drag.......................OMG!!!!!!

Cheers,

Phil

 

[Alex2507]

I did buy some red finger nail polish today. It's Big Apple Red Creme. I didn't like the other shades.