need good alternative to HSU VTF-2 MK3

[jlyttle]

I ordered this 7 days ago and just e-mailed them for a tracking number or update, and was told that it is out of stock until the end of February. Of course, no notice before, during or after my purchase was made was given that it was out of stock. I guess they were just going to make me wait 5 weeks after my purchase to get it. It kills me that no one was going to tell me that it was not coming.

Anyway, my room is done and all of my other equipment is in, so I dont want to wait a month. Also, the HSU was a nice maple color, options like that are good as I don't want black.

 

[BabelFish]

I'm no expert but I am currently looking into SVS (www.svsound.com)...

Check out any of their subs.
http://svsound.com/products-sub-box.cfm

For the price of the one you were looking for, I would say the NSD Series would be good. [EDIT] Doesn't have maple. sorry [/EDIT]

(Again.. I am NO expert )

The SB12-Plus comes in the Maple that you were looking for plus the price range that your sub was.

 

[Wid]

I ordered this 7 days ago and just e-mailed them for a tracking number or update, and was told that it is out of stock until the end of February. Of course, no notice before, during or after my purchase was made was given that it was out of stock. I guess they were just going to make me wait 5 weeks after my purchase to get it. It kills me that no one was going to tell me that it was not coming.

Anyway, my room is done and all of my other equipment is in, so I dont want to wait a month. Also, the HSU was a nice maple color, options like that are good as I don't want black.

It has shown from the very begining that the maple was out of stock. Did you not notice this on the website?

 

[sbader2]

Also, if that's the one you had your eye on in the first place, you're probably best to stick with that one. Hsu is a solid company, with solid products, you won't be making a mistake waiting a little extra to get the sub.

 

[jlyttle]

It has shown from the very begining that the maple was out of stock. Did you not notice this on the website?

Do you really need me to answer this?

I checked the site tonight after I found out and looked again, and yes, while it does now say out of stock, please take a look at how small the notice is. Also, once I added it to my cart, there was no other mention, nor any notice at all on my invoice as to the status.

Anyway, this does not address my real question, which is; what is a good alternative in the same ballpark price?

 

[Wid]

It's going to be tough to find a sub that has the same price vs performance ratio in a maple finish that even comes close to the Hsu.

 

[Ryan8886]

It's going to be tough to find a sub that has the same price vs performance ratio in a maple finish that even comes close to the Hsu.

Wid's right. Hsu's prices are very competitive. From SVS, you have to move into the Plus Series for anything with a maple finish. While those subs may be a large improvement over the VTF-2 MkIII, it's also gonna cost almost twice the price. You could look at the PCi line of cylinders from them. The price is comparable, however decor-wise, they might not be acceptable.
When I was shopping, I gave a serious look at this:

http://www.av123.com/products_product.php?section=subwoofers&product=6.1

I read good things about it. Yes, it's only a 10 inch, however it comes with some pretty nice features, including the maple finish.

I wasn't particulalrly thrilled with Hsu's service either. I put myself on their email list for a B-stock VTF-3 Mk II about 3 months ago and never heard another word. Then again, they are very popular subs....might STILL be on the list! I opted to go with SVS instead. Good luck!

 

[j_garcia]

I was going to mention the ULW10 also, and you can get it with a big discount by ordering it through AH also...

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/loudspeakers/OnixRocketULW-10Reviewp4.php

 

[jlyttle]

I was going to mention the ULW10 also, and you can get it with a big discount by ordering it through AH also...

http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/loudspeakers/OnixRocketULW-10Reviewp4.php

Looks promising, how do you think it would be in a roughly 3500 cubic foot room?
ALso, the review was great, but did not let me know how it compares to the HSU. Honestly, I am not an audiophile. I just want a good, fairly priced unit for general use that is not crap. I have never owned a sub before, so they will all probably sound good to me, I just don't want to short-change myself. I need to stay in the $500 ballpark.

 

[gene]

Its gonna be extremely tough to match the performance of the HSU sub you are looking at for this price class. I'd either wait for the sub, or expect to spend a little more coin for an alternative like the Axiom EP350

Note the EP350 has the same driver as the EP500 and EP600. It just doensn't have the DSP processing and also sports a smaller amp.

 

[Wid]

Although the ULW10 seems to be a good deal for the money I still don't think it is a good alternative to the Hsu.

 

[jlyttle]

Its gonna be extremely tough to match the performance of the HSU sub you are looking at for this price class. I'd either wait for the sub, or expect to spend a little more coin for an alternative like the Axiom EP350

Note the EP350 has the same driver as the EP500 and EP600. It just doensn't have the DSP processing.

Do you think that the ULW-10 won't sound as good as the HSU, or is too small?

 

[j_garcia]

The ULW is a sealed unit and won't go as low as the VTF-2 Mk3.

 

[Peter Marcks]

Wow, tough crowd

When we first announced the VTF-Mk3 series (here: http://forum.hsuresearch.com/showthread.php?t=2381), I made note of the fact that maple versions (at no extra cost vs black finish) were not yet available. Dr. Hsu also made mention in the same thread that maple would not be available until February. Then we noted on our website product pages that the maple versions are out of stock. I'm not sure what more we could have done. The only improvement would be to add an estimated date of availability on the product page.

jlyttle, you've probably been waiting months and months, if not years, to get a nice new piece of audio equipment. What's 2-4 more weeks to get what you originally wanted? Otherwise, Gene and the others here have made some great suggestions.

Enjoy

 

[jlyttle]

Wow, tough crowd

When we first announced the VTF-Mk3 series (here: http://forum.hsuresearch.com/showthread.php?t=2381), I made note of the fact that maple versions (at no extra cost vs black finish) were not yet available. Dr. Hsu also made mention in the same thread that maple would not be available until February. Then we noted on our website product pages that the maple versions are out of stock. I'm not sure what more we could have done. The only improvement would be to add an estimated date of availability on the product page.

jlyttle, you've probably been waiting months and months, if not years, to get a nice new piece of audio equipment. What's 2-4 more weeks to get what you originally wanted? Otherwise, Gene and the others here have made some great suggestions.

Enjoy

I was not aware of those other threads here, I just went to the website to order. My only observation was that on the product page (when I rechecked) the only area that mentioned inventory status was very small. I don't dispute that it is there, only that my eyes did not catch it when ordering. Maybe it could be made more apparent is all.

Anyway, that small side complaint of mine was overblown, the main point of this thread was to seek good alternatives. Every other piece of my system is here and ready to be setup, and although the HSU is my first choice in my price range, I am am having a really hard time making myself wait another month to complete the system. The room is finished, my new sectional couch will be here on Friday etc, you get the idea. I am just super anxious to get the system done. And if there is any way to expedite, my cash is waiting!

 

[ggunnell]

First, I've had a ULW-10 -- it's too small for you.

I agree with Gene that an Axiom EP350 would be an alternative.

I'd take a look at AV123's UFW-12 in Birds Eye Maple on sale for $599 +$99 shipping. You won't get strong performance below 25Hz out of the box, but Mark Seaton's upgrade kit (hopefully available soon) should give you very good performance down to 16Hz.

 

[Rob Babcock]

I'd agree with Peter- what's a few weeks? Obviously I can understand impatience as much as the next audiophool, though. There are other good subs besides the Hsu's, but as has been said- be prepared to pay for it!

 

[Nick250]

Although the ULW10 seems to be a good deal for the money I still don't think it is a good alternative to the Hsu.

Ditto, no comparison. They are in a totally different league And I own a UFW-10 and my trusty six year old VTF-2. That EP350 looks nice, though I have not read any reviews. The UFW-12 on sale also looks to be a sweet deal.

Nick

 

[mike c]

i agree. while it's always tempting to buy NOW NOW NOW. I actually got my first subwoofer after about a year of research. if I had not waited (and saved some more money) I would have ended up with the JBL E250 or Yamaha YST-SW515

 

[jlyttle]

So, if the general consensus among people more knowledgeable than myself is that the HSU is my best option for $600 or less, and my first choice to boot, then I will have to suck it up. But it will be hard.

Just for informational purposes, the rest of my setup consists of:

Panasonic TH-50PX60U 50" Plasma HDTV
DV-970HD DVD player
Onkyo TX-SR604/s receiver
Axiom m3Ti fronts
Axion VP150 center
Polk RC60i rear surrounds (in-wall)
(hopefully soon) Hsu VTF-2 MK3

In all, the total budget and cost including cables for this setup was $4000. Not the best system in the world but definitely great for me, and great I think for the price tag.

BTW, should I go for the VTF-3 MK 2? Is it that much better for $90 more?