BigWill, yes, we are (at least I am ) definitely picking nits. I have absolutely no complaints on the performance of my VTF-3. It was more of a curiosity-filling moment for me.

chess, the LOTR passages do NOT produce chuffs on the VTF-3, at up to the reference level. I guess in order to produce port chuffs, the bass signal has to carry a lot of amplitude at near-Fo (port resonance) frequencies, which is 16-20Hz in the case of the VTF-3, operating in the max-extension mode.