Here's my setup...My HT room is 13 x 17 feet. The right rear corner is open to the rest of the house. I view across the short axis of the room. My listening position is about 10 feet from a 51" Hitachi Ultravision widescreen HD monitor. I have an Onkyo TX-SR 800 receiver with 100w x 7 channels. Speakers are a pair of M-60ti's, a VP-100, and 2 QS4's. I plan to add another pair of QS4's for rears soon. I currently have an Infinity sub, and am looking to upgrade. I have my eye on the Axiom EP-350, the Hsu VTF-2, or one of the SVS PCi series. I want to go deep rather than loud, and I listen to music as well as watch movies on my system. Any ideas on which of these subs would be most appropriate for my setup?

Any feedback would be appreciated.

From what I've read, go with the Hsu from your above choices. One person on Audioreview said that for the really low notes the 350 wasn't enough, and I don't know enough about the SVS to give you input. I was just shopping for a sub in the same price range for a large space-20' x 18'. I ended up with a PV800 by Boston Acoustics, it was a demo and I got it cheap. You may want to check out the Boston subs as well, they go very deep, with no problems. I've been watchin LOTR and the room just shakes with the gain set to 5 of 10. I also like the sub's ability to reproduce music without being muddy (listening to Eagles and Allison Krause, both CD's have distinct mid-bass, mid and high features and the sub doesn't interfere with the details. It blends in with them and sounds accurate with the rest of the recording). Another nice feature on the Boston's is the Gain knob on the front of the sub. Also placement isn't so tricky because it is down fireing with two ports. This seems to be the way to go if placement is limited, as it was in my case.

Good luck -Adam.

You might want to checkout the new SVS PB2-ISD (if the $899 price is within your budget). If that's out of your range, I have been VERY happy with my 20-39 CS+. I have it tuned to 16hz and my room is a bit larger than yours. Great sub that is very musical to my ears.

Of the three you suggested, hands down, take the VTF-2. Though if you're willing to wait until the end of the month, Hsu's new STF-3 will be available. THAT'S what I'd get. It should rock all over those other models and it's the biggest "bang-for-your-buck" bargain.

Are the STF's supposed to be better in any way than the VTF's? From what I can tell, they are going to be non-tunable versions of the VTF's, but do we know what their tuning points will be? I definitely will sacrifice overall loudness for deeper bass...I was planning to run the VTF-2 at 25 hz if I get it.

If you can go with the cylinder series, I would look at the HSU TN1220. I currently have two of them being driven by a B&K 200wpc amp. Sounds awsome. I have a large room but a smaller room would only need one of them.
gthomas

Not better...

The STF's are not tuneable. The VTFs are. A STF-2 is suppose to be the same sonically as the VTF-2 tuned in max extension mode.

-curtis

I have both the SVS and the HSU and have been running my own comparison. I have had limited time to really run these through the paces since I have been traveling alot over the last few weeks. So far, I am having trouble deciding between the two. I have also been playing with various positions in the room. Either way, it is hard to go wrong with either brand. I will end up keeping one in the HT and the other in the family room. I will probably have a few friends come over and get more opinions.

Does anybody know what the difference in price between the Hsu VTF's and the corresponding STF will be? If it's significant, I may stretch my budget a bit and get the STF-3.

Hey, Spiffy, which particular Hsu and SVS models did you get? At any rate, please be sure to post your impressions here whenever you have time.

I recently received my SVS PB1-ISD sub, and have just started putting it through its paces. For first impressions, it is an excellent sub. I had read that you don't just 'hear' an SVS sub, but also 'feel' an SVS sub. I can say that for both movies and music, that seems to be true.

The impact this sub brings to movies is astounding. I have tested scenes from LOTR, Fight CLub (mid-air collision!), Monsters, Inc., etc., and this sub really comes through with low, clean bass. I haven't really had enough time to listen to a full range of music, nor to confirm I have it calibrated ideally for music yet, but for my initial listening, it performs very well for music. Bass notes are clean, and seem to relay what they are supposed to. Bass guitar sounds like bass guitar, bass drum sounds like bass drum.

I didn't have the chance to listen to HSU subs, but of course it came down to those 2 brands. When it came time to choose, the shear magnitude of praise for SVS, as well as the excellent customer service I received during the research phase, sold me (in addition to the features of the PB1 of course). As SPiffy confirms though, you really can't go wrong with either brand.

Welcome to the club! I have the same sub and my impressions of it are the same.

One good test is to intentionally turn up the gain much higher than you'd normally have it and play some music and movies. Mine stays unboomy, but sure pressurizes the room!

mhorgel,

VTF-2 $499
VTF-3 $849
VTF-3R Rosewood B-Stock $920
STF-1 $299 ]
STF-2 $399 ] Factory Direct
STF-3 $599 ]
..and of course, you can always call and ask for a B-Stock VTF-2/VTF-3 if it's not advertised on their site

If the STF-3 is going to be $599, and it specs out like the VTF-3, then I think my choice is going to be a no-brainer. Can anybody tell me there is a better sub available for the money?

Only the kind you build yourself. And only if you get it right on the first or second try.

There will probably be b-stock STF-3's too. Now THAT would be a bargain!

Yeah...with their standard 20% reduction...a b-stock STF-3....$480!!!!! If they do that.....that will BE THE bargain.

If they do that, I may be coaxed into upgrading my precious VTF-2. (AFTER a new TV and DVD player though)

On Hsu's website, a review of the VTF-3 states that "For all intents and purposes, the two units [VTF-2 and VTF-3] sounded the same with typical bass material in a typical room".

Since my room is smallish (13x17x8 feet), and I never listen to pipe organ music, would I really notice $350 worth of difference between the two units? Everybody seems to love their VTF-2's, and I am concerned with the sheer size of the VTF-3. It seems to me that I might be perfectly happy with the VTF-2, especially compared to my current Infinity BU 120. Heck, with the money I'd save, I could practically buy a pair of QS8's to use as surrounds, and demote my QS4's to use as rears. Plus, I have enough money for the VTF-2 NOW and they're IN STOCK, and my upgradeitis is acute!

Any comments from those who have heard both units in similar sized rooms on DVD and musical sources? I watch movies/music 80/20.

Thanks, Mark

mhorgel,

I've never listened to VTF-2 myself (I own the VTF-3, which I am very happy with), but given your room size, listening habits, and concerns on the cabinet size, my gut feeling is that VTF-2 (or STF-2) is a better buy for you.

Sounds like you'd be very happy with the VTF-2. I know I am.

That's about the same size as my room, and my VTF-2 might break the windows if I turned the volume up far enough. I'm confident that I would notice little to no difference with a larger sub in my room.

yeah Spiffy, let us know.

I just finished comparing my VTF-3 with a 20-39PC+. We can compare notes.

Hey, Curtis, you are going to post your thorough comparative review here, right?

I have given some thoughts out privately. Going to see if I can work out some time with Craig so he can come over to listen......otherwise I need to send the thing back, it is taking up a lot of room.

Lets put it this way.....Sushi, IMHO, you are correct in assuming that your VTF-3 purchase was a great choice for your purposes.

Just like how I felt after the budget speaker comparison we did a while back, I am very happy with my VTF-3 purchase. And what makes it even better is that mine cost even less because it was b-stock.

-curtis

I purchased the M60's, VP150,QS8's and EP175 about 3 weeks ago. I saw all the Hsu references here but am now more curious than ever! Before my 30 days runs out, can anyone answer: What will I gain if I choose the VTF-2 over the EP175? I really don't like that much BASS with my music and at least so far, movies seem ok. I have noticed that the red "on" indicator has already gone out on the EP175 but I'm not too concerned about that my biggest issue is will I get cleaner, crisper bass if I get the Hsu's? I'd really like to hear from others that have gone through the same quandry.

Thanks,

Bob

I've never listened to the Axiom subs, but from various reviews it seems that the EP series produce a very tight, clean, and crisp bass sound, which is much in line with the bass characteristics of the Axiom main speakers.

That said, I am pretty sure that the Hsu VTF-2 goes significantly deeper in the very bottom octave, with a higher maximum SPL available, than the EP175. However, I don't know whether the Hsu sounds noticeably "cleaner and crisper" than the EP175 driven within its limits.