I'd like ot get a sub for my son to go with his M3s. It'll be used for music only. And the killer constraint is that I'd like to get it for ~$300, $350 tops. The HSU VTF-1 looked like a good candidate, except for the price. Anyone have any advice (including don't bother)?

http://emotiva.com/ultra_sub10.shtm

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-2.html

http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/stf-1.html

I think that the Hsu STF-series subs are comparable in performance to the VTF series but without the adjustability.

Thanks for the quick info to all. I should have added that I know almost nothing about subs. My reading of the Hsu STF vs VTF is that it's the variability that maked the VTF well suited for music use. (But I certainly may have mis-interpretd that.)

The edesign seems decent. As does the Lava that was recommednded on the Home Theater Forum. I'll have to do some Googling on these tonight. Thanks again.

Cork, there isn't any apparent "music" reason not to go with the STF-2(on sale at $319)if you were attracted to the VTF-1 except for the budgetary factor. The response is nearly identical, except that the VTF-1 option trades less extension for the ability to play a little louder higher up, which is said to be a benefit in some movie situations. The greater extension(only STF-2 setting)is said to be optimum for music.

I have been going through the Lava threads lately and there isn't much information in terms of actual "real" reviews yet. They do indeed have an inticing low price-point on their subs. The great thing here is you can do multiple subwoofers on a budget. FWIW if you do decide to go with one of their subs, if you are an AVS forum member notify them and you will get 15% off your order and it will help you save a little extra cash.

>> ... isn't much information in terms of actual "real" reviews ... you are an AVS forum member notify them and you will get 15% off your order ...

Thanks DrH. I'm a lurk-only AVS member, but I am a member and didn't see that on their site. Although when I poked around I also saw that user reviews of the Lavas were hard to come by. This might be good for me to experiment with (I've been upgrading my music system, Axioms on the mains for music; mini-Advents on the surrounds for the occassional movie); I also got an interesting reco for a Dayton kit on the HTF site; so probably one of theose for me next year.

>> there isn't any apparent "music" reason not to go with the STF-2

Thanks John. Since there's no drawback with using it for music I think I'm going to take the safe route and go that way. The price it right and I've seen too many positive recos for Hsu to play around with this.

I'll add that I went cheap last year and got my son a lower end Polk. That was a huge mistake, it was really bad. I returned it and got him something else, so I don't want to be returning another sub.

You will not see it on their website. They have a long thread on AVS about the discount with company reps taking part. They seem like straight forward folks and have delivered A LOT of subs based on that thread and even sent off a sub to be reviewed. I was skeptical at first and still am (because it is mostly hype) if they are as good as some of the other quality budget subs that are mentioned in this thread. You can't argue that you will get more quantity (dual subs for $399 plus AVS discount) with the lava, the big question is are they going to be one note subs? They look to have decent build quality at their asking price.

I'd check Amazon.com. I see they have the Polk Audio PSW505 12-Inch Powered Subwoofer (Single, Black) for $230! They have BIC 12"s for between $200-250, Klipsch Synergy Sub-10 - Subwoofer - 200 Watt - black for $200, a Velodyne Impact-10 10-Inch Powered Subwoofer (Black) for $270.

I think any of these would match up well with a pair of M3s. Personally, I'd go with the Velodyne of this bunch. Hsu are great subs.

Is the Velodyne Impact a new model by them or did they just release a new version?