Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo 80/60/22/3/HsuSTF-3/600/400...and a frankensub!

Jason,

If you are really looking for a sub, you should think about getting the EP350 from the Factory Outlet. It is less than $700 CAD, since you got the M80's, you should save a little on the sub I think.

Wait until the outlet is carrying the new EP350v3's...just my opinion!

It looks like the FO is already selling the 350 v.3!!

Anyone on the boards heard the 350v3 yet?

You guys are driving me nuts, but I believe I will need to hear the 350 and the 500 before I make a decision. I would also like to hear a Hsu VTF3, however, I don't know anyone that has one and shipping, even for me, is a killer.

There's a 500 in town but I don't know of anyone that has a 350 or VTF3.

I know Robb has the 500 and I have seen a couple others go through the system recently. I think the VTF3 might be hard to find

The VTF3.3 is larger than the STF-3 I took over to Mojo's place. It might be overkill if there is such a thing, for your space.

The VTF 2.3 is listed on the HSU site with reviews and is only $499 USD.....isn't that like $300 canadian now??? Surely with shipping you can handle that:)

You just might not get your sub back until you make it over to pick it up

Well, Mojo just left after a couple hours of comparing the Hsu STF3 and the EP400 at my house. The 2 subs were calibrated to the same levelswith pink noise and manually switched on and off when we felt we had a good idea of what we were hearing.

The 400, we determined, blends very nicely with music, it doesn't say "hey listen to me and not the music." It gave you a nice impression/feeling of the lower frequencies that the M80s don't push out. It was tight and nicely controlled. It seemed to handle the bass from strings very nicely as it would allow them to resonate a little longer than the Hsu did.

The STF3 on the other hand really moves the air and that is not such a good thing, at least with the music we listened to. The Hsu was a little too overpowering for my tastes and I found myself listening to the sub and then the M80s and comparing the 2 sounds, not much blending at all. It didn't relay the softening of the bass tones very well either. Th STF3 seemed to be a little too abrupt after you heard the pluck or thump and then that was it. The EP400 would allow the sound to linger a little, more life like.

On the HT side there was not much comparison, the little EP400 couldn't push the air to shake the foundations and as such, I felt I was not immersed in the action of the pods coming out of the ground in the WOTW. We switched over to the Hsu and the walls were shaking, the concrete floor was shaking, very immersive; the air movement is so much more violent, but in a good way. The Hsu was so much more impressive for HT that I wouldn't consider the EP400 for anything other than music, but....

I did run the EP400 with my old sub and my old sub helped the air movement enough to make a case for the EP400 combined with a good cheap sub, could be used for HT and as a bonus of dual subs, the LFE is everywhere.

This was a lot of fun. I didn't realize what it means for bass to blend until today. As Jason mentioned, the Hsu didn't blend well compared to the 400. Perhaps what I've been calling transparent others call blending. Surprisingly, I never noticed the lack of blending in my larger space with the Hsu but it was obviously there today.

For reference, we listened to Clapton:Unplugged and Dead Can Dance: Spiritchaser. I actually liked the percussive Hsu better with Clapton with the exception of a few tracks (most notably track 4). On these few tracks, the 400 brought out nuances that the Hsu could not. On DCD however, the 400 shone by blending in and not drawing attention to itself at all. The Hsu sounded deeper and pounded somewhat.

Jason's antiquated sub was interesting in that it made its presence known in an uninviting kind of way. The 80s competed with the sub and I couldn't make up my mind what to listen to - the sub or the 80s.

My big take-away from today was just how important blending and transparency is. I'm starting to believe that you can't have blending/transparency and punch/slam. Perhaps slower transient response lends to the ability to blend and be transparent. I guess I won't know for sure until I hear more subs.

Just to echo what Jason already said, the 400 is not for movies but it is definitely excellent for music.