Hsu Stf-2

[Zero]

Fedex delievered her today. Have begun testing and am left wanting. Anyone else have this sub?

[Frank Z]

Oh GAWD Sean...Not AGAIN!!!

[Zero]

Never ends, does it?

[polkatese]

I must have missed something here, why Hsu, Sean? :) (not that it matters, I just haven't heard you're wanting a Hsu...) What happened to SVS or REL Q?

[danger boy]

left wanting what? another beer? :p

please give us your first impressions.. i don't know of anyone that has an HSU sub.. i'm interested to read your initial findings.

Al the pal

[pjdami]

Sean,

I ordered one. It should be in tomorrow. Please tell me that you like it better than the PSW-350 or the Velo CHT-12?? At least that is what I would expect at the bare minimum.

I'm quite surprised if you don't like it for $399 given the rave reviews the VFT-2 has received.

My oh my you are one tough cookie to please ;)

P.

[Zero]

Polkatese,

I am looking over at the relatively large black box sporting the HSU tag, and I must concede to a small hint of guilt. Some individuals (our local DOC being one of them) have invested a lot of their time attempting to convince me to take the svs plunge.

SVS was first on the list, and three attempts were made to purchase their products. None of which privailed. I took it as an oman and looked for another alternative.

The HSU stf-2 was introduced, and looked to be very promising at a price that was nearly 2x less then what I was going to originally spend on a sub. For $400 shipped, why not? If it doesnt work out, I could always use a sub for the pc.

Danger Boy,

I have had little time with this sub. My initial impressions are going to be pre-mature, as I have yet to calibrate and break it in. I will give it two weeks before I begin to develop any conclusive statements.

Musically, it is fairly decent. Mating it with my new main stereo speaker's will be difficult, given their incredible accuracy. It appears as if this sub may not be up to the task of recreating a detailed musical presentation. Volume wise, I am simply un-impressed. It sounds like what it is, a driver in a box.

That could all change.

[danger boy]

yeah i'm hoping after calibrating the HSU it will open up and find itself a nice home in your system.. i understand that HSU customer support is very good too. maybe if you can't make it perform like you want it to.. a call would be in order..

good luck though.. Al the pal

[polkatese]

Sean, got it! sounds like a deal! you have LSi15 front, right? have fun calibrating it!

[RuSsMaN]

Could be that broke-dick Sony all-in-one you are running it with.

What is your basis for comparison, and do you have your good eye open or closed during the demo?

[Dr. Spec]

Originally posted by ATCVenom
SVS was first on the list, and three attempts were made to purchase their products. None of which privailed. I took it as an oman and looked for another alternative.

What happended here, Sean?

Anyway, the STF-2 is getting mixed reviews. Some amp problems and leaking woofer basket seals have been reported over at the Hsu and AVS forums. And people are expecting miracles from it in the output department, but it's only a 10" woofer with an 8mm xMax.

Sean, why don't you build a dipole subwoofer and couple it to the 15's with a phase linear 1st order high pass filter. It would seem that type of seamless, time coherent, "comes from everywhere" bass quality would suit your listening tastes the best.

[Zero]

Doc,

There have been many changes to the audio rig, and more to come. Between these changes, astronimcal back-order's and other issue's while attempting to order their subs (even via: Phone), I decided it was best to put it to rest. Some other day, maybe.

I look foward to testing out the STF more through the coming days (when time is available). I reserve no expectation of it being a miracle worker. There is always hope..

[Dr. Spec]

Originally posted by ATCVenom ......astronimcal back-order's and other issue's while attempting to order their subs (even via: Phone)

If SVS' customer service was anything less than A+, they will want to know about it, and make it right. If it was a matter of a back-order (which did occur with the ISD woofers), that's a different story.

If you are not happy with the STF-2 and decide to return it for whatever reason, I know the ISD back-order has been resolved and I can try to help pave the way if you still want to try an SVS.

I don't want you to not try SVS solely because of an unsatisfactory CS or ordering experience.

For music, I would advise the 16-46PCi and cross it over as low as possible from the 15's. Maybe a 40 Hz or 50 Hz xo (if your pre/pro or AVR can do that) would work nicely.

There is actually very little "detail" per se in the bass at those (and lower) frequencies; much of the perceived accuracy or detail from bass instruments actually comes from their harmonics which occur in the 60-200 Hz region, and that is where the 15's will still be handling everything.

I think you want that deep, almost palpable foundation to be added to the 15's, but you also want it to be very seamless and imperceptible. Music lovers want the sub only to be noticed when it is turned off. With a nice low xo in the 40-50 Hz region, the 16-46 will accomplish that goal very nicely, and will troll right down to 12 Hz in room, covering everything from pipe organ on up.

Again, you may find designs like dipole, infinite baffle, low Q large volume sealed, or smaller volume sealed with a Linkwitz-Riley transform to be more to your liking - I don't really know, just throwing some other options out there.

Doc

[Zero]

Doc,

My dealings with SvS have been A+. That was never an issue. There are simply other issue's which were on my end, not on theirs. If you wish to gain more detail on the subject matter, feel free to e-mail me @ coquinino@hotmail.com

Thanks.

[Dr. Spec]

As long as SVS treated you top notch, I'm cool with however things went down.

I wish you luck with the STF-2, but its sound character won't change much over time (your break-in reference). If the sub sounds better to you in a few weeks, it's because your ears have grown accustomed to it.

Nothing wrong with giving a sub a chance; I recommend the same with SVS, especially if the owner is coming from a boom box with a big 45 Hz hump and no real low end.

The only credible/measurable thing I've seen SV subs do on break-in is gain a bit of efficiency as the santoprene surround breaks in and loses a bit of stiffness.

Of course, suspension stiffness will affect the t/s parameters of the driver, so maybe there is something more to it on the sound end of things - I just haven't heard it myself.

Regardless, since the Hsu uses a foam surround, I doubt you'll see much change over time in the way of efficiency or sound quality. Over the long haul, you may have issues with foam rot, which is what happened with my Advents, but you could always refoam them if it goes bad outside of warranty.

[Vr3MxStyler2k3]

Sean does not own the LSi15. He sold it and has bought other speakers. Just to fill that gap...

[TroyD]

It doesn't matter what Sean owns, he will never be happy with it.

Crackpot.


BDT

[Zero]

Trey,

The LSi-15's are currently running HT duty downstairs, where they are performing well.

Dr. Spec,

It has been many months since I have heard anything close to true quality bass. It will take some period of adjustment for me to become accustom to a different type of sound. I would imagine feeling the same way about an SVS product.

I am excited to see what SVS will have up their sleeves for 2004. Will keep an eye open as things progress further. As it stands, the PCi sub would be much larger than my towers. It is almost like dating a girl which is roughly a foot taller than you - it just doesnt feel right. But, as long as the sound is good, eh? ;)

[RuSsMaN]

So what are you running now? Cmon, I'm curious.

Cheers,
Russ

[TroyD]

KLH's?

BDT

[Early B.]

If you are not happy with the STF-2 and decide to return it for whatever reason, I know the ISD back-order has been resolved and I can try to help pave the way if you still want to try an SVS.

Dr. Spec --

Just curious -- are you on SVS' payroll?

[Dr. Spec]

Originally posted by Early B.
Dr. Spec --

Just curious -- are you on SVS' payroll?

No. They are just a GREAT company - a bunch of enthusiasts and audio nuts who knew they could raise the miserably low OEM bar on subwoofers and keep jobs in the U.S., make consumers happy, and set a new industry standard for customer service - all in one fell swoop. SVS reminds me of the glory days of AR, Kloss, Advent when American audio companies cranked out stellar products at a fair price.

SVS products leave their like priced competitiors in the dust and compete with subs costing in some cases many times more. The performance value is only rivaled by DIY. I spread the word because SVS is GOOD STUFF and every other member on this forum who took my word for it is 100+% satisfied and is now also a believer. Comments like "the best $1200 I EVER spent" and "no other upgrade comes close" are common place with SVS owners.

If I was bullshitting about SVS, everyone would have figured it out by now and exposed me as a shill. But that won't happen because these are simply superior products for the money.

[pjdami]

Well, I got my STF-2 in about an hour ago. I have set it up in the living room with the LSi 15s. Have the system calibrated and have been listening to some two channel music for about 45 minutes. I will watch "Pirates of the Carribean" tonight and perhaps make some comparisons with the PSW-350.

Initial impressions are that the bass sounds very different from the PSW-350. Almost like at the same calibration level the bass doesn't attract much attention to itself at all (not boomy). Blends in effortlessly with the LSi's ... I can't even tell the sub is there or where the bass is coming from at all. ... and I haven't even starting experimenting with placement yet... just put it down on the floor next to my right LSi.

Doc, the woofer surround is made out of rubber and not foam. I was quite relieved to see this because I much prefer the rubber over foam for the reasons you listed earlier.

As you mentioned in a post earlier about two weeks ago, my choice to go with a Hsu right now was just to fill in a niche that was missing for me. I realize that this particular model is undersized for my living room, but I am hoping that it will outperform my PSW-350 or any entry level offerings from Velodyne which are readily availabe to me. Doc you are a solid anchor in this forum and I respect your opinion with no doubts. I have learned a lot from reading your posts and a SVS could certainly still be in my future as ultimately this Hsu sub will be relocated to my two channel rig in my home office.

I just think that this Hsu sub for $399 shipped is a great value and it fills the niche between what Polk has to offer and an entry level SVS. We'll see as I get acclaimated to this sub.

I think that there are a lot of folks who may want to spend $400 on a sub but may not want to dish out $650. I'm not one of them, I am fortunate enough to be able to afford a SVS or whatever offerings are at that level or higher, but this is kind of an experiment for me... a journey. Taking some baby steps first and experiencing it for myself before upgrading or moving on. A crazy example... I went through four receivers last year .. and now I'm on my fifth. Insane maybe.. but I have gained a lot of experience with some of the current offerings in electronics at the same time. Hurts the wallet a tad bit... but money is not the primary factor in some of these decisions that I have made.

Now I'm off to find that bass sweep cd that you generously shared with the forum...

[Dr. Spec]

Originally posted by pjdami
Initial impressions are that the bass sounds very different from the PSW-350. Almost like at the same calibration level the bass doesn't attract much attention to itself at all (not boomy). Blends in effortlessly with the LSi's ... I can't even tell the sub is there or where the bass is coming from at all. ... and I haven't even starting experimenting with placement yet... just put it down on the floor next to my right LSi.

Doc, the woofer surround is made out of rubber and not foam. I was quite relieved to see this because I much prefer the rubber over foam for the reasons you listed earlier.

As you mentioned in a post earlier about two weeks ago, my choice to go with a Hsu right now was just to fill in a niche that was missing for me.

You will find the STF-2 to have a flatter FR than the 350 without as much emphasis at 45 Hz and more extension too. I'm not surprised at your impressions.

Thanks for correcting that on the surround - I was nearly positive it used to be foam. Good deal - I like rubber better too!

I hope you like the STF-2; Hsu is a good subwoofer - very well regarded and reviewed. It should perform better than the 350 (and should for the price).