Post by sme on Sept 15, 2014 1:42:21 GMT -5
I am a big fan of Hsu Research subs, owning a total of 4, a VTF-3MK4, a VTF-15H, and 2 MBM-12MK2s.
Let me ask you though: how ambitious are you? My experience has shown me that the quality of the room, placement, and integration with the mains speakers can be just as important as the quality of the subs. Even the tightest sub on the planet can sound boomy if there are setup or room problems. Some people recommend going with a pair of subs, and in many cases, this is a very good idea. However, depending on setup and placement, two subs can be *worse* than one, and to get the most out of multiple subs, it can take a fair amount of effort (and flexibility with regard to placement) to get the best results. For me, this has been a multiple year process (!) as I made many stupid mistakes and (eventually) learned of them and corrected them. The performance difference is not at all subtle. Bass is the hardest sound to get right in a small room environment.
If you want easier setup and an excellent single sub consider the Hsu ULS-15. The VTF-15H and VTF-3MK4 are also very nice for music, particularly in the 1-port open mode, and they will hold up better to home theater use if you ever did go that direction. You may also consider the less expensive Hsu VTF and STF subs as they will likely provide more than enough output too. Since I don't own any of them, however, I cannot tell you how musical they sound. I do prefer the sound of my VTF subs when running with 1-port open and 16 Hz tuning over 2-ports open and 22 Hz tuning. This doesn't mean that the lower priced subs that are tuned to higher frequencies will necessarily sound worse, because it depends on other design factors.
I believe it is a misconception that sealed sub designs play tighter than ported designs. The transient response of any sub depends on the particulars of the design. What can be said is that it is easier for a novice designer to achieve a tight response with a sealed design than with a ported design. It can also be said that it's not hard to design a ported sub with a high Q response peak that gives high SPL but terrible transient response. The fact that many buyers are courted by high SPL rather than accuracy or transient response means there's a proliferation of such ported subs, which is probably why ported subs generally have a bad reputation.
If your placement options are flexible, and you are willing to invest a bit more time and effort to set up a pair of subs, then you can potentially get a smoother response over a wider listening area using two or more identical subs instead of one. As I said above, the actual result depends on placement and integration. It's usually best if the subs are placed approximately the same distance from the main listening position, unless you have some way to delay the signal to one independent of the other as can be done with the XMC-1 and other high end AVRs and pre-amps. The subs also usually perform better if they are gain matched, which requires at least an SPL meter.
Lastly, if you are willing to go through more effort to integrate them, pairing a Hsu MBM with any other sub can potentially give phenomenal music performance. Depending on your room and setup, this may work best with the MBM right behind your sofa or listening chair and the other sub in a corner. With the sub and MBM being at different distances, the ability to use different delays for each signal is a must for the best integration. The MBM is a very fast sub, but it is only designed to play down to 50 Hz and needs a full-range sub to handle the bottom end. I absolutely love the sound of my MBMs, and highly recommend them with the caveat that integrating one or more MBMs requires more effort than for a single sub or dual identical subs.
Let me ask you though: how ambitious are you? My experience has shown me that the quality of the room, placement, and integration with the mains speakers can be just as important as the quality of the subs. Even the tightest sub on the planet can sound boomy if there are setup or room problems. Some people recommend going with a pair of subs, and in many cases, this is a very good idea. However, depending on setup and placement, two subs can be *worse* than one, and to get the most out of multiple subs, it can take a fair amount of effort (and flexibility with regard to placement) to get the best results. For me, this has been a multiple year process (!) as I made many stupid mistakes and (eventually) learned of them and corrected them. The performance difference is not at all subtle. Bass is the hardest sound to get right in a small room environment.
If you want easier setup and an excellent single sub consider the Hsu ULS-15. The VTF-15H and VTF-3MK4 are also very nice for music, particularly in the 1-port open mode, and they will hold up better to home theater use if you ever did go that direction. You may also consider the less expensive Hsu VTF and STF subs as they will likely provide more than enough output too. Since I don't own any of them, however, I cannot tell you how musical they sound. I do prefer the sound of my VTF subs when running with 1-port open and 16 Hz tuning over 2-ports open and 22 Hz tuning. This doesn't mean that the lower priced subs that are tuned to higher frequencies will necessarily sound worse, because it depends on other design factors.
I believe it is a misconception that sealed sub designs play tighter than ported designs. The transient response of any sub depends on the particulars of the design. What can be said is that it is easier for a novice designer to achieve a tight response with a sealed design than with a ported design. It can also be said that it's not hard to design a ported sub with a high Q response peak that gives high SPL but terrible transient response. The fact that many buyers are courted by high SPL rather than accuracy or transient response means there's a proliferation of such ported subs, which is probably why ported subs generally have a bad reputation.
If your placement options are flexible, and you are willing to invest a bit more time and effort to set up a pair of subs, then you can potentially get a smoother response over a wider listening area using two or more identical subs instead of one. As I said above, the actual result depends on placement and integration. It's usually best if the subs are placed approximately the same distance from the main listening position, unless you have some way to delay the signal to one independent of the other as can be done with the XMC-1 and other high end AVRs and pre-amps. The subs also usually perform better if they are gain matched, which requires at least an SPL meter.
Lastly, if you are willing to go through more effort to integrate them, pairing a Hsu MBM with any other sub can potentially give phenomenal music performance. Depending on your room and setup, this may work best with the MBM right behind your sofa or listening chair and the other sub in a corner. With the sub and MBM being at different distances, the ability to use different delays for each signal is a must for the best integration. The MBM is a very fast sub, but it is only designed to play down to 50 Hz and needs a full-range sub to handle the bottom end. I absolutely love the sound of my MBMs, and highly recommend them with the caveat that integrating one or more MBMs requires more effort than for a single sub or dual identical subs.
