About 6 months ago I took my first leap into home theater. My budget wasn't huge, but I think I was able to get a pretty good starter setup. For $700 I got 2x Monitor 50s, 2x Monitor 30s, a CS1 center, and a PSW110 subwoofer (all Polk Audio). And I got a Marantz SR4500 receiver.

Anyway, the I got the sub for free as part of a promotion Polk was offering at the time. I know it's not a great sub, so I always planned on upgrading it to something better. The problem is, I'm very new to all of this, so I'm not sure what to get.

I have been strongly considering either the HSU STF-2 or the Hsu VTF-1. Why these? Well, I've heard great things about Hsu subs, and also they are within my budget. The absolute most I can spend on a sub right now is $400. BUt my question is, will either of these subs blow away the PSW110 that I currently have? Or will it just be a modest upgrade? If it's not a night and day difference, I'm not sure it would be worth it for me to upgrade at this time.

Thanks a lot.

Yes, those subs will offer a substantial performance increase over your Polk sub.

The Polk sub's specs have an "overall frequency response" of 32-250Hz, but with a lower -3dB limit of 38Hz, you aren't getting ANY of that 20-30Hz region where you can experience those ultralow rumbles from explosions and so on. That sub is actually inhibiting you from having a really dynamic movie experience.

Both of the HSU subs you listed will get you much more usable output into the mid-20Hz region than with that Polk sub. However, if you're looking for a LOT more SPL gain, I might suggest you look at Elemental Designs and their A2-300 subwoofer (http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_41&products_id=407). I think they're on sale for around $315, so that might be worth checking out. I also think that shipping is included in the cost of the sub, so you would come in under budget. Just something else to think about...

Overall, I think whatever sub you get will be a great update over that Polk sub. You will not only get much greater bass extension and SPL at lower frequencies, but I bet you'll notice much tighter and cleaner bass on music as well. Good luck!

-Tyler

Thanks a lot, Tyler. Now I think I'm going to go with the A2-300. Hoping it will make a big difference.