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Hsu hb1 -mk2

post #1 of 19
5/14/10 at 10:17pm
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Came across these and was wondering if anyone has them or has any opinions. They seem like they'd be nice. If there as good as the sub I got from them then I'm sold
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post #2 of 19
5/15/10 at 9:21am
Never heard them, but reviews say they are amazing for their price.
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post #3 of 19
5/15/10 at 12:18pm
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Originally Posted by najibs View Post

Never heard them, but reviews say they are amazing for their price.

yea thats what I read....I just was hoping someone would have them or have heard them
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post #4 of 19
5/15/10 at 2:22pm
I have the set, as in:

6 X HB1-Mk2 Satellites
1 X HC1-Mk2 Center
1 X VTF-Mk3 Sub

AKA Enthusiast 3 - A package deal.

They came with a 30 day no questions return policy as well as shipping both ways. After a handful of days I recycled the cardboard boxes since they are keepers. No regrets.

They shine. They are hooked up to an Onkyo receiver with 7.1 out. I have also hooked up a pair to a small SET amp and was amazed. They have the sensitivity to pair well with tubes. 92Db if I recall. Perfect for near field work hooked up to a decent DAC. They are meant, and designed for, a sub. Their bottom end is about 60 Hz.

Very musical. Not horny. Pleasant looking. Look far better than their price tag (I have the inexpensive (read cheap for me) satin black. IMHO they sound incrementally better with the grills off.

Only caveat is that there are no mounting holes for stands or brackets. One either drills carefully or (as I did) museum putty on the bottoms so that they don't levitate off of whatever they are sitting on. Sad when gravity takes over...

In other words, after a while, one forgets that one is listening to speakers because you are listening to music. Which is why we do what we do.
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post #5 of 19
5/15/10 at 4:05pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mhardyman View Post

I have the set, as in:

6 X HB1-Mk2 Satellites
1 X HC1-Mk2 Center
1 X VTF-Mk3 Sub

AKA Enthusiast 3 - A package deal.

They came with a 30 day no questions return policy as well as shipping both ways. After a handful of days I recycled the cardboard boxes since they are keepers. No regrets.

They shine. They are hooked up to an Onkyo receiver with 7.1 out. I have also hooked up a pair to a small SET amp and was amazed. They have the sensitivity to pair well with tubes. 92Db if I recall. Perfect for near field work hooked up to a decent DAC. They are meant, and designed for, a sub. Their bottom end is about 60 Hz.

Very musical. Not horny. Pleasant looking. Look far better than their price tag (I have the inexpensive (read cheap for me) satin black. IMHO they sound incrementally better with the grills off.

Only caveat is that there are no mounting holes for stands or brackets. One either drills carefully or (as I did) museum putty on the bottoms so that they don't levitate off of whatever they are sitting on. Sad when gravity takes over...

In other words, after a while, one forgets that one is listening to speakers because you are listening to music. Which is why we do what we do.

i'm more of a movie guy...prob 80-20 movies to music...I have the vtf2-mk3 sub and I love it....also forgot to mention it, I'll be using my onkyo 3007 till I can afford an amp
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post #6 of 19
5/15/10 at 5:11pm
You've kind of gotten me entrigued. How would Hsu speakers compare to something like a pair of Klipsch RB-51 or any of the reference line? I've always loved the detail and efficiency of the horn loaded Klipsch speakers, and found them great for certain rock/acoustical music (might of made that word up), but find them lacking in other areas music wise.

Not to mention the price does seem right for bookshelves with a 6.5'' driver.
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post #7 of 19
5/15/10 at 6:29pm
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Originally Posted by volsey View Post

You've kind of gotten me entrigued. How would Hsu speakers compare to something like a pair of Klipsch RB-51 or any of the reference line? I've always loved the detail and efficiency of the horn loaded Klipsch speakers, and found them great for certain rock/acoustical music (might of made that word up), but find them lacking in other areas music wise.

Not to mention the price does seem right for bookshelves with a 6.5'' driver.

This is what I'm thinking. I know a few ppl with the subs but no one with the bookshelfs
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post #8 of 19
5/15/10 at 8:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigdolf View Post

i'm more of a movie guy...prob 80-20 movies to music...I have the vtf2-mk3 sub and I love it....also forgot to mention it, I'll be using my onkyo 3007 till I can afford an amp

You won't need an external amp, the speakers are easy to drive, and you have a powered subwoofer. Spend that money on room treatments.
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post #9 of 19
5/15/10 at 8:35pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cschang View Post

You won't need an external amp, the speakers are easy to drive, and you have a powered subwoofer. Spend that money on room treatments.

I was over on the hsu forums and dr pete said the same thing....
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post #10 of 19
5/16/10 at 8:26am
I am a big fan of these speakers, to my ears they are terrific for movies and music. They have great dynamic response which makes them ideal for movies with wild soundtracks like action movies, science fiction, Pixar movies, etc. They are also superb for percussion heavy music like certain kinds of electronic music, and also performances like Blue Man Group and Stomp. They have even more "slam" than my Infinity P362 towers, they seem to bring more out of the peaks in soundtracks. Also they have very good bass for bookshelf speakers, with a lot of usable bass below 60 hertz, if you ever had to go without a sub.

Some of their disadvantages are they need a bit of space around them to sound their best, and you can not mount them directly against a wall since they are rear-ported. Also, I have found they don't do as well off-axis as my Behringer 2031p's or Infinity Primus speakers, which is something to think about if you have a wide listening area in a small room. I should say I do prefer my Behringer speakers for more critical listening, but for the most critical listening I use my Denon headphones. Sibilant recordings can be harsh to listen to with the Hsu's, but the Behringer's and Denon's also bring out that harshness, which means it is more the recording's fault, and the Hsu's are just playing back what is there.

The matte black finish on the Hsu's is actually very nice, they really vanish in low light conditions, which is good if you are using them with a projector system. The finish was so nice that I bought some speaker mounts which required drilling into the speaker, but when it came time to put the holes in, I just couldn't do it, and went out and bought more expensive clamp-style mounts instead! Also, like was said before, they are easy to drive, I have used them with a variety of amps and receivers, from 50 watt per channel to 200 watt per channel, and they sounded good with all of them. I actually enjoyed the HB-1's so much that I replaced my HB-1 front stage with all HC-1's, figuring that bigger is better, and now I have a pretty hard rockin' setup which I am more than happy with.
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post #11 of 19
5/16/10 at 9:14am
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Originally Posted by shadyJ View Post

I am a big fan of these speakers, to my ears they are terrific for movies and music. They have great dynamic response which makes them ideal for movies with wild soundtracks like action movies, science fiction, Pixar movies, etc. They are also superb for percussion heavy music like certain kinds of electronic music, and also performances like Blue Man Group and Stomp. They have even more "slam" than my Infinity P362 towers, they seem to bring more out of the peaks in soundtracks. Also they have very good bass for bookshelf speakers, with a lot of usable bass below 60 hertz, if you ever had to go without a sub.

Some of their disadvantages are they need a bit of space around them to sound their best, and you can not mount them directly against a wall since they are rear-ported. Also, I have found they don't do as well off-axis as my Behringer 2031p's or Infinity Primus speakers, which is something to think about if you have a wide listening area in a small room. I should say I do prefer my Behringer speakers for more critical listening, but for the most critical listening I use my Denon headphones. Sibilant recordings can be harsh to listen to with the Hsu's, but the Behringer's and Denon's also bring out that harshness, which means it is more the recording's fault, and the Hsu's are just playing back what is there.

The matte black finish on the Hsu's is actually very nice, they really vanish in low light conditions, which is good if you are using them with a projector system. The finish was so nice that I bought some speaker mounts which required drilling into the speaker, but when it came time to put the holes in, I just couldn't do it, and went out and bought more expensive clamp-style mounts instead! Also, like was said before, they are easy to drive, I have used them with a variety of amps and receivers, from 50 watt per channel to 200 watt per channel, and they sounded good with all of them. I actually enjoyed the HB-1's so much that I replaced my HB-1 front stage with all HC-1's, figuring that bigger is better, and now I have a pretty hard rockin' setup which I am more than happy with.

nice review, they sound like great speakers
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post #12 of 19
5/16/10 at 8:39pm
I've owned Spica TC-50's, Sound Dynamics 300ti's, and Energy Veritas 2.1's. Those were all driven with a Muse 100 amp and an Audible Illusions preamp. Those components are in storage now (no room in my little apartment for those + surround sound system for movies), so I'm driving the Hsu's with just an Onkyo TX-SR 606.

I liked all of those speakers, and I like these, too. I'm using them with a sub, as Hsu recommends. What strikes me is that the HB1-Mk2's do, indeed, tend to disappear and not call attention to themselves. Lows, midrange and highs are all nicely balanced; I'd be hard pressed to say which frequency range is their strong point. Imaging is good. These are my first horn speakers, and I have not heard any of the "honkiness" apparently associated with horn drivers. Factor in the price and these are a steal.

Highly recommended.
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post #13 of 19
5/22/10 at 6:38pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm going to give these guys a shot
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post #14 of 19
5/22/10 at 8:09pm
I too like my HSU's. Just for some reference here is a pic next to some other similar bookshelfs. The infamous Insignias NSB-2111's, the HSU's, some Energy RC-10's, and finally the Klipsch RB-61's. Good luck with your purchase.
LL
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post #15 of 19
9/1/11 at 4:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by shadyJ View Post

I am a big fan of these speakers, to my ears they are terrific for movies and music. They have great dynamic response which makes them ideal for movies with wild soundtracks like action movies, science fiction, Pixar movies, etc. They are also superb for percussion heavy music like certain kinds of electronic music, and also performances like Blue Man Group and Stomp. They have even more "slam" than my Infinity P362 towers, they seem to bring more out of the peaks in soundtracks. Also they have very good bass for bookshelf speakers, with a lot of usable bass below 60 hertz, if you ever had to go without a sub.

Some of their disadvantages are they need a bit of space around them to sound their best, and you can not mount them directly against a wall since they are rear-ported. Also, I have found they don't do as well off-axis as my Behringer 2031p's or Infinity Primus speakers, which is something to think about if you have a wide listening area in a small room. I should say I do prefer my Behringer speakers for more critical listening, but for the most critical listening I use my Denon headphones. Sibilant recordings can be harsh to listen to with the Hsu's, but the Behringer's and Denon's also bring out that harshness, which means it is more the recording's fault, and the Hsu's are just playing back what is there.

The matte black finish on the Hsu's is actually very nice, they really vanish in low light conditions, which is good if you are using them with a projector system. The finish was so nice that I bought some speaker mounts which required drilling into the speaker, but when it came time to put the holes in, I just couldn't do it, and went out and bought more expensive clamp-style mounts instead! Also, like was said before, they are easy to drive, I have used them with a variety of amps and receivers, from 50 watt per channel to 200 watt per channel, and they sounded good with all of them. I actually enjoyed the HB-1's so much that I replaced my HB-1 front stage with all HC-1's, figuring that bigger is better, and now I have a pretty hard rockin' setup which I am more than happy with.

Shadyj, can you elaborate on what you did in bold? Do you mean you replaced the HB-1's with HC-1's? Are you using the HC-1 centers as mains now?
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post #16 of 19
9/1/11 at 9:27pm
From what Shady said, it seems that he is using the HC1s for his mains. It is not uncommon for people to use "center" speakers as mains. It add's an extra driver.
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post #17 of 19
9/1/11 at 9:45pm
Don't the HC1's have an 'attached' stand to them? I've never seen one in person, but it seems pics of this speaker show something like that.
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post #18 of 19
9/1/11 at 9:59pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jephdood View Post

Don't the HC1's have an 'attached' stand to them? I've never seen one in person, but it seems pics of this speaker show something like that.

It's not attached to it but rather sits on it. There are a couple of grooves on the speaker that fit over two half circle protrusions on the stand. This allows the speaker to be angled up or down as needed too.

I posted this in another thread here having to do with the HB-1s...

Well, I returned one that was damaged in shipping. Hsu shipped me a new one the same day the damaged one was shipped back. Great service!
The finish is really nice. It's smooth to the touch and feels like the satin black. It's a pretty dark with a reddish tone to it, kind of like a spilled diet cherry dr pepper, but tastes more like regular dr pepper. In low light it almost looks black. I'll try to take a picture in the daytime.
I currently have them mounted upside down (Pete says it's fine and doesn't change the sound) on stands so that the horn is at ear level almost up against the wall and toed in pointing at the LP because they are pretty far apart due to a set of French doors on that wall. I'm debating whether to leave them on the stands, buy the wall mounts suggested by Hsu or build some shelves on the walls.
Anywho...so how do they sound? Well, they are the best sounding speakers I've ever owned. I put them through the paces and played everything from classical, bluegrass, acoustic, rock, metal, rap, r&b. All aspects sound very evenly balanced. The highs are right on, never too bright or harsh. The mids are accurate and strong sounding exactly like they should. The bass...oh the sweet sweet bass. I'll put it this way, I've always listened to my music in 2.1 with my vtf3.3 but since I've gotten these speakers I've changed to 2.0. Clear and undistorted regardless of volume.
Awesome speakers, great finish and excellent sound at a really good price. What's not to like?
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post #19 of 19
8/17/12 at 8:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jephdood View Post

Don't the HC1's have an 'attached' stand to them? I've never seen one in person, but it seems pics of this speaker show something like that.

Yes, there are two small mounts on the bottom of the HC-1 that are easily removed if you need to with a small phillips head . The mounts let the HC-1 sit on a stand that lets you adjust the angle for optimum directional setup.

I just picked up the Hybrid 3 package with VTF3-MK4 (which freaken rocks) 2 HB1s, 1 HC1 and two HIW1s. The HIW's are the same drivers as the HB1s but in wall mounted. I haven't installed the HIWs yet but the new sound stage made up of the two HSU bookshelfs and center plus the Sub completely blow away my old Polk RTi12s with the CSi5 Center and no Sub. My Yamaha RV867 was not powerful enough to really push the RTi12s, so I downsized to bookshelfs to save space, but the end result is a much better matched set of speakers that really shine across the entire frequency spectrum. Music and Blu Ray now sound like they were meant to sound, full range and powerful, without losing subtle details or any harsh sections. Love the HSU set, the VTF3-MK4 is crazy good, way powerful for things like Star Wars space flight scenes, and tight with "bassy" music like Stanley Clarke.

The whole set was ~$1600 (Rosenut) and I picked them up in person, but I highly recommend them. The bookshelfs alone are only $179 each but pick up the center too. Great timbre matched sound stage.
Edited by kicksavedave - 8/17/12 at 7:55pm
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