Hello - I Need Some Help Deciding On A Subwoofer Please

Of the HSU, I'd go with the VTF15.

OK. First Off...speaker cables? Um www.monoprice.com see my other thread on how to make AWESOME cables! (speaker or interconnects) cheaply

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1301573
I made these 2 speaker cables for around $10.00 total!!!


Second, you can get an INCREDIBLE Elemental Designs A7S-450 18" 1300watt sub for $850.00 and that INCLUDES shipping! So...you are really only paying about $700.00 for that sub...now that my friend is almost impossible to beat!!!

And the beauty of it all is you do their advertising for free. I love it.

Now for a fair list of options, not a you should get what I have recommendation.

HSU VTF 15H- Great sub for HT, good sub for music. Ports can be plugged for music or allowed to howl for HT. Price is good but not great when compared to others in it's price range. Might be a it underpowered with a 350 watt amp but it's enough to meet spl goals reportedly. Great finish and build quality that HSU is known for.

ED A7s-450- Very powerful 18 sealed sub that has good sound quality for music and goes deep and loud for HT. It's the clearcut best bang for buck sub in it's $850 price range. Quality and build quality is also excellent. Matte black finish is no frills but simple and clean.

CHT 18.1- Powerful downfiring 18" sub with 500 watt Dayton SA-1000 external amp. Sub is very musical and is also great with HT. CHT is a fairly new company so they are experiencing growing pains right now. There have been a few issues with overall finish quality so there is B stock sale on all of there 18.1 version 1 and 2 subs right now. They are great performers but if you want a clearcut refined finish you might have to look elsewhere. However the in home trial and full warranty still applies to these B stock units.

http://www.chasehometheater.com/inde...art&Itemid=109

http://www.chasehometheater.com/inde...art&Itemid=119


ED A5-350 is a great all around performing ported 15" sub that I would strongly recommend for gaming and movies. It can easily pressurize most small and medium rooms and is ready to go for $800 including shipping.

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...roducts_id=618

Outlaw LFM-1 EX is a fairly high powered downfiring 12" subwoofer that I would also suggest for gaming and movies. It's been a solid all around performer for a number of years here. Many members are happy owners of this sub. It's going for $649 plus shipping.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/lfmEX.html

Dayton T1503A subwoofer. This subwoofer is definitely a output monster from around 27 hz and up. However it's outputs starts to drop rapidly below 25hz. It's a very tight,musical sub that can easily pound the hell out of a medium to large room at higher volume levels. It's going for $900 shipped right now at partsexpress.com. But it might go on sale again. It's last sale price was $699 shipped which was a steal for this subwoofer.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-765

Epik Empire is a dual 15" sealed subwoofer that is excellent with music and very good for movies. It's sound quality is well regarded by many members here. It's going for a little over $900 shipped right now. Epik's build quality is known to be quite refined.

Epik Legend is a dual 12" subwoofer that is excellent for music and gaming and is around $600 plus shipping. However EPIK is out of stock at this time.

http://epiksubwoofers.com/legend.html

Cerwin Vega XLS-15S

Good sub for music and HT but it won't go as deep as the aforementioned subs on the list. But it will give you good output for $419 shipped. You could even get two of them which would be great for gaming.

http://www.a1components.com/itemdisp...spx?item=12630

Also if you don't want to spend a lot of dough but still want decent to good lfe you could trying duals or quads of cheaper subs such as:

Bic V-1220
Premier Accoustic PA-120

No problem at all Oldskool. I'm still adding more so you might want to recheck my edited post in a few minutes.

1475 sq. ft., how tall are your ceilings? Looks like you are over 10000 cu. ft. You are not going to have much room gain. I would strongly consider a ported sub for that size of room.

"2 DCM KX12 Series 2 Floor Standing Loudspeakers with a 12" sub, 6" mid and a 3/4" bullet horn tweeter in each of them"
If you go to the part of the room that is farthest from your subwoofer, how well do you hear it? Your room is huge.

You might consider one Hsu VTF-15H for now and consider getting another one later.

That's pretty low to say without something to back it up dude. Where's your proof they are in any financial trouble???!!! I think you are full of sh*t pesonally just for saying something as stupid as that.

ah. my apologies then...but it's still not right to even post that here....especially since it's absolute BS.

hey he asked, it fit his budget, and as you said in the $850.00 price range it's pretty much unbeatable.

and if you don't like my cable suggestion (not sure why you wouldn't my friend) you are the odd man out on that one. check my thread..lots of positive responses there. Lots of people very happy that I've made it so easy to make great cables cheaply. again...

anything you are leaning toward, just curious. What are your priorities and in what order? looks, size, accuracy, pure output?
I just bought on a $1000 budget and went with the Rythmik F15SE. My room is smaller though. I picked based on the following preferences listed in order of importance to me.

accuracy
appearance
output

I was debating between all the same subs that have been suggested to you.

If the size doesn't both you, I would go with the VTF-15H. I disagree with an above assesment of this sub regarding its value, because if Hsu's claimed performance specs are correct, this is an fantastically good value, this sub is almost matching output numbers of the vaunted SVS PB13 Ultra which costs twice as much. What else at $1k even comes close? With adjustable Q and variable tuning, you can make it sound as tight, as massive, or as thunderous as you want, you customize the sound. One of the most brilliant minds in subwoofer design spent two years creating it, and I think the measurements and features demonstrate that.

Same thing with me... I could get Velodyne locally, but based on what I have read around AVS... the Velodyne subwoofer at the $1000 price range isn't as good as the internet direct companies that you have listed at the same price point. I believed them for this sole reason... With most anything when there is a middleman involved you are paying more. I'm not saying Velodyne is bad. I actually have heard them and think they are great, but for what you are paying I think the ID companies are probably a better value(bang for buck). This is solely based off of reading on AVS though and I put my trust into that everyone knew what they are talking about since I have not heard them myself. I would be more hesitant if it were a speaker, but I was WAY more willing to take a shot on a sub. Just something to think about as I really dont care what you get.

Surprisingly, they still have not hired shady for their PR vacancy.

Seriously though, at this point I would suggest you call up each of the manufacturers and attempt to arrange for a free - including freight - 30 day audition of the different models suggested. And make this decision by ear-say instead of hear-say...

* don't forget to set up each sub and recalibrate the receiver before playing your favorite audition tracks/scenes/etc. to give each sub a fair shake.

I wouldn't go as far as calling it hearsay. If you take everything you read with a grain of salt I believe you can get a pretty good indication what each brand has to offer. Subs go boom boom. Some go boom boom more accurately and louder than others. If you do your research I think you can narrow it down to a winner and be confident that what you will be getting will be outstanding. That's not to say an in home trial is a bad idea though. Actually it is probably good advice if you can do it for free and don't mind going through the work to ship it back.

Amplifier watts don't mean much. You should see what kind bass a klipschorn can put out with just 10 watts, or a Danley DTS 10 for that matter. Measurements are all that matter in the end. Compare a VTF-15H with a Sunfire TS-EQ12. The Sunfire sub might have a 2700 watt rms amp, but the VTF will still walk all over it as far as max clean output, even though the VTF's amp is only rated at 350 watts rms. The sunfire is not a bad sub at all, but it is relatively inefficient which is the trade-off for it's small size. I believe it is also much more expensive, another unavoidable trade-off for getting a large sound out of a small box.

What counts is not how much amplifier power a sub has, but how efficiently that power is used.

It was for the sole purpose of providing contrast to my play on words regarding "ear-say" .vs. "hear-say" on an audiophile forum.

Well being 1475 cu. ft. changes things on my recommendation. My next question is the room sealed or open to other rooms. If it is a sealed room of that size I change my recommendation to a sealed sub as the room will help match the rolloff of a sealed sub (you will have good extension with room gain). I would take off the velodyne subs as I truly feel they just don't compete dollar for dollar with the overhead they have to cover unless you know how to get a great deal. Next you have to decide if you want it now or wait for it to be available/built (eD and Epik possible wait right now?). If I was getting a sub for a 1475 cu. ft. sealed room that was not going to be used for HT much, I would take a long look at the Rythmic sealed subs as everyone praises the accuracy. That being said I have same size room that is open to large basement and picked up the VTF-15H. I doubt any of the others you are looking at will match its output down to its tuning (you will definitely FEEL the racing games), and it has great SQ with several setup options.

It doesn't make a lot of sense to post the sensitivity of powered subs, there are too many variables with a onboard amp. And most sub companies do not post the FR charts, and those that do don't usually post max clean output. Hsu, on the other hand, has made their measurements of the VTF-15H available:

I honestly don't think any of the other subs you are considering could even achieve half that. However, that is probably a lot more output capability than you need. But than again, it's always nice to have the extra headroom, in case you want to impress your friends. It's a much more powerful sub than even the more expensive ULS-15, and the ULS is a powerful subwoofer.

Wow in your first 5 or 6 posts you have proven to be exactly the kind of member that makes to the AVS forum so worthwhile to read by ranting about an offsite video and then spreading unfounded rumors about a manufacturer plus you have the gall to fight with someone about it when you are called on it.
I find it unfortunate that you cannot adequately express yourself with the use of mild curse words too.
Welcome to the fray, there is a segment of the population that you will fit right in with.