***Official HSU owners/support thread!*** - Page 191

Originally Posted by WhskyTangoFoxtrt 

I think Dr. Hsu answered your question. It is his recommendation, as designer of your subwoofer, to leave it 'ON' since it does not consume any additional power or affect the reliability of the amp. Using a splitter is a workaround that is just boosting the gain.
What are the levels in your AVR?
Where is your crossover?
Where is the LPF of LFE?

Originally Posted by Luke Kamp 

Better yet what sub is he using? Last I saw he wasn't currently using an HSU sub, probably why he didn't like the answer.
Shady has it right, adding a splitter will up the input. It would also work to lower the gain on the sub, and increase the receiver out level.
A splitter is a few bucks, Bond could always try if not getting the answer he wants.

Originally Posted by asere 

Ok now I have a question. I don't use a splitter just a straight digital coax cable from sub to avr. My question is do I need to leave sub ON, or Auto or does it matter in my case?

Originally Posted by asere 

Ok now I have a question. I don't use a splitter just a straight digital coax cable from sub to avr. My question is do I need to leave sub ON, or Auto or does it matter in my case?

Originally Posted by WhskyTangoFoxtrt 

I think Dr. Hsu answered your question. It is his recommendation, as designer of your subwoofer, to leave it 'ON' since it does not consume any additional power or affect the reliability of the amp. Using a splitter is a workaround that is just boosting the gain.
What are the levels in your AVR?
Where is your crossover?
Where is the LPF of LFE?

Originally Posted by WhskyTangoFoxtrt 

The trim is high due to the gain on the sub. You need to reduce it.
Are you using Dynamic EQ?

Originally Posted by Bond 007 

You are indeed correct. Partly. I just returned an stf2 and am currently using a Klipsch RW-12d. I didnt say that I didn't like the answer. I said that it did not answer the question. I asked twice if a splitter would increase the signal and cause the sub to come on at a lower volume. I did not ask if it was ok to leave the sub on or how much power it used in "standby" mode. My question has been asked by other people in other threads and there have been many different answers. I thought perhaps the good Dr. could provide a definitive answer. I just received a Mediabridges splitter from Amazon. For anyone else wondering, it does indeed provide more output from the sub. I turned the receiver from +2 to 0 and the sub from 0 to -2. This seems to provide roughly the same output. Thanks to all for the responses.

Originally Posted by WhskyTangoFoxtrt 

The trim is high due to the gain on the sub. You need to reduce it.
Are you using Dynamic EQ?

Originally Posted by Bond 007 

He said it does not consume any more power. He did not say that it does not affect the reliability of the amp. If both of those were the case then why even have an "auto" option? Just get rid of that and either have it off or on.

Originally Posted by petaylor 

I'm missing it, but I don't see what the frequency response is, for the VTF-3 MK4? It looks close to the MBM-12 MK2, which does 50 - 150 Hz with similar power specs.

Originally Posted by VeeArSix 

I recently got a VTF2-MK4 after my Epik Sentinel crapped out. I use my home theater for both music and movies. I use the front 2 speakers and sub for 2.1 channel listening through an Emotiva USP-1 pre-amp and use the home theater bypass feature on it to also use the front speakers for movies.

I set the gain on the sub to about 12 o'clock to get the bass level to my liking for listening to music. The problem is that when I did an Audyssey calibration (onkyo 707), It gave me a -15db trim level for the sub. I don't want to have to adjust the gain on the sub each time I switch from music listening to movies, so I looked into possible solutions and read up on attenuators to reduce the subwoofer signal level coming from the AVR.

1. Will a line level attenuator work on the sub output?
2. If so, will it in any way damage the sub?
3. If this is safe to use on the sub. I looked up a few on Amazon (links below). Any suggestions on choosing between the 6db or 12 db?

http://www.amazon.com/Harrison-Labs-Line-Level-Attenuator/dp/B0006N41AG
http://www.amazon.com/Harrison-Labs-Line-Level-Attenuator/dp/B0006N41B0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_1


And just for reference, the room is 13 x 17ft with openings to the hallway and kitchen.
media_room.pdf 216k .pdf file

Originally Posted by VeeArSix 

I recently got a VTF2-MK4 after my Epik Sentinel crapped out. I use my home theater for both music and movies. I use the front 2 speakers and sub for 2.1 channel listening through an Emotiva USP-1 pre-amp and use the home theater bypass feature on it to also use the front speakers for movies.
I set the gain on the sub to about 12 o'clock to get the bass level to my liking for listening to music. The problem is that when I did an Audyssey calibration (onkyo 707), It gave me a -15db trim level for the sub. I don't want to have to adjust the gain on the sub each time I switch from music listening to movies, so I looked into possible solutions and read up on attenuators to reduce the subwoofer signal level coming from the AVR.
1. Will a line level attenuator work on the sub output?
2. If so, will it in any way damage the sub?
3. If this is safe to use on the sub. I looked up a few on Amazon (links below). Any suggestions on choosing between the 6db or 12 db?
http://www.amazon.com/Harrison-Labs-Line-Level-Attenuator/dp/B0006N41AG
http://www.amazon.com/Harrison-Labs-Line-Level-Attenuator/dp/B0006N41B0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_1
And just for reference, the room is 13 x 17ft with openings to the hallway and kitchen.
media_room.pdf 216k .pdf file

Originally Posted by Tom C 

-15 means that you sub volume is too high. It’s reducing the sub channel level to compensate. You should turn down the volume on the sub and rerun Audyessy until the level in the AVR is plus or minus 3.
If you like your bass louder for music I would think that raising the level in the AVR would be the best way. Then you can get the level back correctly for movies. If you adjust the volume on the sub it’ll be difficult to get it back to the original calibrated position.

Originally Posted by WhskyTangoFoxtrt 

It's on the product page:
16 Hz Ported, 22 Hz Ported or Sealed
The MBM-12 is a mid-bass module and like you discovered, will reproduce 50-150 HZ.

Originally Posted by WhskyTangoFoxtrt 

Sorry. This was not directed in your direction.
True. He did say it here though:
http://www.avsforum.com/t/808485/official-hsu-owners-support-thread/2910#post_18642341
This is directly from the manual under troubleshooting:
"...turn the subwoofer ON/AUTO/OFF switch to the ON position. It does not use any more power and does not affect reliability."
When I read the above, it struck me odd that it even has an AUTO if that is the case, so I emailed Dr. Hsu about it.
Here is the wording of my Question and his answer:
Q:
"I noticed in the troubleshooting section that if you set the subwoofer to “ON” rather than “AUTO” it does not use any more power and does not affect reliability. So my question is, if that is true, is there any advantage at all to using the “AUTO” setting?"
A:
Poh S Hsu: "I personally would simply set it to 'on'. Some customers feel comforted to have an auto mode, so we provided one."
As mentioned, it's also in the Owners Manual of the sub you purchased.

Originally Posted by Bond 007 

Thanks

Originally Posted by VeeArSix 



That's the issue, I don't want to turn the down the volume on the sub. The AVR isn't on when I listen to music, I listen to music through an Emotiva USP-1 pre-amp which doesn't let me adjust the bass level, which is why I have to manually set it on the sub. If I turn down the volume on the sub for movies, then I have to manually turn it up for music.

Originally Posted by asere 

Is having the sub gain at 9 o'clock and avr dbs at +/-3 the same as having the gain at 10 o'clock with avr dbs at+/-3 as far as volume goes?

Originally Posted by VeeArSix 

That's the issue, I don't want to turn the down the volume on the sub. The AVR isn't on when I listen to music, I listen to music through an Emotiva USP-1 pre-amp which doesn't let me adjust the bass level, which is why I have to manually set it on the sub. If I turn down the volume on the sub for movies, then I have to manually turn it up for music.

Originally Posted by Tom C 

It would be louder at 10 o'clock.
I could be wrong, but I suspect that you might be still a bit confused, so if you’ll please bear with me. Setting the sub at 9 o’clock with one port open, EQ1 and Q=0.7 is a starting point for running something like Audyssey. Once you've run it you then check where the receiver set the sub level. Ideally you want it to be somewhere between +/- 3 dB. If it’s more than that in the positive direction that means that the sub volume is too low. The receiver is raising the sub level to compensate for it. You then turn up the sub volume a little bit and rerun Audyssey. Repeat till the sub level in the receiver is +/- 3 dB. If it’s in the negative direction that means the sub volume is too high. You then lower the sub volume and rerun Audyssey till you’re in the +/- 3 dB range. Ideally the sub volume should be at 9 o’clock, but due to varying factors (room acoustics, distance, etc.) it can be +/- in either direction.
If I remember correctly, when you have the receiver at +/- 3 dB for the sub level in the receiver the volume on the sub itself is something like 10-10:30. That’s kind of high. So if you haven’t already, post a sketch of your layout with measurements so the good doctor and others can give you some suggestions on how to get the volume on the sub closer to 9 with the receiver sub level at +/- 3 dB. This may include moving the sub to a different location.
When that is done then you can look at changing the one port open, EQ1 and Q=0.7 configuration to suit your tastes (unless you’ve already done that per suggestions from Dr. Hsu).
I hope this helps.

Originally Posted by neo samurai 

Just looking for some input from you guys. Looking at replacing an older 10" klipsch sub. The candidates I'm deciding between are: Hsu VTF-2 MK 4 and the Epik Legend. The Epik is on sale right now for $399 + free shipping. The Hsu is also on sale but for $519 + $64 for shipping. I haven't heard either sub. Just looking for some good feedback. Thanks

Originally Posted by neo samurai 

Just looking for some input from you guys. Looking at replacing an older 10" klipsch sub. The candidates I'm deciding between are: Hsu VTF-2 MK 4 and the Epik Legend. The Epik is on sale right now for $399 + free shipping. The Hsu is also on sale but for $519 + $64 for shipping. I haven't heard either sub. Just looking for some good feedback. Thanks

Originally Posted by VeeArSix 

I recently got a VTF2-MK4 after my Epik Sentinel crapped out. I use my home theater for both music and movies. I use the front 2 speakers and sub for 2.1 channel listening through an Emotiva USP-1 pre-amp and use the home theater bypass feature on it to also use the front speakers for movies.
I set the gain on the sub to about 12 o'clock to get the bass level to my liking for listening to music. The problem is that when I did an Audyssey calibration (onkyo 707), It gave me a -15db trim level for the sub. I don't want to have to adjust the gain on the sub each time I switch from music listening to movies, so I looked into possible solutions and read up on attenuators to reduce the subwoofer signal level coming from the AVR.
1. Will a line level attenuator work on the sub output?
2. If so, will it in any way damage the sub?
3. If this is safe to use on the sub. I looked up a few on Amazon (links below). Any suggestions on choosing between the 6db or 12 db?
http://www.amazon.com/Harrison-Labs-Line-Level-Attenuator/dp/B0006N41AG
http://www.amazon.com/Harrison-Labs-Line-Level-Attenuator/dp/B0006N41B0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_e_1
And just for reference, the room is 13 x 17ft with openings to the hallway and kitchen.
media_room.pdf 216k .pdf file

Originally Posted by Tom C 

-15 means that you sub volume is too high. It’s reducing the sub channel level to compensate. You should turn down the volume on the sub and rerun Audyessy until the level in the AVR is plus or minus 3.
If you like your bass louder for music I would think that raising the level in the AVR would be the best way. Then you can get the level back correctly for movies. If you adjust the volume on the sub it’ll be difficult to get it back to the original calibrated position.

Originally Posted by VeeArSix 

That's the issue, I don't want to turn the down the volume on the sub. The AVR isn't on when I listen to music, I listen to music through an Emotiva USP-1 pre-amp which doesn't let me adjust the bass level, which is why I have to manually set it on the sub. If I turn down the volume on the sub for movies, then I have to manually turn it up for music.

Originally Posted by Tom C 

Oh, well then, never mind. That's above my pay grade.

Originally Posted by WhskyTangoFoxtrt 

Easy decision now. Epik Legends are sold out.

So now I will look into the SVS Pb 1000 as well.

Originally Posted by eljaycanuck 

IMO, you should seriously look into it before end of day today, because that's when the free return shipping offer ends.
The PB-1000, according to Ed Mullen of SVS, is comparable to the PB12-NSD in all ways except for maximum output - to me, that means it's a solid performer. It costs $499, shipped, so it's a good value. And with free return shipping, there's no risk involved in demo-ing one.
If you like it, you're set; if you don't like it, it cost you nothing other than a bit of time and effort.
Just my 2¢...

Originally Posted by shadyJ 

Performance wise it is not going to match the VTF2, but since return shipping is free, there is no risk. Its specs are almost identical to a VTF1.

Originally Posted by eljaycanuck 

IMO, the PB-1000 is a much closer match - if not an outright superior sub - to the VTF-2..