3HO vs. svs isd/2

[greddy09sc]

My 3HO came in yesterday. Fedex said it was delivered via email but i did not see the package on my door. Around 10pm, my neighbor told me he have something for me. It was the 3HO. This is after callling fedex and telling them to do a search. Oh well, i got it now.

I initially had the isd/2 but returned it due to some minor problems. The 3HO has much cleaner and tighter bass. On the svs, I had to turn up the volume to hear the tight bass.
My living room is carpeted. 40 x 30 with cathedral ceiling. Opens straight into kitchen. The svs bass was kinda muddy. I think it was because it is a down firing sub. I think this is the reason why it sound like this.

I think the svs gave higher decibals but the bass was muddy. I rather have lower decibals, but cleaner, impact bass.

For the average person, I can't tell the difference with or without the turbo. The turbo is an eyesore though. I might just leave the turbo out. But, that would be a waste of $120. I'm just a little confuse about that part.

Overall, I like the 3HO alot better. I will play with it some more tonight and put my review here.

Thanks for a great subwoofer hsu! I don't think i will need to return this on like i did with the svs.
Don't get me wrong, svs is still a great company and they have great subwoofers.

[cschang]

calibrated and at "normal" listening levels, there should not be much difference between a HO/Turbo and HO. As listening levels get louder, that is where you will hear the difference.

Wow...you got a HUGE living room!

[Pete_Hsu]

I am thrilled and yet again humbled by these first impressions, Greddy, thank you very very much!

What are your impressions of maximum output mode vs extended bass mode in general?

Purchasing the turbocharger with subwoofer is a good investment, because it only costs $100 extra. If one decides that they don't need it or want it, then it should be easy to sell for more than that $100, and there is a chance that some money will even be gained in the process!

Thank you again, and congratulations on receiving the sub!

Sincerely,

[greddy09sc]

OK, about my comments on the turbo from my original post, i take that back. After listening for a couple of hours without the turbo and then trying it with the turbo, it sounds a hell of a lot better.

With the turbo, it just makes everything louder. Giving higher Decibal and lower hz. And still keeping the clean tight bass. It's like turning on the "extended bass" button.

I played a scene in Finding Nemo, where Darla tapped the tank. I did not feel much of the bass on this scene but let me tell you, the whole house was shaking. My jaws just dropped. It felt like it was thundering outside. The glass in the kitchen fell and broke. Unbelievable! My wife yelled at me. But that's OK. It was worth it. I played the scene over and over.

How can a box that small shake my house? I just don't understand.

Very Impressive Dr. HSU.

[DrewB]

That's it! I'm ordering Finding Nemo for the weekend! :D

[jbhungvt]

I played a scene in Finding Nemo, where Darla tapped the tank. I did not feel much of the bass on this scene but let me tell you, the whole house was shaking.

So are you saying that you can't feel the bass without the turbo and can with the Turbo? If that's true, I find it hard to believe because with my VTF-3 MKII, I feel a lot of bass with this scene.

[Pete_Hsu]

OK, about my comments on the turbo from my original post, i take that back. After listening for a couple of hours without the turbo and then trying it with the turbo, it sounds a hell of a lot better.

With the turbo, it just makes everything louder. Giving higher Decibal and lower hz. And still keeping the clean tight bass. It's like turning on the "extended bass" button.

I played a scene in Finding Nemo, where Darla tapped the tank. I did not feel much of the bass on this scene but let me tell you, the whole house was shaking. My jaws just dropped. It felt like it was thundering outside. The glass in the kitchen fell and broke. Unbelievable! My wife yelled at me. But that's OK. It was worth it. I played the scene over and over.

How can a box that small shake my house? I just don't understand.

Very Impressive Dr. HSU.

Awesome greddy, it appears that you may not want to sell the turbocharger after all! Sorry about the glass though :) I am sure that Dr. Hsu will be quite appreciative and humbled to read all of this (well, at least everything other than the part about getting yelled at by the significant other)!

Sincerely,

[joeongaro]

This review doesn't make any sense.


My 3HO came in yesterday. Fedex said it was delivered via email but i did not see the package on my door. Around 10pm, my neighbor told me he have something for me. It was the 3HO. This is after callling fedex and telling them to do a search. Oh well, i got it now.

I initially had the isd/2 but returned it due to some minor problems. The 3HO has much cleaner and tighter bass. On the svs, I had to turn up the volume to hear the tight bass.

Wouldn't turning up the bass cause it to become more distorted? Either the bass is articulate or it isn't.

My living room is carpeted. 40 x 30 with cathedral ceiling. Opens straight into kitchen. The svs bass was kinda muddy. I think it was because it is a down firing sub. I think this is the reason why it sound like this.

But you said you had to turn the volume up to make it tighter. You contradict yourself a bit.

I think the svs gave higher decibals but the bass was muddy. I rather have lower decibals, but cleaner, impact bass.

For the average person, I can't tell the difference with or without the turbo. The turbo is an eyesore though. I might just leave the turbo out. But, that would be a waste of $120. I'm just a little confuse about that part.

the turbo isn't intended to make it sound different, it just extends the ports so that it will go lower. by using the turbo, you go lower at the expense of going louder.

Overall, I like the 3HO alot better. I will play with it some more tonight and put my review here.

Thanks for a great subwoofer hsu! I don't think i will need to return this on like i did with the svs.
Don't get me wrong, svs is still a great company and they have great subwoofers.

[joeongaro]

OK, about my comments on the turbo from my original post, i take that back. After listening for a couple of hours without the turbo and then trying it with the turbo, it sounds a hell of a lot better.

?????? technically speaking, i would imagine it would sound better without the turbo. Not that I've done extensive testing with and without, but I don't think Dr. Hsu would put out a product that had such a dramatice difference between turbo and non turbo.

With the turbo, it just makes everything louder. Giving higher Decibal and lower hz. And still keeping the clean tight bass. It's like turning on the "extended bass" button.

Testing has already shown that the turbo reduces SPL's but goes lower.

I played a scene in Finding Nemo, where Darla tapped the tank. I did not feel much of the bass on this scene but let me tell you, the whole house was shaking. My jaws just dropped. It felt like it was thundering outside. The glass in the kitchen fell and broke. Unbelievable! My wife yelled at me. But that's OK. It was worth it. I played the scene over and over.

How can a box that small shake my house? I just don't understand.

Very Impressive Dr. HSU.

I'm not sure how much faith I put in this review. The sub is fantastic but I feel this guy might be misleading people as to why it is so great by not being able to convey properly what this sub can do or how it sounds.

[Pete_Hsu]

Joe, I feel that maybe you are misinterpreting greddy's words. I believe that when he said "I had to turn up the volume to hear tight bass", he means that with the VTF-3 HO, perceived definition and impact were better at lower volume levels. Also, with turbocharger vs. maximum output mode, you do lose some output over the common operating range, but you gain significant output in the deep bass. So in that sense, in the deep bass, turbocharger will actually increase SPL.

The difference when moving from maximum output mode to extended bass mode in general can be quite noticeable depending on the demo material, since extension is significantly lower and deep bass output is improved.

Sincerely,

[greddy09sc]

Joe, I feel that maybe you are misinterpreting greddy's words. I believe that when he said "I had to turn up the volume to hear tight bass", he means that with the VTF-3 HO, perceived definition and impact were better at lower volume levels. Also, with turbocharger vs. maximum output mode, you do lose some output over the common operating range, but you gain significant output in the deep bass. So in that sense, in the deep bass, turbocharger will actually increase SPL.

The difference when moving from maximum output mode to extended bass mode in general can be quite noticeable depending on the demo material, since extension is significantly lower and deep bass output is improved.

Sincerely,

That is correct Peter. I did not really fell the bass at low volume on the svs as with the HO.

[greddy09sc]

This review doesn't make any sense.

My 3HO came in yesterday. Fedex said it was delivered via email but i did not see the package on my door. Around 10pm, my neighbor told me he have something for me. It was the 3HO. This is after callling fedex and telling them to do a search. Oh well, i got it now.

I initially had the isd/2 but returned it due to some minor problems. The 3HO has much cleaner and tighter bass. On the svs, I had to turn up the volume to hear the tight bass.

Wouldn't turning up the bass cause it to become more distorted? Either the bass is articulate or it isn't.

It did not become distorted when I turned up the volume in the 3HO. NOTE: i am not talking about turning up the gain. I currently have the gain set at 8 o'clock

My living room is carpeted. 40 x 30 with cathedral ceiling. Opens straight into kitchen. The svs bass was kinda muddy. I think it was because it is a down firing sub. I think this is the reason why it sound like this.

But you said you had to turn the volume up to make it tighter. You contradict yourself a bit.

I had to turn up the volume to make it sound tighter with the svs where as I can feel the 3HO bass being "tight" at low volume.

I think the svs gave higher decibals but the bass was muddy. I rather have lower decibals, but cleaner, impact bass.

For the average person, I can't tell the difference with or without the turbo. The turbo is an eyesore though. I might just leave the turbo out. But, that would be a waste of $120. I'm just a little confuse about that part.

the turbo isn't intended to make it sound different, it just extends the ports so that it will go lower. by using the turbo, you go lower at the expense of going louder.

I did not get to listen to the 3HO long enough to determine the difference with the turbo or without. I only listen to about 30 minutes music and at that time, I did not noticed the difference. I do hear the difference now with playing movies. No, it does not sound different, it sounds better with the turbo.


Overall, I like the 3HO alot better. I will play with it some more tonight and put my review here.

Thanks for a great subwoofer hsu! I don't think i will need to return this on like i did with the svs.
Don't get me wrong, svs is still a great company and they have great subwoofers.

[kinggimp]

i have a question. im curious to where you have the sub placed? nearfield or farfield? just wonder what most people prefer.