Any new pictures available?

[John P]

Hello, I am a new poster here, but have been reading up on all of the HSU products in the archives for awhile....

Sasha wrote:
"We serve you guys, so starting in October I’ll be focusing solely on providing all the pictures you want and information on the STF line and Ventriloquist. Let’s call it “marketing”, if you want."

When will there be pictures available, specifically the Ventriloquist system? I am building a new house, and have decided to go with a wall mount speaker because my wife and I have 6 month old girls. Where can I read up on more info, and when will new info be released? Could anyone tell me how they sound?
I'll give you a brief rundown of my current equipment (not much to brag about....: )
Onkyo DS676 receiver.
Velodyne sub.
Bose AM5II speakers. (front)
Bose rear speakers.
Bose VS10 center channel.

I have already run my wires in the walls for a 7.1 set-up IF I decide to do it in the future. I am LOOKING at the Ventriloquist system, but must rely on your opinions to help me out. (I am on the East coast) I do not plan on getting outboard amps. I, eventually, want a nice receiver, speakers, cd, dvd and that's it. I want a simple system....I will admit, I am not a hard-core stereophile like most of you guys, but still want a decent system....
I like jazz, new age (Patrick O' Hearn is the man!), hardcore, metal, even some rap sometimes. I love movies, especially ones with good sound effects, low-end, and left to right seperation. I seem to prefer a "brighter" speaker. I am looking for an "enveloping" speaker. One that puts me right in the middle of the action with stuff going on all around me!!!!! I want to BE THERE!
Hmm, not much to ask for, eh? So what do you all think? Is the Ventriloquist for me?? Who has heard it? Please e-mail me your honest opinions.
Thanks for your time in reading this!!
P.S. I already know about the Bose products....I was one that fell for the "hype" and advertising, and these babies will be sold as soon as I purchase my new system. I have about $1500-$2000 to spend on my speakers alone. Don't want a new sub-YET!!

[RedRox]

Are the Hsu Ventriloquist speakers the same ones being sold at Gateway? If so, perhaps you could find a Gateway store in your area and audition them there.

Good luck.

-Dave

[BradJudy]

Originally posted by RedRox
Are the Hsu Ventriloquist speakers the same ones being sold at Gateway?

If you look at the Gateway systems (http://www.gateway.com/home/ce/hometheater.shtml) you'll see that two of them have the Ventriloquist center channels and all three have Hsu designed subs.

This thread (http://www.hsuresearch.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=111) has a picture of the Ventriloquist system.

[Sasha_G]

Our Ventriloquists will be different versions that what Gateway released, with different appearances. Your wish is my command. On Wednesday, my camera is coming to work and I'll post a ton of pictures.

Sasha

[John P]

I'll be waitiing!
Thanks for the response!

[tdekany]

Originally posted by Sasha_G
Our Ventriloquists will be different versions that what Gateway released, with different appearances. Your wish is my command. On Wednesday, my camera is coming to work and I'll post a ton of pictures.

Sasha

what will be different from gateway's?

[John P]

oops

[tdekany]

it's tuesday today.

[gr1m]

pictures pictures picturesss pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee:D

[Sasha_G]

Here are some pictures. I am waiting for specific requests for other shots.

http://www.hsuresearch.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=248

[DavidD]

Sasha - Thanks for the pictures and specs. A couple of questions... Do the STF-2 and STF-3 really have the same extension? Will there be package pricing for the Ventriloquist system with all three STF models?

Dave

[John P]

Can't we see it naked?
I thought we would see a "grill off" pic.
Why would the center be MDF and the satellites be ABS? Wouldn't this change the color of the sound some? Also, the mention of ABS reminds me of another company, which I refuse to mention. I suppose Dr. HSU used the ABS to keep costs down, and the system affordable.....
Will there be a 30 or 60 day trial period in which to listen these speakers? If I'm not satisfied, can they be returned?
The pics look good, but not much different that what I have already seen. How about about a pic of the back?
Thanks for the post--I have been anxiously awaiting them!!

[Lwang]

What is the story behind the inception of the Ventriloquists? Were they designed by Hsu for BIC, then abandoned by BIC? Are they modified versions of BIC designs?

How would 1 way 2 1/2" cone drivers be for the treble, or are you guys counting on the breakup of the driver and only have the voice coil region to follow a linear piston motion on high freq?

BTW, the spec on the STF-2 and STF-3 lists the same bass extension @ 25hz +/-2dB. Is that right?

[Ddavidson]

the spec on the STF-2 and STF-3 lists the same bass extension @ 25hz +/-2dB. Is that right?

Seems like a typo. It is wrong according to every other discussion on this board about the Stf-3 which all have it at 22Hz.I think Hsu should do the smart move and make the Stf-3 the same as the Vtf-3 by setting it at 18Hz.After all the Stf-2 is the same as the Vtf-2.According to every subwoofer owner that I have spoken to Hsu would sell a lot more Stf-3's by having the Stf-3 set at 18Hz like the Vtf-3 in deep bass mode.

Ddavidson

[TomR]

For those of you curious how these little speakers will sound, I can say that I heard them at the San Francisco Hi-Fi show this past June and I was extremely impressed (actually everyone in the room was very surprised)
Having recently heard a Bose demo from a Bose showroom, these Ventriloquists have a fuller sound with much better upper bass/lower midrange. And they don't have a dull treble sound one might think from a full range type of driver.

We heard several minutes from the Lord of the Rings; Pipe Organ music which showed that the STF-1 actually goes down to where it says it does; some really awesome Chinese Drum/Percussion tracks that really showed this system off in a huge way; some classical music; some a capella male voices. And this was all at a fairly loud, but sill comfortable volume. (But you still had to almost yell to the person next to you to make comments about what was going on)

When the good Dr. told us seated in the room what he thought these would go on sale for, we were really blown away. And the cool thing was the HSU room had no sound treatment; Cost-Co receiver, Radio Shack switcher, and cheapo zip cord for speaker wire. In other words, we were listening to about $1k worth of equipment for the audio. And I think that the HSU room was the only room in the whole show that had the sub level's really dialed in (aka - they blended like you wouldn't believe).

A few things really stood out after my two days at the H-Fi show; the $45k pair of TAD Model1 speakers; the $60k pair w/dual subs Avantgarde Trio speakers; and these Ventriloquists speakers with the STF-1 subwoofer for $550 in the HSU demo room.

You could overhear everyone walking out of that room saying how that they just couldn't believe how good something that small sounded and that it should be selling for at least double.

I would think that anyone purchasing these would be very satisfied.

[9mileskid]

I just heard the VTF-2 and was blown away!! :D

My question is will the VTF-2 blend with the Ventriloquists as well as the STF-2? Will it matter which one I choose in this arrangement?

Finally, I listen to alot of concert DVD's, how will these little beauties handle music compared to soundtrack?

Thanks

I forgot to ask - how about mounting brackets, will you be offering them as well?

[Sasha_G]

9mileskid,

Yes, the VTF subs will blend the same as the STF subs with the Ventriloquist system. They all are HSU audio equipment, after all. :) The Ventriloquist will handle music just as well as surround sound--eliminating the lower mid-bass suckout found in other micro satellite systems. Regarding mounting brackets, we have made the satellites with lots of mounting holes so that they will work with just about all popular mounting brackets on the market. I posted a new picture in the pictures thread.

TomR,

Thanks! I was amazed at how good they sounded also. They are definetly high-performance satellites.

Ddavidson,
25 Hz isn't a typo. It turned out that way. Basically, we are being more conservative with the rating even though the port tuning is the same. We think it will do well in the Max-output mode for the first production run.

Lwang,

BIC approached us with the idea, and we took it from there.

JohnP
Naked, heh? I just posted a naked pic and the rear of the Ventriloquist on the pictures thread. There will be our standard 30 day trial period and free shipping.

[tdekany]

Please Sasha help me understand why choose the 12 inch driver over the 10?
Thanks so much.
Thomas

[tdekany]

Originally posted by Sasha_G
9mileskid,

Yes, the VTF subs will blend the same as the STF subs with the Ventriloquist system. They all are HSU audio equipment, after all. :) The Ventriloquist will handle music just as well as surround sound--eliminating the lower mid-bass suckout found in other micro satellite systems. Regarding mounting brackets, we have made the satellites with lots of mounting holes so that they will work with just about all popular mounting brackets on the market. I posted a new picture in the pictures thread.

TomR,

Thanks! I was amazed at how good they sounded also. They are definetly high-performance satellites.

Ddavidson,
25 Hz isn't a typo. It turned out that way. Basically, we are being more conservative with the rating even though the port tuning is the same. We think it will do well in the Max-output mode for the first production run.

Lwang,

BIC approached us with the idea, and we took it from there.

JohnP
Naked, heh? I just posted a naked pic and the rear of the Ventriloquist on the pictures thread. There will be our standard 30 day trial period and free shipping.


How about a naked picture of the center speaker?

[Sasha_G]

tdekany,

I'm done taking pictures tonight, but will add that pic on Mon.

The main reason is that the STF-3 uses a 12 inch woofer and will get much louder than the STF-2. In terms of output, it is equal to two STF-2s.

[tdekany]

Originally posted by Sasha_G
tdekany,

I'm done taking pictures tonight, but will add that pic on Mon.

The main reason is that the STF-3 uses a 12 inch woofer and will get much louder than the STF-2. In terms of output, it is equal to two STF-2s.

Sold! Sign me up for the SVT3 package!
thomas

[RedRox]

Thanks for the pics Sasha. Looks like some exciting new products from Hsu.

Questions -- Is the target launch date for the STF-1, STF-2, and STF-3 subs is the same as you mentioned for the Ventriloquist system -- 11/21/03? Will we be able to pre-order these new subs?

[Ddavidson]

We think it will do well in the Max-output mode for the first production run.


Fair enough.I take it by the way you structured the reply that this could change in later runs if demand was strong?My main reason for asking was that you have had no Vtf-3's for close to several months and my friend really wanted a Vtf-3 like mine, but if the Stf-3 was close in performance at less cost he may go for it over the much more expensive Vtf-3. This now seems very unlikely looking at its 25Hz rating.

I may be off base but I think the 25Hz rating will hurt the Stf-3 compared to it being set at 18Hz like the Vtf-3 in deep bass mode.Put simply,most people do not need more spl, but they do need deep bass capability for reproduction of deep organ and certain special effects.

Being flat to 18Hz would make the Stf-3 an easy price / performance winner.You can clearly see this by looking at talks about peoples habits when shopping for a subwoofer on any of the forums.

Ddavidson

[mr_bill]

I couldn't agree more DDavidson. I've been subwoofer shopping for months now and I have a high end reference system. I'm after quality and extension of bass - not max spl's.
I thought the SPL 12 was going to be the answer, now I don't think so. In the price/performance race this is not one on the leaders. I now need to reevaluate again.
Thanks,
Bill

[Michael Bain]

I think people need to think more carefully about this.

Hsu spec is almost always conservative. Notice that they usually let the reviewers measure the frequency response, and it is usually ruler flat to the stated frequencies.

Also look at the margin of error. Most companies rate +/- 3db or +/- 6db is some cases, and even then they do not measure so well in a reviewers hand. Look at the Hsu reviews for a reference. Hsu rates within +/- 1db and +/- 2db, and they follow their promises. I cannot think of any others (other than Velodyne) that actually has a frequency response measured by reviewers that is as good as the company spec. Many will deceive, Hsu will be the last person to do that.

So don't be surprised if a conservative spec of +/- 2db's at 25Hz on the STF-3 is closer to something like -2db's at 20Hz in room. I'm waiting for the reviewers to measure it to get a truly objective measure. The VTF-3 was measured to be +/- 0db's at 20Hz, so physically there is not very much stopping STF-3 from getting close to that.

[Sasha_G]

I take it by the way you structured the reply that this could change in later runs if demand was strong?

That is true. If the demand was there we could switch to the Max Extension mode. Our new ports are just fabulous. However, for the maximum bass extension, our TN series lets us do things we can't easily do with boxes, like using four inch straight ports the length of an arm. This totally removes port noise.

We rate our subs conservatively. Look at the TNs--they are rated down to 18 Hz but reviewers have found them to push 100 dB at 12 Hz and they remain flat +/- 3 dB to around 16 Hz.

Regarding the concerns about sound quality and bass extension, Max Extension mode has been dubbed a favorite by reviewers. Take the Sterephile review by Robert Deutsch, who said:

"Maximum Output mode resulted in more even response and still-excellent low-end extension, even down to 16 Hz. This is better than Hsu Research claims".

[9mileskid]

Okay Sasha - how about if we want to go 7.1, how much for an extra sat?

Can't wait to get my hands on these things.....

[Ddavidson]

Of course Sasha the only reason Mr Deutsch prefered max output was because of the room modes he had in his review room.In a different room he like probably 98% of Vtf-3 owners would have prefered leaving the Vtf-3 in deep bass mode (18Hz).Its a mistake to think that max output mode is the prefered mode as has become obvious in all Vtf reviews, including Mr Ferstlers review in The Audiophile Voice.He points this out well as would have Mr Deutsch if he did not have such a bad room for the max extension mode which made his problem worse.


Quote: Dr Hsu

The dimensions of his room and his seating position would result in peaks at 20 Hz and multiples of that frequency, 40 Hz being the next strongest peak. This is why setting the VTF-3 to maximum output helped to tame the 20 Hz peak, making it smoother. In a different room, the peaks would most likely occur at different frequencies. Measures in half space (against a single barrier such as a wall or floor), the VTF-3 should not have peaks at these frequencies.

It is however excellent news that you will listen to us poor consumers by giving us the chance to get the Stf-3 changed into max extension mode as the standard for the Stf-3.Thanks to Hsu for listening as I am 100% sure it will pay you back with more sales of the Stf-3 than you would have made by leaving it in max output mode.



Ddavidson