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View Full Version : Must...not...pull...trigger...3...MKIII...resistan ce...futile


gromnie
January 30th, 2007, 7:24 PM
Hi everyone.

First post, just saying hello, and firing off a couple Q's.

As I am sure everyone is aware, craigsub has caused quite a stir among prospective ~$700 subwoofer buyers.

Like many of you I have been considering a myriad of options (ahem SVS), but knowing I am looking for a more "musical" sub has certainly kept my guard up. Up to a certain point (extension to at least 22hz) I am wiling to make sacrifices in low frequency response for the other characteristics which might sway a 50/50 HT/Music buyer (i.e distortion characteristics, agility, output).

Anyway, regardless of whatever has been suggested here or elsewhere, as a prospective buyer one thing many people seem to be overlooking is how the pricing structure is influencing potential buyers, or at least how it has influenced this potential buyer. In a word, I am not defending being steered towards the Hsu subwoofers under any pretenses beyond simply the fact that ~$450 was less than I wanted to spend, ~$650 was more than I wanted to spend, and I wasn't seeing much in between.

This lack of availability is precisely what steered me to look at other manufacturers' offerings, and indeed, precisely why I am pointing out that the ~$520 Hsu 2.3 succeeds if nothing else in simply hitting a sweet spot that many other manufacturers seem to have overlooked in offering a high-powered/low frequency subwoofer at this price point.

What the heck am I trying to say? I'm not really sure other than...when can I get the 3.3 in oak because I had to tie my hand behind my back to keep from pulling the trigger? These are the best looking subwoofers at this price point I have ever seen, and I can't wait to hear one.

Seriously, I know this might seem trivial, but I am waiting for another finish, otherwise I would buy one this instant. Is this the kind of question I will ever get an answer to or absolute futility?

Ok and finally, being a DIYer myself I can attest that build quality is seriously important in that community. Virtually every kind of DIY involves some level of "overbuilding" which doesn't present itself in off the shelf merchandise--not necessarily a bad thing: right now it is the ease and elegance of these products which has attracted me. But in the past some customer reviews have claimed the Hsu subs were not built quite as rigidly as some competitors (mind you this is heresay, not my own experience).

The 3.3 press release however says that the sub is double braced, which definately sounds adequate for this enclosure size--more than adequate, its a good thing. My question though is what kind of materials are used in the subwoofer construction besides drivers and amps...specifically how thick is the wood used? I assume its MDF, is this correct?

Finally, have level 3 subs always contained two sets of bracing, or is this a new feature? Have level 2 subs always contained one brace, or is this a new feature?

gromnie
January 30th, 2007, 7:35 PM
Search function turned out to be more useful than originally thought :)

Ignore the question about the maple...but I still wouldn't mind seeing pictures of the inside of one of these subs.

Cheers

Pete_Hsu
January 30th, 2007, 8:02 PM
gromnie, if you wanted a finish other than black, then check out the maple which will be available sometime in February. Regarding the build quality comments, I think some of those are misleading, and related to what people think looks cosmetically good on the exterior. Judging build quality based on the exterior pretty much ignores build quality of the critical parts within such as the driver. I can assure you that the build quality of the parts on our subwoofers is very good in general. All the enclosures are solid, made with MDF. Dr. Hsu has years and years of expertise in designing reliable parts. That's why we can offer a 7 year warranty on the driver, which is virtually unheard of for relatively high output subwoofers with strong deep bass capability. All the box subwoofers with 12" drivers have been well braced since the first VTF-3 Mk1 model. The heavy bracing on the VTF-3 Mk3 and HO is for supporting the larger box and bent porting structure.

Hope this helps!