Turbocharger for VTF2.3

[scottfox]

AVS Forum does reviews on several subwoofers in the Craigsub forum. Because of the glowing reviews, I picked the HSU VTF2mkIII over a comparable SVS sub. Since then, Craig has updated the rankings, and gives 2 ratings for the VTF2mkIII. One as sold from the web site, & a second with the turbocharger added. With the turbo added, the score goes up 2 ponts, all to benefit HT, not music. I listen about 75% HT 25% Music. The turbo price is quoted as $100 with the sub, or $200 if bought separately. Yet nowhere on the website can I find any reference to there being a turbo available for the 2.3 Is there one available? What sort of improvement in SQ could be expected with it? Also, will you make a smaller version to match the width of the 2.3?

I love the sub & believe I made a great choice. I just wish to be able to feel the hit during explosions better. I am using the sub in deeper extention mode with one port closed. Would opening the 2nd port & flipping the switch give more feel to the LFE? Also, The sub's port is 5" from the back wall. When watching a movie fairly loud, I sometimes hear "Chuffing" from the port. Is it because of the air turbulence when hitting the wall via the single port? Would opening the 2nd port reduce the velocity & chuffing sound? Would it also deliver more tactile impact with both ports open, even at the expense of delivering less Very deep bass? :confused:

[vardo]

I have a HSU VTF-3 w/turbo. I find with the turbo I get
more volume and the bass hits about the same with the
VTF-3/3 with one plug plugged.

You can try out the turbo, but it will overlap the sides
of you VTF-2/3 about one inch on each side (it's just wider) the 2
PVC tubes from the turbo are a little tough to place
in the VTF-2/3 but can be done with a little effort.

Give it a try, don't like the results you can always return
it........my two cents, and good luck ......vardo

[Pete_Hsu]

Hi scott,

Definitely try your subwoofer in max output mode to see how you like that. Keeping both ports open would greatly reduce the chances of hearing port chuffing.

Where are you placing your subwoofer right now?

There is no doubt that adding turbo can help with deep bass output, but I think the higher performance route would be to sell the VTF-2 Mk3 (very good resale value), and get a VTF-3 Mk3 in max output mode (which is currently discounted at $629).

Sincerely,

[scottfox]

Pete,
I tried opening the 2nd port, & it did seem to help. When I first submitted my room dimensions, HSU recommended a smaller sub than the one I purchased. Room is 11x20x8-10 vaulted. 1980 cu ft. The port on the sub is 5 inches from the back wall. Opening the 2nd port & flipping the switch seemed to reduce most of the chuffing, & increased the Feel of the bass. My Family room is not a dedicated HT room, so there are certainly limitations on where the sub can be placed. here is the layout:

|--DDDDD-------------------------------------DDDDD---|
| SUB* XXXXXXXXXXXXX Polk10 |
| |
| |
| |
| D
| D Porch
| D
|Chair ------Couch-------- |
|------------------------------------------ OPEN --|
Kitchen

The D's are doors to other rooms or back porch.
The sub* is the VTF2.3 with a Polk 10 sitting on top.
The XXXXXXXXX is the equipment rack with 34" widescreen Pana
on top & Polk center on top of that. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[mojave]

I think you would be better of getting the MBM-12 before upgrading to the Turbo or VTF 3.3. I have a VTF 2.3 with the MBM-12 in a room of about 2600 sq ft. With this setup, the VTF 2.3 doesn't have to produce such a wide range of frequencies. This can provide as much power for lower frequencies as a 3.3 used by itself.

A lot of impact that is felt in explosions is in the range produced by the MBM-12. I have turned off my 2.3 to test this and the high SPL produced by the MBM-12 provide incredible impact. With both the VTF 2.3 and MBM-12 the explosions definately shake my room.

Since you already own a HSU sub, you can get a discount on the MBM-12. The disadvantages are that you need more space, more cabling, and you may want to add a DCX2496 or similar for delay, room equalization, digital crossover, etc.

[scottfox]

That didn't look right, lets try again
|--DDDDD-------------------------------------DDDDD---|
| .............SUB* XXXXXXXXXXXXX Polk10 .....................|
| .................................................. .........................|
| .................................................. .........................|
| .................................................. .........................|
| .................................................. .........................D
| .................................................. .........................D Porch
| .................................................. .........................D
|Chair............ ------Couch-------- ............................|
|------------------------------------------ ..OPEN ....--|
............................................Kitche n

[Pete_Hsu]

Yeah, I agree with mojave, the MBM-12 will certainly bring the most improvement to the quality of the system.

scott, is your entire rear area open to the kitchen, or do you have a solid corner at the rear right hand corner of your theater room?

Thanks

[scottfox]

Pete,
It is only open to the kitchen where the picture shows ...open...
Mostly it's a back wall. There is a stub of a back wall on the far side of
the openning --> 5 inches.

[Pete_Hsu]

In that case, I'd try using the VTF-2 Mk3 in max output mode in the rear left hand corner (closest to the listening position), and see how that works out for you.

Sincerely,

[scottfox]

Pete, In that case, how do you convert the RCA sub output on my receiver to Coax & back to RCA for the long run to the Sub? I have seen other people complain that long RCA runs act as an antennae & pick up radio stations, which is totally unacceptable to me. It also means running Coax through the walls & over the vaulted ceiling which has its own challenges because there is verry little space between the ceiling & the roof. The surrounds are easier, because when I had Home Depot lay my new Laminate floor, I ran speaker wire under it. That by the way is the only reason I dont have Dipole/bipole surrounds mounted up high on the side walls.

[Ddavidson]

Pete, In that case, how do you convert the RCA sub output on my receiver to Coax & back to RCA for the long run to the Sub? I have seen other people complain that long RCA runs act as an antennae & pick up radio stations, which is totally unacceptable to me.
That will not be the case if you use well shielded coax cable such as Belden 1694a (also very cheap with great canare rca connectors). Also don't run any of the coax parallel with 110v electrical cabling.

Ddavidson

[Dr_Hsu]

If you buy a standard coax with F connectors at the ends, you can buy F to RCA adapters to convert your coax into one with RCA ends.

[Ddavidson]

If you buy a standard coax with F connectors at the ends, you can buy F to RCA adapters to convert your coax into one with RCA ends.
Certainly easier to find. However in my research for low level interconnects (used for active subs) the shielding on the 1694A is top-notch; with a 95% coverage copper braid and a double-sided, overlapped foil, the shield effectiveness of 1694A exceeds that of a quad-shield cable at all frequencies.
Also I found very good results with the similar Belden 1505A and 1855A which are RG-59 cables. For noise rejection the "shield construction" is very significant especially for long subwoofer runs. Cables like Belden and Canare are very very cheap unlike the ludicrous Hi-Fi branded fancy rubbish which is a fancy jacket and little else but crazy prices.

Ddavidson

[Lwang]

Certainly easier to find. However in my research for low level interconnects (used for active subs) the shielding on the 1694A is top-notch; with a 95% coverage copper braid and a double-sided, overlapped foil, the shield effectiveness of 1694A exceeds that of a quad-shield cable at all frequencies.
Also I found very good results with the similar Belden 1505A and 1855A which are RG-59 cables. For noise rejection the "shield construction" is very significant especially for long subwoofer runs. Cables like Belden and Canare are very very cheap unlike the ludicrous Hi-Fi branded fancy rubbish which is a fancy jacket and little else but crazy prices.

Ddavidson
The cables might be cheap, but the connectors and crimper might add a bit to the price. Of course, that is if you are using them for their intended UHF signals. You could probably get away with cheap non-impedence matched plugs for audio freq.

[Ddavidson]

The cables might be cheap, but the connectors and crimper might add a bit to the price. Of course, that is if you are using them for their intended UHF signals. You could probably get away with cheap non-impedence matched plugs for audio freq.
Agreed on the impedence matching as not being vital for audio. The angle I am coming from is that with Belden and Canare you are buying "real quality" and yet paying peanuts. Sort of blends in with the Hsu philosophy.

Sure the Canare rca's might not be as cheap as the RS ones, but at $4ea the rcaps are not that expensive either. These rcaps are extremely well made and certainly much better than many so called mega expensive high-end offerings.

The Canare crimp tool and cutter was the biggest outlay but the money I have saved in cables makes it worth the entry. Its worth noting you can get aftermarket crimps (with selection of the right sized dies) for much cheaper than the genuine Canare unit, but at the time I didn't look into it and spent a bit more by going genuine.

If you don't want to buy a Canare crimp tool you can get also them pre-assembled with Belden 1694a and Canare rcap connectors from places like this.
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/stereo-audio_cables.html

Ddavidson

[Lwang]

I guess it only comes out expensive if you have short runs of RGBHV cables like me, which required 10 connectors on a cable a few feet long.

[Ddavidson]

I guess it only comes out expensive if you have short runs of RGBHV cables like me, which required 10 connectors on a cable a few feet long.
You analog left over, so your have not advanced to HDMI connections yet?
Good thing a sub just needs two ends.

Ddavidson

[Lwang]

You analog left over, so your have not advanced to HDMI connections yet?


Ddavidson

LOL, my Mitsubishi XGA FP looks fine, still on par with many of the 720p units out there. Single DLP's rainbow drives me crazy once I found out how to recognize it, now I see it everytime I move my eyes.

Althougth that 30ft run Canare V5-5C is a pain to route, and slacks has to stick out in a 2' diameter loop.

I don't use my main room too much, so there is not too much need to upgrade those units.

Good thing a sub just needs two ends.
Not with the Hsu 500w amp and active bi-amp. One extra pair of interconnect, and since it in-line with the main channel amp, couldn't skimp out on them. Although for the 500w amp to subs speaker cables, I just went with some 4 gauge mainframe grounding cables in which I fashioned the lugs at each end into spades. Even with its vast thickness, they were much more flexible than the solid core Canare V5-5C.

[Ddavidson]

LOL, my Mitsubishi XGA FP looks fine, still on par with many of the 720p units out there. Single DLP's rainbow drives me crazy once I found out how to recognize it, now I see it everytime I move my eyes.

Althougth that 30ft run Canare V5-5C is a pain to route, and slacks has to stick out in a 2' diameter loop.

I don't use my main room too much, so there is not too much need to upgrade those units.


Not with the Hsu 500w amp and active bi-amp. One extra pair of interconnect, and since it in-line with the main channel amp, couldn't skimp out on them. Although for the 500w amp to subs speaker cables, I just went with some 4 gauge mainframe grounding cables in which I fashioned the lugs at each end into spades. Even with its vast thickness, they were much more flexible than the solid core Canare V5-5C.

ROFL .... Talk about walked myself into a brick wall by answering you with "Good thing a sub just needs two ends". Guess its just you me and and a few long knitted socks with 12" drivers as the sole relics of a bygone era !!!

Funny you mention about Canare V5-5C as I run it on a front projection CRT. Oh the joys of running it down the cavity in my walls, it was about as easy as it was to commando crawl in the roof space where my fat a_s couldn't fit through the rafter gap. The sheath is one stiff fat hard to handle bundle of joy.

Good cable however even on long runs and the Canare BNCs are a joy of positive connectivity.

XGA .... A man of your standing should be looking three chip units which are little more than chump change to a man with such deep pockets - haha

Ddavidson

[Lwang]

XGA .... A man of your standing should be looking three chip units which are little more than chump change to a man with such deep pockets - haha

DdavidsonHey, I do have the 3 chip, 3 chip LCD that is. I tried a few new projectors, but given the narrow zoom range, all would require a repositioning of the projector, which I don't want to do. Plus, I am 5 years intof building a hush box for my FP, so I don't want to let all those wood pieces go to waste.

[Ddavidson]

Hey, I do have the 3 chip, 3 chip LCD that is. I tried a few new projectors, but given the narrow zoom range, all would require a repositioning of the projector, which I don't want to do. Plus, I am 5 years intof building a hush box for my FP, so I don't want to let all those wood pieces go to waste.
As a a darkened dedicated room guy I myself prefer deep blacks and the fluidity such as crt front projection delivers (although painful to align). Ive never been happy with LCD although the later LCOS incarnations are much better for both reproducing deep blacks and reducing the flyscreen effect. The closest Ive seen that makes me almost want to upgrade is the newest full HD rez three chip dlps but cost is still the downside. Ill leave the single chip dlps to those who don't suffer from crack cocaine like visions of a pot of gold at the end of the ....... !

Ddavidson

[Lwang]

As a a darkened dedicated room guy I myself prefer deep blacks and the fluidity such as crt front projection delivers (although painful to align). Ive never been happy with LCD although the later LCOS incarnations are much better for both reproducing deep blacks and reducing the flyscreen effect. The closest Ive seen that makes me almost want to upgrade is the newest full HD rez three chip dlps but cost is still the downside. Ill leave the single chip dlps to those who don't suffer from crack cocaine like visions of a pot of gold at the end of the ....... !

Ddavidson
Absolute black is an issue with LCD, but pales in compairsion with reflection scattering off the screen to walls, ceiling and floor, which further brightens the room (was not going to paint the wall & ceiling black or get black rug). Tried retro-reflective screen, which is not suppose to reflect light outward, but had mixed results due to hotspots issues.

I could get away with screen door effect by de-focusing just ever so slightly.

Even skipped the panamorph lens because it widens the image (as opposed to shrinking its height), requiring the need to re-position the FP.

If only the critics did not mention the existence of those flags flapping around The Castro in SF, I might be happily enjoying those single chip DLP.