My STF-2 is not loud enough! Help!

[Hawkson101]

I just recieved my STF-2 today and i think i can make it louder, i am just not sure how. Right now i am running the crossover at 80hz on both the reciever (HK 525) and sub. The gain is at 60% and the reciever is set to put out an extra 4db to the sub(in channel adjust menu).

I can not tell a difference between phase in and phase out when the sub is playing. Also, what should i put the crossover to-in or out?

Yes, i did read the owners manual. I understand it, but since the STF-2 has not been mind blowing like people have claimed, i am wondering if something is amiss.

Does the STF-2 need to break in more?

Also, i bought an SVS 25-31pci. That subwoofer was broken so i returned it(it sounded like the sub was made of paper). But could my reciever have something to do with the breaking of the svs and not enough power with the hsu?

also, i dont have a test disc of tones nor do i have an SPL meter. Is this my only
reasonably fix the problem? Also, i know i can get an SPL meter at radio shack. where can i buy a test tone disc

oh ya-room is 15x24 with a door sized opening that leads to a 4 foot hallway which ends at the stairs(but the stairs are to the left, not straight ahead of the hallway)

[Lwang]

Can't you use EzSet that is part of the 525? If the sub level on the receiver goes above the max and blinks, then you need to turn up the gain on the sub a bit more before re-calibrating again.

The crossover has to be OUT.

To check for sub polarity, you could turn your TV into one of those unused channel and play that hissing sound (turn the treble down if you can). Focus on the low bass region and change the polarity, in one way, there should be slightly more bass.

Otherwise, if you have no qualm playing with live electrical outlets, use the 60hz sine wave from your AC outlet to check for sub polarity. First set your receiver's crossover to 60hz and set volume to -infinity, then get a 100ohm 2 watt resistor and connect its end to the hot and neutral. Now run a wire from the same hot connection to one of your receiver's analog input and adjust volume to a comfortable level. Now flip the polarity back and forth, one should sound louder than the other.

[cschang]

EZ-Set does not set sub level.

[sputnikv8]

I thought the HSU's came with a bass test disc?

Anyway, did you put the sub close to your seating position then go around the room to find the best output? Do you have access to another receiver to see? Thats weird that you are having probs with 2 new subs.

Boy that test using the live outlet sure sounds like a risky move unless you know what you're doing!

[Hawkson101]

my dad knew what to do with the resistors. apparently he had done something like that before.

my stf-2 didnt come with a test disc. My cable is not long enough to reach the seating position.

I am going to go out and get a longer cable later today. i will post my results.

It may end up being the cable that is messed up, or that i like boomy bass afterall.

The SVS was definitly broken

[Hawkson101]

my dad knew what to do with the resistors. apparently he had done something like that before.

my stf-2 didnt come with a test disc. My cable is not long enough to reach the seating position.

I am going to go out and get a longer cable later today. i will post my results.

It may end up being the cable that is messed up, or that i like boomy bass afterall.

The SVS was definitly broken

[Ddavidson]

Only VTF's get a test disk.

However the test section can be found here and downloaded in MP3 form. Burn to CD or DVD and your away. Or even direct off your PC's soundcard.

http://hsuresearch.com/mp3/

Ddavidson

[o_lucky_man]

I got my HSU STF-2 yesterday, and my experience has been identical to Hawkson101's -- I could hardly notice the difference unless I turned up the gain all the way.

My receiver plays tones to help with the surround sound setup. With the default 0dB settings, my front and center speakers sounded equally loud (I'm not using rears), but the STF-2 was much much softer, even on full gain. That worries me a lot. The phase settings made no noticeable difference.

I have a simple setup, using the subwoofer out on the receiver, and a subwoofer cable. The receiver has been set up to make the other speakers "small", and recognize the subwoofer.

I was very underwhelmed. The Beatles "1" CD hardly sounded different at all. I played the bass-only section of the Who's "The Kid's are Alright" on DVD, and it was OK only after I had the receiver send an extra 5dB to the sub, and had the gain on the sub turned up 3/4 of the way.

Do other people have similar settings?

I didn't have the sub near a wall. I'll move it tonight. And I'll try using the test tones. I presume I should hear the same loudness level as the freq drops from 250Hz (through the front and center speakers) down to 25Hz (through the sub only).

[Lwang]

o_lucky_man,

You can't use your ear to adjust the level of the sub, since our ear are much less sensitive to low feq sound, so your preception of a 25hz signal would that it is not nearly as loud as a 250hz one. You have to use an SPL meter, either use some source with pink noise that has equal distribution to sub as to main & then set them to the same level.

There is no rule against you setting the sub's level on your receiver to >0. That is the whole point of it, which is to fine tune the sub's level relative to your main speakers. If you have a pair of klipschorns, you might have to turn the receiver up to +10 at the same time, if you have some low sensitivity open baffled speaker, you might have to turn the sub's level pretty far down.

[Dudley]

Has anybody with an STF-2 tested to see how loud it is? I would guess it could do 110 db or so for most of its range. I am considering one, and if it is to keep up with my BP 8's (fairly efficient) it will need to do at least 110 db.

Out of curiousity I have taken a sound level meter to several stores to test out subs, and they have all been able to do over 110 even cheap ones like the $179 sony sw-500 (it does about 115), but they do drop off below 40 Hz.

Here is my question for the extra $$ over these cheap subwoofers, I would like a sub that offers deeper bass (which the stf-2 does) but does not give up anything in volume. Is this the case with the STF-2? Has anybody actually taken measurements?

[Ddavidson]

The STF-2 will test out to be at least at the SPL level (25 Hz mode) achieved by a VTF-2, which if you read the many reviews is more than most of its direct competition. It's still important to be sure that you do not fall into the marketing trap run by many manufacturers because Spl is not the only measure when making a choice about which subwoofer to buy. The STF-2 like the VTF-2 is designed to balance out all of the good qualities people need. So the term Music or HT subwoofer doesn't apply because it can fill both needs.



Ddavidson