Finally! I Ordered my first HSU sub. VTF-3 MK3

[notchyours]

I am very excited and anxiously waiting to get my VTF-3 MK3. I have spent the last 2 years with my BIC H-100 learning all about proper setup, placement, and calibration. It was a great sub to start out with. It was a Christmas gift from my Mother and Father(he got me into HI FI when I was just a child). He knew that it would be a great first subwoofer for my first Home Theater system, which started in 2005 and has been growing strong with his help ever since.

So now I am at the point where serious movie watchin' goes down at my place, almost on a daily basis. Music is playing if there isn't a movie on. I have been a drummer since I was 3 and music performance is what I care about most, but now with my own place and a wife and a couple of kids, I have to make sure I can make movie experiences just as enjoyable. After a couple of years of changing furniture, switching the room around multiple times, and trial and error with placement options, I feel I am ready to actually appreciate a True Subwoofer in my room. I have a greater understanding of how my room affects low frequencies. This was so much easier to accomplish with the lighter H-100.

I purchased the VTF-3 MK3 because of all the research I have done on the forums pointed to the musical sound quality of HSU, and within my budget it doesn't sacrifice output to achieve this. All the test data out there helped me feel confident about this conclusion. Plus, the flexibility of variable tuning ports is extremely appealing to me. I love to tweak and experiment. I have all confidence it will make a great sub for both Home Theater and Music in my average sized listening space (around 4,500 cubic feet). I don't know of any other subwoofer that has been recommended for both home theater and music as much as the VTF-3 MK3 from HSU, based on my room size and budget. Again I stress budget because if I had a bigger one I would have probably gone with the new VTF-15H or multiple subs.

I will be back to give a review of my impressions on the new sub once I get it and spend some time integrating it into my system and room. I would love to hear from others about their impressions of this sub to help me get through the wait.

Thanks

[cacihome]

Trust me.You will love it.

Congrats on the new beast!

[notchyours]

Thanks Cacihome, I'm sure I will love it, and no, you have the BEAST! How are you liking your VTF-15H?

You have had the VTF-3 MK3 before, so how big was your listening room with that sub and what configuration did you use? Max Output or Max Extension? Was it near field or far field from your listening position?

Thanks

[cacihome]

HAHHAAHH

The VTF-15H is IMO, the best ported sub I have heard. The MK3 being the second place...

My listening room hasn't changed, first was like 3,000cufeet and this one is like 100 cufeet bigger, but same layout(classic rectangular shaped room)...

I loved the 3.3 on any mode(had it farfield about 11 feet). Each mode had its advantages, but definately on max output mode it had more punch. I had it most of the time with Turbo, so max extension mode did it for me most of the time. When I wanted to show it to my friends in a movie sometimes I changed it to max output mode.

Then I added the MBM(nearfield), and didn't need to run in in max output mode anymore.

I am sure you will like the sub very much as I did.

[lradden]

Congrats on the 3.3. You're going to love it. BTW if you don't you can always send it to me:D. Knowing how good the 3.3 is, I know you won't be sending it to me.

[strugs]

Then I added the MBM(nearfield), and didn't need to run in in max output mode anymore.


I am curious if you are still running the MBM with your new VTF-15H. I am running a VTF3-HO + Turbo and I have been wrestinlg with three upgrade options:

1) Go for a dual HO setup.
2) Add an MBM
3) Sell the HO and get a VTF-15H.

Any thoughts?

[cacihome]

With the VTF-15H the MBM is a no need.

[shadyJ]

They don't sell the HO anymore. I agree with Caci, make things simple and go for the VTF-15H.

[lradden]

I am curious if you are still running the MBM with your new VTF-15H. I am running a VTF3-HO + Turbo and I have been wrestinlg with three upgrade options:

1) Go for a dual HO setup.
2) Add an MBM
3) Sell the HO and get a VTF-15H.

Any thoughts?I sold my HO + Turbo and got the 15H. The 15H is a definite upgrade over the HO+Turbo. I posted my thoughts here. http://forum.hsuresearch.com/showpost.php?p=78790&postcount=88

[notchyours]

Thanks guys. I can hardly wait to get my new sub hooked up and running. It should be here on Tuesday. I'll be back to post my impressions after I spend some time with it.
It will be interesting to see whether I will prefer Max Output or Max Extension mode for my room.

Iradden, your post on the VTF-15H is exceptional. Thank you for all the time you spent putting this information on the forum. Even though I wont be able to get the VTF-15H right now, It will surely be a reference point for many others who may be considering one; and I enjoy getting the inside look at products without even owning one.

[notchyours]

Just for a quick update:

Incredible, to say the least.

This thing is on a whole different level of performance!...So i'm just getting accustomed to hearing my house move and shake, and I have been experimenting with different placement positions within the room. As well as orientation of the driver/ports in each position.

I'm not ready to write a full review or anything yet, but I will say that I am extremely impressed, blown away, and just plain happy with this 3.3. I really have just opened a new door for myself in regards to what a subwoofer should sound/feel like.

I have found that if I calibrate the sub with Audyssey using Max Extension mode, I have better results when switching from each mode during playback. If the sub is in Max Output mode when I use Audyssey, it bottoms out too easily if I switch it over to Max Extension.

I really prefer the sound of Max Extension so far. I spent a whole morning watching Transformers 1 and 2, Finding Nemo, Kunf Fu Panda, and a few others using waterfalls graphs of certain scenes to reference to. The subsonic frequencies move the walls,floor, windows, and it makes my body vibrate in such a crazy way. It is my first time experiencing subsonic frequencies.

I am glad to be getting a full 115 db peaks so far in movie. That is just with a Radio Shack SPL meter, uncorrected; so I really am trying to isolate what frequencies are being played to apply the proper correction values to the readings. I do know that in the HSU Subwoofer Test CD, I am getting corrected values of the 16hz pipe organ tone to 101db or more. I just have been too scared to go higher since it makes me and the house vibrate so much. At this level, the subwoofer hasn't shown any signs of wanting to chuff or bottom out. This is just what happens in my room with this frequency though. There is a room mode at 16hz since I have a 33 ft wall along my front soundstage.

It is crazy how smooth and accurate it is for music. Doesn't even begin to call attention to itself. Bass lines are easy to follow, and just sound like they should; period. Kick drums/toms are reproduced very accurately. If they are to be punchy, the sub makes it that way. If they are tuned to rumble, well...thats what you get. All this happens with the small nuances and textures that accommodate each recording. For a ported sub, I am impressed with how "tight" it sounds. Actually way more punchy than I thought it would be.

It was weird when I heard Audyssey do the test sweeps for this sub for the first time. It sounded totally different from the H-100. That sub made 10 thuds during the sweeps. The VTF-3 MK3 actually made 10 Chirps.

I'll post pics and some numbers later. Just wanted to give a quick update on what I am experiencing right now.

[notchyours]

Just thought I should post my settings I am currently using right now.

Onkyo 707 Receiver

Crossover in AVR at 80 hz. Crossover switch to "out" on sub.

Subwoofer volume nob just below the first notch at 9 o clock.

Sub trim at -5 in AVR. (72-74 db during pink noise)

Crossover on sub at 180 degrees. (Changed this after Audyssey, as it was calibrated with phase at 0)

These settings are after Audyssey. However I changed the crossover from 40hz to 80hz after Audyssey and appropriately set distance in AVR to achieve proper phase at this specific crossover setting. I am not running the sub "hot" by any means.

I keep Audyssey on as well as Dynamic EQ at all times.

[shadyJ]

I'm loving these posts, they remind me of when I first got my VTF3, good times!