Do I need a STF-2?

[rhindle]

Hi all,

I've been considering a getting a subwoofer for several months now and discovered HSU subwoofers back in November/December 2003 when CompUSA started selling them. I didn't seem them at the store or anything, I was just doing some research online on good subs and it was about the time CompUSA started selling them and ran across HSU.. anyway, from everything I've read and without even hearing a HSU sub I have decided that if I do get a sub it will be the HSU STF-2. I've never seen so many people speak so well about a product like the HSU line of subs. Just cruisin around different boards and sites hearing the same thing. To me that means a lot and I know I will not be disappointed. I like the grass-roots style word of mouth thing here. But my question is wondering whether I need it or not. :rolleyes:

I know the first response will be 'of course you do!' and I'm sure that's probably the right answer, but I'm looking for some comments and suggestions. My current setup consists of a pair of JBL L100S and L80S floor speakers as my mains that I got in the Army in Germany about 13 years ago and just got refoamed (12" woofers in the L100S and 10" in the L80S) along with a Klipsch KSC-C1 center and Polk f/x300i rear surrounds which all sounds great right now powered by a Yamaha RX-V795.

So I have these 2 12" and 2 10" woofers in these JBL floor speakers that are providing the bass. I must say the bass sounds great to me although I know there is room for improvement. And I know if I purchased a STF-2 it would sound great too. So here are my questions:

Would the sub make that much difference than my current setup? I already have 2 12's and 2 10's in the floor standing speakers that provide a ton of bass already. I know the floor speakers are not tuned like a sub, but will the STF-2 just blow my setup away or will it not really make much difference?

If I got the STF-2 would I continue to send LFE to my mains *and* the sub? Of course I would try it both ways and experiment, but just looking for suggestions and comments on how to mix subs and floor standing speakers that have decent woofers that are already used for providing the bass.

I just got a sweet new job (thank you God!) and I have the ok from the wife to by myself a new toy so I'm considering purchasing the STF-2. How much I would gain from getting the STF-2 with my current setup?

I'm not looking to change anything with my current setup, its not the latest and greatest but it works well for my needs right now and I don't plan on changing anything other than potentially adding a sub. With a wife and 22 month old son I don't really have much of an opportunity to crank it up anyway so this isn't for a bachelor pad or dedicated HT room. Just your average Joe in your average living room in this great country of America that wants to have some sweet bass when he wants it. (man how good do we have it when not enough bass is considered a problem?) :D

So do I need the STF-2? :)

Thanks for your time!

Rhindle

[tdekany]

the difference will be huge. A couple of years ago a helped someone to put a HT system together (top of the line Bostons) with 12s in them. They sounded nice but when we added a VTF3, :) !! Holy Macro.

You need a sub to experience real bass.

m2c

[DNelms]

Full range speakers are great but I have not heard (which does not mean they do not exist) full range spaekers that can compete with with full range speakers and a good sub combined.

There are a few benifits you will get by adding a subwoofer to your setup.

The first will be that by removing the LFE channel from the mains this will help your reciever from having to provide so much power to create those low frequencies. In simple words, the reciever and the speakers will not have to work as hard. You couldeven set your spoeaker setting to small and let the sub do all of the heavy lifting and this sometimes seems to just open up the sound of many speakers. Also, even though those speakers may have 12" drivers, they may not be able to produce true bass levels. Iam talking in the 30 to 25 hz range. Deffinately not down into the 20 hz range.

The second is that by using a separate sub it allows you to place it within your room for the best bass quality (or quantity if that is your choice). With bass frequencies you cannot locate the source as easily as higher frequencies so placement around the room for the best sound can sometimes provide a more tactile or feeling experience with a separate sub.

The third and final reason is that by improving upon the bass quality you may find that you do not need as much quanity of bass to enjoy your movies and music more. In other words you do not need to adjust your LFE setting as high to get the quantity of bass coming from your mains.

I am sure that almost everyone on this and many other forums would agree with me. Full range speakers are great, but you really need a good subwoofer to truely get involved in so many great music and movies.

[Dudley]

I was in the same boat. I had BP-8 mains that claimed to go down to the mid 20's and be strong in the low 30's. To me they sounded good for bass. One day I decided to test them and found they were only flat to about 50 hz. They did continue to put out sound down to near 20 hz, but at a greatly reduced volume. I wound up buying the stf-2, and it has made a huge difference. I now hear/feal bass that I did not know existed before. There is now no sense of straining at the lowest frequencies.

I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the improvement.

[rhindle]

Hehe, these were exactly the responses I was hoping to get. Not just 'you gotta get it' but *why* I should get it. I figured obviously there must be an advantage in having a dedicated sub even having the large woofers in the floor speakers. Excellent suggestion on setting the mains to small DNelms. That sounds like a great idea. Thanks for sharing your experience with this very question tdekany and Dudley. Sounds like the STF-2 will be a part of my near future!

Thanks for the input!

Rhindle

[mtmason]

Did you pull the trigger yet? I will add a suggestion here. Maybe save a little longer and go for the VTF3. I had been putting off getting a sub for a long time by telling myself I get lots of base from my full range speakers. They give me the "rumble" I'd expect from a sub. However, I knew I could get lower. I decided to get the VTF3 to get as low as I could. I also measured the response. I'd suggest you do this too if you can. Use a SPL meter and some tones at different frequencies and see just how low your speakers go.

When I first started using the sub (after calibrating), I didn't think there was THAT big of a difference. I was content knowing that I have more overhead available to my receiver now. After about a week, I'd come across ALL sorts of material I'd never heard before. It feels like a brand new experience.

I suspect an STF2 will do a great job as well. I will also note that my mains with 6.5 inch woofers go lower than my old ones with 12" woofers. Good luck, and enjoy your sub.

MM