VTF 3.3 Turbo question--sub seems to sound better without the Turbo

[toothboy]

I have a 3.3 in an approximately 4500 cu ft room. I had the Turbo on until about a month or so ago when I decided to play around a bit with the sub.

I removed the Turbo, played around with the Max Extension and Max Output settings, calibrated the sub, tried several different demo passages on Blu-ray, and finally decided that the Max Output mode sounded the "best". It seemed to give the most impact, as well as the most "room filling" bass. With the Turbo on, the sub sounded, well, maybe not anemic, but definitely less authoritative than without.

Am I crazy here?

[Pete_Hsu]

Makes some sense toothboy. When running in max output mode on the VTF-3 MK3, one will have wider dynamic range and higher output capability above 20Hz, which covers most program material. Max extension mode (whether via port plug or turbo) will give deeper bass extension, at the expense of output capability over the more common bass ranges. Note that one can also try running the sub with turbo, while setting the bass extension switch to the '2 port open - 25Hz' mode. This will give an overdamped response (ie. early rolloff compared to '1 port open' mode). It is physically safe to run the sub this way (but never run the sub with both ports open, and bass extension switch set to the '1 port open' mode).

Sincerely,

[Ddavidson]

Pete is right you may like the sound of it overdamped. It depends IMHO on your source material (room acoustical properties). In my big room I liked the turbo with the switch in the 1 port mode but that's me.

Ddavidson

[Bill Mitchell]

Thanks, Pete, for mentioning again the overdamped configuration. I tried that today, and in my room when using Audyssey MultEQ, that seems to give the most even response, at least according to my measurements. It will take me a little longer to listen to enough material to make sure reality matches the numbers, and that I'm not running out of headroom where Audyssey is now raising the level.

Bill

[toothboy]

Cool. I'll try that tomorrow and post results. Thanks for the input.

[Pete_Hsu]

I'm glad that this worked out for you, Bill!

[bread29]

I read your remark about the overdamped mode above. What is the advantage/result of running the VTF-3 MK3 in max output mode with one port plugged? Is it purely listening preference or something else? Thanks.

[Pete_Hsu]

Hi bread,

The advantage of doing this is that one will get deeper bass extension vs. the max output mode. You are correct, it's largely a matter of personal preference.

Sincerely,