Indroducing the VTF-15H Mk2

[Kevin_Hsu]

Dear Fellow Hsu Members,

Hsu Research is proud to introduce to you, the VTF-15H Mk2. The VTF-15H Mk2 takes the renowned VTF-15H and brings you superior performance with the tunability the VTF series are known for. The VTF-15H Mk2 features a completely redesigned high excursion driver and an upgraded 600w amplifier to give you more cleaner, tighter, more dynamic bass.

Specifications:

Amplifier - 2000w short-term, 600w continuous amplifier with a class A/B output stage/switching power supply, featuring a custom EQ, soft clipping, subsonic filtering, phase switch, 24dB/oct low-pass adjustableLinkwitz-Riley crossover, continuously variable Q control, high-level inputs, unbalanced inputs and balanced XLR inputs.

Driver - Newly Redesigned 15" ultra high excursion driver, with double the magnet of the original VTF-15H, and a cast frame.

Enclosure - 24" x 18" x 26" H x W x D (add 1" to H for feet and 2" to D for heat sink and grille) featuring rounded corners with a smooth, matte, satin-black finish. Utilizes the innovative flared triangular port design with the large cross-sectional area to allow for higher output levels with less port noise.

Measurements - 16 Hz low end extension with one port open and 22 Hz with two ports open
CEA2010 (measured 1m from woofer, peak): [2 Ports Open/1 Port Open]
40-63 Hz: 128.2 dB/126.2
20-31.5 Hz: 120.2 dB/119.7

Product Pricing - Base price of $899 for satin black finish, $1049 for real wood veneer, rosenut finish

Warranty - 7 years on the driver and up to 5 years (2 years standard) on the electronics

Now Shipping!

See the link below for more information:
http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/vtf-15hmk2.html

[pr@j]

Excellent! I was wondering if there was a reason the forum was down most of this week..looks like the HSU family has been cooking up a storm! This is great news Kevin, I was on the brink of ordering the VTF-15 around xmas, now the new addition may have to "sub in"...pun intended!

[pr@j]

Will this model be available or made available as part of a package deal, ie. 5.1 setup?

[elwaylite]

Hsu guys, if it is at all possible, please consider an upgrade package.

I own two VTF15's now, so changing out for a new model is out of the question. If you offered a DIY amp and speaker upgrade, I'd be all for it!

[Kevin_Hsu]

Hi everyone!

pr@j: Yes it will be included with it's own package system.

elwaylite: Not sure if we are going to offer an upgrade package. Reason being, the driver will not fit exactly into the Mk1 enclosure, due to the new cast frame. You will likely need to do a bit of wood work to get it to fit in there.

Sincerely,
Kevin

[elwaylite]

Thanks Kevin, that is what was kinda hinted at AVS.

If it is something that you guys find is possible, count me in. Having two VTF15's now, I have no need or want to let them go, but more horsepower is always a perk!

[luisev]

Hmm... is it possible to see internal pictures to understand how much work wood working would be involved? How about just the amplifier portion? Would the original 15" sub benefit from upgrading to the new amp?

[Kevin_Hsu]

Hey folks,

Give me a little bit of time with that one. I'll need to head back from the audio show and work with our technicians to see how feasible it is.

You will need to upgrade both the driver and amp as the current driver would not be able to handle that much power.

Sincerely,
Kevin

[elwaylite]

Awesome, thanks.

[luisev]

Hello... just curious, any updates Kevin?

[lradden]

Kevin, how would mixing the MK1 15H with the mk2 15H work out? I know the mk2 will play louder and cleaner but since they both go down to 16Hz could they be gain matched and work out OK together?

[Kevin_Hsu]

Originally Posted by luisev

Hello... just curious, any updates Kevin?

Not just yet. I'll try bugging them a bit more.

Originally Posted by lradden

Kevin, how would mixing the MK1 15H with the mk2 15H work out? I know the mk2 will play louder and cleaner but since they both go down to 16Hz could they be gain matched and work out OK together?

They should work fine together. Of course the VTF-15H Mk1 is going to be your bottleneck in terms of output.

[luisev]

Originally Posted by Kevin_Hsu

Not just yet. I'll try bugging them a bit more.

Thanks Kevin!

[luisev]

Hello... any updates on the potential upgrade?

[Jeffro]

I received the VTF-15H MK2 sub this week and it is gorgeous. I've been playing around with the tuning and thought you would all get a kick out of this: At first, I removed one foam plug and left the other in place as suggested for initial setup and configuration. Then I had to go out to run an errand. When I came back, my 9-yr old, who is just as excited as I am to have a new "toy", proudly tells me that he found a piece of foam packing in the bottom of the sub that I must have missed during the unpacking, so he removed it for me and threw it away! ;-). Luckily I could retrieve it out of the top of the garbage! After reinserting the foam and staring at it awhile, I decided that it does indeed look strange with such a beautiful cabinet and a piece of foam flush in one of the ports and the other port clean open. So I pushed the foam more into the port a few inches (the ports are deep) so that when standing and looking down, the foam cannot be seen. This looked much better. Hope that it's OK to shove the foam back a bit.

So, after about two days of testing all the tuning options with music and movies, I found that my favorite sound is achieved with the "sealed mass extension mode", 0 ports open, op mode to EQ1, and Q-control all the way to 0.7. I am replacing a 15-yr old Velodyne 18" sub, and for me, this mode on the HSU produced deep, smooth, room shaking bass during music and movie tests. In fact, my wife and son said, wow, this is much better & more powerful than the previous sub.

I had a few interesting things happen during initial testing. With one port open, there was some chuffing that occurred during the low organ parts of the Saint Saens Organ Symphony. I went right up in front of the sub when it happened, backed up the music and was able to reproduce the chuffing, I could feel the intense rapid bursts of air coming out of the one open port. Not sure whether I had my receiver sub output level too high (the sub volume was in the 9AM position), but the chuffing was there. Ultimately I found that my favorite sound was with both ports sealed, so I'm not concerned about this in my setup.

One other issue I experienced, when I turned off my system, I had a constant hum coming out of the sub (it was still on, set to auto power). When I unplugged the sub audio cable, the hum stopped. My sub cable is old and long (about 30 feet), but it is shielded fairly well. Perhaps it's time to try a new cable, the hum was there but very low volume w my old Velodyne. However, I found that I could turn on the crossover (switch set to in) on the sub and that stopped the hum immediately! So I left the crossover set to in and dial to 90hz (my receiver's crossover is set to 80hz). Problem fixed, but still not sure of the cause of the hum on the cable, as it would go away when I turned my receiver on.

Overall this is the best sounding sub I have ever heard in a home setup, especially in this price range. The tuning options are incredible, the low end extension is phenomenal and I'm glad that I turned to HSU when my Velodyne died its last death. (BTW, the Velodyne has been superb for 15 years, repaired several times for amp & servo issues, this time I just decided it was time for a new one).

Update: Replaced my old sub cable and no more hum when the receiver is off! So now I don't need to use the crossover.

Jeff

[A_Shah]

Originally Posted by Jeffro

I received the VTF-15H MK2 sub this week and it is gorgeous. I've been playing around with the tuning and thought you would all get a kick out of this: At first, I removed one foam plug and left the other in place as suggested for initial setup and configuration. Then I had to go out to run an errand. When I came back, my 9-yr old, who is just as excited as I am to have a new "toy", proudly tells me that he found a piece of foam packing in the bottom of the sub that I must have missed during the unpacking, so he removed it for me and threw it away! ;-). Luckily I could retrieve it out of the top of the garbage! After reinserting the foam and staring at it awhile, I decided that it does indeed look strange with such a beautiful cabinet and a piece of foam flush in one of the ports and the other port clean open. So I pushed the foam more into the port a few inches (the ports are deep) so that when standing and looking down, the foam cannot be seen. This looked much better. Hope that it's OK to shove the foam back a bit.

So, after about two days of testing all the tuning options with music and movies, I found that my favorite sound is achieved with the "sealed mass extension mode", 0 ports open, op mode to EQ1, and Q-control all the way to 0.7. I am replacing a 15-yr old Velodyne 18" sub, and for me, this mode on the HSU produced deep, smooth, room shaking bass during music and movie tests. In fact, my wife and son said, wow, this is much better & more powerful than the previous sub.

I had a few interesting things happen during initial testing. With one port open, there was some chuffing that occurred during the low organ parts of the Saint Saens Organ Symphony. I went right up in front of the sub when it happened, backed up the music and was able to reproduce the chuffing, I could feel the intense rapid bursts of air coming out of the one open port. Not sure whether I had my receiver sub output level too high (the sub volume was in the 9AM position), but the chuffing was there. Ultimately I found that my favorite sound was with both ports sealed, so I'm not concerned about this in my setup.

One other issue I experienced, when I turned off my system, I had a constant hum coming out of the sub (it was still on, set to auto power). When I unplugged the sub audio cable, the hum stopped. My sub cable is old and long (about 30 feet), but it is shielded fairly well. Perhaps it's time to try a new cable, the hum was there but very low volume w my old Velodyne. However, I found that I could turn on the crossover (switch set to in) on the sub and that stopped the hum immediately! So I left the crossover set to in and dial to 90hz (my receiver's crossover is set to 80hz). Problem fixed, but still not sure of the cause of the hum on the cable, as it would go away when I turned my receiver on.

Overall this is the best sounding sub I have ever heard in a home setup, especially in this price range. The tuning options are incredible, the low end extension is phenomenal and I'm glad that I turned to HSU when my Velodyne died its last death. (BTW, the Velodyne has been superb for 15 years, repaired several times for amp & servo issues, this time I just decided it was time for a new one).

Update: Replaced my old sub cable and no more hum when the receiver is off! So now I don't need to use the crossover.

Jeff

Try blue jean cables thats what I have no hum detected

[A_Shah]

Originally Posted by A_Shah

Try blue jean cables thats what I have no hum detected

Kevin



I have this sub for now since 2016, I am curious how do I test if this sub is still working like it should I have a OPPO 205 that I use for my HT system and Wyred4Sound MC 7150 amplifier hooked up to the RCA analog jacks for HT 5.1

Also use it for music sometimes , which is a completely separate system only shares the Sub via the OPPO 205 as my Speakers are Floor Standing Daedalus Poseidon MTM Speakers which go as low as 20 Hz with its two 8 " woofers

Sometimes I feel the sub may have amplifier issues as it does not seem to be as tight as when I purchased it for music it is set at 50Hz

[Kevin_Hsu]

I don't think tightness has anything to do with amp issues. Have you tried taking the freq response of the sub in room?