VTF3-MK4 Orientation?

[chiptouz]

Is there a correct way to orientate this sub? Currently, mostly for aesthetics and minimizing seeing the ports and cable jacks I have the woofer placed towards the wall and the ports/cable jacks placed towards the left speaker. The sub is between the center and left speaker. Am I losing anything from having this orientation?

Thanks for responses.

Chip

[SME]

No. That orientation should work just fine. If I recall (consult them to verify), 2 inches space clearance for the woofer and 3 inches for the ports is recommended. Orienting the VTF-3 with the woofer and/or ports closer to the wall (but not too close) may actually improve the bass somewhat.

[chiptouz]

Excellent...Thank you.

One more for you. When I setup this sub HSU customer support told me that running the sub with two ports open and eq 2 Q 5 would give me the best sound for home theater. While looking at the freq charts on the vt3-mk4 product page it shows that running the sub with one port open on q7 would produce a lower freq at 16 hz. So for home theater what settings should I use?

Thanks again.

Chip

[SME]

I recommend following the advice of Hsu customer support, but feel free to experiment.

[Tom C]

Chip,

I have the VTF-15H and have it set to 1 port open, EQ1 and Q=.7 (16Hz tune). I want the lowest frequencies that I can get. Also, I don’t play loud (usually -16) so I'm not worried about headroom.

Your settings will depend on what you’re looking for and personal preference. Also, your room layout can affect things. Try the recommended settings for a while then, as SME said, feel free to experiment. If you’re not aware of it there is a thread on AVS regarding movies with bass:

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1333462/th...#post_20404060

Pick out a few from the list that you own and try some comparisons with different settings.

Hope this helps.

Tom C

[chiptouz]

Thank you all for the advice. I will definitely try it out. When I watch movies I never go higher than -10. I have the receiver locked down at that volume so hopefully I wont run into headroom issues. I will have to make sure a movie night tomorrow. Maybe 3d Pacific Rim!

Chip

[SME]

As an FYI, Pacific Rim has loud bass, but very little of it is below 30 Hz. As such, you won't notice increased extension with 1-port open on that movie.

[chiptouz]

Originally Posted by SME

As an FYI, Pacific Rim has loud bass, but very little of it is below 30 Hz. As such, you won't notice increased extension with 1-port open on that movie.

Dang! Gonna have to research one with lower base then!

[chiptouz]

Ok, these are the ones I have in the list so which one do you recommend?

Five star

Live Free or Die Hard(dts)
The Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring
The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King
Tron: Legacy(blu-ray)
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
X-Men First Class(blu-ray)

Four and half star

Blackhawk Down(blu-ray pcm track)
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones(dvd)
Jurassic Park 3(dts dvd)
Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World(dts dvd)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon(dvd)
Iron Man 2
Star Trek (2009)
U-571(dts)
The Avengers
Matrix Revolutions
Pacific Rim

Four star

300
Casino Royale
The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers
Matrix Reloaded
Transformers
X-Men 3: The Last Stand
Jurassic Park(blu-ray)
Transformers 2 -Revenge of Fallen
The Hurt Locker
Thor
Sherlock Holmes
Avatar
Batman Begins
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol(blu-ray)

Three and half star

Matrix
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Bolt
Kill Bill
The Hunger Games
The Dark Knight Rises
Captain America: The First Avenger
Amazing Spiderman
Skyfall
The Last stand
Star trek: Into darkness
Bourne Legacy
Man of Steel

Three star

Fast Five

Two and half star

Toy story 3

[SME]

Star Trek (2009) has a lot to offer. Much of the interesting bass in this film is impulsive, very loud and quick. A good bit of the bass in the movie is below what even the VTF serries can do.

The Lord of the Rings films are great. The balrog scene in Fellowship of the Ring has been a demoing favorite for years. That said, there's not much bass below 22 Hz in these, IIRC.

Some films not on your list that probably should be are:

* How to Train Your Dragon -- Perhaps the most engaging use of deep bass I've heard in a movie soundtrack. It has strong deep bass sound effects down to 0 Hz from start to finish.

* Elysium -- Very strong infrasonic content; enough to wobble your eye balls and make you think those flying machines are actually above your house; be careful not to overdrive your VTF-3 on this one if using it in 1-port open / EQ1 mode.

* The Incredible Hulk -- This one may have more bass than any other movie. In parts, it has very strong content at 16 Hz as well as 14 Hz. As with Elysium, be careful.

[chiptouz]

Sme,

Thanks for the info. I have several of those scenes on the avsforum demo discs. I have 3 of them on BR. Will take it easy on the sub. The vol on it is set to the 3 o'clock position and I have my receiver locked down at -10 so it doesn't get any louder. Hopefully this is safe enough.

Chip

[Tom C]

Originally Posted by chiptouz

Sme,

Thanks for the info. I have several of those scenes on the avsforum demo discs. I have 3 of them on BR. Will take it easy on the sub. The vol on it is set to the 3 o'clock position and I have my receiver locked down at -10 so it doesn't get any louder. Hopefully this is safe enough.

Chip

3 o'clock on your sub! Do you mean 9 o'clock? 3 o'clock will put a mushroom cloud over you house!

[chiptouz]

Originally Posted by Tom C

3 o'clock on your sub! Do you mean 9 o'clock? 3 o'clock will put a mushroom cloud over you house!

Yes, you are 100% correct. 9 o'clock. Wow I don't think I would have a sub or drywall taped joint left if the house at 3 o'clock.

[Tom C]

Originally Posted by chiptouz

Yes, you are 100% correct. 9 o'clock. Wow I don't think I would have a sub or drywall taped joint left if the house at 3 o'clock.

Some stuff that I like to pop in for a thrill/demo that’s on your list:

The subway scene in Skyfall. Also, towards the end of the movie with the attack on the Bond family house.

The hospital scene is good in The Dark Knight.

The opening attack in Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World (dts dvd).

After the credits on Avatar there is a THX trailer that has some serious bass.