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Subwoofer hunt

Hi folks. In the market again looking for a subwoofer...this is to complement my Focal Electra 1008Be with Hegel H160 setup. I was looking at JL E110 sub. Anything else I should be looking at? Also do the amps of these subs blow up frequently?
spoutjack

Showing 5 responses by erik_squires

erik_squires
16,589 posts
 
Bob is 100% right.  A well set up sub is a marvel. Room treatment, bass traps, EQ and is more important than the brand. Only after you say that you have all that dialed in can you talk about which sub is better.

I love Hsu for a couple of reasons, in addition to the quality of the output. The cabinet finish is amazing, and they are tunable, acoustically and electrically. The VTF-15s let you use it sealed, semi-ported or ported, and have a tuning adjusment for Q, very helpful.

For the money I think they beat everything out there. 


Best,

Erik
erik_squires
16,589 posts
 
I found Hsu to be very reliable and the customer service easy and quick to deal with. I had issues related to stock and availability, not reliability.

If you like SurgeX, Furman sells series mode surge protectors at half the price. :) Not all Furmans have SMP, but the one's that have comparable features to SurgeX are less expensive.



Best,


Erik
erik_squires
16,589 posts
 
I use a miniDSP HD for my sub, works great and integrated with OmniMic fantastically. Also work very well with Room EQ Wizard. The usual issues are users trying to EQ for flat instead of a descending (1-1.5 db/octave) slope, and complaining it sounds flat. :) 

Any receiver with Audyssey or DiracLive should do about the same. 

Best,


Erik
erik_squires
16,589 posts
 
The Q control is very useful, but -1 for using amplifier outs. Gives you very little flexibility. I'd rather have control over the high pass and low pass. 

The real issue subs face isn't the electronics or the speakers, its' the room. Using a miniDSP and proper room treatment this is straight forward. 

Best,

Erik 
erik_squires
16,589 posts
 
When comparing subs, the total system cost is important.  For $4k do you get 1 sub, or a pair of subs and $1,500 worth of acoustic treatment and a high quality digital equalizer?

I've yet to see or hear a sub that is better in this regard than a Hsu.

For those looking for specmanship and independent reviews and I point you here:

http://www.data-bass.com/systems

For those looking to learn about subwoofer measurement and integration, I suggest the Room EQ Wizard forums will overwhelm you with information. :)  Good luck.

Best,


Erik
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