Price Paid:  $399.00 from HSU

Summary:
Note: This review was written by a compulsive researcher & passionate musician / movie viewer:

This sub is phenomenal. I struggled with the audiophile indecision of " More expensive sub by the same manufacture = better" phase, but in the end went with the HSU recommended sub for my room. No regrets.
I removed the carton and placed it in the middle the room. (I know, this is the worst place for a sub, but I enjoy being surprised.) Tried out the scene from "Star Wars: Attack of the Clones" with the sonic charges. The ship's afterburners already had me convinced. My pants were shaking, but not in a bad way. The bass was loud and strong. Nothing like what I was used to. (Get to previous components in a moment).
I moved it into a previously detected 'sweet spot' in the room, shook my head smiling with complete satisfaction. The response is fast & tight. Bullets & explosions pump the chest with that discreet "umph" giving validity to movies.
I leave my system running on FM Radio stations while working, and have been distracted on quite a few occasions with areas unheard in songs I thought I knew.

Strengths:
- Very detailed setup instructions
- Strong, precise bass response
- Quality build (I build custom furniture for a living) Yeah, Its vinyl, but are you paying for a high tech electronic component or a beautiful block of wood? I could reverse engineer most 'high end' , and already have on occasion, products to show how easy it is to cold press a exotic veneer on a substrate, apply a high gloss catalyzed varnish, and call it 'high end / luxury"
- Consistency / Movies & Music sound excellent
- Instructions to exploit both Movie & Music setting
- No listener fatigue
- Blends very well with current system / Tuning is straight forward
- Difference between old and new subwoofer actually noticed by the other, more fair gender residing in the same household. Direct quote " How come its not boomy? I can actually feel it."
- Not bad looking for a box. If I didn't know it was vinyl maple, it would take a little bit of prodding and peeling to notice the seams.

Weaknesses:
- Poses the moral problem of what to do with one of the old subs.
- Thinking of trying out the HSU satelites if the sub is this good....Here we go again....

Similar Products Used:
-Polk Audio 10"
-Paradigm PDR-12
-B & W ASW 610
-Various Bose & Klipsch

Price Paid:  $379.00 from HSU Research

Summary:
The new HSU VTF-1 is my first sub. I replaced my Bose 301s with bookshelf Ascend 170SE speakers. They are very clear and neutral, but lack bass-thus the sub. I did listen to more expensive subs from Paradigm and Klipsch. I ordered the VTF1 based on HSU's excellent reputation, return policy, and customer service. The sub turned out to be much better,and more, than expected. It is not boomie, but provides authority as in the Irish drums in The Celtic Ladies new CD. I listen mostly to music, however, when played with a DVD, such as Saving Pvt Ryan, it wil provide realistic, surround sound that shakes the house. For a small or medium size room, up to 3000 CF, it is more than I will ever need.l

Strengths:
Clear bass-no boominess; variable tuning to maximize loudness or depth of bass; very musical and tons of "punch"for home theater; less expensive than similar offerings from Onix, SVS, and Axiom; better sound (IMO) than more expensive offerings from klipsch and Paradigm; helpful and knowledageable customer service; fast, cheap shipping-$27 CA-FL, five days;sub built like a tank-55 lb shipping wt. and seven year warrenty.

Weaknesses:
For this price, none. Black box is not very pretty (matches my speakers) but a maple version is coming soon for no extra charge. This sub will not fill a huge room, but the 3000 CF rating is probably conservative.

Similar Products Used:
None-myfirst, and probably last, sub.