Great definition, very musical, can go very low for a 10" woofer, great sub to match up with B&W monitors, attractive design, excellent customer service, nothing better as far as bang for the buck!

Cost of shipping was a little steep at $50 for Fed Ex ground but this sub would be a bargain at twice the price so who cares! :)

After a little/lot of assistance from the experts at audioreview, I finally decided to purchase the HSU VTF-2. I was looking for a sub that would fit in well with a two channel music only system and I was looking for the best bang for the buck. I currently use the B&W 602 S3's as my main speakers and wanted a sub that was both musical as well as easy to tweak for the most seemless sound possible. I am not dissapointed! My 15" powered Klipsch sub, although able to go very low, was not at all musically inclined. It just added a lot of low end noise. The HSU on the other hand does a great job of handling fast instrumental changes, as well as adding much needed definition to just about everything below 80Hz. All in all this is a very good subwoofer and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a very musical sub that could be used for a two channel system as well as home theater. (Didn't comment much on the HT side but this thing will really pound if you need it to:)

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch, Infinity, NHT (Sub One)

Music!! and DVD's.

None

What can i say about this sub. It is unreal with the amount of power that this puts out. I am used to hearing a obnoxious rumble from a sub, but this one just give a sweet thud. I have used this for about 4 months now and i have had no problems. People would pay $1000 for subs that do similar things. This ones a steal.

Similar Products Used:

JBL Pb12

to continue, this thing's volume is set to only 2 out of 10 and it rocks the house. Plays way louder than the Sony, goes lower, and even humbles the Definitive and the Velodyne. Does not play quite as deep as the VTF-2, but I was already impressed with the demo at Hsu's office. BTW, he ran the whole demo using an old Pioneer 509 dolby digital/dts receiver with Ascend HTM-200's and it sounded absolutely first-rate!!! So much for buying $2000 receivers. If you have the funds, the strength, and the really large room, get the VTF-2. If you have more humble surroundings like me, the VTF-2 is more bass than you'll ever need. €

Textured surface is hella rough. But come in. This thing cost $385!!!! and it's the best sub I've ever owned. Will be a happy camper for along time!!!!$

I've owned four subs before I got my hands on the VTF-2. This being the fifth sub, it is priced in the middle, but it stands out as the best sub I have ever owned. It is not the best sub I've ever heard. That honor belongs to the VTF-3. But that sucker is too big and expensive for me at this point, but the VTF-2 is more than enough sub for my money—only $385!!! A b-stock unit, with a little problem with the paint job, but this thing sounds great!!!! Let's sum up the competition first. Definitive Technology PF12 ($485 floor model): Lots of bass. Great sub for home theater and parties. This thing plays loud and has a fair amount of distortion, which will certainly impress friends and make for good jamming when you have a lot of people over and you need that phat bass. Extension-wise, it's a slot-loaded design, and it will be down to about 29Hz, but nothing below that. The excessive distortion can give you a headache over time if you listen to 80Hz-heavy music. Velodyne F1000 ($500 used): This is their cheapest servo model. Extremely clean bass. So clean that its home theater performance is downright disappointing compared to the Definitive Tech sub. So yes, distortion has its benefits. It serves up only 80 watts and it shows with very limited dynamic output. Won't play as loud as the Definitive sub, but will play much cleaner and extend down to 25Hz, with some usable bass down to 20Hz. Played the Jurassic Lunch track from the Telarc "Surround Sounds" CD and there was a thump in the room :15 seconds into the track. The bigger Velodyne subs have a bigger impact on that part, but it was impressive to see a 10" sealed job deliver a 20 Hz signal like that. And oh yes, with clean, flat response from your subwoofer, you can listen to music for hours and hours on end and not get a headache, unless you listen to the music at outrageously loud levels. Goodness, with this Velodyne and my NHT SuperZeros, I could turn up the volume and it would still sound fantastic. This system was a best buy. Moved to New York, so gave up all this stuff to my family. Then moved back to California, so decided to start anew since my family was enjoying the benefits of surround sound. So I'm using an old-ass Pioneer Pro-Logic receiver connected to 3 NHT SuperOnes (love the black gloss finish and magnetic shielding, and yeah, absolutely fantastic sound from sealed speakers). SuperOnes have good response to about 60 Hz, but would benefit from a sub, so I ventured around. Here were the finalists. Infinity IL100s ($270 refurbished). Stay away from this one. What a major disappointment. Maybe RABOS can tame one of the peaks in the response due to room modes, but that doesn't change the fact this sucker can't even get decent response at 30 Hz. Then I read the fine print of Tom Nousaine's review for Sound & Vision magazine: frequency response flat only to 42 Hz. Whack!!!! Returned this sucker back to Harman Kardon. Sony SA-WM40 ($166): Did the polyfill modification. No sweat. This sucker is not a bad sub at all. Wow. For the price, you can't beat it. What a great, affordable way to venture into home theater. This sub delivers loads of bass. It is fairly clean and plays reasonably low and loud, no worse than the Infinity model that once retailed for $499. The Infinity is better than the Sony, but not that much better, and certainly not enough to justify the $499 price. The Sony would've been a keeper until I went to my family's house and listened to the PF12 and the F1000 again. OK, the Sony got trounced in comparison. But hey, for $166, it's a great sub. It does NOT do 20Hz unlike some people claim. It does not even do 25 Hz. It goes down to 30 Hz, which means it does a fine job for a budget sub. A lot of more expensive subs can't play deeper, just cleaner. This sub goes to my girlfriend for Christmas. She'll enjoy it a lot, especially since she'd never spend $166, much less $500 for more bass. Hsu Research VTF-2 ($385 b-stock). Wow! Go buy it...l

Similar Products Used:

Definitive Technology PF12 Velodyne F1000 Infinity IL100s Sony SA-WM40

When placed properly, very even, fast bass, very musical. Fantastic deep extension for 10" 150 watt sub. Best value I've seen. Great construction quality.

Would be incredible with a parametric eq adjuster like RABOS, but it doubles what you'd expect for $449.

This is a fantastic product, incredible value, and has almost no weaknesses. I have a velodyne spl 1000 which I thought was fantastic until I compared the two and measured them in my listening room in various places. Everywhere I put it, the HSU had more even bass production from 100 HZ and down. It killed the velodyne in deep extension, which dropped off to almost nothing going below 26 HZ, and also had a large dip in response regardless of placement between 40-50HZ. The HSU had very audible output at 20HZ!, amazing for $449. If it had a parametric eq like Infinity's RABOS to smooth a bass peak in the room, it would be perfect. I'm selling my velodyne!

Similar Products Used:

velodyne spl 1000

Extension of sub, flat to 25Hz, ability to produce prodigous amounts of fast and accurate bass(in my listening room of about 2800 cu feet, my volume almost never pass the 10 o'clock position, and remember I dismembered by Paradigm sub.

Hum that is resolved by a three to two wall converter plug. Ability to seriously annoy your neighbors, just tell them there is large truck parked outside with its engine running....

The sub to end all subs (under $1000). From the very day I started listening and feeling it, I knew this was something special. The ability of this fast and musical sub to blend into the whole music and video presentation is seamless and impressive. After my Paradigm PDR10 (a wonderful budget sub) was destroyed (through my... enthusiasm), I researched the web and print, and decided the Hsu VTF-2 was the sub to beat...good luck all you other subs. Price was for a demo from bluewhaleaudio.com through ebay.com. Thank you Sasha of bluewhaleaudio.com

Similar Products Used:

Paradigm PDR10 (great on a limited budget)

amazing value, nice looking sub, easy to set up, most people have never heard of the brand, so every one asks "what the hell is that", followed quickly by "how can I get one" after they listen to it.

Weird plug adapter. Weird and cheap looking, but it cut out the buzz.

I've gad this sub now for about six months, and continue to become more impressed with it every time I use it. The quality of sound that you get out of the sub is amazing. I have moved it around the room, and the sound is awesome in any setting. People who are casual home theater fans will be amazed at the sheer level of volume and the pressures that this sub creates. Even though the sub is powerful, it is not booming, and I have never been able to bottom it out. I replaced an old first generation Kenwood sub that I bought in the early nineties. It was like going from the Wright brothers plane to the space shuttle. When I fist purchased the sub, I watched several of my old DVD movies, and was amazed at the level of sound that I had missed in the past. When you first get the sub, the sound levels and the tightness of the sound can be a little frighting, and will make you jump. I took the plug out on mine, and started running it at about half volume. Quickly I learned that a five on this sub, is like an 11 on others. I would suggest that you reconfigure your speaker levels on your amp, and either turn the others up or down to compensate. I was a little worried about not being able to listen to the sub before I purchased it, but if you do buy one, it will be the best money that you can spend on a budget home theater.

Similar Products Used:

Wharfedale, Onkyo, Denon, M&K

this sub is plays loud. this sub plays low. this sub blends in with my rp-3's like my other subs didnt. this sub makes all five of my speakers sound better. i truely have trouble locating this sub with my eyes closed. the hsu exposed my old subs for the one note boom boxes that they were. i auditioned other subs, i listened to polk and velodyne. i had never heard of this company and discovered it on this website. i really went out on a limb and bought this one based on reviews alone. kudos to hsu research for answering my emails and making such a good product at an affordable price. the price of this sub makes it pure theft. the vft-2 is built well, feature rich and cheap.

if im not careful this sub could probably stop my heart.

i just got this sub and still havent decided for sure where im going to put it. i havent played with the extension mode yet either. this sub blew me away right out of the box. this is a new class of sub for me. i have owned other subs like you can get from the big retail stores. not that you cant spend the same money at those stores, but theres nothing down at best buy like this sub. what im trying to say is i didnt know what i was missing. the price on this unit with the warranty is literally unbelievable.

Similar Products Used:

jbl, klipsch

incredible bass for a ten inch 150 watt sub.... stays with or surpasses the big boys, very musical

none yet

I agree with those who say this is the best sub in the <500.00 market...... very fast, very musical, great for HT. I currently use this teamed with a vtf-3. Sasha @ bluewhale is great to work with in purchasing my subs..... I really feel you can't go wrong with either the vtf-2 or vtf-3 or both together if budget allows.

Similar Products Used:

VTF-3, Inifinity, Jensen, plus many others audition in local stereo shops

Price/performance is off the charts compared to what others charge for really shabby, single note bass.

The "manual" is very poor and leaves you to flip switches and make changes to find the right settings. I strongly suggest a simple page of templates, perhaps three or four, which depict a series of settings and the potential result of this combination. I read the detailed deep bass notes on three different sheets of paper describing the included CD, plus other Cds and DVDs. I ask why this degree of detail cannot be put into making it easier to set up the sub? The cheater cord solution is pretty strange but the hum is removed, so there you have it.

The 30 day in-home trial was all I needed to see as a means to validate the huge support posted on this site for this sub. I am not disappointed in the least. The sub performs like a champ. The tightness and definition is just awesome. No boominess, no single note bloat, just a beautiful stairstep of deep bass. We're hearing bass we have not heard previously and it really enhances the listening experience. It is connected to the LFE output of the receiver so it'll also see use for DVD movie sound. Using it with an Integra 8.2 receiver, Definitive Technology ProMonitor 450s, Pioneer DV37 player in a smallish den with a very high ceiling and openings into two adjacent rooms. Note: I didn't find the finish to be an issue, it is bland and thus, invisible.

Similar Products Used:

B&W ASW 1000

I use this with my Magnepans. Amazing sub very quick and great for music.