Would the sealed HSU 15" subs mate well with a pair of CLXs?

[hifiaudio2]

I have been told that I should heavily consider a pair of HSU ULS-15 sealed subs over the JL audio f113 pair I was going to mate with my CLXs. Its certainly attractive from a financial standpoint as two new HSU subs cost about what one used f113 costs.

Does anyone here have experience with this sealed HSU? Is it as fast as the JL?

I am mostly concerned about its mating with the CLX on music. I have no doubt that two of either would be more than adequate for the movie LFE channel.

 

[roberto]

Hola. Why don't you think getting two ML Descent I, with the special CLXs crossover? I have a customer with a very difficult room, and he is very pleased with this combination. I am using a Depth I to match my CLXs with outstanding results, but my room is very small. Try them, you might like it as I do. Happy listening,
Roberto.

 

[hifiaudio2]

Hola. Why don't you think getting two ML Descent I, with the special CLXs crossover? I have a customer with a very difficult room, and he is very pleased with this combination. I am using a Depth I to match my CLXs with outstanding results, but my room is very small. Try them, you might like it as I do. Happy listening,
Roberto.

Thats certainly another option, but two of those cost the same as two Fathom f113s (used pricing on both). I seem to have read over the last year that the general consensus is that the Fathom is slightly better than the Descent i. I have no doubt they are quite close to each other in real world performance though.

I am hoping to get Descent i / Fathom f113 subwoofer "speed" at a much lower price point. If the HSU sealed sub is as fast as I am reading, then my hope is that it would fit the bill.

I havent seen many people on this forum post aboutg HSU though, so there may not be many experiences.

Also I am not sure how much I would get out of that crossover. I use the line level input on the subs and let Audyssey handle the crossover.

 

[GaryG]

(IMO) Wow, you have CLX's. The Fathom f113 is an excellent sub. Roberto (Hola) also has a point with the Descent i. I would rather have one f113 or one Descent i than 2 HSU's. The HSU's are IMHO only good for LFE BOOM BOOM. Not very musical. Take a good bass CD and check out the HSU's. Use something with a double bass, a pipe organ etc. With the HSU I could barely tell what the instrument was but the f113 is tight and sounds good. Listen to the music with only the subs playing. If it's about the money I think it's better to keep your money and use the CLX's without a sub than to muddle the CLX's sound with HSU's.

 

[jmschnur]

+1 I would go with the jl or nothing

 

[hifiaudio2]

OK thats what I was looking for, thanks.

I was hoping that all the positive press on the sealed HSUs could be true. I am sure their ported subs do just boom boom boom.... but was reading that the sealed was super fast and musical.

But thanks for the feedback. Ill keep considering and saving for the JL.

 

[gordonmenninger]

Hmm, IMHO getting an HSU sub would be along the same line of picking up a Yamaha or jbl "sub" at Best Buy... Low / Midfi at best... You will be kicking yourself and always be thinking in the back of your mind that "maybe I should have just went for the JL sub instead this bloated boom box". Your ML system deserves much better! The JL Fathom 113's are know to integrate very nicely with ML speakers so I would highly recommend you save up for one (preferably two) of these beasts...
I own 2 of them and they amaze me every day! These are not about "loud boom", but visceral impact you can feel, and they add a whole other dimension to the music that was missing before. They can rattle your walls when called to do so, but will also move the hairs on your arms on super low material.

I love bass and so far I have not heard a better sub that is available for the money. You should be able to buy one for about half price on Audiogon:rocker:

 

[Peter_Klim]

Hmm, IMHO getting an HSU sub would be along the same line of picking up a Yamaha or jbl "sub" at Best Buy... Low / Midfi at best...

WHATTT?? That's ridiculous. The JL might be better, but don't compare them to BB options when you've never heard them before

 

[Hocky]

I have never heard an HSU subwoofer before, but a lot of people fuss about them on audioholics. To be fair, though, I think that a lot of the chatter on audioholics is internet knowledge and most users have relatively low end systems, so I am not sure what the reality is there.

What I do know, though, is that I just got an F212 a few days ago and it is excellent. It is way better than my Descent was as far as clean, musical ouput and it can be as nasty as I want it to be.

 

[invenio]

I just bought a Hsu Research VTF-15H subwoofer and I can vouch for these. It's really powerful and VERY tight. Running test tones really show off the vast differences bewteen 16 and 20 hz, 50 and 60 hz, etc.... I have a 500 sq ft home theater room and it really shakes the room at 1/3 volume. I have listened to quite a few multi-thousand dollar subs at high end audio stores and this really competes well.

I wrote a pretty thorough review and posted pictures of unpacking the unit here:

Hsu Research VTF-15H subwoofer with Rosenut Veneer Review

My only advise is that if you have a small room, I think it's overkill. It will still sound good, but you'll have the volume down to 1/10th of max.

 

[MartinL]

hifiaudio2 - Are you planning to use the subwoofer mainly for listening to music or for HT or a combination of both?

In addition to the F113, the ML Depth I and HSU, I would look into Rythmik Audio, the SVS SB13-ultra , Power sound audio.

This site http://www.data-bass.com/systems provides tradeoffs and real world performance of varios subs from different manifacturers.

Here is a link of someone who owned an F113, and sold it for an HSU http://www.seaton-sound-forum.com/post/My-New-SubMersive-vs.-JL-F113-and-Hsu-ULS15-3449688