"Margaret von B." wrote:

"Howard Ferstler" wrote in message
...

I doubt if you can surpass the extremely clean bass
performance of that F1800RII of mine, right down to 20 Hz. I
have compared it to some sensational stuff, and while the
musical performance of some of them matched the servo, with
test tones the Velodyne always came out ahead, if only
slightly at times. Actually, my modified (by me) SVS 16-46
can generate wall-rattling (and clean) sound right down to
17 Hz.

I don't have the model you have, but I have a HGS (?) - 18 outdoors in my
loggia/pool area that we could drag in (120 lbs ?) for comparison. :-)
In its present location, Hsu need not apply...

I am not sure what those question marks mean, but the first
HGS-18 was similar in design to the F1800RII. The HGS
version had a different cone and a different (probably more
durable) surround, and it also had a more powerful amp. (I
am not sure what the later HGS-18 Series 2 had, but the
latest Digital Drive, DD-18 version incorporates a built-in
parametric equalizer.) The amp power increase was
unimportant, because the servo would not let the sub play
significantly louder than the lower-powered F1800 version.
The bigger amp was just part of a "more horsepower" PR
campaign, probably against Sunfire.

I reviewed an HGS-15 a while back and did a close AB
comparison between it and the F1800. With either test tones
or music there was no difference up to fairly high levels. I
also compared the F1800 to the FSR-12, which is also a servo
unit, but with an older-design driver, and they sounded the
same. An HGS-12 I also reviewed was in the same performance
league, at least up to its max-output point.

OK, I also did comparisons between the Hsu TN1220 and the
SVS 20-39 Ultra and found them to be essentially equal
performers down to 20 Hz. Below that, both were bettered by
my own extensively modified SVS 16-46 unit. (A beta-tested,
mega-driver and some enclosure modifications that I
documented in a TSS article a while back.) Against the
F1800RII, those subs fell a tad behind with test-tone
inputs, but only at really high levels. As far as smooth
output is concerned, all three of the unmodified units had
similar extension, with my modified 16-46 outpointing them
all below 20 Hz and down to 17 Hz. (I consider this to be an
insignificant advantage.) A Hsu VTF-3 I reviewed a while
back was in the same category as these other subs at
moderate levels, but it did exhibit more port noise than I
would like at higher levels. It was the equal of the
unmodified SVS 16-46 before I worked the latter unit over,
however.

In a direct face off between that $1300 FSR-12 Velodyne and
a $500 Hsu VTF-2 I reviewed a while back, they were equal at
reasonable levels even with test tones down to 25 Hz, with
the Velodyne pulling ahead below that frequency. The Hsu did
not distort significantly, but its output fell off below 25
Hz. The Velodyne's did not. Recently, I reviewed a Hsu $300
STF-1 sub for TSS (his smallest model) and it held its own
against the VTF-2 down to 30 Hz. I will assume that it could
hold its own down to that frequency against any of the other
subs I have discussed, at least up to reasonable output
levels. Actually, the little Hsu sub has mopped up the floor
with several $500-$600 class subs I have been fooling with
lately.

The fact is that you can get killer bass response these days
from subs that cost less than a grand or maybe a tad more.
Yes, the Velodynes are very nice and they do have audibly
cleaner outputs at fairly high levels with test tones. But
with music this is nearly always just no big deal. Guys like
you (and maybe even me) will want the Velodyne edge, just
because it is nice to know that the reproduction is so
clean, but we could get along just a well with subs that
cost considerably less.

I will admit that the DD Velodynes do have those built-in
equalizers, and those could be of use. Ironically, the SVS
20-39 Ultra sub I reviewed a while back for TSS also had a
parametric equalizer built in, although it was only a
single-band job. Properly used, such equalization can come
in handy. I rated the SVS highly because of this, although
if you have an outboard equalizer that can also handle a sub
(I have a Rane THX-44), the need for one attached to the sub
is eliminated.

Howard Ferstler