PSW505 Vs HSU VTF-2 MK4 Comparrison

tommyt21

This is the start of a comparison of the Polk PSW 505 ($229) and the HSU VTF-2 MK4 ($612w/shpping). I know these are completely different classes of subwoofers, however many noobs such as myself are looking to upgrade and would like to know a point of reference for the upgrade. (Is it worth the extra cash).

PSW 505
? 23-160Hz
? Lower -3db limit 28Hz
? Upper -3db limit 125 Hz
? Slot port/ Front firing
? Power Output 300/460 watts
? 16 X 15 X 18 inches
? Weight 48lbs
Vtf-2 Mk4
? 18Hz ported, 25 Hz sealed
? Down firing/ dual rear ports w/variable tuning
? Power Output 250/1000 watts
? 22 X 15 X 23 inches
? Weight 80lbs

The Psw is a great sub for the price point. I believe that it works well with music and movies. I just always felt compared to the rest of my system this was the weakest link. It got muddy when playing loud and it is not as accurate or as deep as I felt I needed.

I decide to go with a HSU. They seem to have a great reputation as one of the best independent subwoofer companies on the net. The vtf-2 Mk 4 is a beast, it is huge, it should really have its own Zip code it's so big! Its not the prettiest sub, but I keep mine out of site anyway. Hooking it up I was prepared, subs need a hell of a lot of break in and from what I have researched this HSU needs quite a bit. 12 hours in I think I can start to make a good comparison. Even though as the hours tick by it continually sounds better by leaps and bounds as that driver loosens up. The Hsu comes with variable tuning; you can do adjustments out the whazoo on this thing.

My first post will be my thoughts on how it sounds with- Crossover disabled using the receivers at 80Hz. One port plugged, switch set to Max extension and Q-control at 0.5.

This thing digs deep!! It hits much deeper than my PSW505. This is the main difference between the two. With an explosion you can feel it with the HSU with out the extra boominess and rumble that PSW has. Another immediate thing I noticed and was startling is how clean and accurate it hits low notes. It was weird at first hearing music or explosions that I have heard a hundred times with out the extra noise and sound overhang. The Hsu also hits mid bass with a tightness and authority that I have been craving, even at low volumes. With the PSW505 it was just rumble-rumble. The HSU is THUD-THUD with extreme tightness. Music is where the HSU really trounces. The drums and backbeats are so freaking clean, accurate and deep. That now I have beautiful bass and can hear all of the individual instruments melded together in perfect harmony.

This is my first post and I will add more when I have a chance to do some more A/B comparison and mess with the different tuning features. I am also going to borrow a SPL meter to get some real numbers. If anyone has an questions please ask. It may help me focus my review.:redface:

PS The PSW505 is still an excellent intro Subwoofer.

tommyt21

Not letting me upload more pics. I'll figure it out and put the side by sides up

polkfarmboy

Thanks for posting that comparison tommyt, I look forward to some more a/b's

tommyt21

I'm still working on figuring out why its not letting me upload the other pictures.
I did some more testing last night with LOTR ROK and have to say my mind has been officialy blown. Because the HSU is so clean and clear and does not produce a constant rumble like the PSW505. I could hear every detail of the upper and mid range coming from my fronts and rears. Its something that I would not have noticed as much with the PSW505 until audtioning the HSU. When the elphants come charging through its amazing. The PSW 505 was boom boom rumble rumble bmmmmm. With the HSU its THUD-THUD- THUD like someone was dropping 1 ton bags of sand 2 feet in front of me. That brings me to my next point about the HSU, I know bass is omnidirectional, however this sub feels like it images the bass. It feels like if the foot step is in the front of you thats where you feel it, if its behind you it puts it there. Call me crazy but im falling in love with clean accurate deep bass.

More to come still have to mess with the other mutlitude of settings.

justlord

tommyt21 wrote: »

I'm still working on figuring out why its not letting me upload the other pictures.
I did some more testing last night with LOTR ROK and have to say my mind has been officialy blown. Because the HSU is so clean and clear and does not produce a constant rumble like the PSW505. I could hear every detail of the upper and mid range coming from my fronts and rears. Its something that I would not have noticed as much with the PSW505 until audtioning the HSU. When the elphants come charging through its amazing. The PSW 505 was boom boom rumble rumble bmmmmm. With the HSU its THUD-THUD- THUD like someone was dropping 1 ton bags of sand 2 feet in front of me. That brings me to my next point about the HSU, I know bass is omnidirectional, however this sub feels like it images the bass. It feels like if the foot step is in the front of you thats where you feel it, if its behind you it puts it there. Call me crazy but im falling in love with clean accurate deep bass.

More to come still have to mess with the other mutlitude of settings.

This is on my shopping list. Thank you for sharing your experiences. By the way, how did you like Gandalf cracking his staff on the bridge of Khazad-Dum?

tommyt21

Kung fu Panda 2 (3d) rocked last night with this SUB. So clean and accurate my wife was even like WOW. The bass from this sub does not overwelm with noize and rumble instead it compliments the soundtrack flawlessly it keeps sounding better, beleive it or not and I think by this weekend it will have enough break in that I can pull the PSW505 back out and do some hard core side by side testing. If your on the fence about this sub or its cousin the Outlaw lfm1 + I would recommend jumping on it.

If their are any other tracks or sounds anyone would like me to compare just post them, so far I have Gandalf on the bridge @ Khazad-Dum.

Drenis

Do you integrate it for music listening or just direct 2 channel to your mains? If so, how well does it blend?

tommyt21

Drenis wrote: »

Do you integrate it for music listening or just direct 2 channel to your mains? If so, how well does it blend?

Not sure what you mean by intergrate vs direct 2 channel listening (I'm still kind of a noob in some aspects)
I use this sub with the direct mode setting in 2 channel for music and I have also used it with the dolby music and neo6 music and it blends very,very well with the rti a7's in full range. It makes it sound like the bass is actually comming from the A7's thats how well it blends. The crossover on the sub is currently bypassed and I'm using the SC-35 set at 80. Music is where this bad boy shines, and I havn't had time to even tweak the settings on the sub that are used for music. This sub comes with the abilty to tweak it and the way it performs. I currently have it set with more Home theater use having it currently in Max exstension mode. Even in Mass exstension the bass and drum hits blend and hit so much cleaner and tighter than the PSW505.At first I was caught off guard by the lack of overhang on music notes, but after playing a few songs now I'm addicted and can't go back to "dirty bass". I'm not a Country Music fan at all, my wife is but this sub makes the drum hits sound so effing good I may become a Country fan just for this setup. I can test some music for you if like?

Drenis

What I meant was when you listen to music, do you listen to your mains only or combine your sub. You answered that though.

Sounds like a great purchase man. I would like to have 2 subs to cover the low lows but space is always an issue with me... blending my 2 subs with my mains just causes for cancellation and I cant get the sound right. That's what cheap Velo subs get ya so I just run my A9's in full range with no subs. I'm surprised your aren't canceling out when using both together and your mains in full range.

Gotta get those pics up!

Nerd

Thanks for the discussion, I am a newbie and want to know something without interfering in the main discussion.

Should I chose main and Sub in my settings or just Mains (I have Rti12's and a PSW 505)

Thanks

tommyt21

Here are some more pics of the two Subwoofers side by side and one of my front sound stage. I'll get some better ones when I can

ken brydson

Post from Digaantoo reported

london23

Just got mine and can't believe how good it is. I highly recommend listening to the Green Day American Idiot concert DVD to hear just how good this sub is and for making setup adjustments. Even if you don't like Green Day, the sound quality is extremely high on the DVD with really strong kick base and base guitar at the heart of every song. Incredible!

Loud & Clear

I wonder how they would compare if you had 3 PSW-505s. Newegg had the 505s for $169.99 awhile back, so the you could have purchased 3 of those for a shade over $500. Having three would allow you to turn them down a bit and avoid some of the distortion. That would be an interesting comparison, at least to me. They still wouldn't hit as low but they would do some other things well enough to give 1 HSU a fight.

tommyt21

Loud & Clear wrote: »

I wonder how they would compare if you had 3 PSW-505s. Newegg had the 505s for $169.99 awhile back, so the you could have purchased 3 of those for a shade over $500. Having three would allow you to turn them down a bit and avoid some of the distortion. That would be an interesting comparison, at least to me. They still wouldn't hit as low but they would do some other things well enough to give 1 HSU a fight.

I'll still take my single HSU over multiple psw505's. The only change your getting by adding more 505 is the abilty to fill in bass nulls and going louder. The bass nulls I have solved mainly by placement and room treatments. The volume well...lol turn the nob, and as far as distortion my Hsu doesn't even consider the concept. Also you leave off mainy disatvantages from multiple psw 505 subs, placement & calibration, no variable tuning, footprint, and they still wont sound anywhere near as good as a single ID sub. Dont get caught up with more speakers = better sound...Quality speakers = better sound.:idea:

tommyt21

Loud & Clear wrote: »

I wonder how they would compare if you had 3 PSW-505s. Newegg had the 505s for $169.99 awhile back, so the you could have purchased 3 of those for a shade over $500. Having three would allow you to turn them down a bit and avoid some of the distortion. That would be an interesting comparison, at least to me. They still wouldn't hit as low but they would do some other things well enough to give 1 HSU a fight.

I'll still take my single HSU over multiple psw505's. The only change your getting by adding more 505 is the abilty to fill in bass nulls and going louder. The bass nulls I have solved mainly by placement and room treatments. The volume well...lol turn the nob, and as far as distortion my Hsu doesn't even consider the concept. Also you leave off mainy disatvantages from multiple psw 505 subs, placement & calibration, no variable tuning, footprint, possibly more phase control issues & standing waves and they still wont sound anywhere near as good as a single ID sub. Dont get caught up with more speakers = better sound...Quality speakers = better sound.:idea:

piker

I've been craving more accurate and lower hitting bass lately. I was on the fence on whether or not to get a second PSW505 or to jump up to a single, better sub. Price was my main concern. I have a hard time forking out big money on something I'm unfamiliar with. For whatever reason, the HSU sub doesn't have hardly any information to be found online. Despite that, after reading what you have said about this VTF-2 MK4, I have decided to order this sub.

P.S. I don't run my sub volume very high with my PSW505; probably only 1/3 volume. The reason is because there's just too much distortion and rumble going on at higher volumes on the 505. I want deep, accurate bass that can be felt without the rumble. Hopefully this HSU does the trick. I want more oomph in the lower frequencies. I feel like my M70's are doing most of the work and are overshadowing the 505, even with 80hz crossover set on the speakers.

cnh

Nice write-up! No big surprise here, the pictures tell the story...physics and the volume of the HSU cab, plus the, no doubt heavier magnet and assembly of the Hsu woofer, etc.

As mentioned, there's a reason that HSU makes good subs. As for me, though I wouldn't mind having the upgraded bass of a HSU, I can't justify chasing HT perfection--budget wise. And my wife wouldn't understand, wouldn't care even if she were "able" to sense the real difference between my B.A. sub (very much like a PSW505 with a little lower end) and the HSU.

But if you have the coin, why not!

For me, it's all about the two channel these days. I can live with the HT.

Crank it up and have some fun!

cnh

tommyt21

Piker just remeber That HSU driver is stiff as a freaking board it takes 100-200 hours of moderate playing to loosen it up. It will not sound bad **** as soon as you hook it up. Run your calibration with the volume at 9 oclock, also choose the variable tuning you like best. I prefer Mass exstension. You will never look back at the PSW505. Mine has been sitting in the closet since the switch and it will be going on craigslist.
Post when you get it in!

piker

tommyt21 wrote: »

Piker just remeber That HSU driver is stiff as a freaking board it takes 100-200 hours of moderate playing to loosen it up. It will not sound bad **** as soon as you hook it up. Run your calibration with the volume at 9 oclock, also choose the variable tuning you like best. I prefer Mass exstension. You will never look back at the PSW505. Mine has been sitting in the closet since the switch and it will be going on craigslist.
Post when you get it in!

I will certainly run the calibration again. From what I've seen, I'm probably going to go for the max extension mode myself, with one port plugged. I may play around with EQ 1 and 2 and see which I like better.

Do these HSU subs come with the plugs, or is that something that has to be purchased separately? How fast was your sub shipped? Anticipation for new gear like this can be excruciating.

EndersShadow

piker wrote: »

Do these HSU subs come with the plugs, or is that something that has to be purchased separately?

They come with the plugs

Nerd

And my wife wouldn't understand, wouldn't care even if she were "able" to sense the real difference between my B.A. sub (very much like a PSW505 with a little lower end) and the HSU.

Don't assume here, you will be surprised !!!!

Mine has been sitting in the closet since the switch and it will be going on craigslist.

Mine was sold 2 days after I received my LFM :-)

tommyt21

piker wrote: »

I will certainly run the calibration again. From what I've seen, I'm probably going to go for the max extension mode myself, with one port plugged. I may play around with EQ 1 and 2 and see which I like better.

Do these HSU subs come with the plugs, or is that something that has to be purchased separately? How fast was your sub shipped? Anticipation for new gear like this can be excruciating.

If you can spare the exstra coin get a gramma pad. Cleaned my bass up even more

piker

I was lucky enough to be at home for my lunch break today when FedEx showed up with the new sub. The delivery guy at the door said "I've got a very heavy package on the truck for you. It must be a giant printer or something." I laughed and told him it's a subwoofer. He thought I was joking, but even the sides of the box had the product contents plastered all over it. My main gripe when companies ship products is when they don't put their product boxes inside another discreet box for shipping.

Since I was on lunch break, I only had time to open it up and get things prepared. You aren't kidding when you mentioned how the driver is stiff as a board. I could tell just by pressing on it with my hand. This thing will take some time to break in. I cannot wait to get back home and test this out.

Hopefully the house is quiet enough for me to run the 10 minute Audyssey setup.

tommyt21

piker wrote: »

I was lucky enough to be at home for my lunch break today when FedEx showed up with the new sub. The delivery guy at the door said "I've got a very heavy package on the truck for you. It must be a giant printer or something." I laughed and told him it's a subwoofer. He thought I was joking, but even the sides of the box had the product contents plastered all over it. My main gripe when companies ship products is when they don't put their product boxes inside another discreet box for shipping.

Since I was on lunch break, I only had time to open it up and get things prepared. You aren't kidding when you mentioned how the driver is stiff as a board. I could tell just by pressing on it with my hand. This thing will take some time to break in. I cannot wait to get back home and test this out.

Hopefully the house is quiet enough for me to run the 10 minute Audyssey setup.

I remember doing some rough measurements of weight and if I remember right, the weight of the Hsu driver is roughly the same weight as the entire PSW505:eek:

PS.I also reccommend using the crossover bypass on the sub. What did you think of its size?

piker

I've got the sub set to OUT so that my receiver handles the crossover. All speakers are set at 80hz. The sub gets everything below it.

I knew exactly how large the sub would be. I measured out how much space I would be using as well. I still chuckled at the difference between the PSW505 and the VTF-2 MK4 when setting them side by side.

tommyt21

piker wrote: »

I've got the sub set to OUT so that my receiver handles the crossover. All speakers are set at 80hz. The sub gets everything below it.

I knew exactly how large the sub would be. I measured out how much space I would be using as well. I still chuckled at the difference between the PSW505 and the VTF-2 MK4 when setting them side by side.

Once that bad boy gets broke in your going to love it! So excited for you!

piker

My first evening with the VTF-2 MK4 was greater than anticipated. I was not able to run the Audyssey setup as there were too many noises going on in the house today. I was a little bummed by that, but I figured I can get by for a few days with just the basic settings until I can find some quiet time for calibration. So I set the volume to the 9 o'clock position (my 505 was about the same), left one port plugged, and changed the Q control from .7 to .3 since I want tight, accurate bass.

The first thing I tried was Mass Effect 3. I've been playing this game for the last several days in a row, and so I wanted to jump right into it while it was still fresh in my mind. For me, it was the simplest way that I could think of to compare the HSU to the Polk.

Immediately upon loading up the game I was noticing deeper, richer sounding LFE's coming from this thing. This sub doesn't even have to break a sweat in order to be impressive. It's effortless in producing the low frequencies, even at low volume. The Polk isn't a slouch considering its price point, but the HSU hits low enough that I was able to feel it as well as hear it.

Next, I popped in The Dark Knight blu-ray. I have watched the intro sequence to this movie many times before. I try it out every time I make a change to my speaker setup in some way. I read a lot on forums about how this movie is very bass heavy, almost too fatiguing to some people. The first chapter was all I needed to make me grin and realize this is about what it was like when I experienced the movie in the IMAX. Oh... my... goodness. I think that if I turned my volume up to reference level that my entire house would have been shaking.

I finished with the blu-ray concert of Nine Inch Nails. I haven't watched/listened to this in a long time, but someone suggested listening to the song "Closer" by them. I highly recommend everyone try this if you are able. I didn't realize how low this song gets until I played it with the HSU. Wow is all I can say!

The HSU continued to impress me all night. Whether it is movies, music, or games, it does it all very well. I tend to play games about 70% of the time with my setup. Movies about 20%, and music is a slim 10%. Most people here seem to be into audio for either movies or for music. I think that Polk speakers and HSU subs are a fantastic combination and go well with all of the above.

P.S. I cannot wait until the driver gets broken in and sounds even better. Day one and it already puts the PSW505 to shame.

tommyt21

I believe putting the Q on .3 your actually loosing some of the low end exstension. I set mine to .5, however I primarily do movies. The 9'oclock position on the volume is just for calibration after that I put my volume at 12'oclock and run the trim level +3 over my mains. ohhh yeah you can say the last guests we had at our house were more than impressed.:eek:

I still need to sell the Psw505 sitting in my closet. I would Love to some day try HSU VTF-15h ohhhhh yeah!!

PS What's your gamer tag and what games do you play?

piker

For as little as I played my 360 online, I stopped paying for LIVE. It's overpriced in my opinion. I tend to leave the multiplayer gaming to my PC, as I already pay for internet, so why pay for an additional online service?

I think that Q-control is mostly in charge of how tight, or loose you want the low frequency notes to be played/heard.

http://forum.hsuresearch.com/showthread.php?t=95258

piker

Straight from the manual:

Q Control:
This adjusts the bass tightness. The lower the Q, the
tighter the bass. Setting to a lower Q also increases
headroom, especially in the low bass.