Hsu VTF2 vs. Adire Rava vs. Polk PSW505 (1 Viewer)

[Weilin_S]

I need a recommendation for a sub. I already have an Adire Rava sub. I am OK with the performance with my 32” JVC CRT TV. Now I bought a 57 Hitachi RPCRT TV. I can not place Rava near my 57” TV because it is not magnetically shielded. My optimal place for my sub is next to my TV because my family room is 12 x 20” and my wife has three couches in the other room.

Now my option is to buy a magnetically shielded sub to replace my Rava. My option is a Hsu VTF2 or Polk PSW505 because they are shielded. No SVS sub is shielded. Polk 505 is a 12” 300 watts Continuous Average Output according to Polk website and it has a BASH amp. Would anyone have experiences between VTF2 and Polk PSW505? How much performance I would gain or lose when I replace Rava with VTF2 or Polk 505?

PS. I would like to offer my Rava to Ed Mullen for a real performance test if we can arrange for shipping.

 

[Edward J M]

No need - according to Kyle and DW, it performs almost identically to the Acoustic Visions MRS-10, which I already reviewed.

My advice - keep the Rava for now and try it next to the Hitach. It will probably be fine after you reconverge. Only reconverge after at least 30 minutes of run time, preferably more.

 

[Weilin_S]

Ed, thanks for replying to my question/post,

Do you think with a 12" driver and bigger box (18" cube), should Rava play louder and deeper than Acoustic Visions MRS-10?

I read your reviews on Acoustic Visions MRS-10 and STF-2 back to back, it seems that Acoustic Visions MRS-10 can not play louder and lower than STF-2. If Rava performs almost identically to the Acoustic Visions MRS-10, I would ge some performance advantage by replacing my Rava with a STF-2 or VTF-2, in addtion to magnetic shielding from Hsu subs because all Hsu subs are magnetically shielded.

Magnetical shielding is not a big issue for audio only. For home theater, it is an issue because of CRT TV and even VCR and vedio tapes.

 

[Edward J M]

Not according to Kyle and Dan Wiggins; they both claim near identical performance for both units. Ping Kyle or Dan for details.

Have you tried the Rava next to your Hitach?

If you want to try another subwoofer for any other reason, by all means do so. Just don't use magnetic interference as the justification, because I honestly don't think you will have any problems with the Rava and the Hitachi after you reconverge the unit.

 

[Mike^S]

Ed, when's the review gonna be up? I've been checking Secrets every day and it's still not there. :frowning:

 

[Edward J M]

It's been submitted for publication for some time now. John Johnson does all the final editing and dictates the final publication date for all equipment reviews. Sorry I can't give you anything more definitive than that.

 

[SVS-Ron]

I can not place Rava near my 57” TV because it is not magnetically shielded.

Weilin,

As Ed indicated you can stick any sub right next to your RPTV and not have any problems. The "guns" of an RPTV are typically buried pretty deeply inside a set and stand-off distance with a sub, shielded or not is inconsequential.

Or at least it has been with every SVS we've ever sold. I think we had a couple folks that found some of the Sony direct view CRT HD sets were pretty sensitive to EMI but separation of a foot or two was enough to resolve this.

There's a reason why most premium subs aren't shielded: It's virtually never needed.

Not interested in bending your arm or anything, just don't narrow your options based on this aspect of any sub's design.

Ron Stimpson
SVS