I am getting this Diva system to replace my Mirage FRX speakers and Klipsch sub (Which are all up for sale now BTW): 4.1 front C3 center R3 rears AV123 recommended the VTF2 as a sub at $399.00. I think that's an AWESOME deal. I dont know anything about the SVS subs. Is there a model to consider at this price point or is this a no brainer? Whats the verdict on the Hsu subs?
Great sub, the only thing that will compete at that price point is a B-Stock/used SVS or a custom job from Acoustic Visions/DIY (you can get all the parts from Acoustic Visions too along with some great free advice). Give Kyle a shout at Acoustic Visions, tell him your budget and that you'd like to match or beat the performance of a VTF2. See what he comes up with. If you are willing to put the sub together yourself (really quite easy, especially with the flat kits and directions Acoustic Visions supplies) your dollar will go even further. If you can build the whole cabinet yourself your dollar can't go any further (as in you could do an Adire Dharman clone for around $300).
The Rava is a sealed sub which is tighter and more accurate for music. It won't have the headroom or low extension of the VTF-2 however. Both are great subs at the price point though, and which you choose depends on your priority. You won't get much more bang for the buck at the $400 price point with a custom sub, even if you assemble it yourself. At that price point, you will get the equivalent of a Rava from acousticvisions. You could do better if you built the enclosure yourself from scratch of course, but not too much better otherwise. The custom subs get to be more of a bargain at the higher price points. For example, you can get the equivalent of an $600 Adire Dharman for $475 if you put together a pre-made enclosure, or $525 fully assembled and painted. Or for around $750, you can get a monstrous sub that will sound better than most subs cost $2500, including for example the Velodyne HGS18. Short answer - for $400, you can't do much better than the Hsu, if any.
Eric is pretty much right on. If you wanted to keep right at $400 the HSU is the way to go especially if you are at 70% home theater like you mentioned in the e-mail. But like Eric says, if you spend a little more your bang for the buck increases greatly.
>>AV123 recommended the VTF2 as a sub at $399.00. I think that's an AWESOME deal. I dont know anything about the SVS subs.
As mentioned, as a $400 "add on" with a Diva speaker package, the VTF-2 is hard to ignore. A VERY solid performer. As an alternative to the many good plate amps you can now get to power SVS CS-type subs, keep in mind too that the thousands (millions?) of relatively high power, and frequently unused, strereo amps and receivers out there are a good ways to power a passive sub (both Hsu and SVS offer these, along with a host of easy to build "DIY" options). Put 100 watts of power that may be collecting dust behind a $370 25-31CS (Hsu's smaller TN1225 would be another option) and you would have one of the few packages that meet or exceed the VTF-2 in both performance and value. There are a number of options in this price range, but as has been made clear above, it's really the bottom of the sweet spot of performance in subwoofers these days. I'd call it $400 to $700... and with some careful shopping you can find some very potent offering that give up little to many subs costing thousands. Ron
The question is how do you want your sub to perform? In real world situations most of the suggestions given to you will be very good choices for most HT fans. However, it's when you get into things like size, color, shape and performance for a certain amount of change is when the real process of elimination starts. What size room do you have? Do you have size requirements in regards to the size of the sub itself?
