Reviews & Awards
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"in my opinion, the best subwoofer HSU Research has ever designed.."
— Dr. John Johnson, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity (March 2006) |
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VTF-3 MK 3 Subwoofer |
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"The ambient rumble was loud, the explosions were clean, and rocket engines blasted. Even when I pushed playback levels to "11" the sub complied with minimal protest. Turbo-assisted, it was extremely capable in the lowest octave."
"If you want to know what a gigantic sea monster sounds like when it destroys a city, you can either be there or listen to it through a VTF-3 MK3 Turbo. ...When I cranked it up, it just got louder. ...Part of the fun of this kind of movie is feeling the room shake, and the Turbocharger really helps make it happen."
"I have listened to this track on hundreds of subs, and rarely have I heard it reproduced so well. The lowest notes of the bass line were smooth at low and medium volume; even at very high volume, the sub was pretty tight and free of resonance. The upper notes had a good snap to them, with not a hint of sloppiness or blooming. This recording has a good low end but not huge amounts of rock-bottom energy; so the Turbo helped, but the VTF-3 MK3 also sounded pretty darn good without it."
"It can dig down to an honest 16 Hz and play it both loudly and musically. The sound of the pipes was very realistic, with the entire harmonic structure, from fundamental on up, well balanced to produce a huge, natural sound. If you don't listen to organ music, or in general to material with content below 25 Hz, you probably don't need the Turbo; it's job is to augment the very bottom end, which it does superbly."
"The VTF-3 MK3 Turbo is the total subwoofer package, packing solid bass extension, strong, clean output, snappy dynamics, and smooth tonal response. It sounds equally good on music, where its refined performance shines, and on movies, where it kicks butt like Chuck Norris.... it was the most convincing high-output deep-bass performer in this group, thanks in part to the Turbocharger extension ports, which are the real deal. Plus, the Turbo just looks so cool. If you want the police knocking on your door, this is the sub for you."
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— By Ken C. Pohlmann , Sound and Vision, May 2007 |
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"the powerful bass was nothing less than I expected. And how well the VTF-3 MK3 integrated with the HB-1 satellites without calling attention to itself, was just the icing on the cake"
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— Fred Manteghian , Ultimate A/V, March 2007 |
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"At 20 Hz the maximum was extended to 112 dB [with turbo]; a new record in the Ferstler main listening room. It might have been possible to go even louder, but by then assorted artifacts in the area were very close to dancing their various ways to the floor."
"..one of the best audio investments you will ever make."
"..it would be a very good idea for them to first install a seat belt in their listening chair. Once that is done, and the belt secured, they will experience subjective bass performance equal to or better than what just about any competing subwoofer, no matter what its cost, will be able to do.“
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— Howard Ferstler, Sensible Sound, Issue 111, Jan/Feb 2007
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2003 Editor's Choice Gold Award Winner. Lowest priced subwoofer to receive a Class AAA rating by $1000!
— Stereophile Guide to Home Theater |
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"...VTF-3 is the current champ of the low-priced super subwoofer class."
— Howard Ferstler, The Audiophile Voice, October 2002 |
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"...in Maximum Output mode...the response stayed flat between 20 and 26 Hz, with no indication of a rolloff at 20 Hz, and less overall frequency-response variation from 20 to 100 Hz."
— Robert Deutsch, Stereophile Guide to Home Theater (December 2002) |
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VTF-2 MK 3 Subwoofer |
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The VTF-2 MK3 subwoofer achieves the kind of bass home theater buffs crave
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— Mark Fleischmann, Home Theater Magazine, March 2007
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Lowest priced subwoofer to receive a Class AA rating.
— Stereophile Guide to Home Theater |
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"On a per-dollar basis, direct from the factory, the VTF-2 is the best subwoofer known to me."
— Peter Aczel, Audio Critic Magazine |
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"made my jaw drop....the overall performance of the VTF-2 (in the 25Hz tuning configuration) could be reasonably compared to the performance of the $3,000 B&W ASW 4000....a performance benchmark to which other under-$1,000 subwoofers must be compared."
— Richard Hardesty, Widescreen Review Subwoofer Buyer's Guide |
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Reviewer's Choice Award 2000
— Sound & Vision |
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"...may be the best-bang-for the buck "true" subwoofer you can buy."
— Howard Ferstler, The Sensible Sound |
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Best performer in a comparison test.
— Tom Nousaine, Sound & Vision |
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"[A] best buy in subwooferdom."
— Robert Deutsch, Stereophile Guide to Home Theater |
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"...if you're looking for more bounce from your audio bucks, the Hsu Research VTF-2 powered sub has no equal."
— Steve Guttenberg, Audio |
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"awe-inspiring...I enjoyed more soundstage depth, more thereness, more realism. This spoke louder about the VTF-2's bass quality and inherently low distortion than thunderous SPL output levels (of which, incidentally, it is also quite capable)...a sure-fire recommendation for anyone who has superior monitors or even tower speakers and wants to add quality and quantity bass."
— GoodSound! |
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"Breathtaking impact... If you can buy a better subwoofer for less money, I haven’t heard it...Wow! No, let me rephrase that: Wow!”
— Wes Phillips, On Home Theater (April 2004) |
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“the sub handled the resounding crack of the ongoing cannon fire superbly”
— AVguide Monthly (January 2006) |
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"produced an almost startling solidity...a sort of 'are these really speakers?' effect...the sub is a keeper”
— Home Theater Magazine (Mar 2004) |
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“The STF-2 performed better than its price tag would suggest...exceptionally clean, and when placed appropriately, with the levels carefully calibrated, blended perfectly with the rest of the system...”
— Secrets of Home Theater and Hi-Fi (Dec 2003) |
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“will give an average-size room the
absolute lowdown”
— Affordable Audio (Mar. 2006) |
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“...is a genuine bargain”
— Widescreen Review (March 2005) |
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“high-quality sound, for both hometheater and audio use”
— The Audiophile Voice (Vol. 10, Issue 6, 2005) |
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“Sensational sub...31.5 Hz...106dB....easily surpassed the $500 NHT SW10...as well as the $600 Velodyne CT-120...and was superior to a $500 Axiom EP-175...had no trouble eclipsing the performance of the pint-sized, $995 Sunfire True Sub Super Junior...”
— Howard Ferstler, Sensible Sound (Sept/Oct 2004) |
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“Hsu's STF-1 is one impressive little subwoofer. It went plenty low for true home theater action, with meaningful volume all the way down to 25 Hz — a lot more than I expected. It wasn't boomy yet had me running for cover during the scene in The Italian Job when the armored truck blows through the pavement.”
— Daniel Kumin, Sound & Vision (Oct 2004) |
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“The Hsu Research STF-1 is one hell of a $299 subwoofer...the STF-1's robustly deep bass power was impressive, and it was capable of dishing out low-frequency effects like a much larger subwoofer.”
— Steve Guttenberg, CNET (April 2004) |
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“The STF-1 is a total overachiever. It produced louder, cleaner, deeper bass than something this small and inexpensive has any right to.”
— Jeff Van Dyne, Home Theater Sound (July 2004) |
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“..revealing a fine level of detail, conveying a hauntingly smooth tonality free of the nasal or cupped hand coloration we often associate with horn speakers."
“You gotta love the price”
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— Fred Manteghian, Ultimate A/V, March 2007 |
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“The budget speaker package to beat"
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This speaker may become the underground bestseller of 2006”
"Make that 2007. Aside from the year, I stand by my original impression HB-1"
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— Mark Fleischmann, Hometheatermag.com (March 2007 & June 6,2006) |
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“..sounded better than many far more expensive ones I’ve the displeasure of hearing..played the human voice in both male and female varieties and the system definitely kept me intrigued and smiling”
— Fred Manteghian, UltimateAVmag.com (June 2, 2006) |
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"… the HB-1's are the kind of product that makes one wonder why spending twice as much (or 10 times as much) is really necessary"
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— Steve Eddy, Affordableaudio.org, February 2007 |
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“…it will astonish you”
— Stereophile Guide to Home Theater (Oct 2003) |
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“HSU Research is torturing the competition with an almost painfully low priced and ingeniously designed sub/sat set...Value: 95/100”
— Home Theater Magazine (Mar 2004) |
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“I was surprised by the VT-12's ability to play loud, with full, clean dynamics — plenty loud enough for material like live jazz combo recordings at real-world club levels...By coming up with a novel solution to a longstanding challenge, and by refusing to be bound by hard-and-fast speaker-design “rules,” Hsu Research has produced an astonishing little system.”
— Daniel Kumin, Sound & Vision (Oct 2004) |
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“Sound was terrific...I really cannot think of how one could get better performance in a similar-sized package, and get that kind of performance in any similarly priced system, no matter what its size.”
— Howard Ferstler, Sensible Sound (Sept/Oct 2004) |
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“Editor's Choice...we guess Hsu Research never heard the old expression 'You can't fool Mother Nature'--because it went ahead and crafted a (mostly) teensy 6-channel speaker package that sounds a lot bigger than it should...an incredible value...the VT-12's richly balanced musicality is ahead of every other affordable mini package we've heard...8.2/10”
— Steve Guttenberg, CNET (March 2004) |
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"Editor's Choice...9/10...beats out any speaker set of similar dimensions and price"
— Douglas MacLean, Design Technica (March 2004) |
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“the Ventriloquist system sounded excellent ... clarity was stellar”
— Secrets of Home Theater and Hi-Fi (Dec 2003) |
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"Soundstage Network Reviewer's Choice 2004...may be the most exciting product I review all year...a stone-cold bargain."
— Jeff Van Dyne, Home Theater Sound (July 2004) |
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“...is one very capable loudspeaker
system”
— The Audiophile Voice (Vol. 10,
Issue 6, 2005) |
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“these little loudspeakers sounded just
great.”
— Widescreen Review (March 2005) |
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