 Hsu
Research STF-3 Subwoofer
I hate subwoofers. I love subwoofers.
I don’t really want a subwoofer, but I need
a subwoofer.
Sense any ambivalence?
I love powerful, deep, well-defined bass. But bass alone is
pretty pointless, except in a bang-your-head-against-the-wall, sensory-overload way. No,
what I really want is bass that matches and enhances the music or sound effects, which are
what I really want to hear. And that’s not easy to come by. Full-range
loudspeakers that produce that kind of bass tend to be big, expensive, and hard to drive.
And did I mention expensive?
As a result, a long time ago, speaker companies began
separating the deep-bass production chores from the rest of the sonic spectrum -- and, not
coincidentally, began selling special speakers that produced only the bottommost
frequencies. They called them subwoofers.
As speakers got smaller and smaller, so did subwoofers.
There was a problem, however. After a while, subwoofers became so small that they could
barely reproduce the tones that small full-range loudspeakers had been capable of.
Eventually, they became so small that they could barely reproduce the sound of the midrange
drivers of full-range loudspeakers. These anemic critters became so common that some
people who owned "subwoofers" had never heard deep bass. They didn’t know
what they were missing.
Then home theater saved the subwoofer. Sort of. Everyone
wanted to hear the "real" sound of the train crashes, spaceship battles, and
explosions that populated the blockbuster epics. The public demanded bass again. And they
got it.
Sort of.
There were still lots of lily-livered subs out there. There
was also a new generation of boomy, underpowered subs that produced bass but could not
integrate with the other speakers in a system -- or with the room. Unless you were very
rich, of course. The very rich seldom suffer from too little of anything.
Fortunately for the rest of us, that situation is changing.
My longtime favorite subwoofer, the Polk Audio PSW650, set new
standards for a (ahem) sub-$1000 sub. Even more recently, products from Paradigm,
SVS, and Hsu Research have been generating a lot of buzz in the high-resolution, low-cost
subwoofer arena. The Hsu Research STF-3, for example, offers a built-in 300W amplifier
powering a 12" driver, for $599.
That’s what I’m talking about.
Talk low, talk slow, and don’t say too much
The STF-3 is handsome, if not elegant. Its cabinet,
22" high by 15" wide by 23" deep, is finished in a satin-textured black
paint. This lends it an understated air that I prefer to the gloss of cheap veneer. The
cabinet is solidly built and aims the 12" long-throw woofer downward, its twin ports
rearward.
The STF-3’s combination amp module and crossover
control panel is also mounted on the rear. The control panel includes speaker-level inputs
(from an amplifier) and outputs (to the satellites), as well as line-level inputs. Control
options include a volume knob, phase switch, crossover frequency control (low-pass
filter), crossover defeat switch, and a three-way power switch (off, on, signal-sensing).
A power LED, IEC power socket, and fuse holder complete the rear-panel options. Four
plastic cones screw into the woofer’s bottom plate, elevating the downfiring woofer
off the floor.
The STF-3’s amplifier is a Bridged Amplifier Switching
Hybrid (BASH) design. BASH amps use a continuously variable supply voltage that generates
high-level voltages only when the signal requires them. This combines the traditional
sound quality of class-AB amplifier topologies with the power efficiencies of digital
class-D designs. However, unlike class-D amps, which generally have a
fairly high output impedance, a BASH amp’s class-AB output stage is designed to
provide loads of damping -- which allows Dr. Hsu to take advantage of the increased
electrical damping possible when a huge magnet is used.
It’s pretty obvious why good sound is a benefit, but
the BASH circuit’s efficiency is what makes it possible to put a 300W amplifier in a
subwoofer at a 100W price. What’s less apparent is how a well-damped big amp driving
a humongous, 7.5-pound magnet offers better control over the STF-3’s 12" driver.
But I can hear it -- oh man, can I hear it.
The cone's structure is heavy duty --
it's made with a flexible butyl-rubber surround, and a flat poly-cotton spider. The
durable surround and spider should keep the STF-3 humming (definitely not thumping)
along for a looong time.
Too low for envy
I installed the Hsu STF-3 in my current reference system: Arcam DV88 Plus DVD player, Anthem AVM 20
v2.0 preamp-processor, five Musical Fidelity M250 monoblocks,
SIM2 HT200 DMF projector, and a Magnepan
MMG W/MMG C speaker system. I placed the sub along the front wall about 4’ from a
corner, set the phase switch to 0 degrees, and the low-pass filter to 80Hz (which, with
room reinforcement, mated seamlessly with the Maggies despite their 100Hz bottom limit).
Swinging low with sullen roar
Wow!
No, let me rephrase that: Wow!
The STF-3 ain’t no pantywaist "subwoofer."
It’s an honest-to-gosh subwoofer. It played loud, it played deep, and it could
definitely keep up with my music, not to mention any car crashes, bombs, or other heavy
ordnance my DVDs threw its way. It also knew when to shut up.
I indulged myself with the lobby scene from Neo and
Trinity’s rescue of Morpheus in The Matrix, and it was spectacular. The
juddering guns, the crashing slabs of marble, the helicopter’s thwop-thwop-thwop
-- all were delivered with breathtaking impact.
Breathtaking impact. What a cliché -- except when
it’s accurate. The STF-3 slammed the deep sounds into me all but physically. It
won’t leave any bruises on your carcass, but you might stop the in-and-out of your
usual cycle of inhalation and exhalation. Your ears might ring, too. Be careful.
Does that sound like self-abuse? I thought so too, so I
cued up David Russell’s Music of Torroba [CD, Telarc CD-80451]. A solo guitar
recorded in Boston’s wonderfully reverberant Mechanics Hall is not what you’d
normally associate with a subwoofer review -- and indeed, I didn’t play it to test
the Hsu’s capabilities, but to rest my ears after the aural assault of The Matrix.
I heard more room. That made the guitar sound more like a
specific guitar -- in this case, a very fine musical instrument being played by one of the
world’s masters -- but the Hsu, which was not reproducing one single shred of the
sound of the guitar itself, nevertheless placed that guitar in an astonishingly believable
concert hall. And that, of course, made the whole performance more convincing. And that’s
a $599 subwoofer?
I repeat: Wow!
Exalted them of low degree
Through the STF-3, the submarine scene from Finding Nemo
was about as spectacular as I have ever heard it. The STF-3 probably had even more
extension than my long-term reference, Polk’s PSW650. Perhaps the Polk’s
near-corner location compromised its performance somewhat, but any way you slice it, the
STF-3 is an extremely worthy contender -- and one that costs almost $200 less than the
Polk.
Of course, the Polk is prettier and more convenient in some
ways (I love that front-panel volume control). But the Hsu’s value is undeniable, and
its performance cedes little ground, if any, to its more expensive rival.
There were differences between the two, of course. The Hsu
might have had more punch in the way it re-created the crash of the siege-engine
projectiles during the battle of Helm’s Deep in The Lord of the Rings: The Two
Towers -- and perhaps there’s a bit more roar as the floodwaters inundate
Isengard and cascade about the supple Ents. On the other hand, the Polk might have been
half a step faster in presenting the huge dynamic clang of Howard Shore’s heroic
score.
I hold the Polk PSW650 in immense regard, but I have to
hand it to the Hsu STF-3 -- it went head to head with the big guns and held its own. And
it’ll leave you holding some of your own, too.
That’s what I’m talking about.
Sweet and low
Hats off to Hsu Research. The STF-3 is a subwoofer that
offers extremely high-performance sound, deep bass, loads of power, and manages to embody
all of the attributes of a true subwoofer for a very modest price.
If you can buy a better subwoofer for less money, I
haven’t heard it. Actually, you could spend a lot more and end up getting a lot less.
With the STF-3, you can have it all -- or near enough that you’ll never miss the
rest.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhometheater.com
Hsu Research STF-3 Subwoofer
Price: $599 USD.
Warranty: Two years parts and labor.
Hsu Research Inc.
3160 E. La Palma Avenue, Unit D
Anaheim, CA 92806
Tel: (800) 554-0150 (US); (714) 666-9260 (others)
Fax: (714) 666-9261
Website: www.hsuresearch.com
E-mail: sales@hsuresearch.com
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