Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Hsu vs Axiom sub woofer

I'm hoping some of you can help me out. I'm about to purchase my new HT system and am going small with m2i's for fronts, qs4's surround and vp100 for my center. The room is 10 x 14 and i'm looking for a compact sub. I'm comparing the Axiom EP125 vs the Hsu STF-1. They are approximately the size i'm looking for. I've read many reviews about the higher level Hsu's and it looks like I could save about $100 cdn getting it over the EP125. The specs seem to be about the same between the two subs however getting the EP125 will allow me to match the speaker finish as well as discounting the whole system. Any thoughts are welcome.

well, you just mentioned the biggest benefit of the EP125.. it will match the rest of the speakers.. but, if that isnt that big of a deal to you, then i would suggest the STF-1. this subject has been mentioned numerous times in this forum before, and the answer is always the same.. axioms subs are good, but the HSU's are better. plus, the STF is cheaper, so how can you go wrong!

so there it is, plain and simple.. if the look is most important, go with the EP125, and you will be just fine. if performance is most important, go with the STF, and you will be even better(just not as pretty)

bigjohn

How about a SVS PB10-ISD?

thats a good choice also.. i didnt mention it cause he seemed to have already investigated the STF-1.

go check out the link that tom has.. that is the new SVS 10 inch woofer. its frequency response is better than the axiom sub and the STF sub, so give it a peek.. i dont think they start shipping til oct or nov, but its a great sub from a great company..

thanks tom!!

bigjohn

What about the new Outlaw Audio Sub? I picked one up and am very happy with it.

The LFM-1 is more like a Hsu STF-3. Different beast altogether than the STF-1 or STF-2. The Outlaw is an excellent sub though (I have one too).

i think the SVS may be a little out of my price range. I'm also not sure how to get it here in Canada. I do know that Hsu now has Canadian distributors where before they did not take orders from Canada.

I'm really interested in know how the two subs i was asking about earlier compare in terms of sound quality. I'm not looking for blow the walls down bass but I do want a rich sound that complements the highs and mids of a complete HT system. My original thinking was to get the Axiom because i figured that it would be a better match with the other Axiom speakers I will soon be ordering. The many posts on this board suggested going with Hsu because it was a better bang for the buck. Did that mean most people think it sounds better than the Axiom or that sound quality doesn't differ but the Hsu can be had for cheaper?

>>Did that mean most people think it sounds better than the Axiom or that sound quality doesn't differ but the Hsu can be had for cheaper?

I haven't heard the Axiom so just going on reviews here. The general consensus seems to be that the Hsu goes deeper *and* holds up better at high volumes than the Axiom, but the Axiom may be better for a pure music application by virtue of having front-firing driver and ports. I don't know the mechanics of it but there seems to be a general view that down-firing subs are not quite as "quick and responsive" for musical applications.

I was ready to get an STF-2 but the dealer I spoke with suggested that I would be happier with the PSB if I was primarily listening to music. They sold a lot of Hsu subs for HT (great LFE *and* great value) but still leaned towards the PSBs for music.

I imagine the Axiom subs are similar to the PSBs in that regard. Don't know if this helps

In reply to:

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They sold a lot of Hsu subs .....

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Which dealer was this and when? Hsu sold very few subs through dealers. Reason being is the markup the dealer was allowed was small in-order to stay in-line with Hsu direct pricing. I have a friend with a PSB 6i....and it sounds good, but my guess is that dealer was trying to sell you what he carried.

American Sound at the north edge of Toronto. Great place, by the way. They went from selling mostly PSB subs to selling mostly Hsu.

They did have a stack of STF-2s in stock, and had both brands set up side-by-side in the showroom.

The guy I spoke with figured they sold 90% Hsu these days. It's entirely possible they might have been trying to keep both suppliers happy, but if you look at all the reviews and average them out there does seem to be a general bias towards front-firing subs for music and HSU/SVS for HT.

There is one STF-2 review which goes on at great length about how "musical" it is but that seems to be the exception.