This subwoofer blew me out with its powerful bass. HSU has come up with this fantastic sub woofer which occupies little space (.8 sqft) but sounds like its big brother 12Va. Utilizing a 12'' driver and a 250W MOSFET amp, I have measured 100db spl at 31Hz in my house using a radio shack meter at moderate volume.The sub woofer blends perfectly with my present music system and with HT its fantastic.
I compared the TN1225 with Klipsch SW12 and the Velodyne F1200 at my home and the HSU came out the winner in terms of performance, clarity and loudness.
I would highly recomend the TN1225HO who is looking out to add a sub to their system.
I like the cylindrical shape and the looks of this sub. It can be tucked away in any corner of the room.

Bass is incredible. Music is clean with no distortion. It's got a real small footprint. Price is unbeatable: $385+218+10 (sub+amp+grill)

No grill to protect the driver. Radio Shack has one though.

This thing is cool. So easy to hide that unless you search for it people don't even think I have a sub (until I play something)! :-)
I use it with my HT setup that uses a Sony STRV444ES receiver crossed over at 50 Hz.
For mains I use a pair of Klipsch Forte II speakers. Also use two Klipsch SS1 surrounds and a Klipsch SC1 center.
The sub was shipped with a pipe organ CD. I played it after I hooked it up and my mouth dropped open. I then played an old Genesis (Trick of the Tale) CD. It both gave me chills and triggered my both kid's flight instincts! They bolted from the room like a plane was about to crash into the house. What fun! Movie explosions, especially one scene in Blade, are real scary, like they are supposed to be, even though it pisses off my wife. He He! She’ll be almost asleep, then an explosion rocks the house then she yells at me like it’s my fault!
To feed the sub I use a 350-watt Stryke KG-5230 Sub amp that I bought on line for $218.00. Crossover is also set a 50 Hz. This is a naked amp that I had to build a box for. Like the sub it's also hidden. It's mounted to the wall behind the RH Forte II. The sub amp turns itself on and off whenever it needs to.
When I bought the Stryke amp I also bought their bass test CD. Using a SPL meter, it's flat at about 27 Hz. At 25 Hz, I'm about -3db. I guess if I'd bought Hsu's amp It'd probably be flat to 25 but I'm cheap. The Stryke amp cost about half of what a Hsu amp costs. Hsu's amp has a +6db.boost at 35 Hz. The Stryke has +4db.boost below 35 Hz. At 35 dB. I also learned that my room seems to have a huge 6dB gain at 35-40 Hz. Probably why HT explosions piss of my wife so much. Oh well, I can live with that!

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NHT SW2si

The HSU TN1225HO is one of the best values on subs that I've ever heard.Output is deep powerful and tuneful. This is what a sub is all about.

I could not believe the quantity/quality of bass that I was FEELING from
one 12" driver.

Dr. Hsu was excellent to deal with on the phone and followed up with suggestions
on the best placement of the sub.

Great product, great support, unbeatable price.



BTW: I was considering a sunfire which does great for it's size, but
wasn't in the same league as the TN1225 in terms of musical output.

Kudos to HSU research, they've got a winner.

I got this sub about a month ago, and have been working it into my system, playing with placement, phase, some capacitors, etc... I've ended up using unmodified, and it serves great! The beginning of Pink Floyd's "Welcome to the Machine" makes things fall off of shelves. For more musical passages it's great as well. I can disconnect my satellite speakers, turn up the crossover, and listen to music that is actually identifiable as such. Compared to other similarly priced subs that I listened to, which sounded like "whoof whoof whoof" (i.e. like poop) this sub puts out some beautiful sounds. For a touch over $600, this can't to my knowledge be beat.

I bought the HSU 12W a couple of years ago for use with Roger's LS3/5A's. Loved it. Recently bought the TN1220HO Sub to pair with Martain Logan SL3's. Dr. Hsu went to great lengths assisting me in crossover selection (62htz), placement, etc. in veiw of the odd configuration of the room housing the system. With a bit of patience on my part and his considerable expertise, I couldn't be more pleased. The system response was smoothed considerably in the low bands, where response was previously rough because of the room.Don't believe anyone who tells you this sub can't be successfully paired with speakers like the Rogers or Logans.

I've researched many subs and compiled a list of 20 different models that I was considering. Including the M&K MX-150, Velodyne FSR-15, Mirage BPS400in, Sunfire True Sub, Boston Acoustics VR2000, Definitive PF1500, etc. I tried to listen to every one of them and even tried some out at home.
I had the opportunity to listen to the Hsu HRSW12V and it was sonically a top contender. However, it was too large to fit in the corner behind my main speaker. When I heard that Hsu was releasing a sub that used the same driver and amp as their upgraded HRSW12Va but would only take up 0.8 sq. feet and cost $800 ($200 less than the HRSW12Va) my decision was made!

The Hsu TN1225HO betters the Velodyne F-1200 and is about equal in output to the Boston VR2000 ($1200) and the Velodyne F-1500R ($1700) (both excellent subs). But don't take my word for it. Tom Nousaine (a very respected subwoofer reviewer) tested the Hsu TN1225HO and reported a maximum SPL of 111dB, an average SPL of 107dB from 25-62Hz, and a 102dB average from 16-80Hz! These measurements were taken with a THD of <10% (as he does for all subs tested). These results were within 2dB of both the VR2000 and F-1500R.

As I expected, it performed wonderfully in my media room. Tight, loud, controlled, and can easily keep up with my efficient Klipsch main speakers. My media room has a cement floor and the walls are cement half way up. To get the floor to shake requires a LOT of power. BTW, the floor shakes.

Poh Ser Hsu, the founder of Hsu Research, is wonderful to work with. I've called and talked to him on several occasions. He answers the phone many times! Even though I purchased the sub slightly used, he transferred the warranty and gave me assistance on installing the crossover modules.

For the money, you can't beat the Hsu TN1225HO. In addition, it comes in a size that will fit just about anywhere. For home theater use; you can pay more, but can't get more than the Hsu TN1225HO.

Tim Eckel

Well I got the sub originally for my home theather set up. And i was not expecting it to blend well with my audio set up but lo and behold the subs keep up with my fast dynaudio esotar tweeters they adapt very well with ht and pure audio set up i just loved that visceral effect specially on those organ pieces hats off to Dr. Hsu for a well designed equipment. Highly recomended !!!. P.S. And the TN1220 is on a different league i was lucky enough to audition both but if have the space i'll go for it.

ability to separate itself from the bass notes;having amp
separate--and not having to purchase long RCA cable in order to position the speaker properly

none

This was my most recent purchase and I finally completed the home theater puzzle, WOW I believe this was the best $650 in my system. I knew that a sub would make a difference, but I honestly don't know how I spent all those years w/o one(if you don't have one...GET ONE!). Everyone has heard all the stories about the room shaking and such, so I won't bore you. I love how this speaker blended with my speakers so seamlessly and with little effort on my part. My system:
B&K Ref 20
Carver 705x
Platinum Audio 808/806/808--801/801
Toshiba 2109
Sony CDP-545
Sony 920-HF
Hsu TN1225/250w amp
I am using the crossover in my Ref 20 to cross over all speakers @ 80Hz and I have the crossover on the amp at about 80Hz. I love the way the soundstage brings the voices to you from the center(my friends have to jump up and put there ear to the center to convince themselves it is not on, I just grin). And now the bass just appears to come from the front of the room, oh yeah I have it behind me like Dr. Hsu recommends. I turn around and look at it and can't tell it is on, I LOVE IT! I took a chance on this purchase and believed all the reviews here and in mags...they were all right on target. Believe. There may be something out there as good or better for $650, but I kinda doubt it. Good luck and happy listening. Thank you Dr. Hsu(who I hope I didn't piss off by buying from ABC and not directly from him).

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none

great sound reproduction, deep low bass frequency

none

to tell the truth, my hsu's aren't the tn1225ho, mine are home built, I have the same design but with a kicker brand speaker in two of them, they're the same size as tn1225ho and go down to 25 Hz, but they can handle three hundred watts each. my other two hsu's have the same speaker in it as the tn1220ho, and can handle the same power( about 200 watts) and go down to 18Hz. very good subs, and the best for music. I highly recommend these over the velodyne because of the low Hz reproduction.

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velodyne ct-150

Tight and accurate base

none, an out of the box performer

After reading all of the reviews, researching all the audio magazines I decided to purchase the TN1225HO/500 without hearing the sub. My first impression was that I finally purchased a sub woofer that was all that it claimed to be and then some. The sub produces a tight, accurate base with no distortion. After trying different crossover chips for the 500 watt amp, I found the 43hz crossover blended perfectly with my MTM performance series speakers by GR Research (the most accurate, detailed speakers on the market). Hsu Research support and service was outstanding the shipping well supported. The 500 watt amp certainly delivers the power and sonic performance. If your looking for a high quality sub make the investment in Hsu Research you certainly won't regret the results.

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other kits, velodyne, paradigm