I am planning on buying some B&W 601 S3 in the next couple of days. I was looking at adding a SVS PB-10 ISD or a HSU STF-2 subwoofer. The speakers are $400 and the subs are around $400. Should I be spending more on speakers, say a 602 S3, and less on the sub, say a HSU STF-1? Just wondering what the ratio of money spent should be.
The HSU STF-1 would probably suffice assuming you dont have abnormally high ceilings, but really only you can tell. It just depends on how much bass you want to hear/feel. Judging from your taste in music though, I would probably stick with the SVS to be conservative. The STF-1 can piss off your neighbors. The SVS will make them call the cops.
Looking at the 'alleged' lower limit tells you very little about a sub. I've listened to plenty of subs who claimed to go very low, but in reality didnt perform well at all..
For example, the STF-2 lower extension is rated the same as the KEF-psw4000. If you take a closer look at each sub and you'll see they are night and day from one another. Of course, the KEF costs 5x more, has 250% more power, and has much more quality, not to mention it has about 3 times the mass, but that's besides the point. If you compared the two side by side, the KEF would sound entirely different.
The STF-2 has the same frequency specs as the STF-3, only less output. So I can assume it sounds similar. I own a STF-3, so I've heard one. I also auditionned subs costing much more (like the Mission m5as) and I'll tell you that none of them compared to the Hsu STF-3. Sure the Mission looks nice, but it doesn't deliver the same low end as the Hsu. The price of a sub is not a very useful indicator of sound output. I trust Dr. Hsu's specs. I'm confident that the STF-2 goes lower than the STF-1, and that the difference will be noticeable for Jeb.