How big a mistake would it be to use a Hsu sub with these brands in a 5.1 system? The B&W and Paradigm people tell me I need their sub, I've heard great things about Hsu but I'm not sure how important staying in the same brand is.
Don't fall for the hype of brand name buying! HSU Is equal or better for anything even remotely close to the price.
Before buying mine, I had a JMLab Cobalt series for a week. It has a 15" woofer and 175 watts. It was wonderful but my VTF2 mkII with a 10" woofer is much cleaner and more powerful. Go figure!
I just auditioned Paradigm Reference 5.1 system yesterday (Sound Perfection in Menlo Park). Better than anything I've heard so I bought it all except the sub. Sales didn't push the paradigm sub but stressed a quality sub that has highly adjustable crossover. So you can adjust the feq response to match the B&W's or Studios.
I am a big fan of REL but am intrigued by the Hsu VTF-3 Mk 2. The REL has a seperate LFE input so it's very musical and also shakes the walls during Jurassic Park.
Apparently the Hsu has some sort of switch to change between music and theater mode. Anyone familiar with this? Does it work? Is it a pain to hit the switch all the time?