# HSU VTF-1 Dead :(



## The_Nephilim (Mar 3, 2010)

Hey All,

I was in the Market for some new Speakers and now my Sub just about a few hours ago died..I was playing a CD and I then switched CD's and the Sub was NO Longer Working when I put on the first track..

I had the Sub since 2007 and been working fine just all of a sudden Poof.. Now I checked the Fuse and the Subwoofer cable I even changed the cable thinking it was the cause.. But No such Luck. The light works showing that it is ON when I turn it on.

But when I unplugged it for a minute to clear it's head I turned it on Auto and played a CD the Sub did NOT kick On.. I think the Amp got fried but am unsure..

I had emailed HSU but just wanted to Vent here more then anything.. I Dont believe this died right when I was going to get new speakers. I just hope it is the amp and it will NOT be too expensive to buy one if they even make one for it..

The Woofer has a 7 year warranty but Only 2 for the Electronics. which is fine but If it is the amp 
I will be hoping it will NOT be to costly and I can get that plus the speakers too..

WEll what do you all think is likely to have happened to the sub..??


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## hjones4841 (Jan 21, 2009)

Probably the amp. I think you will find Hsu's customer service to be outstanding.


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## ansat (Apr 22, 2011)

Did you turn it off in your receiver. Try switching the mode on the receiver to stereo or even to prologic


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## The_Nephilim (Mar 3, 2010)

Well I was quite surprised this morning I had recieved an Email from HSU tech support..

They want me to check the Subwoofer out by plugging a CD into the Sub and IF I get no sound to take out the amp and plug the Fron Speaker to the Subs Woofer to test the Woofer..


Well Sounds easy enough and the new amp will only be aboy $245 shipped to my door.. Well The speakers are still insight.. I just need to select a pair..


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

The_Nephilim said:


> But when I unplugged it for a minute to clear it's head I *turned it on Auto* and played a CD the Sub did NOT kick On.. I think the Amp got fried but am unsure.


Have you tried always on instead? Maybe the auto-sensing mechanism is kaput.


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

When you crack it open make sure the wires from the amp to the speaker did not fall off, it is something that has been known to happen.


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## The_Nephilim (Mar 3, 2010)

theJman said:


> Have you tried always on instead? Maybe the auto-sensing mechanism is kaput.



Yes I tried that option as well. It is Dead as I tried what HSU Tech support suggested and it did NOT work..





chashint said:


> When you crack it open make sure the wires from the amp to the speaker did not fall off, it is something that has been known to happen.



Well this paticular model not sure if it is Coomon with ALL HSU Subs is that they have a clip lock to prevent just that from happening took me a while to get them off..


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## The_Nephilim (Mar 3, 2010)

Well since this Amp is Scrap I decided to try and see if I can repair it.. I had Taken a digital Electronics course in High school so I have a little bit of knowledge. I am not compleltey blind..

If I get it working that would save me about 240bucks.. Even if it dont work I will only be out about 15 bucks for the parts.. I am replacing 2 rectifiers 

1. U1520
2. IRF 540

Everytnig else on the board seems to be in order No Popped caps on the Capacitors and NO burn marks on any of the boards..

When I get the parts and plug it back in I am going to check the Power supply but I think that is fine..


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## ambesolman (Apr 25, 2011)

Sorry for the long post.
Hsu has always been very good to me and easy to deal with. They'll even usually give you a returning customer discount (around 5% i think) if you ask. I bought their vtf3mk3 a few years ago and have been blown away by it. My previous sub was a 150w JBL 8" that came with the scs series 5.1. I still use the four surrounds in the rear in my current system. When my father asked for suggestions for a 5.1 in our family cabin, I told him to check out hsu since their speakers had really good reviews and because he liked my sub. I have to admit that I'd been wanting to hear these speakers, but he made up his own mind. It's set up in the den (40x20x20) and sounds fantastic. I was so impressed with the speakers that I bought a pair of the hsu HB-1s in rosenut (really nice and seamless finish). My architect cousin really liked them too. He commented on the lack of seams and overall build quality of the speakers. He's designed and built two of his own houses and runs an architecture dept at a major university so I guess I have to take that as a compliment. What was funny was that he didn't really know that you could get that movie theater experience at home. This still kind of baffles me, but I digress. 
The HB-1s really anchor the front stage and would love to have hsu's center but it's too big for my entertainment center. I have a JBL MTM with 4.5s and 1" tweet that sounds great but dialogue is better on the hsu center, the HC-1. I highly recommend the HB-1s (and in rosenut, though the black satin is nice on my sub too), especially for the price. They periodically go on sale for $129. If you buy them at the same time as your replacement amp, they may give you a discount and could even ask for the sale price. Never hurts to ask. They also have lots of package deals if you need a bigger sub. How big is your room?

http://hsuresearch.com/products/hb-1.html


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## The_Nephilim (Mar 3, 2010)

Hi,

Yes I been getting reccomedations rfor the HSU and SVS Speaker sets.. I may have to look into it..

My Room is 11'x19'x7'.. I would like to get a VTF-15H sub they have. it seems to play the One song I need to have a good sub for, amongst others Organ Symphony #3


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

Subscribed, looking forward to the results of your attempted fix. :daydream:


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## The_Nephilim (Mar 3, 2010)

TypeA said:


> Subscribed, looking forward to the results of your attempted fix. :daydream:




Well a small update. I took out two Rectifiers and ordered both online just waiting for the parts to come in..

Worst thing that can happen is it just will not work and or smoke something terrible LOL!!

Well I dont expect it to smoke but it would be funny if this fixes it.. Once I do get it together I am going to do what I should have checked first the Voltage at the Power supply..

I will also need to get some solder, I have some but it is for bigger boards.. I need some small gauge solder..


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## The_Nephilim (Mar 3, 2010)

Well the Operation was a succsess.. It looks as tho the Voltage regulators where bad..I changed 2 and maybe should of changed all 4??

Well I just saved 250 Bucks will put that towards the new sub..Hopefully I can enjoy at least another year out of the Subwoofer..

IF I sell it I may buy a new amp or just keep it to use as a mid woofer..


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## TypeA (Aug 14, 2010)

Nice :T


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## The_Nephilim (Mar 3, 2010)

Yes I am Tickled Pink This is So Cool.. Looks like I did Learn Something in that Digitial Electronics Class I took..

Well Mr. Banks if your out there here is too you ..


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## chashint (Jan 12, 2011)

nice :jump:


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## Zeitgeist (Apr 4, 2009)

The_Nephilim said:


> Well the Operation was a succsess.. It looks as tho the Voltage regulators where bad..I changed 2 and maybe should of changed all 4??
> 
> Well I just saved 250 Bucks will put that towards the new sub..Hopefully I can enjoy at least another year out of the Subwoofer..
> 
> IF I sell it I may buy a new amp or just keep it to use as a mid woofer..


Glad to hear that you got it fixed!

VTF-1 was my first sub..


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## theJman (Mar 3, 2012)

The_Nephilim said:


> Well the Operation was a succsess.. It looks as tho the Voltage regulators where bad.


It's always nice when a plan comes together. Congrats... :T


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## The_Nephilim (Mar 3, 2010)

Yes the Plan came together nicely on this Opration.. I was listening to it this afternoon So good to have a sub again music is just not the same without a Good subwoofer..


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## The_Nephilim (Mar 3, 2010)

Well a small and Final Update to this thread.. IT appears the repair I made was not as succesful as I first thought.. Either the part I bought was NOT exactly the right part or something else wen amiss and the amp had a catastophic Failure..

So I had just bought a new Amp and will be getting it tomorrow by fedex,, I can NOT wait been without a sub for over a week..

WEll next time I will leave repairs to the pros..


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## Dale Rasco (Apr 11, 2009)

As long as something was learned, it was never a failed attempt!


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## ansat (Apr 22, 2011)

Well that is a shame. You now have a working sub and a project for this winter. But I can defiantly sympathize. I know the feeling of victory followed by defeat


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## BD55 (Oct 18, 2011)

The_Nephilim said:


> Well a small and Final Update to this thread.. IT appears the repair I made was not as succesful as I first thought.. Either the part I bought was NOT exactly the right part or something else wen amiss and the amp had a catastophic Failure..
> 
> So I had just bought a new Amp and will be getting it tomorrow by fedex,, I can NOT wait been without a sub for over a week..
> 
> WEll next time I will leave repairs to the pros..


What kind of catastrophic failure are we talking here? Smoke, fire, melting plastic? That's strange that you got a temporary fix that didn't recur but induced a different failure mode... 

Good luck with the new amp!


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## The_Nephilim (Mar 3, 2010)

Yes The one board was melting away and looked near a meltdown the board was damaged in a spot it looked melted and heavily smoke riden on the board. Something was definetely getting OVER HEATED in the extreme..

Not sure if it was related to the patch job I did on the Power connector or perhaps the wrong Part I ordered..

Still NOT sure what happened but unless I bought a new board (Bad one) with the electronics already done this Amp is Trash..just not sure if HSU would wanna mess with this amp now..

Hey BD55 I noticed you have a Turbo in your Pic is that from one of your cars or what car is it too..


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