Check underneath your HSU subwoofer

This post has nothing to do with the audio merits of a Hsu subwoofer.
There is no denying this is a great sounding subwoofer. But, the four
feet on the sub are finished in a cheap black color, and over time,
the finish will leach into a white rug. At least it does this in
Hawaii, where everything deteriorates, including rubber, metal, etc..
Now I have 4 light brown footprints in the rug, and this can only be
repaired by cutting out four squares from my expensive carpet. Great
job, Hsu. I've not seen too many speakers that can wreak this
destruction, but then again, I have only owned about half a dozen
other speakers, all more expensive (and obviously, more carefully
finished) than the Hsu.

Thanks for that tip, I just got new carpet recently.
Might put some spikes under the feet, or a slab of marble.

deterioration of rubber and foam in tropics
is a big issue. check the foam surrounds
on speakers also. take the grill off your
subwoofer and inspect the edges of the cone
for rot damages. these foam surrounds can
be replaced by a speaker recone shop.
basically the rubber or foam liquefies and
rots, turns into an acidic substance that sticks
to everything.
inside your electronics some manufacturers
mount circuit boards with foam rubber. when
the foam breaks down as above it causes
corrosion of solder connections and copper
circuit tracks, until the circuit board is badly
damaged or destroyed.
it is very prudent to remove the foam inside
electronics devices before this occurs.
the problem is worse on Kauai where it is
wetter and more humid, less problem on
dryer side of islands. in Princeville or Hanalei
the problem is the worst, but i have seen it
occur even in Eleele where weather is generally
dryer.
choose speakers with cloth surrounds instead
of foam. your speakers will work much longer.

wrote in message
ups.com...
This post has nothing to do with the audio merits of a Hsu subwoofer.
There is no denying this is a great sounding subwoofer. But, the four
feet on the sub are finished in a cheap black color, and over time,
the finish will leach into a white rug. At least it does this in
Hawaii, where everything deteriorates, including rubber, metal, etc..
Now I have 4 light brown footprints in the rug, and this can only be
repaired by cutting out four squares from my expensive carpet. Great
job, Hsu. I've not seen too many speakers that can wreak this
destruction, but then again, I have only owned about half a dozen
other speakers, all more expensive (and obviously, more carefully
finished) than the Hsu.


The Hsu's are outstanding in terms of performance, it's too bad you had this
issue that has colored your opinon of them. It's also possible it's a type
of mold or fungus that is growing on the rubber, I've seen some odd things
in the tropics. I'd suggest you at least write to Hsu and tell them what
happened. I'm not sure what they could or would be able to do for you, but
my experience with Hsu makes me think he'd definitely like to know about
this and would probably change the feet or at least add a warning to use
coaster type feet under the legs on light carpet in humid environments. I
had occasion a few years back to speak and correspond with him when he was
looking for some prior art relative to a design Bose was trying to litigate
against him over (despite there being plenty of prior art on the design that
predated Bose's patent application, including my designs), and he seemed to
me to be a very capable and honest, reputable guy trying his best.

"dezza" wrote in message
ps.com...
Thanks for that tip, I just got new carpet recently.
Might put some spikes under the feet, or a slab of marble.



Home supply and hardware stores also sell all kinds of things to put under
furniture and other items feet to solve this kind of problem cheaply, from
simple clear vinyl to teflon coated sliders (which should make a downfiring
sub on slick feet an interesting thing to watch).

I've learned a lot time ago to not trust anything colored darker than white
on light carpet, it's amazing what can both grow on or bleed out of rubber,
or even some plastics.

On Sun, 03 Jun 2007 20:41:42 -0700, "
wrote:

This post has nothing to do with the audio merits of a Hsu subwoofer.
There is no denying this is a great sounding subwoofer. But, the four
feet on the sub are finished in a cheap black color, and over time,
the finish will leach into a white rug. At least it does this in
Hawaii, where everything deteriorates, including rubber, metal, etc..
Now I have 4 light brown footprints in the rug, and this can only be
repaired by cutting out four squares from my expensive carpet. Great
job, Hsu. I've not seen too many speakers that can wreak this
destruction, but then again, I have only owned about half a dozen
other speakers, all more expensive (and obviously, more carefully
finished) than the Hsu.


Most theater carpeting is dark, but that's no excuse for Hsu. Try
OxyClean (mix a tablespoon in 1/2 cup very hot water--it will quickly
foam up to 2 cups!) and apply with a tamping/blotting action, then
suck up the excess liquid with a wet/dry vac. If it lightens but
doesn't disappear, reapply the OxyClean. Apply 3-4 coats of spray
lacquer or shellac to the feet.

Most theater carpeting is dark, but that's no excuse for Hsu. Try
OxyClean (mix a tablespoon in 1/2 cup very hot water--it will quickly
foam up to 2 cups!) and apply with a tamping/blotting action, then
suck up the excess liquid with a wet/dry vac. If it lightens but
doesn't disappear, reapply the OxyClean. Apply 3-4 coats of spray
lacquer or shellac to the feet.

this happens to almost any non vulcanized rubber in
the tropics and yes it is suspected to be caused by
a fungus. this is not just an Hsu problem but a problem
for all audio equipment in Hawaii.
Oxi clean will not remove the residue. it only comes
off with industrial solvents such as denatured alcohol,
acetone, MEK etc... but that might damage the carpet.
I would try "goof off" which is Xylene and available
at hardware stores, similar to dry cleaning fluid but
is also likely to remove dye from carpet and bleach it
pure white.
manufacturers have not addressed the problem with
rotting rubber in tropics. i have seen the same thing
happen to JBL speakers, Revox tape decks, and many
other brands of audio gear in Hawaii.
we weren't really talking about audio merits, as i recall
we were discussing rotting rubber on audio gear that
damaged carpet.

Have you tried Woolite 2 part aerosol carpet cleaner. It consists of 2 cans
taped together. Spray and leave it. I haven't found anything it can't
clean. Amazing stuff. It is available under another brand too, both owned
by the same company. Look for 2 cans wrapped together with plastic.
Available in most supermarkets.


wrote in message
ups.com...
This post has nothing to do with the audio merits of a Hsu subwoofer.
There is no denying this is a great sounding subwoofer. But, the four
feet on the sub are finished in a cheap black color, and over time,
the finish will leach into a white rug. At least it does this in
Hawaii, where everything deteriorates, including rubber, metal, etc..
Now I have 4 light brown footprints in the rug, and this can only be
repaired by cutting out four squares from my expensive carpet. Great
job, Hsu. I've not seen too many speakers that can wreak this
destruction, but then again, I have only owned about half a dozen
other speakers, all more expensive (and obviously, more carefully
finished) than the Hsu.