just bought the Buttkicker amp

[peterS]

251.92 shipped.... probably wont build my box for my ascendent audio avalanch for a month or two

[WillyD]

What will be your enclosure design?

[peterS]

dont know, somewhat concerned as it will be placed in a corner of a small room
deffinately ported....

[peterS]

dead on arival.... should of figured

[WillyD]

Sorry to hear that. You're the first I've heard of with that problem.

[dynamowhum]

Ebay?

[peterS]

amazon
purchased the "last one " after this one was doa and instantly the page refreshes from last one to "in stock" lol

so far unimpressed but am willing to try again due to price

dont know how amazon is making money with free shipping to me and back on this

[peterS]

got the second one
dont know why the hp x/o is defeatable because its class d and sounds like crap full range
also the lp x/o doesnt seem to be steep enough so anyone wanting to use one in mid bass region may want to look elsewere

will need to build a box to make further subjective sq observations
deffinitly puts out rated power

[ThomasW]

BK doesn't even recommend this amp for driving subs, let alone higher frequencies. It was specifically designed and built for their transducers. So obviously it's not intended for anything other than low bass.

[peterS]

i couldnt find any info of them stating not to use with speakers
and thats exactly my point why have a defeatable x/o if its class d

[Jack Gilvey]

i couldnt find any info of them stating not to use with speakers

It's only marketed for their transducers. They don't tell you what not to use it with.
All my sub amps sound like sh*t full-range, but don't carry warnings about it.

and thats exactly my point why have a defeatable x/o if its class d

Perhaps someone might choose to use only their receiver's crossover. Is the inclusion of such some sort of tacit approval of full-range use?

[peterS]

im not aware of any reciever that by passes the volume control but utilizes a crossover in a preout

[Jack Gilvey]

m not aware of any reciever that by passes the volume control but utilizes a crossover in a preout

Not sure where bypassing the volume control comes into it, but every DD receiver ever made has a crossover. Since those HT units will feed the vast majority of BK amps, they allow you to defeat the internal crossover if you want.

[peterS]

Not sure where bypassing the volume control comes into it, but every DD receiver ever made has a crossover. Since those HT units will feed the vast majority of BK amps, they allow you to defeat the internal crossover if you want.

well i would argue there are better choices for an amp than this one if you have a reciever as you will have volume control and x/o

if a preamp you have full signal output hence the need for volume and x/o

this has become a stupid thread anyways....

[---k---]

The Buttkicker amp for subs is nice because it is fanless - period. This is its one and only feature that makes it different than other subs on the market.

As for why it may have a x/o and volume, think Bose. If someone buys one of these kits for one of America's best selling home theater systems, then they may need these features. Some Bose systems have all the crossover in the bass module, not in the receiver.

Anyways, who cares.

[Jack Gilvey]

well i would argue there are better choices for an amp than this one if you have a reciever as you will have volume control and x/o

So it's not a good choice for a sub amp because it has a volume control and crossover? How about subwoofer plate amps? They have volume controls and crossovers. A volume control is rather handy on a sub amp, actually, even with a receiver.

this has become a stupid thread anyways....

Indeed. It's not even officially a sub amp, and we're complaining about its midrange and superfluous controls.

The Buttkicker amp for subs is nice because it is fanless - period. This is its one and only feature that makes it different than other subs on the market.

And it's fairly cheap, especially as part of the LFE kit. I don't know what the big issue is, it's not even a sub amp, but happens to work well in this role.

[Dennis H]

And it's fairly cheap, especially as part of the LFE kit. I don't know what the big issue is, it's not even a sub amp, but happens to work well in this role.

Only if you like amps that roll off the lows. Pic courtesy of Steve C's courteous ( ) post at AVS. The dB scale is huge but it starts rolling off the lows at about 30 Hz.

[---k---]

I'm pretty sure that Steve got that from someone else.


The amp is just like anything else. Something is good for something, gets a little press, then hype builds, then the hype gets out of control, and then people start complaining because it doesn't live up to the hype.

[WillyD]

Yeah, its a down a whopping 3-4dB at 10Hz, I don't know how it could work as a sub amp. Totally useless.

:

The amp is just like anything else. Something is good for something, gets a little press, then hype builds, then the hype gets out of control, and then people start complaining because it doesn't live up to the hype.

What hype, and who has complained about it not living up to this supposed hype?

It is a fan less 1000W sub amplifier with no built in high pass and consumer-level sensitivity on the RCA input, for $250. Thats all....but it works as advertised. :Z

[Dennis H]

Yeah, its a down a whopping 3-4dB at 10Hz

A bit more, I think, but who's counting?

with no built in high pass

Errrr, what do you call that LF rolloff? Doesn't look like much on a 160dB graph but, if it were scaled better, it would look different.

[ThomasW]

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_10_3/buttkicker-bka-1000-amplifier-9-2003.html

It's a good buy for those wanting a low buck passively cooled subwoofer amp. Just don't tell The Guitammer Company what you're using it for.... :B

[WillyD]

A bit more, I think, but who's counting? Errrr, what do you call that LF rolloff? Doesn't look like much on a 160dB graph but, if it were scaled better, it would look different.

I think your vision needs to be checked out. :T

The highest relative amplitude doesn't appear to be over 18dB. At 10Hz, it looks like it is close to 14dB to me. If you can come up with a much more accurate assessment, I am all ears.

I call it "not a discrete high-pass". To think otherwise, would be crrrrraaaazy. :??

[Dennis H]

Compare a Behringer (QSC), NAD, Aragon, etc. to the BK curve. I don't know what a "discrete" highpass means. All amps have a highpass filter unless they DC coupled (very rare).

[WillyD]

...what do you want me to tell you? I should have rephrased that. I meant that unlike other sub amps (say, the overpriced 1000W rack mount from PE), it apparently has no built-in high pass above 10Hz. The natural roll-off of the amp does not indicate otherwise.

I never claimed that the BKA has as flat a FR curve as amps from those aforementioned brands.

The amp is -4dB at 10Hz as is...which simply isn't that steep of a roll-off to me. Is it as good as other amps? Of course not, but it works for me and many others. If the 25Hz high pass filter is turned on, the amp is -13dB @ 10Hz....now that is a steep roll-off.

If someone is trying to chase single-digit frequencies, they should definitely not be using this amp. Otherwise, what is the big deal?

[Jack Gilvey]

The amp is just like anything else. Something is good for something, gets a little press, then hype builds, then the hype gets out of control, and then people start complaining because it doesn't live up to the hype.

Actually, I haven't seen much dissatisfaction except for this thread, in which the midrange/treble performance, and the inclusion of a bypass for the crossover, seem to be sticking points.
As I've stated before, it's a fanless, cheap amp that's at least stable into two ohms. I purchased two LFE kits, and am using one to power my LFE's...so the "extra" amp I'm using cost me ~$100. If you have a sub that's flat to 10hz, you might want to look at something else, though.

[peterS]

for the record i wasnt complaining about its performance outside of the seemingly shallow x/o
i just find it odd that a class d has a defeatable x/o considering the noise that is generated around 250hz.... i think many some have read into that statement too much

as far as the freq resp graph i cant imagine a plate amp does much better in this price range

maybe ill drag in my car subs to see what it can do at two ohms in the mean time

on a side note does anyone know where a good source of paper backed veneer as the stuff i bought on ebay impressed upon me how challenging it will be if not paper backed

[jonathanb3478]

Do not consider paperbacked only. TapeEase has wood-backed veneer. There is two-ply and NBL. Check out the link:

http://www.tapeease.com/nblwood.htm

They have 10-mil paperbacked as well:

http://www.tapeease.com/10_mil_%20veneer.htm

I made a paperbacked "clearance" veneer order, and though the are not the most tech-savvy operation I have dealt with, I have no real complaints. I plan to veneer my RS TMWW towers in their NBL style "Santos Rosewood" (Pau Ferro).

[Jack Gilvey]

for the record i wasnt complaining about its performance outside of the seemingly shallow x/o
i just find it odd that a class d has a defeatable x/o considering the noise that is generated around 250hz.... i think many some have read into that statement too much

It just seemed that you would not recommend it based on the presence of volume and crossover controls:

well i would argue there are better choices for an amp than this one if you have a reciever as you will have volume control and x/o

[peterS]

to me thats the attraction of it (its volume and crossover)
personaly I dont think id consider it if I didnt need those features
maybe it still is the best choice for a cheap fanless sub amp regardless... who knows

[WillyD]

maybe it still is the best choice for a cheap fanless sub amp regardless... who knows

Unless you can think of another high power cheap fanless amp, it is.

[digital desire]

I have only had it for maybe a month.
Maybe I am not so picky, but I have been *very* satisified with it. Right now only driving a nht 1259, coupled with a bassis, in a 3.1ft cabinet. So I have not taxed it very much before the 1259 begins to bleed and cry.
Waiting for the tc 2K to swap out and work it out some.

Really, at least for my type of situation, I can not imagine someone not being happy with it.

[Jack Gilvey]

I just had one of mine fizzle this morning. System wasn't running but the amp was on and, after some intermittent buzzing from within the chassis, it was gone. No output at all. I called Guitammer with the issue, and within 10 minutes had an e-mail with the tracking number for my replacement. As with my LFE that rattled, they're including a pre-paid return tag and I'm to just send the bad one back in the box the new one arrives in. Can it get any simpler? No quizzes as to warantee, receipts, etc...just a replacement sent right out. Great company.

[WillyD]

Sorry to hear that Jack, but great service from Guitammer.

[Jack Gilvey]

Luckily I'm not short on sub amps here. Blew the dust off my trusty old PE 300-800 plate, boost defeated, and it seems happy to be remembered.

[digital desire]

That is great service, I do hope it is not a trend though!

[peterS]

FINALLY tried mine with some subs and surprise! resonance louder than the music coming from the circuit board :evil:


fixed- got to bend stuff- dumb design