Does anyone use bass shakers

[artv4]

hi everyone!!!!

i just purchased some new chairs for my ht. i was wondering if anybody has attached any bass shakers to their furniture.

[Azeke]

Yes sirrrrrr, enjoyable for both me and the family when watching movies or playing games. Just watch your levels, btw I have the Buttkickers. There are a couple of other forum members that have them as well, check it out via the search tool.

What brand do you have or are you considering?

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

[artv4]

tanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Chris D]

Yes, I've posted about it here before. I use Clark Synthesis, which to be accurate, are Tactile Transducers, higher fidelity than just bass shakers. Good stuff.

[IllNastyImpreza]

Hell yeah, I've been using bass shakers for years. I've had them in more than a few cars, and they work awesome !

the only con I can think of with them is they do produce alot of exessive "garbage" noise when they hit certain frequencies. But if you have them mounted up underneath a nice cushy sofa of seat or whatnot, you will never be able to hear it.

Since I don't think the bassshakers are powerfull enough to use on home thearter...something like a buttkicker or tacticle transducer would be better suited.

On my current settup, instead of using bass shakers, I mounted a ED 9KV.2 subwoofer under each cusion on my sofa. Works awesome

[Ovation]

Not for me, thanks. I once sat in a cinema seat so equipped (without knowing it) and found it endlessly distracting (sold out screening of Two Towers, so I couldn't find another seat). Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

[H.Donald]

I had thought of getting some...but I bought another 15" sub instead.

[John Holmes]

Nah...my SVS shakes me plenty! :B

[Nolan B]

I use Buttkickers, and love them. They are great if you live in a loft with neighbors like me. I find its best to set them to only kick in on the lowest frequencies, but one thing I have learned about them reading on different forums is that there is no one setting that works for everyone.


I have my bolted right to the frame of my couch. They are great for gaming!

[IllNastyImpreza]

yeah... definatly a GREAT solution for those living with Picky neighbors !

[Jack Gilvey]

Buttkickers are a great addition to any HT, the cheaper "bass-shakers" much less so. The level setting is important to keep them from getting distracting, many tend to turn them up too much (as I suspect a theater would...to impress).

[John Holmes]

I use Buttkickers, and love them. They are great if you live in a loft with neighbors like me.

That is an excellent reason to use them. I've never considered them for such however, it make perfect sense.

[Jack Gilvey]

That is an excellent reason to use them. I've never considered them for such however, it make perfect sense.

Sure. The first thing you lose when having to "turn it down" is the tactile sensation from the bass, which good transducers can help with nicely.

In general, I've found that subs and 'kickers make a very nice system, and that neither renders the other superfluous (and I've run them with an IB).

[IllNastyImpreza]

yeah, IB and Kickers are the way to go

[Chris D]

If you use higher fidelity "Tactile Transducers", (NOT just "shakers") they are capable of reproducing sound via tactile sensation (mechanical energy) throughout the entire audible spectrum and beyond, not just bass. They are used to assist in the transmission of sound without loud volumes through the air. For instance, Clark Synthesis did a theater for hearing impaired people that provides tactile sound through the seats.

[artv4]

chris d,
where can i buy tactile transducers?
art

[Chris D]

Well, since you ask, you can go to Parts Express, one of our sponsors, and they sell multiple brands. Just make sure you click on the link at the top of the forum pages, so that HTGuide gets acknowledged! I've bought transducer equipment from them before, worked out great.

[Hdale85]

I agree bass shakers are toys in my eyes if I were going to try something like this it would be a real tactile transducers.

[Race Car Driver]

At 350 for the transducer and 350 for the amp....

http://www.smarthome.com/8248.html?src=WLS00W00

I may have to wait.

[Hdale85]

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=300-863

[Race Car Driver]

Interesting, 329 =$350, 239 =$150

[Chris D]

FWIW, Parts Express is cheaper than Smarthome. (i.e. $315 for the Gold model, vs. $350) Again, just make sure you click on the P.E. banner at the top of the page to give HTGuide credit! (following links works, but it doesn't let Parts Express know that you heard about it on HTGuide, so they don't think their ads here are working as much)

I personally have six of the Platinum Clark TST's. For amps, you're going to want something with a lot of raw power, and ideally something with a volume control for each individual channel. You may want more or less tactile power than the person in the seat next to you. For me, I found AudioSource 5.3 amps to be perfect... mono amps with volume controls, plenty of power, can daisy chain them together, rack mountable in modules. Just click on the banner and do a wordsearch for "Amp 5.3".

[IllNastyImpreza]

exactly how does it produce "mechanical energy" ??

is this just a shaking of your seat??

[artv4]

good question IllNastyImpreza

[Hdale85]

Instead of a speaker cone the voice coil is connected to a piece that transmits the movement into what ever you connect it to. So its transferring the energy straight into your seat or what not and causes strong vibration feedback.

[Chris D]

exactly how does it produce "mechanical energy" ??

is this just a shaking of your seat??

Yeah, your ear receives "sounds" by your inner ear receiving vibrations. Conventionally, this works by sound pressure travelling through the air, vibrating your inner ear. However, if you press something vibrating up to your ear, you can hear the vibration as the "mechanical energy" is tranferred from the object to your body into your inner ear. Ever notice that if you press your ear up to a door, you can better hear what people on the other side are saying? That's because the sounds inside the room are slightly vibrating the door.

So, bass shakers "shake", or vibrate the seat at a certain rate to get the seat to vibrate at a particular frequency. This travels into your body and then the inner ear. Tactile Transducers are more versatile, able to do this at more frequencies than just the low bass that "bass shakers" are capable of.

It's amazing... you can be sitting watching a movie with shakers/TST's, thinking, "wow... that bass is up so high, I'm going to wake up the rest of the house. If I don't turn it down, the wife is going to come in and yell". But the moment you stand up to go turn down the LFE, the bass drops out, and you realize it wasn't that loud after all.

[Jack Gilvey]

Tactile Transducers are more versatile, able to do this at more frequencies than just the low bass that "bass shakers" are capable of.

How high do you actually have them set? For HT purposes, isn't low bass the point? I run my transducer (Buttkicker) to 40Hz or so, not sure I'd want it responding to every sound.

[Lex]

I installed butt kickers on my toilet seat. Talk about an experience! LOL. JK... i tend to agree Jack, only on the big stuff if I had them.

[Race Car Driver]

I installed butt kickers on my toilet seat. Talk about an experience!

Who needs pills for constipation.

[Jack Gilvey]

oops

[Chris D]

How high do you actually have them set? For HT purposes, isn't low bass the point? I run my transducer (Buttkicker) to 40Hz or so, not sure I'd want it responding to every sound.

For shakers/TST's, it's all personal preference where you set the gain and crossover. For shakers specifically, yes, you're going to want to keep them below 40 Hz for the low bass. (and sub-harmonic bass below the hearing threshold of 20 Hz if the shakers are able to produce it) For TST's, you can set the crossover wherever you want. At first, with my Clarks, I had them operating full range up to 20 Khz, and it was amazing how they added to the audio presentation. But I gradually found myself turning the crossover down lower and lower, until I got them to like 30-40 Hz anyway, so I preferred them at lower frequencies, too. Then again, I'm not hearing impaired, and using them for that purpose.

Gain (or volume) is the BIGGEST problem I've found with the way people utilize TST/shakers. There's a natural tendency for us to say, "Hey, I paid all this money for these things, let's get a full use out of them!" ... and then crank them up. But a lot of tactile sensation can be distracting, and even leave your body tingling. TST/shakers are usually cranked up too much for demonstration purposes, to give them extra "punch" and really demo the capability. But for use, they are most effective when you turn down the gain to give just a little extra "oomph" to the movie experience. To use an allegory, they are the icing on the cake that make it SWEET, not the cake itself.

[Jack Gilvey]

But I gradually found myself turning the crossover down lower and lower, until I got them to like 30-40 Hz anyway, so I preferred them at lower frequencies, too. Then again, I'm not hearing impaired, and using them for that purpose.

Same here. My transducer (I think of "shakers" as the auras, which are more like "buzzers") will certainly respond much higher, but there's little point to having, say, voices shake the couch. I think that if sounds you wouldn't normally feel are made tactile, it's distracting.
I can see the advantage of response above the sub range if that's the only way you can experience the soundtrack. Outside of that limited purpose, the worth of a tactile transducer is what it does in the lowest octaves.

Yes, most demos are way too high, leading many to conclude they're distracting.

[artv4]

any recommendations for amps. i am thinking about purchasing two clark synthesis silvers

[Azeke]

So Chris convinced you . Well, these look pretty good Dayton HPSA1000-R 1000W Rackmount Subwoofer Amplifier , others have used the Behringer EP2500, both are provided by our sponsor Parts Express. I use the Buttkicker Amp which has worked out pretty well for me. Keep us posted on your choice.

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

[artv4]

So Chris convinced you . Well, these look pretty good Dayton HPSA1000-R 1000W Rackmount Subwoofer Amplifier , others have used the Behringer EP2500, both are provided by our sponsor Parts Express. I use the Buttkicker Amp which has worked out pretty well for me. Keep us posted on your choice.

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

azeke,
what particular buttkicker amp?

[Azeke]

azeke,
what particular buttkicker amp?

Buttkicker Model # BKA1000-4

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

[Jack Gilvey]

You can sometimes find the whole Buttkicker kit (amp,transducer, couch mount, wiring kit) for ~$100 more than the individual amp price. Excellent way to go for tactile LFE.

[artv4]

where should i look?
art

[Chris D]

Yeah, read above in this thread for my suggestion of amplifiers. Direct from Parts Express, just click on the link at the top of the page.

[Jack Gilvey]

where should i look?
art

PM'd ya'.

If buying an amp by itself, there are better amps than the BK in that range (like the Behringers mentioned above). As part of the kit, the BK amp is a bargain.

[Openly Baffled]

I think of "shakers" as the auras, which are more like "buzzers"

I have no clue why people always say this and also say that the Auras are weak. I have two of the BassShaker Pro's on the bottom of my couch and have them dialed in just right. They work and feel perfectly fine. Mine are crossed over at 50Hz and reach down to at least 20Hz, myabe a bit lower. They blend in seamlessly with the rest of the system and never draw attention to themselves, and they add just that little extra bit of oomph to the action.

On thing I have discovered while dialing them in is that it is very important to get them in phase with your subwoofer. I know that sounds crazy, but it's true. If they are out of phase from the sub, they won't feel right and will give you that disconnected feeling, drawing attention to themselves. Once I discovered this and reversed their polarity, they simply became part of the overall "sound".

[Azeke]

Indeed phasing is important, but equally important is not to dial the shaker sub level too high, this calls more attention to the shaker and seems to detract from the overall experience.

Peace and blessings,

Azeke

[Kevin D]

Anyone know of an inexpensive delay unit? When I had my Behringer unit, I dedicated one channel to my shakers and set the delays up properly. I wouldn't mind doing this again with a delay unit as reversing polarity doesn't quite get me in sync.

Kevin D.

[Jack Gilvey]

I have no clue why people always say this and also say that the Auras are weak.

I can only judge from personal use in comparison to the Buttkicker kit.

[IllNastyImpreza]

I can only judge from personal use in comparison to the Buttkicker kit.

I've never used the buttkickers, but from my experiene the bassshakers DO produce alot of distortion and unwanted noise...

but if these are hidden underneath your seat you probably will never even notice it.

How does the buttkicker compare with all the "rattling" and whatnot ???