You guys finally cost me some money. I have been lurking for a while and just reading all the posts. I couldn't take it anymore, so I bought 4 of the Auras. I also picked up an inexpensive receiver today. I plan on mounting 3 in my couch and 1 in my recliner. I have one other chair I will be leaving in a "non-shaking" mode. Hopefully, I will get things hooked up over the weekend. Keep all the great posts coming.

You'll love em..

brickie

For those with Berkline 088s, I just posted details of modifying mine to add shakers over at http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=489707. Note that this documents adding the shakers to a 088 with electric recline.

A quick question guys...I am starting to set things up for my shakers. I will be running 4 off of a 105watts x 2 stereo receiver. The receiver has A and B speaker outputs that can be used at the same time. Should I hook all 4 up on just the A channel so that I have 2 on the left and 2 on the right channel? Is there any beneifit/negative to hooking up each on on separate channels (2 left/right on A, 2 left, right on B)? I guess this would make each channel then 52.5 watts. I was thinking I could hook each up to its own channel and then use a combination of the A + B channels along with the left/right balance to affect which ones are shaking. Would this work?

Two potential problems.

-Some receivers don't have the same power output on A and B.
-Most receivers are rated for a 8 ohm "speaker", not 4 ohm (each shaker is 4 ohms). If you kept your levels down, and weren't too concerned about the life expectancy for this receiver, you could probably get away with it.

You would need to check that first.

Personally, I would connect all 4 to the A outputs only. Use 2 shakers on each side (2L/2R). Wire each pair/side in series. This will present a nice 8 ohm load on each side. You would lose control of individual shakers, but could still control the two pairs with the balance control.

Thanks for the reply. You have confirmed what I thought may be the case. Hopefully, I will get things set up this week.

I was wondering if an old Pioneer SX-4 could run four of these shakers.

Also, would it be best to hook up two in series to each side or to connect all four in one series to the same side?

I'm guessing you have one laying around?...
20w/ch, will probably work.
2 in series on each side.

Yes, I do.

Will try it when I get the shakers.

Curse You Brickie!!! :-) I am chasing you all around this forum - from the pro amps discussion to this shaker thread...

Just when I think I can slow down and enjoy my humble ht - you've got me running in another direction. Thanks :- )

After reading this thread - and also after feeling the amazing D-Box technology at work last week when I was at the CES - I ordered two pairs of the Aura regular shakers - I know these won't be quite the same as the d-box effect I felt in Vegas - but I can't even come close to affording those.

So it is shakers for me and I had hoped to use the same method to attach them to my couch as you did to yours - basically screw them onto a piece of plywood and attach the plywood to the bottom of my couch (no, I won't be telling the wife - I'll do the job when she is gone shopping)..

Here's my dilemma: Momma's couch is very low profile - not much clearance at all. So, can you tell me - using the attachment method you used, how much clearance do I need to plan for? If you could give me a measurement - that would be awesome!

Also, I figure I will be needing some clearance help - so what do you shaker gents think about adding these:

http://www.clarksynthesis.com/home-feet.php

thanks again.. keep up the good work :-)

Mike, what's up man..Sounds like I'm doing my job..LOL

As for my couch,it's got 4" feet on it, and using 1/2" plywood,iv'e got 2" of clearance from carpet(floor) to shaker.This is with pros,although I believe the only difference in size would be the pros are bigger diameter wise.

Lmk if you need to know anything else.

brickie

Thanks Brickie,
I figured I'd need some clearance help and your measurements confirm that - after your 1/2" plywood and pros install - you've got two inches of clearance on a four inch freeboard. It looks like I am going to have to prop that couch up at least 2" to mount these bad boys in the same fashion you did...

Well, I got an email from Parts Express yesterday - the shakers are on their way so I'll let you know how it works out.

Keep up the good work - Brickie ---

Brickie,

Which F-mods have you decided on?

Actually decided against using fmods altogether...I really do like the effect more without them.I was using a 50 hz.They're a little more active but I like it that way.

brickie

Brickie can you PM me where to purchase these?

Thanks,

Steve

You've got a PM..

brickie

Steve disregard that PM,thought you were lookinn gfor something else..As far as the shakers go,I don't have a source..I bought my pros off ebay awhile ago, and kick myself all the time that I bought only 6.I know you can get the regular ones at Parts Express, and ebay are probably your best bet.

brickie

Brickie, several months back you were a big booster of fmods. What changed your mind?

Skip

Due to some members saying that they didn't feel the need for them,I decided to go ahead and try it without them.To my surprise it was quite awesome.Have actually watched quite a fe wmovies this way and find they don't shake at all excessively like I figured they would have..I actually like the increased activity..Give it a try and see what you think.

brickie

I noticed the picture earlier from the pro (50w) model in a berkline 90. If I wanted to have one shaker per chair (in a coaster/berkline/similar) would a 25w be enough, or would I be better off going with the 50w? Considering that I rarely have my audio at or above reference levels...?

Thanks!

From what iv'e gathered here you would be fine using a regular shaker,

brickie

Yep, Brick's right. You'll be fine with the 25's. I've got both, and I think the 25's are plenty.

Of course, I like a subtle effect, so I guess you'll have to judge for yourself.

Does anyone have a picture of their bass shakers attached to a Coaster recliner? If not can someone describe where and how they attached them?

Thanks a lot,
Steve

I was originally going to wire 6 shakers in a series . See the diagram. This would give me equal power at 12 ohms. A 7th seat is being added to the HT. What's the best way to wire the extra shaker? Would it be better just to run it off one channel?

Thanks,
Skip

I would leave three in series on one channel as you currently have it.

Then... if your receiver can handle a 4 ohm load,
I would parallel two sets of two in series, on the other channel for a 4 ohm load.

If your receiver is not rated for a 4 ohm load, just put 4 in series for a 16 ohm load on the second channel.

In either case, move the L/R balance control off-center to even out the shaking between the left channel set of shakers and the right channel set of shakers.

Of course, you could hit a garage sale and get another amplifier and hook the 7th shaker to it.

Happy shaking...

Joe L.

Thanks, Joe. U DA MAN!

Skip

I finally got my Aura shakers (25 w) installed today. I have 3 attached to my couch and 1 to my Lazyboy relcliner. I am driving them with a 105 w x 2 receiver, 2 shakers per channel. I haven't pushed them a lot yet. The little I have tested them, I definitely like the added effect. Thanks to all you guys for "making" me spend the money and effort on these.

You're welcome..About to go enjoy mine right now!

brickie

First off, thank you all for contributing to this forum. Your information is much appreciated to a newbie like myself.

Allright -I've read all the bass shaker posts and ordered 4 sets. Along with my Clark tactile transducer I hope to be shaking in the near future, if not then the wife might be kicking me to the dog house. Got an extra room at your place Brickie??

I'll submit a wiring diagram to you guys to see what you think.

George

In about 7 months..LOL

brickie

Ok yall I have a quickie for ya. I have 4 4ohm 25 watt bass shakers. I have a 100watt per Channel, 2 -channel amp. I have a reciever that rated a 6 ohms. Now since I have already wired them in series with help from Mike a t Parts express, my question is the following. I am delivering an 8 ohm load to each channel. The reciever is at 6 ohms. Following Ohm's Law is the ohms are say 16 on a 8 ohm receiver the speakers would only get half the power. Well in my case is it safe to say that my shakers are going to get 1/3 less power (8/6). And if so does that mean I don't have to fear blowing them out if I were to (hypothetically speaking) crank the volume up all the way? I'd appreciate help with this.

david_vargas,

Are you saying that you have the shakers, and the receiver hooked up to this 100 wpc amp? or am I getting something wrong?

shaker newbie here, I have (2) 4ohm 25 watt bass shakers, wired them in series with second 105 X 2 Watt Sherwood rx-4103 receiver. The shakers seem to be working just fine Except after Reading back thru the post it appears that it does not take much volume to drive these, some have indicated about 1/2 way. I guess it depends on what you prefer but my volume control goes from 0-63 and I have to adjust it to 42 to get a realy good shake. After setting it to 55+ its a bit to much, Is this normal?

I am concerned with the volume being up to much and causing damage to the shakers.

My first receiver LFE is set to 80 Hz (THX) and I only get the shaking when I should.

These shakers are strange, I don't understand exactly how they work. If I put my hand on them during times when they should shake you don't feel much vibration but sitting in my seat I sure feel it, why is that?

not that I have mine installed yet. But from what I know. a good solid contact is required. I guess some people rig them up quick to see what they are all about and are disapointed. I guess you have to rig them in a way they become part of the seats. Which makes sense. any play you give in your install allows the power of the shaker to disapate through vibration instead of xfering the vibrations to the seats. So, i am gusssing a solid install with no play after installed will give the best response.

How do you have yours installed?

Originally posted by david_vargas
Ok yall I have a quickie for ya. I have 4 4ohm 25 watt bass shakers. I have a 100watt per Channel, 2 -channel amp. I have a reciever that rated a 6 ohms. Now since I have already wired them in series with help from Mike a t Parts express, my question is the following. I am delivering an 8 ohm load to each channel. The reciever is at 6 ohms. Following Ohm's Law is the ohms are say 16 on a 8 ohm receiver the speakers would only get half the power. Well in my case is it safe to say that my shakers are going to get 1/3 less power (8/6). And if so does that mean I don't have to fear blowing them out if I were to (hypothetically speaking) crank the volume up all the way? I'd appreciate help with this.

david_vargas,

You are correct,

The receiver manufacturers like to state power output at 6 ohms because it sounds better on their brochures. (Would you rather buy a 100 watt per channel receiver (into 6 ohms) or a 66 watt per channel one (into 8 ohms?) The first sounds much better.

So... with that in mind you probably have little/nothing to fear about blowing them up.

Put on a movie and enjoy.

Joe L.

My shakers came Pre-installed with my seats so I would assume they were installed correctly. With volume set at 52 of 63 I get a good "jolt" during a impact scene but it just seems like I have to adjust my volume much higher than others have indicated here and was concerned about damage to the shakers.

I mentioned earlier that "Chronicles of Riddick" gives the shakers a good workout. I'll also add "Sky Captain" to the list. There are several scenes with giant robots walking, that shake the hell out of the couch. I got the "turn it down" request from the wife on those scenes.

PS. IMHO, Sky Captain was OK, not great.

enjoy!

shaker newbie here, I have (2) 4ohm 25 watt bass shakers, wired them in series with second 105 X 2 Watt Sherwood rx-4103 receiver. The shakers seem to be working just fine Except after Reading back thru the post it appears that it does not take much volume to drive these, some have indicated about 1/2 way. I guess it depends on what you prefer but my volume control goes from 0-63 and I have to adjust it to 42 to get a realy good shake. After setting it to 55+ its a bit to much, Is this normal?

I have the same receiver and get the same response. I have to turn it up over 40 before I get an appreciable shaking.

ok. doing some quick math. if 6 ohms = 105 watts., then 8 ohms should be 78.75 watts. And you have two 25 watts speakers in series. So, the total power the shakers can handle would be 50 watts output from the receiver. To get 50 watts out of the receiver, the dial would have to be around 64% max volume. Assuming that each digit is 1.6% of the max power, then a setting of 40 would be 50 watts. each digit should be about 1.25 watts if using two 4 ohm in series

So, 42 would be about 53 watts or 26 watts each. setting 55 would be 69 watts total or 34 watts across a 25 watts shaker.

This all assumes each digit is 1.25 watts. it is possible that the lower digits are not set at 1.25 watts each.

Originally posted by salreus
ok. doing some quick math. if 6 ohms = 105 watts., then 8 ohms should be 78.75 watts. And you have two 25 watts speakers in series. So, the total power the shakers can handle would be 50 watts output from the receiver. To get 50 watts out of the receiver, the dial would have to be around 64% max volume. Assuming that each digit is 1.6% of the max power, then a setting of 40 would be 50 watts. each digit should be about 1.25 watts if using two 4 ohm in series

So, 42 would be about 53 watts or 26 watts each. setting 55 would be 69 watts total or 34 watts across a 25 watts shaker.

This all assumes each digit is 1.25 watts. it is possible that the lower digits are not set at 1.25 watts each.

Exactly,

Most volume controls are not linear or anywhere near it.
If the control was linear, it would be difficult to adjust to a low listening level.

It also depends on input sensitivity of the input you are using. Some may reach full volume at 1 volt input, others at a lesser level. In other words, a specific brand/model may be less sensitive and need to have the volume knob turned higher to reach a given output in watts to a given load.

If you can turn the knob up and the shaking gets too much, then it really does not matter what the knob is set to when the shaking is set to a comfortable level (within reasonable power limits... of course)

Joe L.

Right, what he said. given that info. The max is still the max. so if sherwood didn't give false info which is very possible since they use 6 ohms instead of 8 for their power readings. Anyway, max would be 78. at max it would be 39 watts each shaker. Linear or not, max is not a good idea. but like Joe said, lower end because of loads and such, it might be different between different units. But, should be closer to linear from max down then from down going up. So, with that max would be at 63 and maybe close to linear going down. with that. In the 40's would be about right for staying around 50 watts total. Lower doesn't matter but in the 50's would most likely be pushing over the 25 watts per shaker.

If you can turn the knob up and the shaking gets too much, then it really does not matter what the knob is set to when the shaking is set to a comfortable level (within reasonable power limits... of course)

I agree whole-heartedly. The number doesn't bother me. I just set it wherever I feel is right.

Did Aura go out of business or create a new model after the pro or something? I see comments like this on parts express and wonder what's going on...

"Through a special buyout deal we were able to purchase a large quantity of the last remaining inventory of the world famous Aura Pro Bass Shakers!"

Is this just a sales tactic to try to get me to buy them?

reaper

Aura no longer makes the regular shaker. They still make the pro version. I emailed Aura a few months ago. PE brough a bunch of both the regular and pro version. They've sold out the pros but still have the regulars.

This seems to indicate that they have stock on the pros still

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=299-028

It looks like PE got some more Pros. They had been out for several weeks when I was looking to get mine.

Man,I should go ahead and order the last batch of them I need..

brickie

I called Parts Express and they have a bunch- wouldn't give exact numbers but alot. John said that they very well could go in a hurry though. I just bought 8 of the standards and don't know if a couple of these would really do me any good or not.

I just went ahead and ordered six of the pros from Parts express ( thanks for the tip!).
Would it be overkill to use two of the pros per Coaster chair?
What would be the best way to hook these up - to a spare receiver at 100 watts a channel or two separate amplifiers?
Are the pros twice as powerful as the regular shakers?

Originally posted by lammarwell

Would it be overkill to use two of the pros per Coaster chair?
What would be the best way to hook these up - to a spare receiver at 100 watts a channel or two separate amplifiers?
Are the pros twice as powerful as the regular shakers?

If you did 1 per chair and powered them with the spare receiver (allowing you to adjust the "volume" when you want) you will be very happy.

More than that is complete overkill IMHO.

I just bought a Clark Tactile Transducer for my rear riser and I now have 6 of the Aura 25W shakers that I can use for my 3 Coaster style seats in the front row. I was planning on running the Clark off one channel and the shakers off the other. Here are the specs of the 2 channel amp. There are separate volume controls for each channel. Could one of the thread experts please tell me how to get the best results.

Specs:* Power output: 175 watts RMS x 2 (8 ohm load), 250 watts RMS/500 watts peak x 2 (4 ohm load) * Bridgeable to 1000 watts peak x 1 (8 ohm load)

Thank you very much
Steve
seatlsteve@aol.com

steve,

if you are going to run 6 shakers, you are going to end up using a 6 ohm load. The easiest way to do this is to run each pair in parallel. and then connect each pair in series. A pair in parallel will result in 2 ohms, then when you connect each in series, you end up with 6 ohms. That should take care of your base shakers and your one channel.

How many transducers do you have and what Ohm are they?

One transducer. I believe it is 4 Ohm I am in Vegas right now and will be back home Thurs. The transducer and amp should be there Fri.
Thanks,
Steve
seatlsteve@aol.com

I recently purchased 6 shaker pros ( 50W version) and would like to hook all of them up to a spare 250watt subwoofer plate amplifier i have on hand. It is a single channel amplifier.
If i hooked them up as you suggested with a 6 ohm load in the end how much power would each bass shaker receive?
Is this amplifier big enough to power 6 bass shaker pros?

lammarwell,

The subwoofer amplifier is probably rated for 250 watts into a 4 ohm load.

Since you will be using a 6 ohm load, you will not be able to get 250 watts, instead, you will have somewhere near 166 watts available.
(4/6ths of 250 watts)

If you split that evenly between your 6 shakers, each will get a tad over 27 watts.

Edit: I checked partespress.com and saw that a 250 watt ssubwoofer amplifier was measured at 180 watts into 8 ohms. That might inidicate you could get as much as 200 watts or so into 6 ohms. In that case, you might get 33 watts delivered to each of your 6 shakers.

Joe L.

Is 27 watts enough power to drive a Bass shaker Pro? Did i ever mention how much i love this site!!

Is there anyway of wiring 6 to obtain a 4 ohm load?

It has been reported in one of the bass-shaker threads (based on correspondence with Aura corp.) that internally the Aura PRO shaker is identical to the Non-pro model. The difference is in the heat-sink-fins that exist on the PRO model case. It can handle more power (50 watts) because it can safely dissipate more heat.

It will shake more violently at the higher power levels the non-pro can handle simply because it is being fed more power. For power levels under the 25 watts the non-pros can handle, the amount of shaking will be pretty much the same, PRO or Non-PRO.

Since many of us are using the non-pro model at less than their 25 watt rating and shaking so much that we need to turn our amps down, I would guess that the 27 to 33 watts we are figuring you will have available from your "250 watt sub amplifier" would be just fine.

Give it a try. You will probably have plenty of power. remember, like sound, it takes about four times the power to double the amount of shaking.

Joe L.

Joes' absolutely right..You'll get more shaking than you can handle!

brickie

Originally posted by lammarwell
Is there anyway of wiring 6 to obtain a 4 ohm load?

Nope. Sorry. Can't cheat Ohm's law. Best you could do is parallel three sets of two in series. Each set of two in series would be 8 ohms, three paralleled sets of two would result in a load of 2.66 ohms. (A bit low for most subwoofer amplifiers, but who knows, yours might be able to handle a 2.66 ohm load)

Best case, it works with a 2.66 ohm load and now you have to turn the volume way down because the amplifier is producing over 300 watts. Worst case, the amplifier overheats and shuts down, or shuts-down from what it thinks is a short, or self-destructs if it has no overload or overheat protection.

Joe L.

Thanks for the info guys. I am going to try it out and see how they work!

Okay, I just got two of the Pro model as a birthday gift from my daughter and her boyfriend and have another on order. The idea is to connect two to the couch in the living room and one to the loveseat. I'm trying to restrain myself since it's a LR HT setup!

So my question is how do I wire this up? I'm hoping to keep it very simple, seems the easiest would be to split the signal to my subwoofer (SVS 20-39 PCi) and run the other feed to a plate amp powering the Bass Shakers. My question is how do I wire this properly? I was looking at the 120 Watt plate amp at PE to drive things.

Any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Probably the best way would be to wire all 3 in series for a nice 12 ohm load.As for the splitting the signal that sounds fine...Then just run 1 to SVS other to plate amp.Should be fairly simple.

brickie

This forum continues to cost me money!! :)

I just ordered a pair of the bass shaker pros for my Berkline 099's. I plan to power them with a spare Dynaco 75wpc amp from the subwoofer feed off of my receiver. The problem is the amp doesn't have any volume control (it is truly a block amplifier).

Anyone have any ideas on how to regulate the volume/power on these? I heard using an 'L pad' between the amp and the bass shakers isn't that good. What about something on the line input of the amp?

Thanks.

-Gary.

Originally posted by brickie
Probably the best way would be to wire all 3 in series for a nice 12 ohm load.As for the splitting the signal that sounds fine...Then just run 1 to SVS other to plate amp.Should be fairly simple.

brickie

This is exactly how I wired my 3 shakers to my spare receiver. Works perfect.

Originally posted by greighn
This forum continues to cost me money!! :)

I just ordered a pair of the bass shaker pros for my Berkline 099's. I plan to power them with a spare Dynaco 75wpc amp from the subwoofer feed off of my receiver. The problem is the amp doesn't have any volume control (it is truly a block amplifier).

Anyone have any ideas on how to regulate the volume/power on these? I heard using an 'L pad' between the amp and the bass shakers isn't that good. What about something on the line input of the amp?

Thanks.

-Gary.

You could use something like a Table Top Speaker Selector/Volume Control.

I've really enjoyed reading this thread. A year or so ago I installed my first transducers (Aura Pros) in my theater, and they're still a crowd-pleaser to this day. I have 4 of them -- 2 mounted to my 2 Berkline 088's in the front row, and 2 mounted to the frame of my futon on a riser in the 2nd row.

Recently I was bitten with the upgrade bug (again). We're all familiar with this feeling, so I don't need to explain it. :D So I bought 4 genuine movie-theater chairs to replace my Berk's in the front row. I also bought 2 Clark TST239-Silver transducers. My goal now is to find the best application of my transducers in all my theater seats.

At the moment I'm leaning towards the following:

(*) Aura Pros mounted to the lower-back of each movie-theater chair. These seats will be attached to some manner of platform -- probably a couple parallel pieces of 2x12 wood, sitting on a rug on the basement floor.

(*) The 2 Clark transducers mounted to a piece of plywood spanning the width of the futon, attached underneath, directly below the seating position.

My only concern with this setup is in trying to figure out how to attach the Auras to the theater chairs up front. I believe the backs of the chairs are a laminate material, and there might not be an easy way to attach the Auras securely to each chair. In that case, I might have to instead attach the Auras (or Clarks) to the platform which the seats are screwed into, and attempt to shake *the whole row* instead of the individual seats.

Any comments, suggestions, and/or pearls of wisdom for me to consider? :)

Hey guys and hello again to J.L.

I built the audax speakers after reading J.L. project reports.

So now guys it time for some shaking.

I planto order 6 berkline seats soon.

What is the best/cheapest way to shake them.

I have an old pioneer pro logic reciever which I think is rated at 70watts per channel.

How many shakers and what kind, non-pro or pro?????

thanks

Originally posted by George I planto order 6 berkline seats soon.

What is the best/cheapest way to shake them.

I have an old pioneer pro logic reciever which I think is rated at 70watts per channel.

How many shakers and what kind, non-pro or pro?????

Are you limited to the 140 watts provided by your Pioneer? Or are you willing to get another amp to power any shakers you buy?

Here's my advice: buy 3 pairs of the "regular" Aura shakers. That'll run you less than $100. Put one in each chair, wire them for a 6 ohm load, and let the old Pioneer power them. If you aren't satisfied with that level of shaking, you can spend another $100 for another 6 Auras, and $100 or so for an amp (used, e-bay) that can power all 12. Then you'll have 2 per chair, which IMO is plenty of shaking, and you will have spent about $300. How's that sound?

Oh, and BTW, I've never used the regular Auras (just Aura Pros), but 2 Auras have more pop than 1 Aura Pro, and they cost half as much. Better bang-for-buck, plain and simple.

margomaps

Good looking out.
Anyone else support margomaps suggestion??

What size used amp should I look for, or better yet Best buy has
a/v recievers cheap around $150 with DD and DTS.

Originally posted by George
What size used amp should I look for, or better yet Best buy has
a/v recievers cheap around $150 with DD and DTS.

If you're only going to use it to drive the shakers, IMO you're better off going with a plain amp versus an AVR. Of course, the benefit of the AVR is that you could later use it for actual receiver duty in another room or something...

But a dedicated amp will probably do a more credible job of getting power to the shakers. You could pick up a Radioshack PA amp for about $130 new. It'll drive 125w RMS per channel (x2) at 8 ohms, or 175w at 4 ohms. That should be more than enough to drive 12 Auras, let alone 6. I'd probably wire 6 to each channel in a 6 ohm configuration, putting you somewhere between 125-175 watts per channel. For simplicity, assume it's 150 watts. 150 watts / 6 Auras = 25 watts per Aura -- just what you're looking for. :)

If you don't want to go the Radio Shack route, just make sure your amp has at least 300w total, and you should be ok.

I use 6 pro shakers but due to positive reports on regular and pros being hard to find,sounds like a good idea to me.

The one thing I will add is, your current receiver should be fine..I'm using 50 watts per channel it's more than enough for 6 shakers(pro).It doesn't take alot to get these things moving at all!!Just make sure you mount them securely.

brickie

The reciever if it's newer will also probably have the benefit of having remote control too.Very nice to be able to adjust the volume(shake level) from the couch...

brickie

Originally posted by brickie
The reciever if it's newer will also probably have the benefit of having remote control too.Very nice to be able to adjust the volume(shake level) from the couch...

That's a great point. Personally, I don't tend to muck with my shaker settings. I either turn 'em on (for Action, SciFi, Suspense, War movies, etc), or leave 'em off. But I know a lot of people prefer to fine tune them per movie, and a remote would certainly help a lot there.

Actually i don't mess with mine either.Haven't changed there settings since I installed them..Well, LOTR made me turn them down,but other than that,not at all..I just know many here like that ability as you said.

brickie

Originally posted by brickie
The one thing I will add is, your current receiver should be fine..I'm using 50 watts per channel it's more than enough for 6 shakers(pro).It doesn't take alot to get these things moving at all!!Just make sure you mount them securely.

Oops, I missed this before. You're right, even if he goes for 12 Auras (assuming 6 isn't enough), he might as well try driving them with his Pioneer to see if he likes it. No sense in buying more amps unless they're really needed.

Thanks guys, I'll see if i can get 6 regular shakers and use my old AV reciever.

How would I go about attaching one of these to a real theater seat? Would it be better to put a cross brace in that connects the legs of the seat and mount the shaker to that board or would it be better to mount it to the back of the seat which on my seats are a plack plastic.

What would give the best results? I am leaning towards drilling the holes and putting a cross brace in each chair.

Thanks,
Ron

Originally posted by Ron_C
How would I go about attaching one of these to a real theater seat? Would it be better to put a cross brace in that connects the legs of the seat and mount the shaker to that board or would it be better to mount it to the back of the seat which on my seats are a plack plastic.

What would give the best results? I am leaning towards drilling the holes and putting a cross brace in each chair.

Thanks,
Ron

Check out this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5290103#post5290103) post.

These aren't mine, but is just shows how some people have mounted them onto real theater seats(3rd pic). I would think that since real theater seats have less mass (less material, padding, reclining mechanism, etc) that anywhere you mount them you could easily feel an impact.

I would think the less you could 'localize' where the shaking is coming from, the better effect it would provide. Just make sure the cork is flat against a solid surface to eliminate rattle and maximize the effect.

Has anyone came up with how to control indivdual shakers.

I hope to have two rows of 3 theater seats.

I just picked up 6 regular shakers.

You guys didn't tell me how huge they were, those pic on PE threw me off.

My wife saw the word Bass shaker and said keep those away from me.

So I can already see it, on the 1st big bang in s SIFI movie, she's going to start, turn them down. So I got to know how to isolate her's no matter where she sits. This means i must have individual control.

and it sounds like a really cool project too!!!

Also forgive my goofy question, but I'm assuming that I only feed these things, the Subwoofer signal only???????

Basically split the Sub out pre amp signal into 2nd reciever to drive shakers????

Originally posted by George
Also forgive my goofy question, but I'm assuming that I only feed these things, the Subwoofer signal only???????

Basically split the Sub out pre amp signal into 2nd reciever to drive shakers????
That's right, you got it!

Some transducer manufacturers (Clark Synthesis, for example) recommend you use the L/R pre-outs, but that results in the audience "feeling" the lower register of male voices in the movie. That's annoying IMO, and in the opinions of most others I've talked to. On the other hand, this could be the desired effect for listening to music. It just doesn't work well with movies.

Originally posted by Elfman
Check out this (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5290103#post5290103) post.

These aren't mine, but is just shows how some people have mounted them onto real theater seats(3rd pic). I would think that since real theater seats have less mass (less material, padding, reclining mechanism, etc) that anywhere you mount them you could easily feel an impact.

I would think the less you could 'localize' where the shaking is coming from, the better effect it would provide. Just make sure the cork is flat against a solid surface to eliminate rattle and maximize the effect.

Those are my theater seats. I struggled a bit with where to install the shakers. I was torn between putting them on the individual chairs vs putting them on the riser/platform the chairs will sit upon. I decided that 4 Aura Pros wouldn't have enough "oomph" to shake the platform, chairs (4x70 lbs), and audience. The only place I could find to mount them on the seats is indicated in that picture. As it turns out, I think that's a pretty good place; the backs are solid wood, so the Auras fasten very securely with wood screws. Since the back frame is bolted tightly onto the arms, and the seat is also bolted onto the arms, the vibrations are pretty evenly distributed throughout all parts of the chair: back, seat, and arms -- not very localizable at all. The only place I wish vibrated that doesn't, is the feet.

FWIW at 100 watts/pair, the vibration is too intense. As in, the vibration caused my vision to blur, making the prologue of LOTR: FOTR impossible to watch, for example. Turning my Radioshack PA amp down to about 3/4 full power made it much more reasonable.

Got the kickers installed and wow, what a difference in Star Wars

I watched the movie all over again.

Congrats George!!! You've now discovered one of the greatest bang for the buck items out there!

brickie

After reading the majority of the post i decided to jump on the bandwagon and ordered six 25W shakers to be installed into three home theatre seats. Okay i got that you need a second receiver to contro the shaking. I got that the sub pre-out must be split to my sub and the second reciever. I understand that for six normal shakers, wiring them in series would be suffcient. Theres just one thing. I have no idea how to connect it all together!

1)I took a look at the regular shaker connections and they are these flat metal connections. How do i connect that to speaker wire ?

2) Where do i get a Y-splitter cable from ?

3) How do i then connect the wire split from the sub to a receiver that has no subwoofwer inputs ?

I apologise in advance for the sheer simplicity of these questions and apreciate any help

Originally posted by flizzo1
After reading the majority of the post i decided to jump on the bandwagon and ordered six 25W shakers to be installed into three home theatre seats. Okay i got that you need a second receiver to contro the shaking. I got that the sub pre-out must be split to my sub and the second reciever. I understand that for six normal shakers, wiring them in series would be suffcient. Theres just one thing. I have no idea how to connect it all together!

1)I took a look at the regular shaker connections and they are these flat metal connections. How do i connect that to speaker wire ?

2) Where do i get a Y-splitter cable from ?

3) How do i then connect the wire split from the sub to a receiver that has no subwoofwer inputs ?

I apologise in advance for the sheer simplicity of these questions and apreciate any help

1) Your shakers should have come with some connectors that you just crimp on to the end of your speaker wire. You can just crimp them with some pliers.
2. Get an RCA splitter similar to this one

http://www.cablewholesale.com/prodimages/30r4-03200.jpg

Plug the male end into your sub out on your amp. Then connect one RCA to your sub. Then connect the other to you shaker amp.

They can be found at Radio Shack. I have found some inexpensive high quality cables at http://www.cablewholesale.com

3)Since your main amp is already sending the LFE signal through your RCA, you don't need an amp that has a sub input. You just need the amp to amplify the signal coming through the RCA. You can input it to any your your spare amp's input. (Video1/2, CD etc - just NOT the Phono input)For instance, I used my old Pro-Logic amp to power my shakers and mine come in through the Laser Disc input.

Cheers mate. You are a lifesaver.

Originally posted by flizzo1
After reading the majority of the post i decided to jump on the bandwagon and ordered six 25W shakers to be installed into three home theatre seats. Okay i got that you need a second receiver to contro the shaking. I got that the sub pre-out must be split to my sub and the second reciever. I understand that for six normal shakers, wiring them in series would be suffcient. Theres just one thing. I have no idea how to connect it all together!

1)I took a look at the regular shaker connections and they are these flat metal connections. How do i connect that to speaker wire ?

2) Where do i get a Y-splitter cable from ?

3) How do i then connect the wire split from the sub to a receiver that has no subwoofwer inputs ?

I apologise in advance for the sheer simplicity of these questions and apreciate any help

There is never dumbness here.

1) You can pick up those flat crimp on connectors at just about any Radio Shack type of store. Pick one color as your positive (I made the Gold wire Positive) and the other color as your negative.

2) Y splitter can also be had from a place like Radio Shack.

3) After you spilt the sub output, take the one RCA cable running to your Shaker Amp and basically spilt it again, so you have a Red and White connetion on your Shaker Amp.

One thing though, I learning about all this, If you have 6 shakers, I'd wire 3 in series and attach it to your left channel, and then do the other 3 in series on your right channel.

What do you guys recommend crossing the shakers over at?
I have them hooked up to a plate amp with a variable crossover.
It is adjustable from 50-100 but the signal coming from the Electronic crossover to it is set at 85. So i can cross it over at between 50-85.

Man I'm having a hard time installing my aural shakers on my actin lane couches.

Can anyone confirm that there is enough room to install these on Berkline
090, 073, 187,094 any of these??

Some pics would be nice.

I have a few questions about Aura Shakers. I"m thinking of picking up 2 for my Berkline 90's that should be here soon. What kind of long term effect do these have on furniture? How much "wear and tare" do they cause? I imagine all that shaking and whatnot has to cause some kind of damage.

Second, I have a receiver that has a second set of speaker outs for another room. Is it possible to hook the shakers up to that somehow?

well, after reading this thread..i just couldn't make my mind up over whether to get a buttkicker, or some Clark synthesis transducers...

so i got both..

now, i'm starting to understand the difference between them better, they are clearly not the same.

the Clarks (i got to Silver-Plus transducers) are nearly full range tranducers in that they respond to a fairly wide range of frequencies....the Clark's manual says to hook them up to left and right front speaker outputs. they claim most voice audio comes from the center outputs, and that setting the right/left fronts as large will ensure bass output to the clark's. they claim you will get right sided and left side tactile sensations from the transducers this way.

the buttkicker is stgrictly a low frequency transducer, and is suggested to be y'd off the LFE channel.

so the setup (waiting for the buttkicker ot arrive) will be buttkicker in the center of the sofa, and one Clark on the right, one on the left.....

we're gonna see how this works out....

i might have to pull a new power line to the theater room however...i don;t think i can run the buttkicker amp and the amp running the Clarks off the same fuse/line as the rest of the hardware

need more power.....

heartsurgeon - that had better be a big couch.

With the extra power line and all these shakers - you may be shaking your audience off the couch. :-)

I have a HSU VTF-2 SUB that has a built in plate amp. Can I go out from the HSU to the buttkickers? Or do I still need an additional amp?

Originally posted by HeyNow^
I have a HSU VTF-2 SUB that has a built in plate amp. Can I go out from the HSU to the buttkickers? Or do I still need an additional amp?

I don't think you can if you're using the low level inputs. I use an additional amp, an older Pioneer, to drive 8 Aura's (the regular ones, not the Pro's), and it works greats. If you've got an old amp lying around, try using it first.

Originally posted by bapenguin
I have a few questions about Aura Shakers. I"m thinking of picking up 2 for my Berkline 90's that should be here soon. What kind of long term effect do these have on furniture? How much "wear and tare" do they cause? I imagine all that shaking and whatnot has to cause some kind of damage.

Second, I have a receiver that has a second set of speaker outs for another room. Is it possible to hook the shakers up to that somehow?

Anyone?

Honestly, the first one I'm not sure about.ANYamount of unnecessary shaking would cause this.Shakers POSSIBLY faster since they're mounted usually directly to furniture.At this point i'm not worried about it.

As to powering them the way you want, unless you can tell the receiver to output the LFE signal thru those channels it won't work.

brickie

Hi All,

At my work, we have a very extensive experience with the Aura sound 50W/25W Basshakers. We use the as part of our in seat vibration effect on destination theaters like Universal's Shrek 3D/4D The Ride, Luxor Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, North, Skylon Tower, Star Parks Europe, at Many Zoos & Aquariums etc. We must have installed world wide well over 3000 of them within the last 5 years starting with Happy Valley in China in 2000. If used properly they almost never brake down. What we have found is that they have a fairly narrow sweet spot depending on the way they are mounted to a surface between 35Hz-50Hz so since we control the discreet track feeding them we try to stay within that range. AN interesting effect is produced when you connect two in series and install one at the bottom of the chair close to the back where your rear/spine sits, and the second transducer on the upper mid back section. If you could now install a small delay between what your SUB/LFE sends to your sub-woofer and the signal to the Basshaker you really get the feeling that an actual explosion starts somewhere further and the shock wave hits you just a bit later. It is excellent. By the way if anyone would like some documentation details etc. feel free to send me a PM and I will respond (sometimes with a little delay doe to work but I will).

Regards,

Yiozik

Originally posted by yiozik
Hi All,

At my work, we have a very extensive experience with the Aura sound 50W/25W Basshakers. We use the as part of our in seat vibration effect on destination theaters like Universal's Shrek 3D/4D The Ride, Luxor Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, North, Skylon Tower, Star Parks Europe, at Many Zoos & Aquariums etc. We must have installed world wide well over 3000 of them within the last 5 years starting with Happy Valley in China in 2000. If used properly they almost never brake down. What we have found is that they have a fairly narrow sweet spot depending on the way they are mounted to a surface between 35Hz-50Hz so since we control the discreet track feeding them we try to stay within that range. AN interesting effect is produced when you connect two in series and install one at the bottom of the chair close to the back where your rear/spine sits, and the second transducer on the upper mid back section. If you could now install a small delay between what your SUB/LFE sends to your sub-woofer and the signal to the Basshaker you really get the feeling that an actual explosion starts somewhere further and the shock wave hits you just a bit later. It is excellent. By the way if anyone would like some documentation details etc. feel free to send me a PM and I will respond (sometimes with a little delay doe to work but I will).

Regards,

Yiozik

I'd love to hear your thoughts on seat mounting to get the most out of them. I'm going to re-mount 4 regular Aura's on my couch and was wonder if it's better to keep them mounted closer to the couch's frame.

We use a plastic/polymer for the seat back and seat bottom. We mount the transducer directly to the frame of the seat back/bottom. Since the AS transducers are a mass-moving devise its efficiency is compromised when it does not have a solid surface to push against. That is why the closer you are to your couch's frame the stronger the effect will be.

Good Luck,

Yiozik

I finally got my shakers installed on two of my Berklines over the weekend. I don't know why I waited so long. I have one more that I need to install on the third chair but my wife mentioned she might not want the shakers on all the time. I read in either this thread or the one in the subwoofer forum about adding a toggle switch. Problem I'm having is not exactly sure how to connect the speaker wire plus the toggle switch to this chair. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Are you using a single amplifier to drive all four or two independent channels?

Yiozik

OK, I'm in!

I read through half of this thread before I couldn't resist the urge and ordered. I just bought 8 of the Aura shakers from you know who for less than 30.00 a pair.

Now I'm too damn tired to go back and read the rest of it. I'm in the wiring stage at this point in my HT and need to finalize my plans for in the next month so drywall can go up.

OK, here's where I am at this point. I plan on 7 berks (or berk likes). I'm not sure if 7 shakers is configurable, or they need to be in pairs. I guess I could put two on one of the three front seats. I plan on 4 berks (probably 088s in the back row - the "cheap" seats) on the riser and three in the front row (090s or 099s).

I have a few options to power them. I have two receivers lying around. If one works, so be it. I'm open to picking up another if need be.

The first is an old (14 yrs?) Kenwood KR-V9030 Pro-Logic receiver. I don't have the manual and am having a hard time finding specs on the net on it, I think its a total of 200W. I did pull it out of the box and there is some sort of impedance selector.

I also have an Onkyo HT S670 5.1 650W home theater in a box system I won playing golf (fund raiser, closest to the pin on a par 3, 197 yds, 3-iron to 8 feet.. was against the wind and in the rain.. and made the birdie putt). I don't plan on using this sytem for the theater except for maybe the shakers.

Can I connect all 7 (or 8) to one receiver? I guess I don't understand all the impedance stuff. Based on this install diagram:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pdf/series%20vs.%20parallel.pdf

can I put 2 in parallel on the left front channel, 2 in parallel on the front right and the same on the surround channels? Or 4 in parallel on each of the front channels?

Sorry for the ignorance!

Bud

Bud,

The shakers are 4 ohms each. If you put two in series you will have 8 ohms. If you can set your receiver up so that all 4 channels have the same signal would be best. Possibly your receiver has a mono mode that also allows you to have the same signal front and rear. Setup one shaker on each Berk. You will have one extra shaker and you might want to fasten it to the floor. That way all of the Berks will have exactly the same amplitude and there wil be a small amount of shaking put into the floor. That is not bad since the Berks have some isolation between the frame and the floor. Wiring each of the 4 channels with 2 Auras that are connected in series gives the friendliest load to your receiver and even at max only requires 50 watts from each of the 4 channels. Do not wire them in parallel as you describe in your last paragraph. 2 in parallel gives you a net 2 ohm load which is very hard on most receivers. 4 in parallel would be a net 1 ohm load and could easily damage your receiver. One good explosion and it would be equivalent to landing in a Water Trap! :o)
There are no Mulligans for mis wiring, only damaged equipment.
..Doyle

Can I use my Paradigm PW2200 to push about 6 bass shakers (see picture below) or do I need another receiver? Currently I just have just one LFE cable going into the back of the sub from the receiver's sub output (Yamaha RX-V2500)...

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_7_2/images/paradigm-reference-speakers-pw-amp.jpg

Here's the specs for the PW2200

http://www.paradigm.com/Website/SiteParadigmProduct/ParadigmModels/SubWoofers/PW_Specs.htm

Thanks...

Doyle,

Thanks. I don't have the manual handy for the Kenwood, but I went up and played with it a bit. I don't think I have a mono setting, but looks as though I can bypass or turn off the DSP. Not sure if that helps. It does have A/B speaker setup, so do you think I can run a serial pair to each of the LR channels for A and B? When I get them I can try it out I suppose.

Also, as far as getting the input to this receiver, I assume and video or audio input would work from the primary receiver (which I have not purchased yet, but expect to be the Yamaha RXV-2500)?

Thanks again,

Bud

Originally posted by chinadog

OK, here's where I am at this point. I plan on 7 berks (or berk likes). I'm not sure if 7 shakers is configurable, or they need to be in pairs. I guess I could put two on one of the three front seats. I plan on 4 berks (probably 088s in the back row - the "cheap" seats) on the riser and three in the front row (090s or 099s).

Bud

Look at this

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=5033871&highlight=shakers#post5033871

704Set,

Thanks, that was helpful.

Doyle,

Can't find the manual and its driving me nuts. Snapped a quick pick of the impedance switch on the back of the receiver, looks like you can switch between either 8 ohms or below or greater than 8.

Bud

I am going to have 10 irwin theater chairs in my theater which is a few months away from completeion. Has anyone installed the auro pros on an irwin theater style chair? Can it be mounte to the metal arm stantion some how? I noticed that in one imax theater they had their bass shakers attached to this metal arm stantion but I didnt make a mental note of how it was attached. Any help?

Also, is it possible to power the 10 bass shakers with a 100 watt reciever? whats the best way to do this?

Im still reading through this gigantic thread so sorry if any of these questions have already been answered.

Thank for any help.

Lou

Guys,
I have a Yamaha rx-v1050 pro logic stereo receiver that thats puts out 110W RMS at 8 ohms on the front and center channels and 30W RMS at 8 ohms on the rear chans. If you had 3 berk090 clones and an 8' couch, how would you approach a bass shaker hookup. Would you get 50watt shakers, 25 watt shakers? how many? Thanks!
wolf

Hi All,

I'm buying 4 094's from Berkline in a |OO||OO| config (double love seat).
I'm currently planning on having 2 factory installed buttkickers on the two "inside" (or "center") seats.

My question: since the BK's will be physically attached to the two inside seats, will the two outer seats feel any shake?

I'm wondering if that will be an ok arrangement, of if I should remove the 2 BK's and install them in a riser so all 4 chairs will feel equal shake. (I'm leaning against this as this row will be the first row, and I'd rather not build a riser for it).

Thanks!

Hi,

How many buttkickers would you recommend for a row of 4 Berkline 088's that are placed on a riser? I was thinking of have 2 BK's installed in the riser.

Thanks.

i just got a buttkicker and that sucker is powerful....

i don't see any price advantage in getting two (no discount that i can find)

if money is no object..get two!!

i think you could get one buttkicker ( i highly recommend getting the buttkicker amplifier as well, it puts out 1100 watts into 4 ohms, as well as having high and low bandpass filters built in)..and see how it feels...you can always add second buttkicker if you want....they are ridiculously powerful shakers.

me, i bought two Clark Synthesis transducers, and one buttkicker....

the buttkicker is going into the center of the couch off the LFE channel of the amp into a buttkicker amp

the clarks are placed on the right and left sides of the couch, off the right and left mains (set to large) to a Pyramid 600 watt/channel amplifier..

gotta run a new power line to the theater room now to handle the load!!

Doyle,

Aura Shakers came today (one day early). I went ahead and hooked one pair up serially to the left channel A and another pair to left channel B, made sure the impedance switch was in the right position and BOOM! No, it didn't explode. Worked great! I hooked up the CD player I had lying around and popped in an old Van Halen disc for test purposes....

Thanks for your help again.

Bud

All this bass shakin talk got me hooked too. I was planning on using butt kickers but hey the price of the bass shakers can't be beat. So I ordered 8 pairs and one of the subwoofer amps from P.E.

i've read through the entire bass shaker thread in the subwoofer section and just came across this one. i had 2 Aura bass shakers (non-pro) attached to a board of MDF underneath my futon. I loved the effect, but wanted it to be coming from the entire futon instead of just the bottom. so i bought another pair and installed them into the back today using the same method as the first pair...and am quite disappointed. the bottom pair still feels fine, but I can barely notice anything coming from the back at all. I'm assuming this is because sitting on the bottom pair is a lot more weight so you feel more pressure...

the shakers are hooked up to a 100W plate amp in a parallel/series combination (4 ohm load) so they are all receiving equal power.

i might be a bit of an aberration with regards to the use of the shakers...I use them primarily with very bass heavy music, not for subtle effects, so i push them pretty hard...it allows me to get the bass i crave without damaging my ears or my roomates. i have my 100 W amp at max, which is very satisfying for the bottom pair...but just isn't enough for the back pair. i've tried mounting them on the top half and the bottom half of the back, without much difference.

my question is:

would supplying more power to the back pair (with another amp) make them more noticeable, or is it not possible to feel them as strongly from the back? if i do give them more power, can the non-pro's handle it, or would i need something with a higher power rating? i could afford to get a pair of pro's or one clark silver for the back.

thanks for any help.

Hi, I've been considering on purchasing the bass shakers for awhile, and have one quick question. I'm only using a leather loveseat, and was wondering if a pair of the 25 watts would be enough, or would I need a pair of the 50 watt ones, or what about just getting a single 50 watt one. I'm stumped, and as soon as I can get an answer, I'm going to pull the trigger.

Love seat is generally for 2 people so I like to use the 1 per seat rule..I'd go with 2.

brickie

Would the 25 watts do the job, or do you think I'd need to buy 2 of the 50's?

I got my 8 pairs (16 total) of bass shakers in the other day. It was pretty funny watching the UPS guy carry the box to my door as it was not light by any means and the he was a rather small guy. He said what did you order bricks? I told him no they were butt shakers for my chairs. He just said "huh? I am not even going to ask" and walked back to his truck.

Originally posted by zdreamer7
I got my 8 pairs (16 total) of bass shakers in the other day.


So I take it you don't care for much for your wall fixtures, fillings or blurred vision. That amount of shakers could do A LOT of damage (to your house anyway ;))

Originally posted by Elfman
So I take it you don't care for much for your wall fixtures, fillings or blurred vision. That amount of shakers could do A LOT of damage (to your house anyway ;))

:D You have no idea how tempted I am to put all 16 on 1 chair and crank the volume to 11.

It would be pretty funny to to that to like one middle chair and not tell the person that sits in it or the rest of your guests during a movie night:eek:

Well, it's birthday time, and my wife (bless her heart) bought me some Aura Pro bass shakers. I found a Yamaha AX-490 (85 wpc RMS) amp for them for $90, so I'm all set.

She bought me three shakers, thinking one for each seating position in the sofa (we have a sofa and a loveseat on a platform. From what I've read in this thread, two 50W shakers should be good enough for the sofa, so now I'm thinking I'll put two in the sofa, and one in the loveseat. Does this sound adequate, or should I put all three in the sofa?

As for wiring, I thought I might put two in series on the right channel, and the other one by itself on the left. Does anyone know if this mismatch will cause a problem? I thought I'd use the balance control to adjust the power split between the channels to get an even amount of shaking in each seating surface, then use the volume control to set the absolute limit.

My biggest worry is whether the amp will handle an 8 ohm load on the right channel and a 4 ohm load on the left. Does anyone see a problem with that?

Okay, I really need to hook up the bass shaker pros I got back in Feb. It's kind of awkward because I'm going to be hooking up 3 of them. Given that a 12 ohm load presents a bit of an issue for most amps I'm considering using two seperate amps, the question I have is should I be concerned w/ signal degredation or anything else if I'm splitting the LFE channel multiple times to accomodate this?

This seems like a no-brainer to me, is there anything to this I'm not seeing?

Originally posted by porschefanatic
Okay, I really need to hook up the bass shaker pros I got back in Feb. It's kind of awkward because I'm going to be hooking up 3 of them. Given that a 12 ohm load presents a bit of an issue for most amps I'm considering using two seperate amps, the question I have is should I be concerned w/ signal degredation or anything else if I'm splitting the LFE channel multiple times to accomodate this?

This seems like a no-brainer to me, is there anything to this I'm not seeing?

12 ohms shouldn't be a problem at all for most amps these days. I have 6 shakers, 3 in series and 3 in series, and have no problems at all.

Mntneer,

Are you running standard bass shakers or the pro version? How big an amp are you driving them with?

Chad

Standard Aura's. The amp is an older Pioneer VSX-D1S, that's rated for 4 Ohms to 16 Ohms. Because I've got 12 Ohms on left and 12 on right, I have to set my volume to about 40% in order to get the desired shaking effect.

I'm going to remount them though this weekend and add another pair to the equation. But for 4 , I'm going to series 2 up and then parallel them with another series of 2. So that 4 shakers will be at 4 Ohms on a left and 4 on a right.

I just stumbled across this thread and had a couple questions. I am looking to get 7 aura shakers and possibly this amp (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=300-784). Will this setup work or do I need a bigger amp. Also, how should I wire them to get the proper ohms? I have 4 chairs and 3 chairs to attach them to.

I installed my new shakers today. I put two Aura Pros in the sofa. There weren't any good places to install the shakers, I I got two 2' x ^" pieces of fir, screwed them between the frame pieces in the sofa, and attached the Auras to those, one under each end seating position.

The Auras are wired to a Yamaha AX-490, which is an 85 watt per channel integrated amplifier I picked up at a second hand store for $95 with remote.

For the time being, I just wired the Auras in series and wired them to the right channel of the amp. That presents an 8 ohm load to the amp, at which I'm guessing it puts out a little less than 80 watts. So each shaker is getting about 40W at max level.

I had to to turn the volume of the amp up almost to the max, but once I did the shaking effect is quite dramatic. So I suspect the amp will wind up sitting at about 8/10. Of course, I could split the shakers and feed one from the left and one from the right, and that's probably the better way to do it, but I was saving the left channel for an additional Aura that I want to put under the loveseat.

Hi,



I just installed 3 today (old Realistic Prologic receiver) on 3 of my Jaymar seats. I am still playing with them, but they are definitely cool (even my wife said so!).







Dennis:D

I've found that a 125 watt channel (8 ohm) split between 2 Aura Pro's wired in series...is a bit too much. Watching the prologue of LOTR:FOTR, with the level set to nearly 100%, the effect of the shakers was just too much. I'm talking severely blurred vision, dizziness, disorientation, and general malaise. :) At a level somewhere between 1/2-3/4, the effect was more subdued, and more pleasant.

Also, I'm now using 2 Clark 239's in one row of seating, and I highly recommend them. At $100, they're an absolute steal IMO. Yes, they require a bit more juice than the Aura Pro's, but the frequency range and overall effect is much more pleasing than the Aura's IMO. I'm not badmouthing the Aura's by any means -- I still use them in 4 of my seats. I'm just saying that the Clarks are really a whole lot better.

Are you running the Clarks full-range? How about the Auras?

The thing I miss about the Auras so far is that, being driven from the subwoofer LFE output they don't work at all with many sources. And some sountracks are great ("Master and Commander" was fantastic!), but others don't have much LFE info at all.

I'm running both the Clarks and Aura's full-range. It's not my first choice -- I was dreading the infamous "voice-in-butt" effect -- but the sub pre-out on my AVR is busted, so I have to use the L/R pre-out instead. And I don't have an EQ. So far the voice-in-butt effect hasn't bothered me.

The Aura's do fine, especially on soundtracks with nice, meaty LFE. It's just that by comparison, the Clarks do much better than fine, in all respects. If I'm watching a movie or listening to music with a walking bass line (especially acoustic), the sound and feeling is just sublimely musical.

I would advise anyone who is thinking about buying a pair of Aura Pros to consider getting a single Clark 239 instead.

I've already got aura pro's for my berk 90's and small auras for my 2nd row, but I might have to try a Clark for a comparison.

Is this the one you have?

http://www.smarthome.com/8248x2.html

can i use the Bass Shakers wiht my pioneer 1015 wiht out buy a extra amp?

i have A JBL E250P 12 can i connect the Bass Shakers on this connection?

thanks

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v330/MATA7/bass.jpg

MATA7,

1) probably not, but not enough info to answer.

2) as for the diagram, No - that appears to be a speaker level input for a subwoofer. This is what you would use to run straight from a receiver's speaker outputs to a sub. It's an input and therefore would not provide power output to your shakers. At least that's the way it looks to me.

Originally posted by David_Larkins
MATA7,

1) probably not, but not enough info to answer.

thanks, what info do you need?

I have 8 of the Aura Bass Shaker Pro's in my theater, and I LOVE them! I currently have one mounted to each chair, and am buying 8 more soon for a total of 16 (2 per chair). They are GREAT!

I have pictures posted at:
http://gallery.avsforum.com/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=7478983

If you want to see how I mounted them, etc...

ok i am thinking of getting these shakers and i have an extra receiver i can use.What else do i need? Do i need an amp?

Originally posted by High Def 03
ok i am thinking of getting these shakers and i have an extra receiver i can use.What else do i need? Do i need an amp?
No, the receiver is an amp. Looks like the only thing you'll need is wiring and mounting material.

MATA7,

I needed more info on your receiver. I found it on the web, and the answer is no.

The only way I can think of that you could have done it would have been if your receiver had extra channels of amplification that you weren't using, as well as "main in" or "amp in" connectors - if you had that you could have fed the main in on the channels you weren't using with the sub pre-out. Only a few receivers have main in's, and yours does not.

well thanks David

Are the Buttkickers better than the Aura Pro's?

Buttkickers are a whole new level IMO.

So i guess that means there better but more expensive

If i get 2 Buttkickers plus Buttkickers amp, do i still need a sub?

Butkickers are also a lot more expensive too but yes, they are probably quite a few steps above the Aura's.

MATA7

The Aura's and Butkickers operate on a similar principle. To put it plainly, they behave similarly to sitting on top of your subwoofer. They vibrate like a sub would but they do not produce the LFE frequencies in sound. If you remove the subwoofer element from your theater and keep the shakers, you will feel the bass but you will not hear that bass. So for the complete experience, I would imagine all of us run shakers along side our subwoofers. I currently run 2 subwoofers and 4 shakers.

what about this, i have the pioneer 1015, can i do this?

now i have a 7.1 setup system, but if i setup a 5.1 can i use the 2 SB output, to give sound to the Aura's.?

My ears are very sensitive, and if I watch a bass-heavy movie (even with the subwoofer at a reasonably calibrated level), I experience a lot of discomfort during and after the movie. I find that turning the sub down a bit, and supplementing the bass with shakers, makes movies much more enjoyable for me. Gotta protect the hearing, man!

As far as Buttkickers are concerned, I'm sure they're head & shoulders above the Aura's in terms of both performance and price. I've found a happy medium with the Clark transducers, but I don't doubt that if I paid more for the Buttkickers, there'd be more shaking going on. :)

Looking to get some Buttkickers. I have four seats. Do I need one for each seat? Also where is a good place to get these?

Question.........

A friend who is a professional HT installer, claims that most of his customers disconnect their Buttkickers after a couple of months or less.

He says they are a great WOW factor for having friends over, but most do not to live with them on an every day basis......

Have you guys found that to be the case???

How long have you had yours installed?

Do you have them turned on all the time, or just for certain movies/events?

thanks

Originally posted by HiHoStevo
Question.........

A friend who is a professional HT installer, claims that most of his customers disconnect their Buttkickers after a couple of months or less.

He says they are a great WOW factor for having friends over, but most do not to live with them on an every day basis......

Have you guys found that to be the case???

How long have you had yours installed?

Do you have them turned on all the time, or just for certain movies/events?

thanks

Sounds to me that these peoeple(the owners, not your friend) aren't calibrating them properly. Buttkickers are VERY powerful (require 1000 watts to drive them if I'm not mistaken) and can easily be a distraction to someone if they are not set to proper levels. I have heard that they can shake so much that it makes the vision blurry. Talk about a distraction!

I only use my Auras(much less powerful) for movies and sometimes some Xbox. I have had them for about 5 months now and I wouldn't watch a movie without them. I hardly ever use them for regular TV watching.

It can be a little overwhelming for some people. And I agree with Elfman that they just need to adjust the output level on the shaker amp. Which can need adjusting per movie. What has worked in the past is having a shaker amp that has an infrared volume control so you can adjust it sitting in your seat. I have also connected several shakers with a speaker switcher box that will enable you to shut off a particular seat if desired. I am also experimenting with volume controls at the seat so each individual can adjust their chair to their liking. They also make a speaker switcher box that has volume controls built in so each seat can be adjusted individually, but that means getting up and adjusting it. Not convenient.

But, they just need to adjust to what you like. They add so much to a movie.

Originally posted by MATA7
what about this, i have the pioneer 1015, can i do this?

now i have a 7.1 setup system, but if i setup a 5.1 can i use the 2 SB output, to give sound to the Aura's.?

You could do that IF you could somehow feed the SB channels with JUST signal from the LFE or sub out - but you don't have a way to do that.

Sure you can hook up shakers instead of speakers to the SB channels on your amp... but the only action you're gonna get out of them is the low bass that comes from that track on a movie - which would be very very little.

I would like to get these shakers. The second receiver I have to use for this is a Kenwood VR-606 Home Theater receiver which has DTS, Dolby Digital, etc. My concern is whether this would work with the shakers because I don't believe it has stereo/mono mode. Its a decent home theater receiver, and I know most people are buying cheap receivers to use with the shakers. Is this too good of a receiver to be used? This is the only "spare" receiver I have to use for the shakers.

Hi also can someone tell me where i can get a splitter for the shakers. Whats the name of the spliiter? Thanks for your help!

Originally posted by ShinyPrincess
Hi also can someone tell me where i can get a splitter for the shakers. Whats the name of the spliiter? Thanks for your help!

Check this post (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5325530#post5325530). There is an image along with a place where the can be found on-line. Radio Shack should also have something like this as well. They would simply be called an RCA 1 to 2 'Y' splitter. Jut make sure you get the right connectors on the ends which is usually 1 male RCA end to 2 female RCA ends.

Can someone tell me the diffrence between the Ausa Bass shaker and the Aura pro Bass shaker?

Check out the Aura info on Partsexpress:

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage.cfm?&DID=7&WebPage_ID=3

Bud

thanks!

So i guess the big diffrence is 25 watts compared to 50.

From what I understood is that the Pro's are regular Aura's with a special heat sink that allows them to be driven harder.

What do most people on this thread have the regulars or pro's?

Here's what I found from Aura

My email to Aura Sound ask:

1 - Driven at the same output (i.e., volume or watts) does the Pro Bass Shaker produce more vibrations than the Bass Shaker? I understand that the Pro will produce a higher peak force at it's max input power. I'm more curious that if they were both driven at lets say 5 watts, would the Pro produce more Lbf or N (newtons)?
2 - Besides from the fins on the Pro Bass Shakers, are there any internal differences between them and the Bass Shakers? Like a bigger piston, bigger magnet, etc.

Their answer was:

No difference at 5 watts same Lbf...fins dissipate heat better (stability in coil impedance) no difference in internal composition.

Comparing the Pros to non-Pros:
The internals are the same
Same output at lower inputs
Fins are just for cooling

So, unless you are driving the Pros harder, the non-Pros should work just fine.

Originally posted by High Def 03
What do most people on this thread have the regulars or pro's?
Why don't you READ the thread and find out.

I made a post about this in the Subwoofer/Transducer section, but I'll briefly summarize it here:

I moved my Clark TST-239 transducers from my futon (mounted directly to the frame), to the riser (mounted inside the riser). The futon sits on top of the riser. In a nutshell, the inrease in output was tremendous, both in tactile sensation (especially in the feet), and audible bass. My riser seems to be acting like a giant subwoofer now. It's kind of a mixed blessing, as now I'm going to have to figure out how to re-calibrate my system to account for this new source of bass.

I recommend those with risers consider mounting their transducers in the riser rather than the chair. At least to give it a try.

just to amplify what the previous poster said...

i started out with two buttkickers mounted to my couch.....

eventually mounted them to the joists and sub-flooring of my theater room.....

outstanding effect now.....simply stunning.....the whole room gently vibrates when the T Rex walks across the screen, the entire room rumbles when the cannon shots start in Master and Commander...

the effect seems entirely natural and immersive, and does not distract from the movie..

my bias is obvious..if you can mount your tactile transducers (kickers/shakers/transducers) to your floor or riser....do it, you'll be amazed at the difference.

Has anyone mounted their shakers to their riser directly above the framing? I mean just cut away some carpet and mount the floor and then stick a chair over it?

Is this the reccomended way to attach to a floor, or when you guys say attach to your riser, you open it up and put them inside?

I am trying to hook up my bass shakers now, and I have one question ... what does it mean on the instructions when it says "crimp the supplied 'Disconnect Terminals' to the wire ends." What exactly does "crimp" mean? From the way it looks, it appears I just need to put the end of the shaker wires into the blue pieces and then put the actual speaker wire into the other end of the little blue piece, no?

Originally posted by ShinyPrincess
From the way it looks, it appears I just need to put the end of the shaker wires into the blue pieces and then put the actual speaker wire into the other end of the little blue piece, no?

Almost. Once out insert the wire into the connector, you need a way for the wire to stay firmly attached to the connector. Crimping this connector onto your wire will give you a good firm connection that wont accidentally pull out.

Thanks. I have them hooked up okay, but I am having one problem. Seems like only one of the shakers is working at a time. I thought maybe the other was DOA but if I switch the wires up, its fine. So its almost like I can't have two shakers going at once. Any idea why? Help :(

I had the same problem, and I believe the quality of my crimping was to blame.

OK, after a little tweaking, it appears my two bass shakers are now working fine. I am using a Y-splitter and have the audios wires going into the audio on the back of my second receiver in the "Video 1" section. So when I set my second receiver to "Video 1," my shakers are working. However, my question is this ... since each input on the receiver (whether its VCR, Video 1, DVD, CD) has only two audio spots (one white, one red), how is it possible to hook up more than two bass shakers?? I'm very, very confused.

Originally posted by ShinyPrincess
OK, after a little tweaking, it appears my two bass shakers are now working fine. I am using a Y-splitter and have the audios wires going into the audio on the back of my second receiver in the "Video 1" section. So when I set my second receiver to "Video 1," my shakers are working. However, my question is this ... since each input on the receiver (whether its VCR, Video 1, DVD, CD) has only two audio spots (one white, one red), how is it possible to hook up more than two bass shakers?? I'm very, very confused.

Just get another Y adaptor to go into your L and R of your amp. Then you can run several in a series depending on your ohm load.

I was going to explain how I have mine set up but thought maybe a picture would work better.

Originally posted by blipszyc
Has anyone mounted their shakers to their riser directly above the framing? I mean just cut away some carpet and mount the floor and then stick a chair over it?

Is this the reccomended way to attach to a floor, or when you guys say attach to your riser, you open it up and put them inside?

I think people are usually talking about installing them inside the riser. But, if you want to be different, you could try doing it the way you just described. Who knows, maybe you'll love it. :)

I have a futon i want to mount these to any suggestions? Has anyone used a futon?

Originally posted by High Def 03
I have a futon i want to mount these to any suggestions? Has anyone used a futon?

Not sure but I guess it depends on what kind of futon you have (wood vs. steel) and how wide your slats are. The easiest would probably be just some zip ties to the slats or rails on the futon.

I think Brickie attached some like this to his papasan chair and said he could feel it just fine.

I you have a wood futon and your slats are wide enough, I would just screw them directly onto the futon ensuring the best vibration transfer and less chance for rattle.

Just make sure they don't interefere with the sliding bed mechanism. Or just have the in-laws over and don't tell them that they are on there. That would be a nice little wake up call at 3 AM ;)

Originally posted by margomaps
I think people are usually talking about installing them inside the riser. But, if you want to be different, you could try doing it the way you just described. Who knows, maybe you'll love it. :)
Sounds like it might be easier to just install them on the chairs, but unfortunately, this will have to be an upgrade that waits. Chairs, screen and landscaping have set me back until next years refund period.

Quick question-On my subwoofer it has a crossover button should it be on or off when using the shakers? Thanks

Elfman is correct.Although I screwed mine into the wood frame of my futon.

As to the crosover, do you normally have it on or off?You really shouldn't have to mess with the settings on your sub when using these.

brickie

I usually have it on so i guess i will keep it on . thanks

I have one more problem with the base shakers .... they seem to be working fine. I am using a Kenwood as the second receiver. However, if I turn the volume up very high on the Kenwood, it has shut itself off a few times. What gives?

Sounds like you must be feeding it a load that it doen't like.

brickie

The way I have it hooked up is this ...

My main receiver is a Yamaha. From the Yamaha, I have a Y-splitter into the "sub out" -- then on one side of the Y-splitter I have my sub wire going into my Yamaha's 100-watt subwoofer. The other side I have another Y-splitter and two audio wires going to my second receiver ... a Kenwood ... into the audio inputs of Video 1. I then have the two bass shakers hooked up with speaker wire into the front right and left speaker slots of the Kenwood.

Am I doing this right? Its working fine other than a few times the Kenwood has shut itself off.

That's pretty much the same connections I'm using... splitter from LFE on my main receiver (Pioneer THX 1014), going to the CD Input (with the "CD Direct" button pressed) on my old Kenwood (the other LFE split is going to my main powered sub).

How many shakers do you have hooked up per channel on the Kenwood?

When I hooked up the first shaker and cranked up the volume, I got a shutdown and the display said something like "overload protection".

But now I have it hooked up with 3 on the front row (Aura Pros) and 3 on the 2nd row (Aura Standards), in series for 12 ohms.

http://img163.echo.cx/img163/1006/aurariser25lw.gif

Works great. I keep the Kenwood volume at about 20% for the shakers. I could use the Balance control to decrease either row, if necessary.

Here's more info in the main Bass Shakers thread (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5628773#post5628773).

It sounds like 1 shaker per channel from your wording which means the Kenwood is seeing a 4ohm load on each channel...It probably doesn't like it!

brickie

What do you mean one shaker per channel? I'm not understanding what you mean. I'm pretty confused when it comes to this. I'm connecting the positive and negatives wires on each of the bass shakers to the positive and negative of the front right and left speaker slots on the back of my Kenwood (second receiver) ... meaning for the two bass shakers there are four speaker wires going into the back of my Kenwood. Basically hooking up the shakers same way I'd hook up speakers?? Is this wrong?

Shiny,

Maybe you could draw a diagram of exactly how you connected them using Paint, Visio or Excel (whatever you're comfortable with) and post it. From there, maybe can see what the problem is.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Bud

No, we are exactly on the same page.The shakers are 4 ohms each.You are running 1 on each channel.This is presenting a 4 ohm load on each channel.Your Kenwood probably doesn't like this and goes into protecto mode.Alot of receivers don't like to see anything under an 8 ohm load,the typical speaker for home use.If you wire them in series on 1 channel that will give you 8 ohms and most likely stop the cutting out.

brickie

I haven't read every page here, but i thought i'd point out that ebay has several pairs of aura pro series shakers with a buy-it-now price that's roughly half of what partsexpress is charging.

I'm not the seller. But i did buy a pair to try out with a 85Wx2 Onkyo receiver I picked up for $65. I can't wait.

OK, I was able to make a diagram of the way I have mine set up, so maybe you can tell me if I'm doing something wrong. Brickie, how would I go about wiring them on one channel??

Anyways ... check out my drawing at the below link (click on "skip to end" on the right hand side, otherwise you'll be forcing to watch the drawing process!)

http://artpad.art.com/gallery/?igp78pamgzc

cool drawing site.

Try connecting them in series to get 8 ohms and running them from the same output

Like this:
http://artpad.art.com/?igp809stp6c

OK, I can try that. Thanks.

Correct and a slick program to boot!

brickie

I just got my 8- 25 watters and hooked them up last night. 3 hrs later (unscrew all chairs, cut wood to fit, screw shakers to board, then to chair , wires etc............ if it took 10 hrs it would have been worth it, these things are too cool. man i got a back rub while demoing the hulk. i did have to really push my pioneer 100 watter to like 85% but it only cost 100 bucks, way cool guys. thanks to all here at the forum........................ leon

Has anyone experienced an electric current while enjoying these shakers it seems to happen alot but i enjoy them.

You're kidding right?

brickie

hey guys- looked thru this thread and there seems to be different opinions on the best way to mount shakers to recliners- What is the best way to attach the shakers? I do not have a platform so I guess either attach to bottom,in arm rest or another spot- If this has been answered I am sorry and please direct me to the right spot as I am going to mount them this weekend- gary

In my opinion, you want to put it low on the frame somewhere. You don't want it to be real close to the seat cushion or back cushion. The whole point is to shake the whole chair and not just have it patting your bum or your back.

Originally posted by margomaps
Those are my theater seats. I struggled a bit with where to install the shakers. I was torn between putting them on the individual chairs vs putting them on the riser/platform the chairs will sit upon. I decided that 4 Aura Pros wouldn't have enough "oomph" to shake the platform, chairs (4x70 lbs), and audience. The only place I could find to mount them on the seats is indicated in that picture. As it turns out, I think that's a pretty good place; the backs are solid wood, so the Auras fasten very securely with wood screws. Since the back frame is bolted tightly onto the arms, and the seat is also bolted onto the arms, the vibrations are pretty evenly distributed throughout all parts of the chair: back, seat, and arms -- not very localizable at all. The only place I wish vibrated that doesn't, is the feet.

FWIW at 100 watts/pair, the vibration is too intense. As in, the vibration caused my vision to blur, making the prologue of LOTR: FOTR impossible to watch, for example. Turning my Radioshack PA amp down to about 3/4 full power made it much more reasonable.

So decided on mounting the shackers on the chairs? How has it worked out? As you may have noticed in the "chair thread" I picked up and have recently mounted 6 of the same chairs you have. I love them. I really had not thought of adding shakers myself as I thought they were expensive, but at this price it almost seems like a no brainer.

My 1st thought is to mount the shakers on the riser behind or under each seat. But my riser is pretty solid and wonder if it would carry the effect. I'm not sure I want one on every chair, or maybe go ahead on every chair and then none on the front row seating (once I decide on it). hummm decisions, decisions....

So there is wood behind the plactic chair backs? You just use wood screen? Dang that would be easy....

sdallnct, just mount them to a board then mount the board to the seat. the shakers will shake the riser, the chair and the floor............ leon

hi,I have 4 regular aura bass shakers and 4 aura pro bass shakers also an 80 watt 5.1 surround sound receiver-the manual says dynamic stereo power output at 3,4 and 8 ohms
I would like to connect the shakers to two futons.using 4 per futon. What is the best wiring
plan for this setup? Also can i use two of each type per futon?

I'd wire 4 sets of 2 in series which will give you an 8 ohm load for those 4 sets.Then I'd wire 2 of those SETS together in parallel which would give me a nice 4 ohm load that you say your receiver can handle.

As far as mixing them,don't think it matters.The pros just handle more watts because of their heat sinks from my understanding.Other than that they are the same.You'll be fine.Get ready for the rock and roll,4 shakers is going to be awesome on a futon!!!I run 3 on my big couch so you'll be set.

brickie

Brickie,could you post a drawing? I don't get the part about wiring the SETS in parallel
ps.i sent you a pm
thanks

I just got myself setup with some shakers. I got a pair of Aura Pro's and a 85W per channel Onkyo receiver to drive them. First I screwed the shakers into the bottom of my sofa. The most solid wood under the sofa looked to be the bottom of the sofa directly under the armrests. So I mounted one there on each end. I think this was a good spot because I was never able to "localize" where the shaking was coming from.

Then I wired the shakers in series and connected them to the right channel of my Onkyo. The right channel CD input on the Onkyo is connected to one of the subwoofer outputs on my main AV receiver. So my base shakers are now being fed the exact same signal as my subwoofer. The results?

Bass shakers are totally a personal preference. I don't think there is a right way excpet for the wiring configuration which your amplifier must find agreeable. I prefer this bass shaking stuff to be subtle. I like the really low end stuff (20-45 Hz) to rock the house, but I don't want to be shaken up for not-so-thunderous stuff at 55+ Hz. First I tried cranking the Onkyo up to about 75% and found it to be way too much. Later I settled on the Onkyo volume being 45%.

In a perfect world, I'd crank the Onkyo back to 75% if I could set the crossover frequency differently. I'd like for the signal feeding that Onkyo to crossover 40-45 Hz and havea fairly slow rolloff. That would make a nice smooth transition into earthshaking territory. I'm sure it could be done, but I don't want to spend more money on more components.

But as it stands, I felt 75% volume was too on-again, off-again. Now you shake a lot, now you don't. Going back to 45% volume just seemed more natural. I'm happy with it. On ebay, I think I spent about $100 total for the Onkyo and a pair of shakers and for that I get a great effect.

shanec - if you can't set the cross-over frequency in your onkyo, perhaps you can get an inline crossover. Check out parts express or crutchfield.

Well I decided to join the Aura camp too. I bought the Sherwood 2 x 105w amp that was discussed earlier in the thread at CC for cheap, and ordered 2 sets of standard shakers from partsexpress. I'll be running the sub out from my Pioneer 1015 @ 80Hz to the RCA input on the Sherwood--gonna try it first without FMOD as brickie suggested and see if it bothers me.

FWIW, earlier in the thread there was some debate about the frequency response of the Sherwood RX4103. I checked the specs in the user manual and it says that the 105w power rating is only from 50Hz - 20kHz but the overall frequency response was 20Hz - 40kHz +/- 3dB. I did a little demoing with my two Athena F1s and it was really able to push the woofers even at 20Hz, so I think it will work out fine for the transducers.

Edit: Make that 3 sets :) . Wanted to use PE's free memorial day shipping.

Free shipping for orders over $99 only thru Memorial Day weekend, ending tuesday. It should have been no limit, thats the least they could do for us veterans..

Just got my Aura standards delivered tonight, affixed them to my two couches and wired everything up. I popped in a couple bass-heavy CDs and they are really awesome! I'm going to give them a more formal break-in tonight with some movies. Like some other people here, I found that I had to turn up my Sherwood stereo amp pretty high (90%) to get a decent output. Probably because I'm running three in series off each channel, giving me a slightly high impedence of 12 ohm. If I add two more down the road for a recliner or something I will fix that to be 8 ohm per channel.

I didn't notice any unnecessary vibrating with my crossover that is currently set to 80 Hz. It might be that my couches are damping the higher bass frequencies and that's fine by me.

All in all, the job only took 2 hours, a scraped finger, and the unfortunate realization that Aura uses two different-sized blade connectors to distinguish pos/neg. Fortunately that was fixed rather easily with a re-crimp.

Can anyone tell me what the blue pieces that conect the wires are called? thanks

i got my shakers on sat. very simple to install and wire up.
they definatly add to the movie.. i had a few people over that night sit in my Berks and didnt tell them anything..
i just sat there and rubbed my hands in Glee waiting for the first explosion in the movie.

wish i had a camera in hand. =)

Can anyone tell me what the blue pieces that conect the wires are called? thanks

Blue connector thingys
hehehehe

actually they are crimp-on quick disconnects
or.. terminals for short

You never know what clicking on a thread is going to bring new into your HT. :D
You guys got me all excited about trying this out.
After playing that LFE demo DVD (thanks Clarence!) I could see my system need more bass!

So after reading this thread today, I ordered 4 Aura Pro's.
Setting up how I am going to run my speaker wire 3 to my couch and 1 to my chair

I am going to use my old Pioneer Pro Logic receiver.
I would appricate if anyone can look at the specs of this receiver, and see if I learned correctly how to wire them in
VSX-505S Specs (http://tim.spe-secure.com/VSX-505S.jpg)
Efman Wire Diagram (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=36957)

That look correct ?
If it is possible, I would like to use just 1 channel. (center)
I am using this 2nd receive to power 4 speakers in my game room, and have the center channel available, but I don't think 1 channel would be enough to power these 4, would it ? or best way in Efmans diagram ?

Appricate the advice, and looking forward to enjoying these bass shakers as well!
Thanks!

For those of you still searching for a relatively inexpensive way to drive the Bass Shakers, you should look into Plate Amps designed for sub-woofers.

An example is:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=300-793&DID=7



I deceided to scrap using my old Pioneer amp to power the 4 Pros, as it would of been alot of work getting the speaker wire run.
I have a coax on a wall plate that runs to my receiver. (its a Large coax I had put in for video and a left and right audio, I have it for plugging in Playstation, camera's ect) that is right next to the chair and couch I will be installing the Bass Shakers into.
So I purchased the recommended amp from Part Express, and will have that mounted behind my couch, and plug into my wall plate (to the larger cable)

Anyone see a problem with a long run after my LFE out split ? (about 30 feet)

Anyone looking for the Pro's, I have a source with good price. PM me if interested.


John

Anyone using the shakers with F-module to allow only low frequency to pass thru? I am thinking about allow only real low freq. below 60hz. Can the F-module do this?

I was using an fmod for this purpose but actually like the feel with out them installed..A little bit more lively which I like.But yes, it will do what you're asking.

brickie

Ok, I just bought one of the aura bass shakers, and if I like them then I will buy some more. Now I was planning on using my old Sony HTIB receiver to power these shakers. Will this work? Now I have two sub pre outs on my Rotel Receiver, so can I just use one for my sub and one for the shakers? I also have a whole other set of pre outs for a DVD A or SACD player (I think), can I use that pre out as well?

If not I was just going to use the a Y splitter from my second sub out to to L/R DVD ins on my Sony HTIB. And then run wires from their respective speaker outputs to the shakers. The HTIB was supposed to be 600 watts. 600 divided by 6 equals 100 wpc, but Im sure thats just the max and not RMS. And this shaker handles 50W RMS and 75W max, so as long as I dont turn the receiver over 75% of the volume, then Im ok right? Or am I just better off running them in series?

Now I read on their website (maybe partsexpress...actually I think it was the owners manual in .pdf that says this) that you should mount it to the floor, underneath your seating position. But I was under the impression that you actually mounted it to your couch/chair. Which was is best? And if on the chair, do you mount it on the back side or directly below your seating position?

Shaker question, plate amp & remote?

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I am installing a dedicated HT and wanted to add some shakers now rather than later. I am going with 6 of the Coaster "Studios" (Berkline 090 type) seats. I originally was going to put 1 Aura Shaker per seat. Now I'm thinking 2. Is 1 per chair sufficient, or is 2 better? Also, I was looking at this amp at PE.

Amp? (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&PartNumber=300-793&DID=7)

Seems to me that the remote would be worth the additional $10. Will this work well with 12 shakers? If I went with 6, would it be overkill?

Thanks!

I've got a couch and love seat but find that 1 shaker under each seat is more than fine..Although i'm sure since technically it's 3 acting as 1 in my couch that helps,but I think 1 per seat is fine..Amp appears to be fine..No such thing as overkill.Volume control makes it easy to adjust things where you need it.

brickie

I bought that same amp, but then I decided to send it back, because it was just much easier to use an old pro logic receiver, rather than that amp. And it just so happened that I did have an old PLI receiver laying around. Not that I remembered about it when I was purchasing the shakers, but after I got the amp I remembered. And even if you dont have one lying around, it would be cheaper to get a cheap receiver with remote on ebay than buying that amp with remote...

Thanks for the reply Brickie! If I DID do 12 Shakers, would the 250X2 @ 8ohms be enough juice?

Planning on getting the wife to give my 4 shakers and an amp for my birthday at the end of this month. Can you guys review my installation below and give any feedback you might have?

Removed some 200 or so staples to get the bottom fabric off my couch. Here is a pic, the red box is where I am thinking of putting a 66.5" x 8" x 0.75" board. The red circles are where the bass shakers would go, on top of the board, towards the seat cushions. There is enough room to clear the springs.

http://www.n4te.com/temp/DSC00535_board.jpg

The back of the couch is at the bottom of the pic. I chose the location in red above because I can screw the board into the frame not only to the boards in the middle, but to the 2x4 at the back of the couch. I think this will provide shaking not only to the seat cushions, but to the seat back and entire frame as well.

In the picture, the springs are touching pretty much all the boards you can see. I hope the shaking is not too much because of this.

I've heard that shaking the arms and back may reduce the sensation that the floor/room is shaking. Do you think I should avoid shaking the seat back? What would you say is the best placement for this couch?

Do you think a 3/4" board is too thick or not thick enough? What type of board should I ask for?

I am doing a big chair in addition to the couch above. The big chair is the same design, except it doesn't have room to clear the springs. I have 3-1/8" from the spring to the floor. The shaker is 2-1/8". If I mount it on a 3/4" board, I'll have a 1/4" to spare between the top of the shaker and the spring. I'll have to build a sort of tray to mount the shaker in this way. Here is a drawing of the pieces I will need to do my install...

http://www.n4te.com/temp/birthday.gif

I can get a pic of the chair later tonight.

I want to be completely ready to do the install on my birthday. What sort of connectors will I need for the shakers? Can you give me the exact size?

Also, I am undecided on what receiver to drive the 4 Pro shakers. I've read this entire thread and I think this receiver that was mentioned might work best...

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=248-515

I don't want to go with a plate amp as it has to go in the rack. I'd like to buy from PartsExpress since all the other parts are coming from there. Do you guys have any other recommendations?

Thanks!

I took my placement issues to a different thread...

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=558294

Nice thread guys.

I can never leave good enough alone. I just went from a 12 inch DIY Adire DPL to 2 15inch Titanic MKIII subs in a 15 by 25 foot room. Do you think shakers would dramatically improve my movie watching experience? I feel as if there is enough bass for movies, but it seems these offer a different effect?

Kwill, how do you like those Titanic subs?I agree they do offer up something a little different..although really good subs can give you that shake you in your butt feel as well.To me, I like to be able to feel the bass pressurize the room or load it up..A good sub needs to do this since shakers won't...Rgeb I like to have the shakers go ahead and take it right on over the top where you just really feel the shake all around you..

brickie

Brickie,
When I first hooked up the Titanics, I was a little disappointed. They did not sound as good as my previous sub. However, after some break in time, and phase/ placement adjustments, the sound improved greatly. This is plenty of bass for me- (I have the LFE level down almost all the way on my AVR.) I would recommend the Titanics to anyone looking for a (relatively) cheap and high quality sub.

I certainly can feel the room "pressurize", especially during certain movies- the Hulk comes to mind. But I dont feel any vibration in my seating area (a plush type couch). Thats why I am considering the shakers for that last little bit of effect.

Yeah, they will work perfect for you in this situation!I don't think you'll be disappointed at all..

brickie

sweet- just what I wanted to hear. Now to figure out which model, how many, and how to power them. I am sure there are lots of suggestions in this 25 page thread- Im off to start reading-

thanks

I have a question that I might have missed within the 25 pages of thread...

Lame newbie question, but how do I run the sound to two seperate recievers to utilize a dedicated reciever for shakers?

Hi guys, a few quick questions. What would be the ideal frequency in which to run the shakers? I just bought 6, and I will be powering them up with a simple amp. Do you guys recommend that I buy one of those things that cut off the higher frequency? What level should it be?

Will an amp with tone control help in any way? Those that have a know that goes from bass on the extreme left to treble in the extreme right.

Thanks

Max

Theritzes - you run the shakers off the LFE output.

Maxkoz - run them off hte LFE output. I run mine "full range" at that level. Tone control: nope. You can buy cutoff filters if your preamp doesn't let you specify, but I wouldn't bother.

Thanks PAP, just let me get it straight. If I use my Sub out I dont really need a cutoff filter? My HT Sub has a crossover knob, and so does the receiver. What I dont want to do is lose bass in the sub due to the setting for the shakers. Any ideas?

Just use a 'Y' connector from your sub output on your receiver and send signal to both sub and shaker amp.

PAP, sorry to insist, but what should I set the receivers cross over setting to?
Will that affect my subs performance?
Thanks,

If your receiver is 5.1 there should be no crossover for the LFE output. You may be able to direct some of the output from other speakers to the sub (i.e. "small" vs. "large") but that's up to the characteristics of your other speakers (i.e. bookshelf vs. full range).

As far as the shakers, just run them with whatever come from the LFE output. If you have to choose a high pass, I'd set it around 80 hz.

Just jumping in with a comment here...

Bass Shaker effects and subwoofer interaction is a matter of preference. The subwoofer should be set up to crossover properly with your main speakers.

My personal preference with the Bass Shakers is too use a separate crossover for the shakers around 40 Hz. I want to feel action effect but have as little music energy as possible passing to the shakers.

Shakers are fun and different when you first install them but once the novelty wears off, you will probably reduce the effects from your initial settings. Of course, everyone to their own preferences.

Ok, I think I am getting it, however I still have a question. Is there a difference betwen sub out, and LFE out? If thats the case, my receiver only has sub out.

I think that an fmod could be right for me. Anyone out there has an extra one to sell?

Thanks pap, I figured things out once I actually set down to read all 25 pages of this thread. Page 12 or so had the answers I was looking for.

Guys, I have one of those 80's amps with an eq. Will this work for me? Even if the amp does not power 20hz, I would switch it with another amp, but the question is geared towards the cutoff. WIll the eq, allow me to do the cutoff I need?

Thanks again.

[
Shakers are fun and different when you first install them but once the novelty wears off, you will probably reduce the effects from your initial settings. Of course, everyone to their own preferences.[/QUOTE]

it will never wear off. i've had mine for 3 mo.s and i keep turning them up and up and up ...... i need more

Does anyone have experience driving bass shakers with a digital reciever? I'm looking at the Sony 3000es that can be had a a very reasonalbe price these days--and has full rs232 controll for a tie in wiith my autiomation system.

Forgive me if this has already been addressed somewhere in the previous 25 pages of the thread. If so, feel free to just point me to which page.

People have suggested running a Y-connector from the primary receiver's subwoofer output to go to a secondary receiver or amp to power the bass shakers. That makes perfect sense, but let me try this theoretical:

What if, instead of running the Y-connector out from the subwoofer out, you ran it from the DVD player's coax digital output? One branch goes to the primary receiver, the second branch goes to a secondary DD/DTS receiver. You set that 2nd receiver for 3 large front speakers, no surrounds, and no subwoofer, then crank up the bass settings. Connect to three bass shakers attached to the chair. You should then get discrete directional shaking from left, center, and right.

Is there any reason this wouldn't work? Any disadvantages? Would there be too much bleed from non-bassy sounds shaking the chair?

What if, instead of running the Y-connector out from the subwoofer out, you ran it from the DVD player's coax digital output? One branch goes to the primary receiver, the second branch goes to a secondary DD/DTS receiver. You set that 2nd receiver for 3 large front speakers, no surrounds, and no subwoofer, then crank up the bass settings. Connect to three bass shakers attached to the chair. You should then get discrete directional shaking from left, center, and right.

Is there any reason this wouldn't work? Any disadvantages? Would there be too much bleed from non-bassy sounds shaking the chair?

I guess in theory, this could work, but I think you already addressed some of the drawbacks to this. I would think that your shakers would shake essentially whenever there was sound coming out of your speakers. In some cases, it might not be too much, but in others, I would think it would be very distracting. I don't know how wierd it would be to have as something as small as a bird chirping in the background actually shake the seats.

Also, I am not sure how much transferrence would happen as well. Even if you attached these shakers to a couch, would the other parties even be able to feel the directional shaking? Plus the guy in the center seat would probably go crazy from all the shaking from dialogue.

Now if you put an LFE crossover between the shakers and the amp, that would filter out all the high end frequencies and leave the bass to go to the sub and I suppose you could get some of the effect you describe.

So if you have the gear, I say give it a try and let us know how it feels. I would also run a normal setup so that you can see the difference between the two setups.

I guess in theory, this could work, but I think you already addressed some of the drawbacks to this. I would think that your shakers would shake essentially whenever there was sound coming out of your speakers.

Thanks for the response, Elfman.

I suspect you are right, but the only thing I have to add is that currently I am not using an external receiver at all. I just have the Aura Bass Shakers connected to the front mains on my primary receiver (with those channels set to Large), and I hardly get any shake at all except for extreme bass situations. I had feared, as you say, that every time someone spoke my chair would vibrate, but that isn't the case now. Is that just because I don't have enough amplification?

Even if you attached these shakers to a couch, would the other parties even be able to feel the directional shaking?

The plan was to put the shakers close enough together that 1 person in the center would feel all three. I watch most of my movies alone. I wasn't really even thinking about others.

I bet you'd enjoy the ability to control power to the shakers separate from your main amp. At the point you get them adjusted where you like, the higher frequency shaking may become more noticeable and subsequently bothersome? If so, an easy solution are 50/70/etc Hz FMOD in-line low pass RCA filters.

Search the forum or Google for more info.

Josh,
I tried what you're suggesting and for many movies you won't notice much 'shaking'. When it got annoying however, was when I would watch a movie that had a character with a deep bass voice. Then you'd get 'shake' whenever that character spoke. Got to be a bit annoying and so I switched to a separate amp. Much better experience now.

Good advice.

I think I might try it anyway, and if I don't like it I'll just disconnect the output from the DVD player and connect to the main receiver's subwoofer out instead.

Well, I had a bead on a cheap DD/DTS receiver but the seller turned out to be a total flake and the deal fell through.

I think I'm just going to go with a standard subwoofer amp now. Parts Express has a good deal on a 70W unit. Would that be enough to power 2 Aura Pro shakers?

Well, I had a bead on a cheap DD/DTS receiver but the seller turned out to be a total flake and the deal fell through.

I think I'm just going to go with a standard subwoofer amp now. Parts Express has a good deal on a 70W unit. Would that be enough to power 2 Aura Pro shakers?

If you only have two you will need to put them in series. this will result in an 8 ohm load to the plate amplifier.

Is the amplifier rated for 70 watts into 8 ohms, or at 4 ohms?

If at 70 watts at 8 ohms, you will be fine. Otherwise, you might only have 35 to 45 watts available at 8 ohms if it was rated at 70 watts into 4 ohms.

Then if only 35 to 45 watts, it will be marginal for the "pro" units as you will only have about 20 watts available for each shaker. (Now... they will still shake plenty hard at this level, but not at the full potential of the "pro" model)

Joe L.