Buttkicker owner opinions

I was hoping for a response to your question. I was wondering the same thing.

I have 4 buttkicker advanced installed in my 4 theater chairs. I love them. Do yourself a favor and find a place where you can try them out. I find that people who sit in my chairs love them or hate them. Most however love them. I dont have them on all the time. They are great for action but for a comedy i usually turn them off. Before i bought my 4 fusion escapes with the buttkickers installed from Roman i had 3 chairs with aura shakers i installed myself that i thought were good until i got my new chairs with the buttkickers. Parts express sells plate amps that work great with them since the buttkicker amps are never available.

I have 2 Aura bass shakers in my recliner w/Parts Express plate amp. Not for use all the time but highly recommend for action at moderate volume levels.

$500-$700...

I've had Buttkicker in my four home theater seats for five years. I think they are best for action type movies and concert DVDs. If the movie/DVD doesn't have a lot of low end sound (bass notes, explosions, etc.) then their insn't much to experience with the Buttkickers. Some movies, the original Transformers for example, can almost overload your senses with all the sounds and sensations. In other movies (3:10 to Yuma), you don't even know the Buttkickers are there until late in the movie when the train starts to pull into the station. Then you feel the train before you even see it! Buttkickers are about adding a third dimension - tactile - to the normal audio and video you expect in a home theater. They definitely enhance the realism of the movie experience - you literally "feel" like part of the movie. I've demo'ed these in my home for years and never found anyone who didn't like the experience. Having said that, there are definitely times when you will want to turn them off. And I see these as more of a guy thing than a girl thing.

When calibrated properly to NOT draw attention to themselves...Buttkickers are a great addition to an HT. I have two per row of three chairs and find them to be a fun addition to any movie with low enough bass to activate them (I have them crossed over at 40 Hz).

Bricktop

I've had the Aura, Clark Synthesis and Buttkickers. I thought the Aura's were the weakest of the group. The Clark's were fine if used mounted to the chair. The buttkickers were by far the best of the group, not even close. I currently have two BK's mounted inside my platform, used for my second row of seats. They are a terrific option for tactile bass performance.

It might help to know from those voting if they chose "wouldn't get them again" option is the reason they don't like the feel of tactile transducers or they have found a better product?

Sorry, I have to throw D-Box into the mix. I know it cost a lot more, but I am so glad I got them. Not only do you get great vibrations, they are planed and not just picked up by the bass. Much like what a discrete LEF channel is to sound. In addition you get motion that is a ton of fun. Here is a video of my kids watching the crash scene in the Flight of the Phoenix.

YouTube Link

Sorry it is longer than it should be and quality could be better. Only the 2 middle chairs have D-Box, so you can see the contrast compared to the other chairs.

For a 2 hour movie I think this would make me crazy. Neat once in a while but not sure I want that much motion when I watch movies.

One last post and then I will shut up . That is one of the most intense clips I have seen in D-Box. Most movies don't move that much and you don't move during the whole movie. The motion is very intelligent, and I often forget I am in a D-Box seat (too immersed in the movie). I would say try/demo it sometime if you can. I used to think it was a gimmick until I tried it.

Anyway, OP, good luck. You're on the right path. I agree that tactical adds a whole new level.

Absolutely one of the best value vs. cost items I have in my theater. And one of the things that gets talked about most by guests.

Highly recommend.

I've got 11 Aura bass shakers in my living room HT, & 3 more in my bedroom HT chair, along with 12 Aura Pro NIB awaiting installation sometime/someplace else. Had them for 7-8 years & love 'em. They're the most popular additions I've ever made to any of my systems.

This is one of the least visited forums on AVS. If you use the search engine in HT construction and subwoofers forum ...you'll find a lot of information and feedback on the buttkicker (no need to repost another poll, this topic and feedback is readily available in existing threads). ...like this one: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...ght=buttkicker

If you go to subwoofer forum and use advance search, buttkicker has your search word, title search only...you'll find 137 threads dedicated to the topic. In some of the threads, you'll find comparisons. But, I would think it's obvious from the sampling you have hear, BK is the perferred transducer.

Subwoofers, Bass, and Transducers is the title of that forum. The transducers in the title stands for tactile transducers, which the technical category for buttkickers, clark and aura products.

have them, and would do it again if i started over
6x buttkicker full sized versions, 1 in each of my 6 recliners. tweaked properly, they supplement my 2x danley dts-10 subs quite well

I had them in my last theater (pre-installed in Berkline recliners), and I plan to have them in my next. I had 4 BK units driven by a BK1000 amp. The temptation is to turn them up too much. They should be set a a fairly subtle level, and then I found that I didn't have to turn them on and off, since the LFEs are not there unless they are appropriate for the content.

Highly recommend the Buttkickers.

Yes 10000 times over.

I recently went to the theaters to watch wrath of the titans... It was cool, but I couldn't help it think the entire time "I can't wait to watch this in my theater".

They don't need to be mounted to the chair. I have one mounted to my couch, and two others with the furniture attachment and you can't tell the difference. But, mounting them puts it out of view.

Had the Aura's, even moded to make them better. Tried the Buttkickrs and never looked back! Awesome!

I wholeheartedly agree. They have to be tuned properly, if not the Buttkickers can be overbearing just like anything else. You turn them up for gaming, dial it in for an action movie to complement the sub and leave it off for comedies or dramas but this is only necessary if you do not set the crossover low. If you set the crossover at around 40hz then you do not need to touch it.

It's nice to have the ability to properly tune them to individual tastes. Saying the Buttkickers would be a mere distraction is inaccurate.

How good is your current sub? How heavy are your chairs? The minis should do unless you are looking for more extension and output to either compliment the sub or fill in because the sub is lacking at the lowest octave.