Introducting bass shakers to my home theater...please help :)

Hey everyone. Long-time lurker, and I finally got the inclination to enter my email address AND actually verify it. Ahhh. These past two years have been absolutely insane with the construction of our home. Now, I'm to the part where I can start setting up my home theater & moving into the home in about a week (give or take a few days). I saved the home theater setup for last because I didn't want the contractors to cost me more than what they already are...in other words, break my plasma :P

I've decided to use a projector in the main media room, and throw the 51" plasma above the bar. Yes, yes, I know the sun will wash it out...daytime will look horrible...I'm plenty aware. But, the great thing for me is that I teach all day long & late-night hours are about the only time I'm able to watch something on the projector anyways. The space allotted is a mere 8' wide x 17' in length hence the reason I have a 100" screen, rather than a 125". Not only that, but it's a loft, so I've got some work to do. Great thing is that my speakers play nicely with the slope of the ceiling. It's an all metal & concrete home & somehow, someway, that is actually working with my sound. I wonder how long that will last When I designed the house, I never took into account the loft for the home theater. But, what was originally supposed to be my home theater turned into a workshop. She gave me an ultimatum & well, I will never get rid of my tools

So, now that the introductions are over, here's what I'm looking at

*A BenQ w1070 (the 1080 short throw if they'll release it already, but I'm buying in the next couple of days regardless)

**100" 16:9 electric screen by Elite screens (acoustic screen something)

***Onkyo HT-S5400 7.1

I think it's safe to say these are the only important devices I need to list for now. What I'm wanting to do is to incorporate bass shakers, transducers, whatever you want to call them, into my current setup. I've got some of the best contractors I can get over here, and I have them custom-making my furniture. That is a huge plus for me because I can take advantage of the bass shakers (it's what I know them as, don't take offense), and have the furniture designed around them, rather than having the challenge of finding a spot for the bass shaker to go after all is said & done. My problem is that I know NOTHING about them. It's fairy new technology to me. I remember roughly when it came out, and the buttkicker has been in my cart on Amazon for the better part of 2 years, but I just never brought myself to buying it primarily because I don't completely understand how it works. I have read several threads on here, and yes, I'm sure all of the information has been answered in one form or another. But, don't take this the wrong way. I'm not posting because I'm too lazy to read through other people's posts. I'm posting because it's nearly a foreign language to me. When one thread starts making sense, another contradicts it.

What I want to know is simple to ask, but I'm not so sure that it will be as easy to comprehend your answers...so please, layman's terms.

I want to be able to use my Onkyo 7.1, which I use in PLIIz format, to be able to not only keep my subwoofer alive, but to be able to "talk" to my bass shakers http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-TT25-16-Tactile-Transducer-Shaker/dp/B0073IXASQ/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1363777501&sr=8-8&keywords=bass+shaker.

The reason I used the word "talk" is because I don't know how exactly to explain it. I don't know what I want talking to what, all I know is that when I turn on the Onkyo & the Projector, I want my butt shaking while still preserving the quality of the subwoofer I've read that I may need another amp...I've read that I can use a y-splitter for the subwoofer rca...Frankly, I can't come up with an educated guess based on the previous forums. Partly because it's new technology to me, and another big part is because every answer says a different story. I realize we all have preferences, but please let's try to sit those aside when answering this question. I'm sure I can come to appreciate your preferences later, but first I need to know how get it working in order to appreciate anything

Does anyone have experience with this particular brand of transducer? I've read great reviews about them, but that doesn't always do it for me & home audio/video equipment.


To make it easier on the eyes, here's a summary of the answers I ask of you all.

*How do I hook up a transducer (bass shaker)? Do I need an amp? I'm planning on putting one under each seat & one behind each seat as long as you all agree?
** The ohms are different than the Onkyo, how can I make that work?
***Does anyone have any good/bad/mediocre experience with this Dayton brand of transducer?
****I read something about an in-line something for a lack of a better term...Can anyone elaborate on this or would you need the name? :-/
*****Would these work hooked up to one of those little Pyle 75-watt amplifiers? I use sleeping apps on my iPhone of Thunderstorms via in-ceiling speakers mounted in our bed. Keep in mind that the speakers placed in our headboard are far from home theater quality, but I found it a bit ridiculous to put a full system in a headboard :P Would love a little added bass, but not entirely necessary. This is separate from the home theater that my previous 4 questions pertain to.


Whoever reads this lengthy post, I appreciate the time you took to check it out. To make it easier on you guys, if you'd rather just answer 1 or 2 questions so you're not at the computer all night, I would completely understand! Hopefully, the next person can pick up where you left off I hope to see results when I wake back up in a few hours.

All the best!
Edited by stanislavski - 3/20/13 at 4:58am

Hey, thanks for the reply Craig. I had tried to get the manual all day yesterday & for some reason I couldn't download it. I'd get a sever timeout each & every time. You're magic haha. Looks like I may turn out to use these on more of my thunderstorm sleep setup than in my home theater. With the thunderstorm sounds, I don't care too much if I do go above 40 hz. By the time I turn it on to hear it, I'm usually so dead, it doesn't matter a whole lot. The reason I had looked at these initially are for two very big reason. The price, yes. I'm not familiar with these at all, and returning something from the Philippines after getting it shipped here IS NOT FUN. When we upgraded to the iPhone 5 when it came out, we sold our 4S models. Nearly $100 when said & done to ship it from here to there. Imagine a speaker, transducer, or anything with a magnet.... The other very big reason I looked at these is that I don't want a lot of unrealistic shaking going on. I've read about the buttkicker, and given the style of furniture we're going with, it seems that it may be rather thin for a good application fit. We're using reclaimed wood in a Japanese style platform. Someone had posted in a previous post regarding the buttkicker & said that it really shakes the life out of whatever it's touching. I don't know how accurate that is, but when you think that my furniture will be a 1/5 as thick as a couch you would buy in the States, it makes me wonder if it's going to be too powerful? There's not really a way to nestle the transducer into the ground, but there is more than enough space to build an attached box directly to the inner, underside of the seat...as well as the back. What would you suggest that would be cost-effective, as well as a decent rattle if you will? Try to keep in mind that I pay $9 per pound for shipping from the States to here, and about $35 per pound from here to the States for a return :-/

Also, when you say you won't want to feel the shake before you hear the sound...Is that the feeling that you get when you're using a computer 5.1 and every little movement makes that higher "rumble" on the subwoofer? The annoying rumble that goes on throughout the whole conversation when someone has a slightly deeper voice?

Thanks for the info. Still taking it all in, but hopefully enough info will be soaked up in order to buy some form of these things within the next day or so. I've made the entire house wire-free in a sense. Every single wire is ran behind the walls, in-ceiling, etc. I'd hate to delay myself and have wires hanging out at this point. Do all of these transducers take speaker wire directly to them? If so, then I can go ahead and run it before they put the wall back up. I can always cut wires off inside the wall, or use them as spares afterwards. Nonetheless, thank you for your very informative reply.

All the best!