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Bass Shaker/ Butt Kicker HELP!!

post #1 of 12
2/3/08 at 7:27am
Thread Starter 
hello everyone, i know a thing or two about ht. but i am new to this buttkicker thing. i am planning on building a new ht. i am going to have a stage, 2 risers and 6 chairs. what is a good butt kicker to buy??, how do i hook it up?? and how many do i need?? last important question: are these important?? waht will i feel??
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post #2 of 12
2/3/08 at 9:33am
Try checking the other threads here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=330436
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=841019
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=987802

Specifically though (and let me preference this by saying I am a newby and don't have platform/riser experience), I would think that two BK LFEs in each three chair platform should do the trick - three if you want to be aggressive. I don't know if it is best to have one under each chair or to have them as close to the middle as possible to allow for maximum flex. I believe in general it is best to have them as far from rigid sides as possible. For instance if I was going to mount some under my floor, I would (if I could) mount them in the middle of a joist span, where the BK could force the joist to flex/vibrate as much as possible.

No, BKs or any other tactile device is not "important" per se, but they are REALLY cool and fun and add an whole 'nother dimension to movies and music. What you feel will depend on how you set the crossover filters, but in general you will feel movie and music content in the 1 Hz (I've heard 0 hertz mentioned, but I don't see how that is possible, 0.4 hertz sure) to say 100 to 120 Hz range ), based on the seemingly favored 80Hz roll-off. What that means is that explosions and crashes will shake you (and perhaps the house), you will get jarred by gun shots, light sabers and fire will make your body hum/vibrate, when the rhino beast hits the column in SW2 you will bounce, you will feel waves crash into your chair, in music you will feel the drums and bass guitar, I could babble on, but hopefully this gives you the idea.
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post #3 of 12
2/3/08 at 9:01pm
@ Demetri99

The BK amp with low pass and a variable high pass filer and volume controls gives you pretty good control over what you will feel. Anything from real pounding and shaking (which I find distracting) to subtle vibrations that blend with and accentuate the output of the subwoofer.

To me the big advantage of the BK is feeling more of the LFE when I can't turn up my subwoofer because of living in an apartment. In my room (12x19x8) the BK doesn't add much compared to when my subwoofer is turned up. So you might consider adding one or more subwoofers to your system to get the extra feel and get the added benefit of evening out the bass across your whole seating area. Just something to consider.
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post #4 of 12
2/6/08 at 1:05pm
Thread Starter 
i was thinking about that, but my receiver is an onkyo TX-sr875 7.1, how would i add another sub??
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post #5 of 12
2/19/08 at 7:00am
I have the Series 2 Pro Buttshakers from 4seating.com under each seat. I don't find the big thumps to be distracting, they rock! I would never consider a second sub after using these. The shakers make a bigger bass impression than my sub. The improvement in the overall experience after adding these is night and day. If you choose to add another sub however, you do it the same way you would add the amp for the shakers. Use a Y splitter coming out of the sub out on the receiver.
4seating.com also has several diagrams for wiring the speakers/amp.
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post #6 of 12
2/19/08 at 1:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vexthem View Post

Try checking the other threads here:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=330436
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=841019
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=987802

Specifically though (and let me preference this by saying I am a newby and don't have platform/riser experience), I would think that two BK LFEs in each three chair platform should do the trick - three if you want to be aggressive. I don't know if it is best to have one under each chair or to have them as close to the middle as possible to allow for maximum flex. I believe in general it is best to have them as far from rigid sides as possible. For instance if I was going to mount some under my floor, I would (if I could) mount them in the middle of a joist span, where the BK could force the joist to flex/vibrate as much as possible.

No, BKs or any other tactile device is not "important" per se, but they are REALLY cool and fun and add an whole 'nother dimension to movies and music. What you feel will depend on how you set the crossover filters, but in general you will feel movie and music content in the 1 Hz (I've heard 0 hertz mentioned, but I don't see how that is possible, 0.4 hertz sure) to say 100 to 120 Hz range ), based on the seemingly favored 80Hz roll-off. What that means is that explosions and crashes will shake you (and perhaps the house), you will get jarred by gun shots, light sabers and fire will make your body hum/vibrate, when the rhino beast hits the column in SW2 you will bounce, you will feel waves crash into your chair, in music you will feel the drums and bass guitar, I could babble on, but hopefully this gives you the idea.

You don't want your Buttkicker to activate all of the time. That would happen if you set your crossover to 80 hz or above. Most people set the low pass crossover for 40 or 50 hz. This can be done a couple of ways. If you are using Buttkicker, you can use their amp and just set the low pass knob where you want it. If you are using Aura Pro Bass Shakers you can use an old amp or AVR if you have one and place a 50 hz. low pas FMOD in the LFE cable.
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post #7 of 12
3/12/08 at 7:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjg100 View Post

You don't want your Buttkicker to activate all of the time. That would happen if you set your crossover to 80 hz or above. Most people set the low pass crossover for 40 or 50 hz. This can be done a couple of ways. If you are using Buttkicker, you can use their amp and just set the low pass knob where you want it. If you are using Aura Pro Bass Shakers you can use an old amp or AVR if you have one and place a 50 hz. low pas FMOD in the LFE cable.

Just a quick question... I picked up a BK-LFEKit from amazon a few wks ago... I have the Low Cutoff OFF and the High Cutoff ON with the crossover set at 50hz... When watching a movie that has alot of action I can hear the ButtKicker bottoming out and it does not sound good, I have played with the settings but I can't seem to get it to stop, any ideas ??
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post #8 of 12
3/12/08 at 7:41am
I did a little more searching and found the following posted by Vexthem :

Quote:
Buttkicker LFE Weakness:
If you drive it too hard, it will thunk or slap (hidden strength? it tells you to turn it down - or add another if you aren't happy with the results yet).

I do have the dual up about 60%, but I have tried turning it down and still get tha thunk / slam that sounds like it's bottoming out...
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post #9 of 12
3/12/08 at 7:51am
Sorry about the posts, I did some searching (I guess not enough) before I posted in this thread... I think I found everything I needed in this thread...
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post #10 of 12
3/12/08 at 10:15am
Sorry, I did not see this thread until now. If you are getting thunking, then your options are:

1. Turn it down. Results in less impact with your bass.
2. Turn it down and add another. Can get the same impact, but costs more.
3. Mount directly to your couch/chair. Better transfer so you can turn it down.

Hope this helps.
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post #11 of 12
3/12/08 at 10:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mjg100 View Post

Sorry, I did not see this thread until now. If you are getting thunking, then your options are:

1. Turn it down. Results in less impact with your bass.
2. Turn it down and add another. Can get the same impact, but costs more.
3. Mount directly to your couch/chair. Better transfer so you can turn it down.

Hope this helps.

mjg100, Thanks for your reply...

Right now I have an older chair that I don't mind mounting it to... My wife and I was looking at new seating and I don't think she would like the unit being mounted to a new piece so I may have to look into getting another unit...
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post #12 of 12
3/12/08 at 12:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Demetri99 View Post

i was thinking about that, but my receiver is an onkyo TX-sr875 7.1, how would i add another sub??

You get a simple "Y" splitter for the sub-out. Run one to the sub and one to the BK amp. then from the amp you run the speaker wire to the shakers.
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