[dreamstate]

Hello everybody,I'm sort of a lurker here educating myself with all your informative advice and so on and have a question.I'm going to get a Clarke tactile transducer and don't want to have to buy all the add on's they suggest.I was reading a review on the net a while back and this person hooked one up via his powered sub.I can't seem to find the article now.I have the Hk7000 AVR and a pair of Infinity IL50 as left and right's,an IL36 centre,IL40's as right and left surrounds and lastly an IL100 powered sub.So is it possible to simply hook up the TT to the sub via the sub out's at the back and get a non high frequency response from the TT that is also volume controled?If anyone has this kind of set up i'd really appreciate the feedback.Thanx

 

[Michael Sargent]

I hooked up my Clark TT by getting a subwoofer amp form Parts Express (about $125 I think -- it was 2 years ago). I ran a Y cable from the sub-out on my amp (Denon AVR-3300) to the new TT sub amp, and then a pair of stereo cables from the sub amp to my regular subwoofer. I hope that's clear (but the TT sub amp and my regular sub seem to work a lot better if there is a signal in both left and right even if it's mono).


This works very well, and the TT is the most impressive thing to show off to people. I highly recommend it. Movies like Saving Private Ryan, U-571, and Band of Brothers are exquisite with the TT. But I find it enhances everything. I watched Carole King in Concert a couple of days ago, and the bass lines and drum beats were wild. Highly recommended.


I balanced my TT and sub using the following procedure (I don't remember who originally suggested it, but it works great).


- set your LFE out level on your amp to 0 dB

- turn off the TT and level match your sub as you normally would using the level control on the sub

- turn of the sub and adjust the TT to produce a sound 10 dB lower than the sub using the level control on the TT amp

- turn both back on and adjust the LFE out level down a bit so the TT and sub combination are balanced with the rest of your system (-3 dB in my case).


This gives a very nice level for the TT. Not too annoying in that it is constantly shaking the building apart, but certainly loud enough that when needed you really feel it. Every HT should have one a TT.


Mike

 

[dreamstate]

Thanks Mike:I suppose i should have explained my problem a little more in depth.I realize that the prefered way to hook up the TT is to get a y connector and hook one end up to your sub and the other to another amp to then connect to the TT.But what i'm wondering is,can i simply hook up the TT to the outputs on the back of a self powered sub and bypass having to buy a separate amp for the TT?My sub is a 250Watt Infinity IL100.It is simply connected to the back of my HK7000 via a sub cable.It is a forward firing sub with a volume control at the front and it has many controls and conections on the back.It has:Line level inputs/outputs (this is the only connection used,left in on the line level),input selector(spkr/line),low pass frequency adjustment,low pass filter selector,phase switch,bass optimization system,and of course right and left in out wire connectors(these are not used and i'm thinking the sub bieng self powered and 250w i could hook up the TT here and have volume control of it as well as frequency adjustment.Am i totally out to lunch here?

 

[Michael Sargent]

Quote:

and of course right and left in out wire connectors(these are not used and i'm thinking the sub bieng self powered and 250w i could hook up the TT here and have volume control of it as well as frequency adjustment.Am i totally out to lunch here?

Your sub sounds like it has the same connectors that mine (a Cerwin Vega 150 W 12" unit) does, and if so I don't think it will work. Here's why:


These subs are set up to work in two different ways. The first is to use line level audio, like the LFE out signal from your amp. The second is to connect to your front L and R speakers (hence the speaker/line switch) to the sub. With the speakers connected to your sub, they provide the speaker outputs so you can still connect your L & R speakers to the sub outputs. These "outputs" are just another set of connectors attached directly to the speaker inputs. They are only there for convenience.


Specifically, they are not the powered output of the sub amp. You can test this very easily by connecting your sub using the line level input, and then put an AC voltmeter on the output lines. If you get 0 volts, you'll need a separate amp for the TT's.


Besides, with both driven from one amp, it will be impossible to get a good balance between the sub and the TT's.


Mike

 

[dreamstate]

Thanks for the reply,thats what i was afraid of.Ah well...whats another 300 bucks.

 

[Art Lloyd]

Michael,


I hooked up three of these things in different seats in my HT. It is no great process to hook them up. After I had them running I realized that I found the effect sort of tiresome rather than exciting. For about a minute people to whom I demonstrated the things smiled broadly and then the kick was over. Be sure that you really want these things in your HT before you put out money that might go elsewhere. Art