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theater chairs . manual vs electric and butt kickers

1410 Views 21 Replies 13 Participants Last post by rsh, Mar 10, 2005

rday1960

Discussion Starter · Mar 1, 2005

researching theater seating. is it worth going electric over manual ? and what about these butt kickers ? are they just a gimick or do they really ad the the theater experience?

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1 - 20 of 22 Posts

efball

· #2 · Mar 2, 2005

I have the Clark Platinum tactile transducer. It's smaller and cheaper than the buttkicker, but it works great. If you like action and/or Sci-Fi movies I highly recommend one. It makes for a more immersive experience.

http://clarksynthesis.com/home-products.php

PamW

· #3 · Mar 2, 2005

I highly recommend electric recline - I have a combination of electrics and manuals in my theater, and the overwhelming choice is electric when people come over to watch. And my family thinks they're great, too!

Nabs17

· #4 · Mar 2, 2005

rday1960,

Check out my thread where I ask the same question about motorized vs manual recline.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...hreadid=501171

Seems the consensus is motorized and it help me make my decision to go with motorized for all my chairs.

Thanks,

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margomaps

· #5 · Mar 2, 2005

Agreed on motorized vs manual. Unless you happen to find manual recliners that adjust to exactly the seating positions you like best, and stay put, I think you'll be a lot happier paying a bit more for the motorized version.

Transducers are great. I've used the relatively modest Aura Pro shakers in my theater for the past year or so, and they make action/sci-fi/war/suspense movies -- anything that makes good use of the LFE, really -- quite a bit more immersive. I don't know if it's just a gimmick, but if it is, it's a darn good one.

MrSquid

· #6 · Mar 2, 2005

Motorized is definitely worth it to me. That's the general concensus here (as you can see)

If you can spring for the $$$, Buttkickers will take you BEYOND the theater experience. (and BK's factory installed in Berklines are cheaper than if you were to buy them separately and install them yourself - or, at least that was the case when I bought my 090's last fall)

rday1960

Discussion Starter · #7 · Mar 3, 2005

ok so what exactly do these butt kickers or transisters do ? what does it feel like/?

margomaps

· #8 · Mar 3, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by rday1960
ok so what exactly do these butt kickers or transisters do ? what does it feel like/?

Read this . Also search the forums for "shaker" or "transducer" or "aura" or "buttkicker" or "clark synthesis"...have fun!

rday1960

Discussion Starter · #9 · Mar 3, 2005

wow intersting stuf thank you margomaps

BurkeLaShell

· #10 · Mar 3, 2005

I have Berkline 88's with power recline and Aura Bass Shakers installed. In my opinion, the power recline is definitely worth the money.

I keep my shakers turned way down low. For the most part, I think I feel them in my chest and not in my butt.

Your brain seems to have difficulty with low bass. I think the brain interprets the input as sound and not motion. Bass shakers are a great addition to the theater experience.

--Burke

Kingdaddy

· #11 · Mar 3, 2005

Buttkickers are extremely power hungry and from my research they work no better then Clark Synthesis, which are also cheaper. I have 2 of the silver Clarks and below 20hz and they will do what my old auras only dreamed of as far FR goes.

CWC

· #12 · Mar 4, 2005

Power recline will let you set your head/eye level exactly where you want it. Manual recline is typically all the way up or all the way back.

rsh

· #13 · Mar 4, 2005

Shannon, if you are talking about the Berkline recliners, then your statement is not accurate. The Berkline manual recliners will offer 3 stop positions. You cannot really hold the chair in between these positions though. That is why you would be much better off with the motorized ones, which will provide indefinite control. Another thing is that in order to bring the manual recliner back into upper position you need to press on the footrest with your legs. If you have small children or older people who will use the chairs, they may have not enough strength to do so.

Roman

rday1960

Discussion Starter · #14 · Mar 4, 2005

ok so im learning. so are these butt kickers or other transducers just large sub woofers? if so why cant you just build one into the RISERS . thus each seach wthin that riser would get the effect. instead of placing them in each individual chair

dwightrahl

· #15 · Mar 4, 2005

It's pretty much a questions of power and room construction. Not everyone who buys a HT chair has a riser in which to install a transducer. In those cases, installing the transducer in the chair is the only option available.

If you have a riser, you can install the transducer in the riser and all seats on the riser will get the effect. That's assuming that the transducer is powerfull enough to shake the riser and multiple seats.

The inexpensive Aura units aren't powerful enough to shake the whole riser unless you install mutiples in the riser. I installed 8 of them in my riser, and I get pretty good shaking of 3 Berkline 090's. Buttkickers and Clark transducers are more powerful than the Aura units, so you can get the same (or more) shaking effect with fewer transducers.

Good luck,

Dwight

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Kingdaddy

· #16 · Mar 4, 2005

The main advantage of the Clark or Buttkicker is the fact they will both go below 30Hz which you will need for proper effect, the auras will barly go down to the 30's.

rday1960

Discussion Starter · #17 · Mar 4, 2005

ok so can you buy these at an eectronics supply outlet ? and how many would you place in a riser with 3 to 4 seats .

hstewart

· #18 · Mar 9, 2005

Quote:

Originally posted by rday1960
ok so im learning. so are these butt kickers or other transducers just large sub woofers? if so why cant you just build one into the RISERS . thus each seach wthin that riser would get the effect. instead of placing them in each individual chair

They are similar to subwoofers in their operating principle, but they move mass or weight, rather than air. Instead of moving a cone to push air to create sound waves, they move a weight that creates vibration.

The Buttkickers are powerful enough to indeed be bolted to the risers. It is the way they were intended to be installed. The effect is great, because your guests actually feel the floor shake, not just the seat of their chairs. You'll want to put the riser on little "isolation feet" so that the riser's vibrations won't be damped by the main floor of the room. Places that sell the Buttkicker also often sell the isolation feet.

One or at most two Buttkickers would shake up a riser that seats 4. I have one in a sofa and one in a loveseat and keep them turned down pretty far; otherwise they'd be totally obnoxious. A good bet is to buy the dedicated amplifier that Guitammer sells for the Buttkicker. It has the correct filtering and plenty of cheap power to drive up to four of them.

Do an Internet search to find sellers, such as Real Electronics. Beware of eBay scams, as usual. The Buttkicker is made by Guitammer

-H.

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Kelkoski

· #19 · Mar 9, 2005

Ok, so I have a Difinitive SuperCube1 w/ Difinitive towers and the whole 5.1 thing going on, which is just amazing!!! Would I really bennifit with the buttkickers?

rsh

· #20 · Mar 9, 2005

Yes you will. The buttkickers do not replace but complement the subwoofers. They will help to create more realistic and involving effect. I have 8.4 system (4 subwoofers) and still enjoy having transducers in each chair.

Roman

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