Bass shakers

[Jeff Schmidt]

Any thoughts on bass shakers?

I’m considering getting some kind of bass shakers for my home theater, but not sure which ones would be best or if they’re worth it.

I have a large sectional couch and while it would be cool to get one for each individual seat I’m thinking just one for each seat my Wife and I sit in would be a good start.

Looking for advice on which bass shakers to get and amp to go with them. Also will I need anything else to ensure they will work seamlessly with my subs(HSU VTF15H mk2) and Denon AVR X8500H using multi eq app? Mini dsp etc?

As always thanks in advance for the help.

 

[mazersteven]

I know nothing about these, but for $50 bucks its worth trying out. Watch the Videos

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Aurasound AST-2B-4 Pro Bass Shaker Tactile TransducerAurasound AST-2B-4 Pro Bass ShakerAre you getting all the bass you want? Not yet!The Aurasound AST-2B-4 Pro Bass Shaker—also known as a butt shaker, or tactile transducer—works on the principle that low bass is mostly felt and not heard...

www.parts-express.com

Also sold in Bundles

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Shop a wide selection of bass shaker tactile transducers that make movies, games, and music come alive: Dayton Audio, Aura, ButtKicker, Clark Synthesis, Sonic Immersion, and more.

www.parts-express.com

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Crowson are probably the ones to get if you need to.
But this is way beyond and much more natural feeling.

The Hideaway Theater

The Hideaway Theater

r.tapatalk.com

 

[Jeff Schmidt]

Crowson are probably the ones to get if you need to.
But this is way beyond and much more natural feeling.

The Hideaway Theater

The Hideaway Theater

r.tapatalk.com

I’ve actually seen this idea and like it, but not sure it would work for me. I’m in the military and live in a duplex in base housing. This is what prevents me from turning my HSU’s up very much without disturbing the neighbors ergo the reason I am interested in some kind of shaker for the couch. I also have a pretty small room with a big L style sectional so building a huge riser to set it on is just not feasible.

When I have a bigger room with actual theater seats I have considered doing a riser like this though.

 

[Jeff Schmidt]

Was hoping somebody on here had some experience with using them to share whether they are worth picking up and to answer questions because I really no jack squat about these things.

I have an Emotiva 2 channel amp just sitting in the closet. Wasn’t sure if I should buy a bundle that comes with an amp or just buy the shakers and use the amp I already have? I also am unsure if they are just kinda plug and play or if they will require a lot of tuning to match them up with the subs? Plus with having 2 subs already do I split those 2 subs off of one sub input on my AVR and add the shaker to the other. Or split the shaker with one of the subs? Can I still reliably use Audyssey? Or do I need a mini dsp?

I am watching some videos to try and figure it all out as I post this. I appreciate the responses.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Well if you want a good natural experience where you can’t tell where the subs end and the shakers begin, you need to buy good ones. Otherwise IMO they feel cheesy. That’s why I linked you to the hideaway theater.
If all
You want us to shake the couch then it doesn’t matter too much what you get. But buttkickers tend to bottom out.
All will require integration.
I’ll try to elaborate later when I have more time.

 

[Jeff Schmidt]

Well if you want a good natural experience where you can’t tell where the subs end and the shakers begin, you need to buy good ones. Otherwise IMO they feel cheesy. That’s why I linked you to the hideaway theater.
If all
You want us to shake the couch then it doesn’t matter too much what you get. But buttkickers tend to bottom out.
All will require integration.
I’ll try to elaborate later when I have more time.

I appreciate you taking the time and yeah I definitely don’t want cheesy. I also don’t want to spend thousands at this point. I love the hideaway theater idea, but is that something I can enjoy without rumbling the house and disturbing the neighbors? That’s really the long pole in the tent here. Also with having a sectional L couch building a riser would be interesting. I am pretty handy so I’m not afraid to give it the old college try if that is the best option though.

 

[afterlife2]

I had two under my couch and loved them. Got two cheap for $40 on CL. Same ones Maz linked. Hooked them up with an external amp.

 

[lovinthehd]

I use a Clark Synthesis tactile transducer in my sectional, under my seat . I run it off a spare channel on one of my sub amps. I like it.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I appreciate you taking the time and yeah I definitely don’t want cheesy. I also don’t want to spend thousands at this point. I love the hideaway theater idea, but is that something I can enjoy without rumbling the house and disturbing the neighbors? That’s really the long pole in the tent here. Also with having a sectional L couch building a riser would be interesting. I am pretty handy so I’m not afraid to give it the old college try if that is the best option though.

Well the good thing about a BOSS is that it’s cheap. Unless of course you go insane, but you don’t need to. Ime it’s much better than any shakers because the whole “floor” moves the couch. Also being shaken by an actual sub driver, the feeling is much more consistent with real subs. The best part, is you can turn off the far field subs late at night and shake the couch in silence, save for the other speakers. I did a quasi BOSS(before i even saw the actual BOSS) in that I mounted a baffle to the bottom of my couch and installed a JBL driver from an old pb12 I had. Then I replaced the feet with the listed ISO’s. It’s eq’d by my minidsp.
For a sectional, don’t worry. If you go down to the bottom of that thread, you’ll find plenty of inspiration. It’s a real rabbit hole.
I’m not knocking other “shakers”, but my experience with them hasn’t been awesome. To be fair, that could be setup issues but they’ve never seemed like a natural extension. That’s why I went the way I did. Big room, on concrete, needed help with TR. I do have plenty of bass, but the couch thing is just sooooo effortless.
That’s my .02. It’s possible you’d love the 40 dollar ones too. But there’s not a chance on earth that they’d make your couch feel like it’s levitating.
Edit: I also did the hoverboss thing with a tube and ISO’s around the driver. Will add at least one more in the future.

 

[afterlife2]

If interested pics when I installed them:

AfterLife2's Setup Finally...Brace Yourself and Always Thankful To My Audioholics FriendS.

Totally jealous of your fountain pens :D

forums.audioholics.com

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I use a Clark Synthesis tactile transducer in my sectional, under my seat . I run it off a spare channel on one of my sub amps. I like it.

Never used Clark’s but they seem to be similar to crowsons. BK’s Ime are too “on or off”

 

[mazersteven]

I use a Clark Synthesis tactile transducer in my sectional, under my seat . I run it off a spare channel on one of my sub amps. I like it.

The Gold series gets good reviews.

 

[lovinthehd]

Never used Clark’s but they seem to be similar to crowsons. BK’s Ime are too “on or off”

When I was doing research it seemed both Crowson and Clark came with the highest recommendations....

 

[lovinthehd]

The Gold series gets good reviews.

They're just reviews....I prefer user comments myself unless measurements are included. How would one measure a tactile transducer, tho?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

They're just reviews....I prefer user comments myself unless measurements are included. How would one measure a tactile transducer, tho?

Vibesensor

 

[lovinthehd]

Vibesensor

I forgot about that!

PS some info here

 

[Jeff Schmidt]

Well the good thing about a BOSS is that it’s cheap. Unless of course you go insane, but you don’t need to. Ime it’s much better than any shakers because the whole “floor” moves the couch. Also being shaken by an actual sub driver, the feeling is much more consistent with real subs. The best part, is you can turn off the far field subs late at night and shake the couch in silence, save for the other speakers. I did a quasi BOSS(before i even saw the actual BOSS) in that I mounted a baffle to the bottom of my couch and installed a JBL driver from an old pb12 I had. Then I replaced the feet with the listed ISO’s. It’s eq’d by my minidsp.
For a sectional, don’t worry. If you go down to the bottom of that thread, you’ll find plenty of inspiration. It’s a real rabbit hole.
I’m not knocking other “shakers”, but my experience with them hasn’t been awesome. To be fair, that could be setup issues but they’ve never seemed like a natural extension. That’s why I went the way I did. Big room, on concrete, needed help with TR. I do have plenty of bass, but the couch thing is just sooooo effortless.
That’s my .02. It’s possible you’d love the 40 dollar ones too. But there’s not a chance on earth that they’d make your couch feel like it’s levitating.
Edit: I also did the hoverboss thing with a tube and ISO’s around the driver. Will add at least one more in the future.

I’ve been reading a ton of posts on the thread you linked and the links provided on the thread itself... Your right it’s a rabbit hole!

I do think this will be the route I go I just need to keep reading to figure out how I can make the boss work for me and my sectional. Then obviously order some subs, amp and a mini dsp(not sure which one).

The daunting part for me will be finally learning how to use rew and the mini dsp. I’ve had a umik mic and rew for some time, but have been too intimidated to actually use it.

 

[Jeff Schmidt]

Think I’m going to wait and see if the JBL drivers go on sale before I pull the trigger on them. They are 3 x’s the price right now and I’m going to probably need/want 8 of them. Maybe I’ll get the platform(s) built, buy all the other stuff I need and wait until I find a better deal on some drivers. Oh and figure out REW.

Pretty excited though. Seems like a fun project with a satisfying reward at the end. I’ll post my progress as I go through.

 

[WookieGR]

I have the Buttkickers from PartsExpress and the 1000W Buttkicker amp that powers them. You can have up to 4 modules on the amp. It's one of the most important upgrades you can make. As long as the modules are securely mounted to the framing of the furniture and you use good rubber isolation on the furniture's feet to separate what you are sitting on from the floor. Whether you have the worlds greatest and most powerful subs, you will still experience subsonics in your body.