My Tactile Transducer Setup (Buttkicker and Clark Synthesis)

[jay21112]

I don’t see many posts about transducers on the board, so let me share my experience and setup with you so others who may be interested may benefit.

I've been dying to both to add some transducers to my setup…and buy a theater (love)seat. After about 4 years of wanting, I finally gathered the money and time, and put it all together. It cost a lot, but I did a lot myself, so it could have cost a lot more. Plus, as you’ll see, it’s pretty complex, and bulletproof. So, here is what it took and the steps to get there.

First, my parts list:

Electronics:
• Furman SPR-20i Power Conditioner / Voltage Regulator
• Numark C3USB Five-Channel Mobile DJ Rack Mixer
• (2) Crown XLS2500 Power Amplifier
• (2) Buttkicker BKA1000-N Amplifiers
• (2) Buttkicker BK-LFE Low Frequency Effects System
• (2) Clark Synthesis TST429 Platinum Transducer
• (8) 60mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF Premium Quality Ultra Quiet
Computer Fan with (2) Zalman Fan Multi-connector cable and (2)
110V AC to 12V DC Power supply.


Platforms / Vibration / Support:
• MapleShade Audio 18x15x2 Maple Platform (DIY) w/ (2) Vibrapod
model 4
• (3) Vibrapod Model 2 (Crown Amp x 2, Mixer)
• Vibrapod Model 3 (Furman)
• Vibrapod Model 4 (Top Buttkicker Amp)
• Vibrapod Model 5 (Bottom Buttkicker Amp)

Cables:
• BJC LC-1 Seven-Channel Audio Cables, 11 foot, Black
• BJC LC-1 Stereo Audio Cables, 5 foot, Black
• (2) Belden 1800F Balanced Audio Cable, 9 foot, XLR Male/XLR
Female, Black
• (4) Blue Jeans Cable One-foot Subwoofer Y cable, 1F/2M RCA (AV
Link)
• (4) Belden 5T00UP (2x10Gauge -$0.95/ft) -48ft w Blue Jeans Cable
w/ Gold Plated Banana Plugs
• (4) Belden 5T00UP (2x10Gauge -$0.95/ft) -2ft w Blue Jeans Cable w/
Gold Plated Banana Plugs
• (2) Pangea Audio - AC-9 - Power Cable 3.0 Meter
• (3) Pangea Audio - AC-9 - Power Cable 2.0 Meter
• (2) ChordSavers Floor Cord Covers - White 5 Feet Pieces
• Cable tie downs, quick disconnects, weatherproof butt splices, and
heatshrink

Theater Seat:
• Palliser 41918 Rhumba - Leather 1000 - Derby Ebony Loveseat w/ SS
cupholder and Black legs
• Buttkicker Chair / Couch Mounting Accessory Kit - 10 total Rubber
Feet Isolators and 8 total small Rubber Isolators
• Oak 1/4" Front + 1/2" Back Reinforcement Boards
• Oak 2" Front to back supports (and mounting boards)
• Oak 2” Binding post blocks
• (8) 1/4", (24) 1/2", and (7) 3/4" zinc bolts, washers, and lock nuts
• (4) Dayton BPFI-NI Fully Insulated Binding Post Pair Nickel

 

[jay21112]

Step 1: The Electronics

And how it came together:

Step 1: The Electronics

First off was to buy a new PowerConditioner / Voltage Regulator. Right now I have (2) 20 amp and (1) 15 amp circuits feeding my Theater. I have all electronics split between the 3 circuits and a PowerConditioner + Voltage Regulator on 2 circuits. So my first goal was to put one on the third circuit, and split the electronics evenly between the 3 circuits.

I’m not here to debate whether these things are needed…because I’ll lose. Sometimes I think they are absolutely necessary (like when I see the volts drop by 10 in the summer when everyone’s AC is on), and sometimes I think they are junk (like when I turn off a light in the bathroom and can hear it through my speakers even though they are on a separate circuit and plugged into a power conditioner and voltage regulator). So, all I can say is: I like being more safe than sorry, and I personally ensure a power conditioner and voltage regulator on every circuit that houses my home theater equipment.

I bought the Furman SPR-20i because it’s a power conditioner and a voltage regulator all in one, plus it handles 20 amps, which many others don’t, it’s a good name, I got it on sale for like 60% off (Audio Advisor), and I love the fact that all the outlets power on and off with a flip of the switch. I hate power conditioners that have some always on, some switched, and some timed plugs (cough Monster). Just put everything hooked up to a switch and let me decide when it’s on and off.

Furman SPR-20I: Furman Display

My plan was to purchase 4 Transducers: 2 for LFE content and 2 for normal frequencies. Each transducer was going to get fed a separate signal, so I needed 4 amps.

For the LFE content, I needed an amp that reproduced content well below 10hz. All amps I found had limiters and roll-offs under 20hz, except the Buttkicker amps. So I bought 2 Buttkicker amps for the LFE content. I actually ended up buying the Buttkicker LFE kits (Amazon) which included an amp, a Buttkicker, a mounting bracket, and isolation feet (as well as crappy speaker wire and interconnects that I didn’t use) for a much better price than buying all that stuff separate.

Then, for the transducers that were going to handle the other channels I needed something with a low-pass filter so I didn’t have high pitched voices or sound effects shaking my seat. I found a good sale on Crown amps (Amazon), which fit the bill, and bought the highest rated current ones I could find.

Due to space limitations I had to stack them on top of each other, so I purchased Vibrapods (Audio Advisor) to keep them from affecting each other, and also to space them apart and allow for heat dissipation.

Buttkicker BKA1000-N and Crown XLS2500 Power Amplifiers: Amp Tower

To feed all 7 (and soon to be 11) channels into two transducers I needed a mixer capable of doing so. I found the Numark C3USB Mixer (Amazon) to handle my current 7 channels, but I’ll have to figure out what to do when I upgrade to 11 channels because it only has 10 channels worth of inputs. That was my bad not to get a bigger mixer.

Numark C3USB Five-Channel Mobile DJ Rack Mixer: Top of Mixer

 

[jay21112]

Step 2: The Interconnects & Transducers

Step 2: The Interconnects & Transducers

First off, I love how most electronics come with removable powercords, because the powercords they come with are never long enough to reach the outlets I need them to! So I needed to find some longer powercables, and I found a pretty good deal on the Pangea Audio - AC-9 - Power Cable (Audio Advisor). My only gripe is that these things are too big! I actually should have looked cheaper and got something smaller because they are so heavy I had to rig up support systems for everything. Are cables this thick needed…I doubt it, but again, I tend to do overkill rather than fall short because it makes me sleep easy at night.

Pangea Audio - AC-9 - Power Cables: Huge Cables

For my interconnects I went to Blue Jeans Cable because I went the Monster Cable route when I was younger (cough, like 4 years ago), and now that I’m older and wiser, I’m perfectly happy with the awesome performance of everything Blue Jeans. Now they need to start making power cables too!

Anyway, I needed 7 RCA interconnects to send the speaker signal from the AVR to the mixer, (a Y-adapter to split the center channel into a left and right channel) and then 2 balanced interconnects to bring the new left and right signals from the mixer to the left and right speaker transducer amps (Crown).

Then I needed a ton of Y adapters to split the one sub out into two subs and 2 LFE transducer amps (Buttkicker) along with 2 RCA interconnects. To note, currently I only have one sub out, but I plan to upgrade to an AVR which separates the sub signal into left and right, so I needed to be able to split the subs and transducers into left and right signals.

BJC RCA 7 and 2 channel cables, BJC Balanced Cables, and BJC 1-foot Y cable: Blue Jeans Cable to the Rescue

Here are all the splits for the subs: Lots of Y's

Here is the mixer, the far right input is the center channel split into left and right signals: 7 Channels to 2

Here are the amps: Crown on top carrying the mixed speaker frequencies and Buttkicker on the bottom carrying the LFE: Amps Connected

And finally, The Transducers themselves. I read a lot about the different transducers on the net and decided that to recreate the thump of the LFE I wanted the Buttkickers, and to reproduce the nuances of the rest of the frequencies I wanted the Clark Synthesis Platinums (Amazon). Again, since both the speaker frequencies and LFE (will eventually be) are split into left and right channels, I needed two of each.

Buttkicker LFE: Thump Thump

Clark Synthesis Platinum: Flying Saucers

 

[jay21112]

Step 3: Reinforcing the Seats

Step 3: Reinforcing the Seats

Ok, so it’s only my girl and me in the Theater and rarely do I host anyone else. So I really wanted a 2-recliner loveseat without the stupid armrest in the middle, so we could cozy up to a nice scary movie. I went to every furniture store in the state and hated everything. I decided to get a made-to-order Palliser Rhumba (Stargate Cinema). These chairs just looked amazingly comfy and they have an option of having bass shakers installed from the factory, so I know they are made to withstand the vibration without shaking apart. Obviously I didn’t want crappy bass shakers in my couch, so I got it without that option, and did quite a bit of work to install something I wanted in my couch. I am very happy with my purchase. I got the color, material, and finish I wanted, all for the same price I would have spent for something half as nice at my local stores.

Palliser 41918 Rhumba - Leather 1000 - Derby Ebony Loveseat: Full Recline

After they came in, the next task was to reinforce them. Even though they were made to handle vibration, I felt safer ensuring that they met MY specifications, which is “able to handle vibrations until the end of time.: First off was to cut the bottom. It looked so pretty, it was tough to do, but it had to be done.

Pic of the bottom of the chair from the factory: Ruined a perfectly good chair

Pic showing clearance in the bottom of the chair. Just the right amount of space for some well-placed Transducers: Tons of Room

My next step was to add isolation feet to the chairs. These are absolutely necessary, and from what I read online the difference between someone with a transducer setup that doesn’t work, and a transducer setup that is amazing. Without isolation feet, the transducers try to shake the floor, and the house. No matter how powerful they are, they will fail. With the feet, the transducers only shake the couch and you, and need much less power to run – and actually work the way they are supposed to. These are the feet that were included in the Buttkicker LFE kit, and the small ones I pried off the Buttkicker mounting bracket (Which I didn’t use). I just had to buy some bolts, nuts, and use a little gorilla glue…

Buttkicker Isolation feet: Use a Rubber

So, after I started cutting and fitting the Oak reinforcements, I figured it would be cool to show how much wood I was actually putting in the couch. You can also see the bolts in the corner: Hard Wood

…and here is a close-up of (almost) all the bolts. I used the biggest bolts the wood would handle to ensure a lifetime of security: Who's got big bolts

Here is a mockup of the hardware in the two seats. The little blocks at the back are for the binding posts. The screws in the middle are to screw the two recliners together, so they share all signals. This last part was very important since everything is divided into left and right transducers, and the left transducer is in the left chair and the right transducer in the right chair. If the chairs weren’t connected, you’d be missing half the movie!: Double the weight

I hate putting wood anywhere without painting it. Heck, I even painted the underside of my deck! So, naturally I painted everything black: Color of the night

Can you tell what’s different? For clearance reasons I had to add a ¼” thick piece of oak to the front to reinforce it, but I was able to use a ½” thick piece in the rear, both bolted in with ½” bolts. If you look really close, you’ll see I had to dremel out parts of the front reinforcement to allow the recliner mechanism to clear. I wasn’t expecting that, but oh well: Front and Rear Reinforcements

Even though the chair is technically all one piece, everything I was adding was just to the bottom of the chair. I wanted something tying the boards into the side of the chair. So on the inside wall of the chair (the one covered up when the chairs are put together) I put a screw through the side of the chair into each reinforcement board. You can also see the holes drilled to bolt the two chairs together: Holy couch

Here is what it looks like on the inside. The relief hole drilled is because there is a bolt under there which bolts the feet of chair in: Just made it

There were already 3 holes drilled into the recliners which allowed them to be bolted together, but that wasn’t enough for me. I drilled 4 more, and connected them with ¾” bolts (actually, I think they may have been 5/6" bolts). Here are 6 of the 7: Big Bolts Round 1

And here is the last bolt: Big Bolts Round 2

 

[jay21112]

Step 4: Wiring the Seats

Step 4: Wiring the Seats

 

[jay21112]

The Final Steps:

The Final Steps:

 

[jay21112]

...and My Thoughts?

So, what happened when I powered everything on?

 

[jay21112]

So, what’s next on my To-Do list?

(PS: I’m not kidding, I do have a To-Do list for my theater)

 

[cr136124]

Pretty cool........thanks for sharing it!!!!

 

[jay21112]

Can't edit above posts, so Starting with Step 4:

Step 4: Wiring the Seats

So, I’m putting speakers (transducers) in the seats. What happens if I want to move the seats? I’ll have to climb inside and unplug the speakers, right? No, not if I wire in binding posts! I bought some pretty insulated binding posts (Parts Express) along with some quick disconnects because I’ve never taught myself how to solder. Four transducers = four pairs of binding posts.

Dayton BPFI-NI Fully Insulated Binding Post Pair Nickel: 4 Pair

Then I bought 4 reams of speaker wire…again from my new favorite place, Blue Jeans Cable. I went for 10 gauge Belden 5T00UP…and since I needed 4 runs of 48 feet each, I was happy they were only $0.95/ft.

Now, as much as I like BJC, I did not like the job they did finishing off the cables themselves (in the past I hooked up my parents theater room with some BJC cable that they bought pre-finished with ultrasonically welded locking banana plugs, and I was unimpressed with the fact that there was a lot of bare wire exposed to air next to the plug). So I bought their Gold Plated Banana Plugs, and did the job myself. It was more fun that way anyway. I also picked up 4 runs of 2 feet of the same cable to attach the transducers to the binding posts inside the couch.

Link to BJC Belden 5T00UP: Lots of wire

Now the Clark Transducer comes with the speaker wire already attached, but of course it wasn’t long enough for me. So I used so in-line weather-tight butt-splices, heat shrink, and gold-plated quick disconnects to make it long enough for my needs: Naked Splice

The Buttkicker was easier, I just needed to put the quick disconnects on one end and two banana plugs on the other, and plug it in: One Chair

In the pic above you can see the Buttkicker bolted to the boards. Since I went with 2” thick boards (two pieces of 1” thick oak gorilla glued together) I needed longer screws than it came with. The Clark Synthesis Transducer came with tons of bolts and screws and mounting options, so I was able to use one of the options it came with.

The next task was creating the binding posts. I took some 2”x2” blocks of wood, did some cutting, drilling (wood-putty on my mistakes), and painting…and created what you see here. I was pretty impressed because I am by no means a woodworker (even though I pretend to be): Carpenter

And here are the binding posts screwed into the couch, and attached with the quick disconnects. I put the binding posts so far into the couch so that the couch could be tipped on it’s back to move it. If the binding posts stuck out, every time I tipped the couch over, they would bend or break!: Recessed

This is a pic of the completed underside of the couch. To allow enough clearance between the reclining mechanism and the transducers, I had to bolt the front to back mounts (and reinforcements) underneath the crossmembers. With the rubber isolators in place, they don’t hit the floor, so all vibrations are transferred into the couch itself.: Heavy Couch

A look at the back of the couch. You can see the mounting boards, but not the binding posts. All in all I don’t think seeing the mounting boards takes away from the couch, do you?: Clean

Here are the binding posts tucked safely away: Peek-a-boo

This is a view from the front of the couch showing how the isolation feet are tall enough to prevent the mounting boards from touching the floor: Just enough

This shows the clearance between the reclining mechanism and the Clark transducer. The closes point is when it’s not reclined, and there is still 2 inches or so of room:
Unreclined: Some clearance
Reclined: Plenty of clearance

The buttkicker, on the other hand, is very tight. Unreclined, the seat actually just, just, just touches the buttkicker. That’s ok though, because we are always reclined while watching a movie.
Unreclined: Hair Tight
Reclined: Plenty of clearance

 

[jay21112]

The Final Steps:

The Final Steps:

The next task was running the speaker wire from the transducers to the couch. There are wireless kits out there, but they still need to be plugged in, so I don’t see how they are any better.

Starting at the Amps: 4 Wires

Into the raceway which runs around the baseboard of the room: Out of Sight

And out of the raceway, into the Chordsaver (painted to match the wall of the room – maybe one day I’ll try to match it to the carpet), and into the binding posts. I don’t have a Chordsaver all the way to the wall because a sectional couch goes over the back part: Tidy

Drum-roll please: The finished, wired, couch. And one day I’m going to put a huge projection screen on the front wall, move the couch to the back wall, and there will be no need for the Chordsaver: Ready to Rock

Now, because I’m over cautious and over plan and over do just about everything, every time I install new electronics, I put a fan on them. Heat is the number one killer of electronics you know. I’ve gotten to be a fan of the Acoustifans (QuietPCUSA) because they are so quiet and I can wire 4 together very easily using a connector and converter. I did this in the past putting a fan on the heatsink of each of my 4 subwoofers, and now I put a fan on each of the amps, my PS3, my TV, the PowerPlant, and my AVR.

Pic of the 60mm AcoustiFan DustPROOF Computer Fans with Zalman Fan Multi-connector cables and converters: Nice and Quiet

When I had the fan cables running next to speaker wires I actually shielded them with foil tape and then wrapped them, but for these I just wrapped in electrical tape. See the difference between unwrapped and wrapped: Dressed / Undressed

Here are the fans on the 4 amps: I love zipties


**************

And, here is what I call the “Spaghetti Monster” behind my TV. I hate chaos, and this is about as organized as I can make it. If you look close you can see an unused Boston Acoustics 5.1 surround sound package deal back there too. That will be moved upstairs for my computer when I upgrade my AVR to 11.2. Notice all the silica packets on the TV stand? Every time I get one, I throw it back there. Can’t have moisture in the theater!: Beware the Spaghetti Monster

And here is my current front setup. It’s not the best, but it’s mine, and therefore, it’s MY best. Notice the 100lb weight plates weighing down the subwoofers. Whoever thought of down firing subwoofers should be shot! These things jumped around on me like nuts, even AFTER I strapped them to the wood platforms they are on!: My Zen

 

[jay21112]

So, what happened when I powered everything on?

So, what happened when I powered everything on?

Well, I was very cautious, so my brains were only scrambled for a moment before I got up and turned the 2500 watt crown amps and 1900 watt Buttkicker amps WAY down.

My first movie, I had everything turned up a little too high, and had a ball. But, obviously they overpowered the audio, and it couldn’t stay that way. So I turned them down so that they are now just slightly too high. I’m still in the honeymoon stage, and having a ball with them, so I’m keeping them at this level. In time I may turn them down and dial them in so they mesh with the audio instead of making it overly large.

It’s a little tough to explain the difference. Basically every sound, even the sounds that shouldn’t create vibration, do right now. This amplifies everything, and actually makes for a great experience, but it isn’t what the producers/directors intended. I am making their soundtracks overly grandiose, and while it sounds great, it does change the movie experience, sometimes for the worse. The correct way to set up transducers is to make them complement the sound so that you can’t really tell that they are there. You shouldn’t so much “feel the couch shake”, but rather “feel the sound”. In time I may do this, but I’m more than happy with the “larger than life” soundtracks….right now.

The mixer is the most complicated part if you decide to go my route and have transducers hooked up to all speakers. At first I had all speakers fed equally into the transducers, but I found that voices, even ones that weren’t deep and powerful, were giving vibrations to the couch. So I dialed down the center channel and now only deep bass voices give slight vibrations – the way it should be. In time I may dial down the surround channels as well because right now background music is giving vibrations. Sometimes, if the music is particularly powerful this is actually a good effect, but sometimes it just distracts from the important audio.

…and that’s basically the key with transducers. It is to add to the movie, not distract from it. It is to enhance, not muddy the audio. Too loud, and everything is a big mud bath. No nuance, no differentiation in frequency. Too soft, and you miss out on a lot of tactile feeling from sounds that should produce sensation if it was right in front of you. It’s tough to figure out low-pass cut-offs, volume levels, and the correct mix for the mixer…..but experiment and get the perfect match between tactile sensation and appropriate weight of sound. I don’t know of any software out there that can do this besides that thing that mixes the signal from your butt to your ears….your brain.

 

[jay21112]

So, what’s next on my To-Do list?

PS: I’m not kidding, I do have a To-Do list for my theater)

1.) 11.2 Receiver – wire in the extra 4 speakers I already have setup and waiting (I’m looking at the Yamaha RX-3020….or maybe 3030 by the time I get around to it, these things come out so darned fast!)
Yamaha is faster

2.) Purchase 2 more subs to make 11.4 and a perfect sub response over the entire room (I really love the Definitive Technology Supercube Trinity, but don’t love the price tag for 2)
Temple of Boom

3.) Switch to a projector and screen – I can fit 153” screen, I already did the math…but this involves reconfiguring the entire room, so this is a big one, and of course I’ll make it acoustically transparent so I can fit 3 identical tower speakers behind it as a LCR setup.
A Little Bigger

4.) Acoustic ceiling tiles – the ceiling is the only place I haven’t touched yet, and it needs some TLC.
Fun Patterns

5.) Probably retire, because that’s how long it’s going to take to afford this all AND get the time to do it!

Thanks for reading!