Buttkicker + DBX subharmonic synthesizer = ???

[Schurkey]

Curious if anyone has tried a Buttkicker fed from a subharmonic

synthesizer. Seems to me like it should be an excellent paring,

although I don't own either component. The Buttkicker BK-LFEKIT

is around $475 and the DBX 120A would be another $200 or so--but since

I have an extra channel of amplification already, perhaps all I'd need

is the Buttkicker shaker rather than the whole kit. That'd knock

about $300 off the cost.

[Frzninvt]

I cant comment on the Buttkicker, but I would forgo the DBX 120A made by DBX Professional (Harman International) and get the DBX 120X or 120X-DS that was made by the now defunkt DBX consumer group and not the garbage that DBX Professional is peddling. They are regularly available in the same price range as the 120A, just hold out for a nice one. Many are beat up junk and people want silly amounts for them.

For $675 though I would buy a used Velodyne FSR-15 and be done with it, the FSR-15 would annihilate just about anything out there under $1K and is solid into the teens (frequency wise).

[capo72]

I feel the Buttkicker is an overpriced solution for a low frequency transducer. If you have an extra amp channel already, you could buy as many Aura Bass Shakers as you want for under $40 a piece. Then just series/parallel wire them to get an acceptable load for you amp, an you are in business for cheap. I'm running 6 Aura Bass Shakers under my sectional couch, off an extra 200 watt channel on one of my B&K amps, with good results. I have a gain control on the amp, and run it through a speaker switch box so it can be turned off when i'm not watching movies. I don't care for the "shakers" with music. Good luck,

Jeremy

[sfogg]

I think it ended a couple of days ago but there was a special on AVS for the Buttkicker LFE kit for $300 shipped.

The Buttkickers are pretty easy to overload with low frequency

information so something like a Subharmonic synthesizer with them would

make that all the more likely to occur. When they overload at low

frequency the slug slams into the casing and makes a major racket so it

isn't something you want to have occur often as it is very distracting.

The Aura's are much more behaved when driven near their limits... they

don't go nearly as low as the BKs though.

Best bet would be to try the BK on its own and see how it does for you.

Then maybe try the subharmonic synthesizer but in doing so you are

going to reduce the headroom on the BKs.

Shawn

[sfogg]

Jeremy,

"and run it through a speaker switch box so it can be turned off when

i'm not watching movies. I don't care for the "shakers" with music."

Agreed about the Shakers with music. Much slicker way to deal with that

though..... Put a 12v normally open reed relay inline on the

interconnect to your shakers amp. Connect the coils of the relay to the

programmable trigger in the B&K.

In the B&K program that trigger to be on for either any inputs that

are 'movie' inputs or if you can do it by mode turn the trigger on for

any movie modes.

When the trigger is off no signal will go to the amp so the shakers are

off. When you move into a movie mode/input the trigger will turn on and

the shakers amp will receive the signal and the shakers will be active.

Shawn

[Schurkey]

My response from Buttkicker is that the two products will work

together, but the subharmonic synthesizer isn't needed. I bought

the Buttkicker kit from bestbuy.com and have it set up. Yeah, it

works, and yeah, it's not really a substitute for a subwoofer. I

was kinda hoping it would make the lack of a subwoofer less important,

but it didn't work out that way.

I'm getting the most satisfactory results with the low-pass filter set

for 80 hz. With the low-pass out of the circuit, it would shake

even though the soundtrack didn't seem to need reinforcement.