Anyone use this product with their bass shakers? (1 Viewer)

[Justin K]

Does anyone use this product with their base shakers?

FMOD CROSSOVER PAIR 50 Hz LOW PASS BY HARRISON LABS
At partsxpress.com part # 266-250

I hear that their not that good, but i wanted to hear from some people that actually use them in their bass shaker systems...

I can get those for the 25 US plus 15 shipping and then convert that to canadian.... ugg. plus taxes...

or i can just buy a active electronic cross over for 135 up here, which would give me more control and probably better quality then the inline ones...

Clarion MCD360 3-Way Electronic Crossover

but im trying save as much money as possible. any ideas?

 

[tom_furman]

I just asked the same question on the TWEAKS forum. My bass shakers are a bit too sensitive and I can feel noises during the movie that I probably shouldn't. From what I can tell most of these noises are in the 50hz-60hz range so using the crossover you suggested should help limit that.

As far as experience goes I have no clue either, as I've never used them.

Here is the link from PE:
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...number=266-250

 

[Allen Ross]

my friend has his two bass shakers inline with his mains he got a really cheap Clairwin Vega XO for car subs that crosses at around 80 or so, they be crossed a little high but seeing he is strapping them to a free bamboo love seat. They sound good, but just a tad to much.

 

[JimPeitersen]

I use the F-Mods for my array of Bass Shakers, and can say that they work perfectly in this application. I would be impressed (to say the least) if someone could tell the difference between these crossovers and others (prosound, Marchand, Bryston, etc.) used in the bass region.
JP

 

[ThomasW]

I would be impressed (to say the least) if someone could tell the difference between these crossovers and others (prosound, Marchand, Bryston, etc.) used in the bass region.

I'm sure that these inline XO's with their 12dB/octave slopes are fine for bass shakers. The actual XO frequency will change depending on the input impedance of the power amp being used. The little F-Mods are a PLLXO circuit.
I seriously doubt that they are realistic competition for 24dB/octave L/R active circuits like those in Bryston/Marchand/etc

 

[JimPeitersen]

Thomas,
I agree, they should only be used in this type of application. I would never use them in a critical application (active speakers, sub/mid crossover, etc.) My intent was to help Justin make his decision, and maybe save him a little $.
JP

 

[victor-eyd]

I've used RCA Fmods in the past for bass shakers and I also agree that they work fine. Remember to get the ones that cut off signal above 80-100hz or you'll hear vocals and other higher frequency sounds from your shakers. Attach them between the pre-amp outputs and your dedicated shaker amplifier. If you're splitting a sub-out, read below since many receiver sub-outs already have frequency cut-off built-in and using an Fmod might mess up your subwoofer frequency response. If you have to split the sub out, use a y-adapter and connect the Fmod on the female end leading to the shaker amplifier. This allows the receiver to send the signal to the subwoofer on the other female end un-altered by the Fmod.

Another alternative (if you're good with soldering) is in-line passive crossovers. Simply solder this on the wire leading up to your shakers or solder at the shaker's speaker plates themselves. Be careful you don't solder off the other wires connected to the shakers. Shakers I believe are 4ohm so ask Parts Express which is best suited to your application.

One last thing to consider is output response. 5.1 behaves differently than simple stereo/DPL and to me, shakers worked better in old PRologic because the signal was more full range and not discrete as 5.1 normally is. To put it simply, the shakers are totally dependent on any signal the sub gets and some scenes there may be a subtle sub signal when what you desired was more. If your receiver has preamp outputs experiment with using the front or center pre-outs and see which gives you the best response. Since you're using sub crossovers it doesn't matter if you're shakers are receivng a full range signal, but more importantly the amount of signal you want for your shakers to work to your satisfaction.

 

[Justin K]

I think ill go with the electonic cross over, just to be on the safe side. Ill mostly likely be splitting the sub out from the subwoofer pre-out, so that i really only get the explosions and other appropriate shaking moments....

it would suck if the 50hz Fmod wasnt low enough to get the effect i'm hoping for.

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

Justin, save money and get the FMOD's. I have a pair of Aura Pros with a/an FMOD and it works great. I have not noticed and 'shaking' caused by male voices or dialogue. The electronic crossover seems too 'electronic' for just the bass shakers.

it would suck if the 50hz Fmod wasnt low enough to get the effect i'm hoping for

You probably wouldn't want to go any lower as many explosions are around 40hz, unless you're talking about the stuff from LOTR, Toy Story 2, etc. If so, those deep explosions happen around the 20hz range. And if you're only using the Aura shakers then don't expect to get much shaking at those frequencies. The Auras won't, without tweaking, usually play that low.

 

[TimForman]

I've been using the 50 Hz FMODS for some time now. They work great.

 

[JimPeitersen]

Justin,
Another thing to think about; the power to the Clarion crossover. I assume it is a 12-volt (Car Audio) model? Unless you happen to have a switched 12-volt source (that can handle the load), the complexity of trying to add it to your system seems counterproductive (to me anyway.) I think that you would be quite happy with the F-Mods.
JP

 

[Justin K]

hrmm, well if you guys say so, ill trust your recommendations and go with the Fmods
it'll save me about 100 bux i guess. (hehe which will just go towards some other ludicris upgrade)

Does anyone know anywhere else other then parts express where i can get those fmods?
i heard that accessories4less had them before, but i cant find them on their page

 

[Jeffrey Noel]

How many do you need? If you only need one, I can sell you the spare I got from PE. (PE only sells them in pairs).

e-mail me at [email protected] if interested

 

[Justin K]

Your email address wasnt working for me Jeffery so i posted my response in here...



I dunno how many i would need, i thought i'd need 2, but maybe i only need 1?

I'm planning on splitting the sub out with a Y adapter,
then running the one that goes to the shakers, into a voltage amplifier, to bring the source voltage back up to 1 volt, then ill connect the voltage amplifier, into the shaker amplifier... and for some reason i assumed i'd connect it in stero, but i guess it doesnt matter for shakers....

so i guess i would only need one. right?

also, which fmod do you have? a 50hz cutoff one?

how much do you want for it?

[email protected]