Adding bass shakers to an HTiB... (1 Viewer)

[David Lawson]

I have one pair of Aura 25w shakers that I want to add to a Kenwood HTB-354 (which does exist, despite the fact that it's nowhere to be found on the Kenwood site). It includes the VR-517 receiver, which looks to be pretty similar to the VR-506 currently on the Kenwood site.
I'm wondering what would be the best way to go about adding the shakers. I really have no clue when it comes to power output, impedance, etc. The HTB-354 includes a 100-watt powered subwoofer, but I fear I would exceed the wattage limit by running the shakers through/off the subwoofer.
I've seen a few posts here that suggest using a second receiver to power the shakers, but I'm wondering if an old stereo amp would be a cheaper (and space-saving) alternative. I've also seen suggestions that the shakers should be run in series, which I think means that the two shakers will be connected to each other and driven on the same channel. In that case, I would only need one additional channel capable of driving 50w (25 x 2) at 8 ohms, correct? Are there 50w mono amps/receivers out there?
I'd like to do this as inexpensively as possible, considering that I had to go with an HTiB in the first place, and they're only shakers...

Thanks in advance.
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He obviously misinterpreted what it means to "be bullish."

 

[John H]

I've also seen suggestions that the shakers should be run in series, which I think means that the two shakers will be connected to each other and driven on the same channel.

Series connection of 2 shakers to 1 amp channel.
+ from amplifier to + on first unit
- on first unit to + on 2nd unit
- on 2nd unit to - on amplifier
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...looking through a glass onion

 

[Eric Samonte]

U would need an extra amp or old receiver to drive the shakers. Good ones u might get at pawnshops or if u have an old prologic lying around somewhere. Then the sub out from the Kenwood receiver has to be split or the subwoofer has to be daisy-chained to the shaker receiver/amp. A "Y" cable, M RCA to 2 F( http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...=6221&CATID=34 ), would be used to split the LFE signal. One RCA into sub and another into the shaker rec/amp. OR....One RCA from Kenwood sub out into sub then another RCA from the sub's line thru out into the shaker rec/amp.
I actually have twin subs and a shaker rec all daisy-chained. This works fine for me but I have split the LFE from the main receiver into 2 channels, so I've got 2 RCAs into all three things.
Kinda long but it seems that if I left out anything, one will ask more questions. But frankly, I doubt u'll run out of queries anyway.
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Eric Samonte
Dito sa Pilipinas..may Hom Tiyeter rin kami!
[Edited last by Eric Samonte on September 16, 2001 at 07:40 PM]

 

[David Lawson]

John -
Thanks for the wiring information.
Eric -
Thanks for the reply. My subwoofer doesn't have any RCA jacks on it, though...just the speaker wire terminals. Also, the VR-517 receiver has no Subwoofer Pre Out. The VR-506 does, so there's one difference between the two receivers.
Is there an alternative way to hook the shakers up? I assume that hooking a secondary receiver to one of my free Audio Ins on the VR-517 would require me to switch from one audio source to another in order to "activate" the shakers, so that's no good.
Again, thanks in advance.

 

[KevinMcL]

If you're not using the sub out on your RX because your sub has only low-level inputs, use the sub out to the 2nd RX!!
Using the 2nd Rx has the added benefit of an idependant volume for the shakers, too.

 

[David Lawson]

Kevin -
I have the VR-517, which does not have the Subwoofer Pre Out. I probably shouldn't have mentioned the VR-506 again, and I apologize for the confusion.
[Edited last by David Lawson on September 18, 2001 at 08:53 AM]

 

[David Lawson]

I just had another thought, which may be totally off base and may not even work. I'm really only interested in using the shakers while watching DVDs, and the DV-343 has composite, digital optical, and digital coaxial audio outs.
I have the digital optical running to the Kenwood receiver. Would it be possible to run the composite audio out on the DV-343 to a second receiver with the shakers connected? The Pioneer manual says not to connect both digital outs to the same receiver, but it makes no mention of sending audio out to multiple receivers. If that would work, that's good enough for now.

 

[Eric Samonte]

Re: the shakers, u can try and do what u say, get composites out to the "shaker receiver". I don't know if it'll work but it should be worth a try.
Another option is to just daisy-chain it to the sub and fronts. It should be fine just as long as u have it hooked up in series at 8 ohms.
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Eric Samonte
Dito sa Pilipinas..may Hom Tiyeter rin kami!

 

[David Lawson]

An update...
I picked up an older Kenwood KR-A4060 receiver on eBay to (try to) drive the shakers as described above, and it should arrive in a few days. It's a stereo receiver, and I notice that it has an impedance switch on the back with two positions: 4-6 ohms or 8-16 ohms.
I connected the shakers in series at 8 ohms and plugged them into the subwoofer jack on the VR-517 (which required me to disconnect the subwoofer itself). Should I leave the shakers in series when I move them to their new receiver, or should I set the impedance switch to the 4-6 ohms position and connect them as "left and right" shakers?