Bass Shakers (1 Viewer)

[Travis_R]

I just kinda stumbled accross these, never really heard of them, but they seem like a cool thing to have, I was wondering what they run off of? Do they just hook to the same output as your sub or speakers or what. I am going to be starting on my theater in the next couple weeks and may want to incorporate some bass shakers, but need to know what I need to have them, there will be a riser for my rear seating I can put them under.

 

[DonnyD]

I've had some shakers in my system for about 3 years now and love'em. Although I have a SVS PB2+ as a sub, the shakers definitely add that "butt feel"!!!
Shakers require their own amplification. Some persons use an old receiver they may have laying around. I personally use one of the inexpensive Parts Express mono amps (150w) to drive the 4 Aura Pro shakers located in the seat of my primary listening couch. You would need to feed a lfe signal (from your receiver) to the shaker amp so it would only get the "low end" signal.
Again, I will add they are a great addition to a system and visitors at my home usually scramble to beat me to the sweet spot to get the ultimate "feel" of things.......LOL
Very simple to hookup and very effective.

 

[MikeLi]

DonnyD... How would one strip to just the low LFE to the shakers. My receiver has only one output. My last had two one for left and right and could be set seperatly but I think I am stuck with this one for awhile. Need some sort of device to plug into the sub output with a spliter to the main sub I guess. Also what do you have yours crossed over at. Thanks.

 

[Adam.Heckman]

I'll jump in if you don't mind.

I've seen many suggestions for an RCA Y-splitter from the lfe output of your reciever. However, some sub amps have a pass thru output. In other words they pass the same low level LFE signal that they get from the processor thru to another amp. My amp on my DIY sub has one and I would love to run 'shakers, but I live in an apartment and don't want the complications for the floor rattling more than it already does!

Enjoy and let us know how your HT goes when it's all set up!

 

[Jean D]

Travis, there are other brands of bass shakers you can look at as well. like these www.thebuttkicker.com

Ive heard they have better responce and accuracy from other members in this forum.

 

[DonnyD]

There are several brands of shakers on the market and for me it boiled down to what I was willing to spend. I have 2 pair of Pro Auras and a PE mono amp at a cost of just below 200. I have experienced the buttkickers and while they do exhibit more tactile response, they also are considerably more money. For a localized tactile feel, the Auras do very well and for a "platform" type application, the buttkickers may handle that larger area better. I have mine in a couch and about a quarter gain/volume on the amp is all the shake we need! Turned up much more, your teeth rattle and the eyesight will blur...LOL

Yes, a Y spliter for the lfe output is the way to get a feed to a secondary amp if your existing sub doesn't have a pass through. I use a Y splitter out of a Yamaha RX-V1 and I think that crossover on the V1 is fixed at 80 hz.

I have some family who found the shakers were a viable alternative to a sub in an area where the sub was a little much for the surroundings. They placed the shakers in their couch and you really don't notice the lack of a sub due to the direct tactile response.

The "low end" and lfe being used in the same sentence must have sounded a little confusing. There is no need to limit more of the signal to feed the shakers. When I first set up my shakers, I was feeding it from an old receiver at a regular speaker hookup and EVERYTHING SHOOK!!! Just using a splitter on the LFE output is all you need. Good luck.