Bass Shaker Questions

[DrakeTungsten]

I recently bought <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002ZPTBI/ref=pe_385040_30332200_pe_309540_26725410_item">this Aura bass Shaker</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dayton-Audio-SA70-Subwoofer-Amplifier/dp/B0002TUDKG/ref=pd_sim_e_2">this 70 watt amp</a> for my cockpit cabinet. Knowing nothing of speakers and audio equipment, I paired these two because virtually everybody recommended this setup as your best bang for the buck. Now that I'm ready to hook this up, I'm running across information saying that I shouldn't have an amp with more wattage than the subwoofer (or bass shaker) is rated for. My shaker is rated for 50 watts. It seems most people were actually powering two shakers with this amp, which I didn't realize as I was doing my pre-purchase research. Do I risk damaging my equipment if I use this amp with this shaker? Does it matter that the amp has a gain control which I can dial back?

Also, I have no idea how to hook the amp to the shaker. It's obvious enough that the amp has cables which attach to the shaker, but the shaker has these spring-loaded binding posts which do not at all look possible to use with the spade connections on the end of the wires coming from the amp. The spades are five times the size of the holes on the posts, and even if they fit in the holes, it wouldn't make any sense to me. The spades wouldn't be slipped over anything, they'd just be stuck in the empty space of the post.

[paigeoliver]

If you are also powering a 50 watt subwoofer then you will be fine.

Anyway, you will probably kill the hard drive in your machines computer from the vibration long before you damage the bass shaker.

[DrakeTungsten]

Thank you, but just to be sure... You said "also" like maybe you read that amp has the same wattage the bass shaker is rated for. Perhaps my ugly HTML insertion made it difficult to tell, but the bass shaker is rated for 50 watts and the amp is 70 watts.

[stinkyrob]

As far as I know, it's best to have more power in the amp than the speakers can handle.  That way when the bass really hits (when it's requiring the most power) it has enough juice to draw from and the sound quality doesn't suffer.

[rCadeGaming]

you will probably kill the hard drive in your machines computer from the vibration

This can be avoided by using a solid-state drive, which may also help the PC boot faster.

[lilshawn]

i had similar model of those bass shakers a while back. 1B's i think they were. (basically a low profile version of the 2B's without the fins) . they are tough as nails. had 4 of them in my fiero seats since there is ZERO room for actual subs.

they creak and crunch and pop a bit while they break in (have a weight suspended in a fiberglass (actually kevlar) suspension.) don't worry, once they have broken in they will be good. you just have to get all the weak fibers in the suspension broken down.

as far as the amp goes... it's 70 watts and 2 channels. that's more like 45w RMS x2 channels. not likely to blow up anything. I find stupid people blow stuff up more with improper loads. Believe me, I did installations for 10 years professionally. Ive seen it all.

this amp will probably do just fine. it's not the most powerful, but it'll do.

rule #1 when setting up subs...

1) turn down your amp driving your subs
2) turn up the rest of your system as loud as you would ever like it
3) turn up your subs just till they start to distort and then back them off a bit.
4) leave the level the hell alone. if the bass sounds low after this adjustment, it's because it's SUPPOSED to be like that.

while i realize the term "distort" is subjective, you can tell the difference between a nice clean bass tone and one that is starting to distort. This is where test tones will come in handy. You can download apps for your phone and reproduce any frequency you like. pick a 40hz tone and start turning it up...you'll notice when it changes from a nice clean sine wave and stats clipping. the sound very quickly changes.

[Xiaou2]

I have a set of the basic model, which I think is like half the power.   I used the tiny amps that came with them.  I think each shaker I have is rated to 15 watts.   You wouldnt think that was enough to move squat...  however...

 I installed both under a swivel chair as a test.   Fired up some classic mame games... like Gyruss.  Fire one shot in that game, and wait... cause as that shot goes deep into the screen... the bass gets insane.

 I turned up the little aura amps to max.  There was so much vibration, that I couldnt play a game, because it looked like someone was shaking my monitor.  Totally blurry.  Those little boogers are powerful, when mounted to the proper places.

 You would probably know if these were getting too much power, because they would probably bottom out.. and make some odd noises in the process.   Though, being that you have the pro model, I seriously dont thing your gona have that issue.

 Remember, this isnt really a subwoofer.   Theres no airflow, mostly just vibrations.  Mount them on a framework thats solid and closest to where you want to feel them thump.    Any kind of cushion or spring is going to absorb a lot of the vibrations.  Custom built internal frames are probably going to give you the best bang for your buck.

You do want to limit the highs & maybe the upper mids too,  with a crossover,  to avoid too much power wasted on a spectrum that you dont want or need.    Even then, there may be some audible sound that comes from them.   Which you really wont hear when its mounted under a seat... with game volume at a mild level.

 You might also want to put vibration dampeners on your cabs feet.. because the vibrations will probably be felt around the house (shaking things off shelves if up high enough) , or if in an apartment.. the neighbors will come to pay you a visit.

 Many Subwoofers that people use for their Pc's are low power, and dont push a lot of air.  Hence, neighbors may not even hear.. especially at medium levels of volume.  But Bass Shakers are very similar to a full power car sub... where the trunk rattles from the vibrations,  without the air-pressure... and with only a few watts of power.

 Whats cool about Bass Shakers, is that you actually feel more from them than a typical sub.  You will feel things from Footsteps, to doors closing.  Not just explosions.


 Finally,  Bass Shakers provide the Bump.. but, they are not really for taking care of woofer sounds.   So, make sure you have a decent set of speakers as well.   

 A lot of modern speakers are cheaply made, with poor audio representation (especially the overpriced PC speakers) ... and they use tiny satellites with "limited-range" speakers, with all the deeper bass being played by the sub.   The sub usually not being a true sub,  or, if it is...  your going to miss out on a good deal of typical woofer frequencies that a Sub does not typically utilize.

 Of course, this is really subjective to your taste, the quality of your hearing, and what kinds of games / music you will be playing.  Ohh, and also, if your using on-board (built in) audio, instead of a sound card... you might as well not even bother with decent speakers.  Every Motherboard Ive heard with onboard audio, is absolute garbage.  Very limited spectrum, lot of distortion, and their EQ doesnt really help much to fix it.

 My old Soundblaster Audigy stomps all over the latest multichannel onboard crap, by Miles.  (as well bests the top mp3 players, playing loss-less audio)

[michelevit]

Those bass shakers are awesome. I have 4 installed in my couch and they augment any movie featuring explosions. It feels like bombs are going off.
I also  have 2 installed in my driving seat. Anytime I drive over rumble strips or curbs you can feel it.
I recommend them highly, but be sure to add an easily accessible switch in case you want to turn it off. The effect is not for everyone.
An added benefit is since they are felt and not heard, your not going to be upsetting any wife or neighbor.

I use a 500 watt amp, but that is definitely overkill. I probably have the volume @ 15-20 percent. Any more and its too much and out of balance detracts from the audio.

[DrakeTungsten]

Thanks for the replies.

I wasn't expecting the experience described by Xiaou2. My cabinet is composed of separate pieces. The seat section is its own component, a sheet of MDF on six casters with a platform of 2*4s on which sits a car seat. (I have yet to bolt the car seat to the platform. Sounds like I'll need to do that now) I have a monitor stand (MDF sides and shelf) that fits snugly over the front end of the seat section. It sounds like I'll be fine (as far as  feeling the shaker) with mounting the shaker on the base MDF sheet. This is on carpet (in a basement), so hopefully I'm not in danger of rolling away from, or toward to, the monitor stand. Currently I have the PC just on the floor next to the cab. Even though it's not touching the cabinet, maybe I should put it on a pillow or something.

I don't have sub-out on my receiver, so it looks like I will have to use the speaker-level inputs on the amp. Is there anything to watch out for when using these?

[lilshawn]

Is there anything to watch out for when using these?

don't feed them frequencies they aren't designed to reproduce. make sure you enable an LPF and/or adjust the cutoff down to around (or even under) 80hz. no sense pushing frequencies above that to them since they won't be reproducing them. all you'll be doing is heating up your voicecoil.

[rCadeGaming]

Is this a driving cab?  If so, just leaving the seat on casters is not a good idea.  When you go to stomp on the brakes you'll kick yourself away from the screen.  If you're using the casters to allow yourself to roll into the machine after sitting down, why not use the car seat's adjusting function, which locks in place?

[DrakeTungsten]

Yes, it's a driving cab. The pedals are on the same MDF sheet that the seat is on, so there is no possibility of pushing myself away from anything. The seat/pedals platform is on casters only so it would be easier to make any gross adjustments to the distance between the monitor/steering wheel and the driver, and for initial installation. I do indeed make smaller adjustments with the car seat's mechanism.

Is there anything to watch out for when using these?

don't feed them frequencies they aren't designed to reproduce. make sure you enable an LPF and/or adjust the cutoff down to around (or even under) 80hz. no sense pushing frequencies above that to them since they won't be reproducing them. all you'll be doing is heating up your voicecoil.

I do this with the crossover, right? I wasn't sure if the crossover works with the speaker-level input/output. It describes the speaker level input/output as a pass-through, which "sums" both channels to grab the necessary lower frequencies for the woofer.

[rCadeGaming]

The pedals are on the same MDF sheet that the seat is on

Aaaaah.  From your previous post, it sounded like it was just the seat by itself.  Makes sense now.

[Fursphere]

I have one of those shakers in my driving cab.  Works pretty good.  I used a different amp though.

I have been considering adding a second shaker, just to REALLY make it shake.     

My computer is on the ground new to my cabinet, isolated from the vibrations - because I too was worried about killing my HDD. 

[lilshawn]

Yes, it's a driving cab. The pedals are on the same MDF sheet that the seat is on, so there is no possibility of pushing myself away from anything. The seat/pedals platform is on casters only so it would be easier to make any gross adjustments to the distance between the monitor/steering wheel and the driver, and for initial installation. I do indeed make smaller adjustments with the car seat's mechanism.

Is there anything to watch out for when using these?

don't feed them frequencies they aren't designed to reproduce. make sure you enable an LPF and/or adjust the cutoff down to around (or even under) 80hz. no sense pushing frequencies above that to them since they won't be reproducing them. all you'll be doing is heating up your voicecoil.

I do this with the crossover, right? I wasn't sure if the crossover works with the speaker-level input/output. It describes the speaker level input/output as a pass-through, which "sums" both channels to grab the necessary lower frequencies for the woofer.

yes, it should pull out unneeded frequencies out regardless of which input is used. all the speaker level input is, is a couple of resistors in line to bring the input voltage from speaker level (basically a 26db attenuator) to line level that inputs it to the amplifier.

if you are going to use a computer, you may as well grab yourself a soundblaster audigy or the likes for $20, it'll have filtered sub output you can control with the computer.

the dial on the left is your crossover frequency and the right is the gain control.

[ant2]

Hey drake you should check out the driving sub forum and upload some pictures

I have two bass shakers under my seat, clark synthesis ones. They are awesome.