Bass Shakers on the cheap!

[Todd Anderson]

I suggested that @Mike Schramm consider adding bass shakers to his room.

Here's an old post from another forum, where I describe how integrated the following parts into a couch system, resulting in some great tactile bass:

Dayton Audio BST-1 High Power Pro Tactile Bass Shaker 50 Watts, link: https://fave.co/3WcYmxN​

Harrison Labs FMOD Inline Crossover Pair 50 Hz Low Pass RCA, link: https://fave.co/4aoCtli​

RCA splitter, 1 male 2 female: link: https://amzn.to/3C9x8Bs​

Pricing has changed slightly (the shakers are $54, and low pass filters are $28), but here's the general gist of what I implemented:


I thought this would be a good opportunity to run through a few thoughts on installing a DIY shaker system and whether or not it’s worth the effort and extra coin.

Cutting to the chase, I’ve absolutely enjoyed the added jolt that bass shakers bring to the party. Truth be told, my dual subwoofer arrangement delivers more than enough power and oomph to send thumps, thuds, and ridiculous vibrations straight through my theater room’s seating. The shakers simply enhance the tactile attributes of the lower-end while adding quite a bit of directness. This is especially true when watching movies at lower sound volumes; you can independently increase the bass shaker’s volume to keep the appearance of deep bass punch.

There are lots of shaker options on the market, including kit systems like “ButtKicker” and “Earthquake.” I believe “Clarks” is another brand. Many of the kit systems come with dedicated amplifier units, feature transducers that are mighty powerful, and have a price tag that can be hefty for a side feature. In my case, I had a spare Pioneer Elite amplifier on-hand and decided to use it as a dedicated power source for shakers. I then went to our old friends at Parts Express and purchased six AuraSound AST-2B-4 Pro Bass Shaker units for a price (something in the neighborhood of $40 per unit) that literally blew away the competition.

AuroSound’s shakers are marketed for all kinds of applications, including video game cabs, and car and theater seating. They’re rated at 4 ohms / 50 Watts per unit. While they might be weaker than other options, they’re cheap enough to buy in multiples to increase impactful power.

There are all different ways to power bass shakers. Some folks use plate amps, others (like me) use old amps, while others buy new – cheap – dedicate amps.

My theater seating consists of a LuvSac modular couch (which, non-sequitur, is one nifty piece of furniture). I opted to buy two bass shakers per seating section of the couch. Now, due to the size of the LoveSac seating surfaces, this doesn’t exactly equate to one chair, but if I were outfitting singular seating or a couch with smaller seating surfaces, I’d still dedicate two per seat. After some trial-by-error, I ended up installing wood inside of the couch’s frame, which allowed me to mount the shakers facing “up” into the seating. This is a key point of emphasis. If you want the most tactile response, then mount the shakers facing in the up position. The short story is that I originally mounted the shakers on side facing portions of the furniture and the result was rather “meh.” So take the time to do it right and get the Pro Bass Shakers facing up. Next, I wired the speakers in pairs from three terminals of the Elite amp – each wired in series. If you’re not familiar with series versus parallel wiring, Google it and you’ll find plenty of information to guide the process.

The Elite shaker amp is fed subwoofer information via the sub-out from my primary amplifier source. If your amp or AVR doesn’t have two sub-outs, buy an RCA splitter, split the sub-out line, and run an RCA input into your shaker amp. You likely will have your primary pre-amp/AVR’s low frequency crossover set a 80HZ. This means that your bass shakers will play everything from 80HZ on down. You don’t want that because it introduces some shaker rumble with voices and other information that comes off as odd through the shaker system. To combat this, you’ll need to buy a 50Hz low pass filter (also available at Parts Express). The filter is plug-and-play in the RCA chain and simply acts as another low frequency cut-off point (now your shakers will only hammer away at information from 50Hz and down).

I’ve found that my Elite amp and six-unit AuroSound shaker combination performs best when the volume on the Elite amp is at or slightly below zero. Sometimes, during extraordinarily heavy bass scenes, the amp will trip. That’s unusual, however. You’ll eventually get to know how your system behaves with different levels of bass aggressiveness and it will be easy to make volume adjustments.

I hope this helps to open the door to the world of shakers for the uninitiated. I’m sure the kit systems are equally easy to implement. Definitely give this added realm of tactile rumble a consideration, especially if you’re a fan of action movies with impact!

 

[Todd Anderson]

Mike, you asked about running these using empty channels on your current AVR. You can try, but I wouldn't wire the shakers in series, simply because it really taxes your amp. Also, it's nice to have independent volume control over the shakers as opposed to the rest of your system.

If I were you, I'd go find a cheap AVR from a place like Goodwill... even ebay. You don't need to worry about HDMI, so it's a good chance to find a really powerful unit with an older HDMI revision. That alone will make sure prices are low. Split one of your sub outputs, and wire the shakers in stereo pairs. If the amp has more than 100W output per channel, you could try wiring them in series, but if you do you'll need to go into the AVR's settings and boost bass internally. I had to run my pioneer AVR at +10 in the bass settings and crank volume levels to 0...

 

[Sonnie Parker]

You might also consider this amp at Amazon for only $109. With the 48v power supply, it was measured at 144 watts per channel over at ASR with 191 watts peak (@ 4 ohms tested - 8 ohms is less).

Fosi Audio V3 Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Fosi Audio V3 stereo amplifier. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $89.99 with stock 32 volt supply. Price goes up to $109.99 with the 48 volt supply. There is a $10 discount coupon right now. Despite its budget price, the V3...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Or buy a couple of these and bridge them to 200 watts each. Mount them in a small wood or metal box and add a power supply and speaker connectors.

 

[Mike Schramm]

So if I didn't care about getting my whole sectional to shake and only my particular seat, could I get away with one or maybe two of the bass shakers under my seat or does it need to be an all-or-nothing thing for the best experience?

 

[Mike Schramm]

Also, I do have an old Sony STR-DN1000 laying around. Would that give me enough juice? You said I'm aiming for at least 100w a channel, correct?

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I believe Todd will confirm that two per seating location is ideal.

I have one free output on my StormAudio MK3 that I may use to power a small amp for a couple of these on my recliner.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Hmmm... I really like this kit here that includes two shakers, a small amp, and a remote volume control. This would be super easy to set up in my case.

These shakers are rated at 10-50Hz.

Amazon.com

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Ehhh... I don't think that amp would work in my case. I can't use that output on the MK3 because it would have to go through ART calibration, which won't work. The only other output on the back of the MK3 is the optical Zone 2 output, which appears it can play consecutively with the main zone, and use the one unused channel.

Is this how you set yours up, Todd... using optical out of your StormAudio?

 

[Todd Anderson]

Sonnie, if you create a new configuration on your storm unit, you can create a bass shaker output as one of your channels.

You’d have to re-run ART tho

 

[Todd Anderson]

So if I didn't care about getting my whole sectional to shake and only my particular seat, could I get away with one or maybe two of the bass shakers under my seat or does it need to be an all-or-nothing thing for the best experience?

I’d suggest two per seat. But, yes, you could do that

 

[Todd Anderson]

Also, I do have an old Sony STR-DN1000 laying around. Would that give me enough juice? You said I'm aiming for at least 100w a channel, correct?

This would totally work. Keep in mind, the shakers will operate with the same distance settings as your subwoofer channel. So, you can use distance settings in that Sony to better align the shakers with what you’re hearing.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Sonnie, if you create a new configuration on your storm unit, you can create a bass shaker output as one of your channels.

You’d have to re-run ART tho

I did not know this. Is it an intentional feature, or just doable? Seems like ART would pick it up as a support channel.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Well cool beans on top of carrots... I see it now.

When using bass shaker devices, check the corresponding subwoofer box. It will then be disregarded during Dirac calibration process, but become available as an LFE transducer afterwards.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Okay... if this is bottom of the chair (borrowed photo from elsewhere) ... is this considered facing up once the chair is lowered back down, with what I would call the top of the shaker with the label facing down?

 

[Todd Anderson]

That’s the correct orientation. Yes

If you aim it away from the seat, the effect is definitely impacted in a negative way

 

[Mike Schramm]

Alright, so how would I hook them up? The bass shakers have speaker level inputs, but the receiver only has a line level output....

 

[Sonnie Parker]

You'll have to use the Front speaker outputs. IIRC, that unit doesn't have a low-pass crossover on the mains, so you'll need the filters Todd was referring to. I'm not seeing one at Parts Express. I see an 80Hz passive filter but not 50Hz. Some of the other parts places may have one.

 

[Todd Anderson]

Yup, you’ll basically split one of your sub outs on your receiver and dump it into your Sony via one of the RCA inputs.

I linked to the 50Hz filter in the first post of this thread. That’s the one you’ll need.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I see... you are using the RCA filter between the Onkyo and the Sony. The Sony only sees 50Hz and below.

 

[Mike Schramm]

You guys are the best, thank you!!! Now, does the miniDSP I’m using have any affect on this?

 

[Sonnie Parker]

You guys are the best, thank you!!! Now, does the miniDSP I’m using have any affect on this?

Are you using all the outputs on the miniDSP? You could use one of those outputs to the Sony and use the low pass filter in the DSP. Turn that output off when running Dirac.

 

[Mike Schramm]

Perfect, I was wondering if the miniDSP would work as the low pass filter. I’m only using two of the outputs on my miniDSP, so I’ve got room to send one to the Sony.
I wish my Onkyo had Dirac, but it’s one model year too old. I’m stuck with AccuEQ.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

Yep... that will work perfectly.

Do you use Dirac on your subs then run AccuEQ afterwards? Or did you not get the Dirac option?

 

[Mike Schramm]

No Dirac at all. I calibrate my subs manually with REW and plug that into my miniDSP. The rest of the speakers are just level matched. No real room correction is being used because AccuEQ doesn’t seem to do anything. Not to my ears, at least.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I gotcha... sounds like it's working for you, so no need for Dirac.

Bass is generally easy to tame with parametric EQ filters anyway. We did it for years with the Behringer Feedback Destroyer. Now REW integrates with these miniDSP units to make it fairly painless. The sub-bass is the most important, anyway.