# Buttkicker questions.



## Rancho5 (Aug 20, 2009)

Mods: Put this in the right area if you need to. I just didn't know where to put it.

I'm wondering about butt kickers. I have a huge SVS cylinder sub so maybe I don't need them but I'd like to know how to run them anyway. I understand they mount under the seating. I'm just wondering how you run them and how you set them up into your receiver.

Any thoughts or help welcomed. As always, you guys are great.

Edit: Apparently I can run these with an older receiver? Or run them through my sub? I've got an Onkyo 705 and the sub out is already being used for my SVS. If I just use an old receiver how much power does it need to have and how do I "loop" it into my 705?

Also, how many do I need? I have 2 leather "futon" couches on chrome steel frames in the HT: One on the floor and another on a platform behind.

HT is 23 long, 10 wide and 7 high if this makes a difference.


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## lsiberian (Mar 24, 2009)

Rancho5 said:


> Mods: Put this in the right area if you need to. I just didn't know where to put it.
> 
> I'm wondering about butt kickers. I have a huge SVS cylinder sub so maybe I don't need them but I'd like to know how to run them anyway. I understand they mount under the seating. I'm just wondering how you run them and how you set them up into your receiver.
> 
> ...


They are vibrating transducers that shake the structure they are attached to. You'd be best to power them with a pro-amp in most cases. I'm not a fan, but others are.


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

Buttkickers I am a fan of. Aura Pro Bass Shakers I am not. Buttkickers actually feel like a part of the movie, if dialed in right, whereas Bass Shakers feel gimmicky because it really on shakes at one intensity.


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## Toby Jack (Feb 5, 2010)

I got to experience Buttkicker magic the other night at a friends house. Very cool for intense movies with loud explosions and such but something that you would probably have turned off most of the time. My friend had a crazy set up to get this thing to work. He was somehow using two receivers; one specifically for the Buttkicker.

I would be interested to hear if anyone else knows a better or more efficient way to hook this thing up. My friend would probably appreciate that.


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## Jon Liu (May 21, 2007)

The thing with Buttkickers is they HAVE to be dialed in right in order to provide the right effect. The point of the Buttkickers are to add tactile feedback when there IS tactile feedback and to NOT add it when there's not supposed to be. If it was really shaking when it probably shouldn't have, the amp for the buttkicker should be turned down. It's really only supposed to lend support to the low frequencies and not dominate.


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## BIG'EN (Feb 9, 2010)

The Buttkicker is an excellent choice for HT and can go down to about 20Hz with little effort. I am sure it can play lower but my test equipment is limited. You will need a strong amp to run the Buttkicker and I have got away with using 350w plate amp with a cooling fan. It pulls alot of juice and will overheat most amps under 400w(after about 2hrs). You can prolly get away with using the receiver to power the BK but IMO it would be better to try Aura Pros with the recieiver set up. As for installation, it is up to you. I used two pieces of mdf and install mine directly under the my recliner. Very intense and very powerful with only 350w and on certain scenes you might have a hard time focusing. You could mount one, maybe two, BKs to a platfrom for your futon and find the results more enjoyable and not as ferocious as mounting it directly to the futon. It really depends on what the user can stand. The only downside for the BK is it does not work well with music or regular TV prolly due to its operating range. 

Auras and Aura Pros work good for TV and music but will not cover the lower range that the BK does. The Auras and Pros peak around 35Hz to 40Hz with a wicked roll-off on both sides. Sometimes during low LFE scenes my subs are still playing after the shakers have quit. It will prolly take four or more of the Aura Pros to get close to the output of the BK but then again the BK can be overkill. The Auras will need to be mount directly to the futon for best results. 

Last but not least the Clark. An excellent design and it too has some good performance but be warned, it does not like to be used on concrete floors. The only install that I have been impressed with was an elevated floor HT room(crawl space or basement under the room). 


Just my .02. Hope it helps.



BIG'EN


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## bonehead848 (Jan 21, 2007)

You always get what you pay for. If you have the cash go with the bk and a pro amp, as others have said it is a definite step up from the auras. If you are short on cash, hook a couple auras up to an old receiver. Thats what I did for a grand total of about 40 bucks, sure it doesnt have the frequency response of a bk but its a fun gimmick when people are over. In fact thats the only time I ever turn them on, my IB usually puts out enough rumble for me.


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## the_rookie (Sep 30, 2008)

I thought it would have been cool to own. I picked up one, just the butt kicker. It was on sale pretty good, but it requires a good deal of power. A standard AVR wouldn't power it too much, it requires a decent outside amplifier. But like others have said it can add to things, but other times it can distract from the movie.


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## Matteo (Jul 12, 2006)

Another company worth mentioning is Earthquake Sound, based out of California. My friend has a pair of the larger ones which he loves.
Either way you go, I would recommend using a dedicated amp for power. You are not going to get enough power using a receiver and chances are you will just over heat and ruin the receiver. Since you only have one sub output on the Onkyo, you just need to get a "y" RCA splitter, so that you can have 2 signals running out of the sub plug. Cost is something like $5.00 at radio shack or online.


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## 240V (Apr 21, 2008)

I think it takes several hundred watts same as subwoofer amp. I bought the Gamer version Buttkicker that clamps to a computer chair and it came with a 150w amp.


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## tcarcio (Jun 27, 2007)

No one has mentioned that you can get the BK kit that has an amp and everything you need to run it. I have the kit and it runs flawlessly. The amp that comes with it has all the power you need and the controls to set it up right like low and high pass crossovers. Check it out....http://www.nextag.com/LFE-Kit-572952746/prices-html


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