# bass shaker problem with standard dvd's



## wireman24 (Feb 25, 2010)

Hi
I just installed Aura pro bass shakers in my seats and they are awsome when watching blu-ray movies. The problem is with standard Dvd's They don't shake much at all and even the subwoofer seems a little weaker Do you know what could cause this Or what I could do to make it better.

I do notice that if I turn the volume up they start shaking again but I need to turn the volume up allot more then when I am playing a Blu-Ray.

My receiver is the Sony str-DH800
I am running a 7.1 surround sound speaker setup.
I have a 15" 300watt powered subwoofer
The blu-ray player I am using is the Sony BDP-S360 I am using it for bluray and upconverting my DVD's.

I am running two Aura Pro bass shakers powered by a Audiosource Amp100 that is bridged so it is putting out plenty of power for the shakers. 
Like I said before they are great with blu-ray movies.

Any help or ideas would be great.
Thanks


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## drdoan (Aug 30, 2006)

Welcome to the Shack. Be sure to check out the bass forums and how do a proper alignment. Have fun. Dennis


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## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Hi welcome to the forums.

Are you employing any form of EQ with your bass shakers. I dont know much about yours specifically, but I do know that some shakers work better with eq. The Q10B for example works best with a LPF at 40hz, and boosting applied to low frequencies, with slightly more increase every ten db the lower you go.

Perhaps that is something worth looking into.


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## wireman24 (Feb 25, 2010)

I never thought about using an EQ.
I have an extra EQ in my av closet that I am not using. 
I think I will give that a try when I get home tonight. It's an Audiosource EQ200. Do you think that will do the trick I don't see why it would not work.


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## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Its only a graphic equalizers rather than a parametric equalizer, so may not be effective enough, or may have other unwelcome side effects. I couldnt honestly say one way or the other how well it will or wont work, but Ive yet to see EQ applied to a shaker from a graphic equalizer instead of a PEQ.

But hey, you've got it there and it will cost you nothing to try so there is no loss in giving it a shot. If you find its not quite doing the trick when you try that, I would look into PEQ's as they are the proper way of doing it really. A BFD is a good budget option, but there are also purpose built units that can do the trick if needed, something like the Reckhorn B1 look good for this.

If you find it does indeed do the trick, be sure to let us know. Sound quality isnt an issue so thats one thing taken care of, and as long as it's eq is effective enough it should do something. How low does it go though, ideally you need it to EQ from about 50hz down and I dont recall many graphics concentrating their efforts in that region.


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## wireman24 (Feb 25, 2010)

Hi 
Thanks for reply.
I checked my EQ's manual and it says it can give up to a 12db boost or 12db cut.
I still did not have enough time to see if it will work. I was too busy building the stage infront of my projection screen. I will have more time today and I will let you know how it works.


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## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Hi, I'll look forward to seeing how you get on. The amount of gain or cut that can be applied isnt the issue, its more an issue of graphic equalizers are much more simple and lower resolution than PEQ's, and therefore arent as accurate. Your also usually restricted to a preset set of adjustments where as with a PEQ you can set these yourself.

Still, if it works then it works :T


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## wireman24 (Feb 25, 2010)

Your probably right but what the it's worth a try.
I ll let you know how it goes.


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## chadnliz (Feb 12, 2010)

If you have more than one in your chair changing how they are wired may help, if you have created a high ohm load the resistance could be an issue, I run 6 of these in my seats and wired them in a hybrid series parallel configuration to get the load value I was after. 
Also something you said makes me think it is a seperate issue. You said Bluray is good but not DVD, could it be your bass mgmt settings need configured for source specific output? That would seem to reason if its good on some thing and not others..........an EQ would not be the fix if that is the case. Some of the more elaboate recievers and Processors will give you boost and trim options for every form of signal use (one for Dolby, Stereo, DTS) and perhaps your fix is internal with a simple remote comand.
If you added a EQ your going to likely go from once extreme to the other, now you DVD would be good but Blu ray would be way too boomy.


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## wireman24 (Feb 25, 2010)

I have two shakers in my couch.
I have them wired in series.
My receiver Sony str-DH800 is pretty basic and does not let you control things for each seperate type of signal that comes into it.

Two more things I forgot to mention. 
The shakers work just fine with music.

Also when I first installed these I could not get them to work with anything. I found the only way that they will work is to turn the Sub level all the way up in the receivers settings. Then they work fine for Blu-ray but not standard Dvd's.

I also tried switching between every type of sound on the receiver (Stereo, Dts, Pro Logic) Nothing helped.
It just seems really strange.


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## chadnliz (Feb 12, 2010)

Are you going DVD through your Bluray player? If so and your reciever is basic then perhaps there is a menu setting in the disc player thats not set properly. Its almost got to be a menu setting because it would make no sense for it to work well with 2 out of 3 activities. If you are going DVD from a actaul standard def DVD player id it wired with digital sound toslink or coax? I only say this because if you run RCA stereo then it wont be digital sound and that could be the problem. Hard to tell from here but maybe something will help.


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## wireman24 (Feb 25, 2010)

Well last night I tried my EQ but it did not help.

*chadnliz* I am running my sd dvd's through my blu-ray player and thought the same thing. So I dug out my upscaling dvd player and hooked that up using only HDMI and I still had the same problem. So it has to be something with the receiver would be my guess. Like you said some menu setting but I sure can't find it what ever it may be. I think I might call Sony tomorrow and see if they have any suggestions.


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## wireman24 (Feb 25, 2010)

Well I called Sony today and explained the problem.
They said that they recommend setting the main volume to 30 as a starting point. 

I did that and the shakers are shaking fine. This entire time I have been trying to get them shaking at a volume of around 20. This seems to have done the trick.

I just did not think there was that big of a difference between blu-ray and sd dvd's as far as volume levels.

So what do you guys think about what they said about 30 being a starting point? The main volume goes up to 74 so I guess this seems ok.
Are you guys having to adjust your volume level when switching between blu-ray and sd dvds?


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## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Are you powering your bass shaker directly from the Sony, or does it have its own amp? I wouldnt have thought the volume should make that much difference if the channels are balanced properly, especially as the whole idea is that you can still run your shaker at low volumes to compensate for having the sub quiet.

Still if it worked and your happy then all is well. So your finding BR and DVD's are fine at this volume level?


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## wireman24 (Feb 25, 2010)

I am powering the shakers with a seperate amp. An audiosource amp100

The situation still is not ideal but they do seem to work at this volume level.
The volume is not ear splitting or anything but I sure thought I would be able to do this at lower volumes then this.
Anybody have any other ideas?
I am starting to think Sony is blowing smoke up my .


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## Moonfly (Aug 1, 2008)

Well, the obvious solution would be to increase the gain on the amp for your shaker, and increase the output signal to the shakers amp. I'm going to assume you either cant do those, or have already dont that as much as you can. If that is the case then your pretty much stuck with what your stuck with as far as I can think.


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## wireman24 (Feb 25, 2010)

Moonfly I think your right I am stuck with this the way it is.
I have already turned the level up all the way on the receiver for the subwoofer out. As well as turned the level all the to the top on the shaker amp. Well at least it works just not how I planned.
Thanks for all the good suggestions and help.


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## Andysu (May 8, 2008)

wireman24 said:


> Hi
> I just installed Aura pro bass shakers in my seats and they are awsome when watching blu-ray movies. The problem is with standard Dvd's They don't shake much at all and even the subwoofer seems a little weaker Do you know what could cause this Or what I could do to make it better.
> 
> I do notice that if I turn the volume up they start shaking again but I need to turn the volume up allot more then when I am playing a Blu-Ray.
> ...


Which region DVD are you using? Bluray well they are mostly the same near or so enough in frequency response from region A to B or region free, what ever.

What I noticed between DVD region 2 and NTSC laserdisc of the same feature is lows are lower on the NTSC due to the frame rate they play at, over region 2 DVD PAL speed-up.

There is only about a 1Hz difference that I monitored with the opening few seconds of Star Trek II James Horner score where there is deep pulse like humming musical sound.

I think the region 2 DVD was around 41Hz and the NTSC and region B bluray around 40Hz.

Also the level between switching from DVD to Bluray is going to be just s deference in output level/

Aren’t the AVR of today the new ones intelligent enough to have something to reduce the level so the same Bluray/DVD player knows or least the AVR knows (with user control adjustment to trim the Bluray or boast the level of the DVD so that they are with in a few db of each other.

If that’s not workable option then how about!

DVD for video mode 2 (as most mode 1 modes is for analogue)
Use the optical or coaxial to send the signal along to the AVR.

Bluray now most have 8 channels output and most AVR 8 inputs. Then why not use that route and then trim the levels of the Bluray/DVD player using its (user control to trim the outputs to match near within a few db).

Now the two should play at the same level with the same film or differences between each format should be within a few db.

Its not big issue suss out.

Level difference of roughly 2db between Bluray and DVD Casino Royale (where its -2db) The DVD is just up by +2db. Same with Terminator 3 DVD and Bluray the DVD is louder in level by +2db from what I can see on the SPL db metre, while monitoring a single channel like (centre).


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## bonelifer (Mar 6, 2010)

Just starting out but I read this blog(wish I could remember the website) of this guy that was having that problem. He fixed his problem using a Behringer ULTRAFEX PRO. I'd suggest the BEHRINGER ULTRABASS PRO EX2200 as it uses RCA connections instead of the XLR(read pro mic connector) that the ULTRAFEX PRO uses. I believe he coupled this with a dedicated sub amp. Of course this guy was building a new house, brought in a pro sound engineer and had a nearly unlimited budget(we're talking several hundred thousand, whats several hundred thousand when the house is worth over a million on it's own). I've seen the EX2200 on ebay for $60+ish.


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