[Monsterzero]

Im thinking about getting a tactile transducer to mount in my listening chair to add some full body sensation while using headphones.
Has anyone done this,and if so what are your thoughts on the listening experience?

 

[viivo]

I imagine it would complement headphones rather well since they naturally lack the tactile bass and sub-bass of subwoofers. I've never dealt with transducers, but I know they are usually made for sofas and other heavy furniture, so one on a desk chair would have to be calibrated just right unless you want a super massage chair.

 

[Monsterzero]

Yeah,it will be going into the bottom of a recliner. Apparently the amp has a gain and crossover so the transducer can be tweaked to my preferred settings. I dont want to be rattled out of the chair,but just some nice subtle response will do nicely me thinks.

If anyone has tried this please chime in.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Im thinking about getting a tactile transducer to mount in my listening chair to add some full body sensation while using headphones.
Has anyone done this,and if so what are your thoughts on the listening experience?

I haven't tried this but note two things about this:

1. Integration. You need to use a splitter cable from the DAC to the headphone amp and the tactile transducer amp. You can't have unity gain unless you use a preamp with two outputs or splitter into a power amp driving both (headphone hooked up to power amp via speaker binding post adapter cable) or you just double up the preamps on the chain, ie, the main preamp feeding into a headphone amp (with its own preamp) and the speaker amp driving the tactile transducers (with its own preamp).

2. Tactile effectiveness vs Speakers. If you're going to use it in music, there's a chance it might not feel the same as speakers (let alone one with a sub) since the tactile effect is coming from your back or butt/thighs instead of how a speaker (let alone a subwoofer) kicks you hard in the chest when there's an authoritative bass drum kick. This is a classic problem in car audio where the subwoofer is in the rear, and to fix the audible sound, the low pass filter is cut very low and the subwoofer amp's gain is also usually set lower than one can at home where the subwoofer is in front. In some cases it's cut even lower or set even lower because even if the time alignment DSP is working to have all the sound arrive at the same time at the driver's head along with cutting it low to minimize the sub's work to the least localizable frequencies, ie the same range as to why having the tactile transducers work with a sub too small for a given home HT (ex. if there are shared walls and cranking it up to boost the very low frequencies isn't an option) just being able to feel the pounding bass on the back of the driver's seat is enough to mess it all up, so it's not uncommon to see something like Scott Buwalda's Nissan Altima with three 12in freeair subwoofers with the gain set really, really, really low (it's like using two 360mm rads and large radiators with all fans barely pushing air past the rads plus an exhaust fan coming out with lower noise than using two high static pressure case fans and large CPU and GPU air coolers in a noise suppression case with restricted intake vents).

Not that you shouldn't even try it, but just be aware that it might not necessarily work as well as you initially thought it would.

 

[Monsterzero]

1. Integration. You need to use a splitter cable from the DAC to the headphone amp and the tactile transducer amp. You can't have unity gain unless you use a preamp with two outputs or splitter into a power amp driving both (headphone hooked up to power amp via speaker binding post adapter cable) or you just double up the preamps on the chain, ie, the main preamp feeding into a headphone amp (with its own preamp) and the speaker amp driving the tactile transducers (with its own preamp).

Yep,have this covered. I split the DAC signal between my OTL and my Sansui 881,which is too old to have a dedicated sub out,so I will get a 3rd amp just for the transducer,that will tap out of the 881 via speaker cable into the 3rd amp. Confirmed with Parts Express this is the correct config.

As far as the 2nd part of what you typed,I have a powered sub that rumbles my stool where I currently rest my feet when listening. Even having my feet tickled is better than nada.
Im gonna pick up my recliner in a few days,and have a ton of cash going out for some NOS tubes,and then when the coffers are refilled I will pick up the transducer and matched amp.
Will report back.