[Stalker81598]

Has anyone ever seen anything like this before?
 
 

 
 
 

SubPac is “a high-fidelity portable tactile audio device that quietly and directly transfers low frequencies to your body,” says the company’s website. “Feel the boom of a kick drum, the warmth of an 808, the organic expression of a bassist, and the richness of soundscapes.”
 
“Through a specially developed backpack system, the SubPac quietly and directly channels all bass frequencies (from 5-130Hz) through your body, allowing you to literally feel the bass rather than necessarily blow seven shades of s**t out of your ear drums.”

 
It's intriguing at the very least.

 

[Tsujigiri]

I guess that's one way to get bass out of those Shures...

 

[jcdamascenojr]

Wow. Is it like a subwoofer actually producing sound, or just vibration (you need to attach it to your body)?

 

[Stalker81598]

According to the Kickstarter page, it's like a backrest that you lean against in a chair. It uses vibration but instead of having motors it has a "quiet, high-end sub-woofer that generates a dynamic, rich and accurate tactile representation of whatever sound you input."

 

[Armando J]

Indeed, you place it behind your back when you sit. I own one and the response on it is unbelievable. It will very accurately hit you with those lower end frequencies that you can't get in a reasonably-sized room without blowing your ears. If you want a more detailed review I will be glad to expand.
 
Cheers!

 

[ogodei]

Wow. Is it like a subwoofer actually producing sound, or just vibration (you need to attach it to your body)?

To clarify the comments here: This takes the signal between 5 and 130kHz and translates it to vibrations using a tactile transducer. The vibration changes with the frequency and volume, so, big boom at 10kHz, big shakey-shakey in the cushion.  It produces NO sound, but it is fun. 

 
They make these for full speaker set ups as well to shake entire couches.  Do a search for "ButtKicker".

 

[Armando J]

The SubPac - although conceptually similar - is quite different from the ButtKicker. It will reproduce the sound frequencies between 5Hz and 130Hz with "almost" no audible output. I placed "almost" in quotations because at certain levels you can indeed hear the music being emitted from the SubPac if you pay attention (muting the headphones or speakers of course).
 
Many artists, specifically in the Dubstep genre have backed the SubPac because of its low-end response and practicality. The ButtKicker is a fun device for home theater enthusiasts and/or drummers but is not as practical as the SubPac because it has to be physically attached to the structure of the seat in question. I think both are great devices, each one with its particular purpose/benefits but they should not be considered to be in the same category.

 

[ogodei]

^
Interesting. So does this actually have drivers, or is the sound a by-product of the transducers, or something else?

 

[Armando J]

AFAIK there is a driver inside the SubPac, based on my previous conversations with the SubPac staff. I'm not entirely sure how they are managing these low-end frequencies with such a small form-factor but I can imagine they use very specific resonant frequencies at different points in the pack to simulate our body's response to "normal-wavelength" bass.
 
I've been giving some professional musicians around here a test of the SubPac and they all have loved it until now. I will probably write a review soon with my experiences with it so far.