Subwoofer with headphones?
Jul 12, 2008 at 12:24 AM Post #17 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by earwicker7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Either/or
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Like I said earlier, I plan on trying this out with my daughter's sub, which was (if I remember correctly) not more than $500 or so. Not too crazy by audiophile standards.

I guess the ButtKicker seems more like a novelty item that would probably be a hell of a lot of fun for movies, but the idea of rattling the screws in my listening chair just isn't what I'm looking for when I'm doing critical listening. I will definitely demo this thing for my TV setup if I see it around in a shop.



I disagree. With quality headphones we should be able to have bass extension. What we are lacking is bass slam. A visceral feeling, a low rumble, a vibration that is not auditory.

So with quality headphones why would you degrade the sound by a sub woofer that is putting out its own sound frequency? The bass shaker can be 100% adjusted from a bone rattling novelty to just a hint.

All the sound quality remains, and the visceral bass feeling is there.

I no longer have my bass shaker, but it was quite nice. I understand there are more expensive and faster response bass shaking devices out there now.

But you have to shop for the quality products, not the low budget Butt Kicker crap.
 
Jul 12, 2008 at 1:00 AM Post #18 of 33
Infinite baffle with a low crossover point say 50hz or lower. 8 18" subwoofers mounted in the ceiling firing into the roofspace or outside if you don't have any neighbours. and tuned to run to to 15hz
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I was planning on moving house this year to a place in the country with a huge shed / barn which my fiance was giving me a free reign with boy did i have big plans
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until the housing market went into a slump here
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"Cult of the Infinitely Baffled"Hear The Bass, Not The Box The definitive online resource for Infinite Baffle subwoofer projects since 1999 - Login
 
Jul 12, 2008 at 2:33 AM Post #19 of 33
If you have phones where the drivers are open and suspended over your ears like the AKG K1000 and Sony MDR-F1 it may work with a powerful sub. I have the Sony MDR-F1 and tried it with an 8 in. Yamaha sub aimed 2 ft. away from my head and wasn't impressed. More power and a bigger sub may make all the difference. If you try this with phones that enclose your ear, you'll be relying on high powered, visceral impact which may make your listening habits seem very peculiar to those who don't notice you're wearing phones. If you care about your reputation, I wouldn't do this with IEMs.
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Jul 12, 2008 at 6:32 AM Post #20 of 33
I have!
Have been running my Stax system paired up with two subwoofer (a 13" Audax driver in each) a couple of time. It took some tweaking, but the end result was quite nice.

At least worth a try.
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Jul 12, 2008 at 1:55 PM Post #21 of 33
i did this with my pxc 250... the bass was delivered by the sub woofer from my logitech z5300 2.1 set up (those things have A LOT of bass lol).. the speakers were still running as well, so no one would've suspected a thing
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oh and it actually worked so well! the pxc250 are really only lacking in the bass department (if Noise cancelling is disabled) and lol duh i disabled noise canceling..

but anyway! they sounded so good :S i could feel the thumping bass AND the nice detail from the phones instead of the speakers..
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Jul 12, 2008 at 8:27 PM Post #22 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by Liver /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I disagree. With quality headphones we should be able to have bass extension. What we are lacking is bass slam. A visceral feeling, a low rumble, a vibration that is not auditory.


That's a good point.
 
Jul 13, 2008 at 2:42 AM Post #23 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by Liver /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I disagree. With quality headphones we should be able to have bass extension. What we are lacking is bass slam. A visceral feeling, a low rumble, a vibration that is not auditory.

So with quality headphones why would you degrade the sound by a sub woofer that is putting out its own sound frequency? The bass shaker can be 100% adjusted from a bone rattling novelty to just a hint.

All the sound quality remains, and the visceral bass feeling is there.

I no longer have my bass shaker, but it was quite nice. I understand there are more expensive and faster response bass shaking devices out there now.

But you have to shop for the quality products, not the low budget Butt Kicker crap.



Parts Express:Aura Pro Bass Shaker

This is them I take it, do they really work that well?

The attractive thing with these is you can get the vibes without waking the neighbours??

They say 50W, just use a mono sub plate amp perhaps???

Kind regards

g_a
 
Jul 13, 2008 at 4:33 AM Post #24 of 33
Reading this thread got me thinking and I have been looking up info on tactile transducers (bass shakers) since I found it. I really think this is something to look into. I totally agree that headphones lack physical bass, but not audible bass. It's the shake that makes speakers sound so much more real, so if I can add that shake to some high quality headphones, then I think I will be in heaven.
 
Jul 22, 2008 at 5:56 PM Post #25 of 33
Ok, all, I'm starting to seriously think about the tactile thing. I have a couple of questions.

1. Would this thing in any way effect my neighbors? I'm wondering how it can shake me without shaking the ceiling of the person underneath me.

2. What is considered the best system of this type, and what would the cost be? If I do this, I want something that is really high quality... I don't want to bring my system down in any way to achieve this; I'd rather go without if I can't get quality stuff.

Thanks!
 
Jul 22, 2008 at 8:53 PM Post #26 of 33
I have absolutely no affiliation with them, but from reviews and memory that is a couple of years old these guys have a much more refined and higher end system.

Of course that also comes at a much higher cost. I am looking into it once I settle down in a single location.

edit: I have owned the Butt Kicker Gamer and I liked it. It was gimmicky and cheap, but it got me thinking about higher end solutions. It did work very well, but lacked refinement. iPod earphones to my Ultimate Ears, sound is similar but on a whole new plane.
 
Jul 22, 2008 at 9:34 PM Post #27 of 33
Yeah, I was looking at those guys, they seem pretty good.
 
Jul 22, 2008 at 10:14 PM Post #28 of 33
Quote:

Originally Posted by earwicker7 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
One thing I'm wondering is if there is the potential for any kind of phase issues or things of that nature. If the crossover doesn't separate the two signals enough, is there a possibility that the sub fires, has x amount of delay until it reaches your ears, and is out of sync with the cans?


Hm I guess you would have to add a delay to the phones' signal to match phones' and sub's phases?

Regards,
Jonas
 
Jul 22, 2008 at 10:39 PM Post #29 of 33
This is something I've been thinking about trying, also with my Grado 225's. I see some real potential in the idea. Like others have stated, though; I see a problem with getting a sub to crossover low enough.
 

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