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Buttkicker / Quake 10B

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Wall.e

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Buttkicker / Quake 10B

PostTue Mar 12, 2019 3:58 am

I am planning to extend my existing organ with an Buttkicker, because I am using my setup only with headphones, where I miss (real existing) vibrations from low frequencies. Since there is no plan for speakers, I am thinking about transducers / buttkickers. Unfortunately, I only tested once a cheap transducer which wasn't a satisfying experience. I would be happy someone could recommend a shaker / transducer which he/she is using or share some experiences.
So far, I am thinking about a Buttkicker Advance or LFE or the Earthquake 10B but I don't know which one would fit the organ bench better and how much power I really need for the organ.
Thank you very much in advance for your answer!
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Andrew Grahame

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Re: Buttkicker / Quake 10B

PostTue Mar 12, 2019 5:05 am

I have 4 Dayton Pucks attached to the underside of my organ bench.

http://www.daytonaudio.com/index.php/tt ... haker.html

The reason for using 4 units is impedance. Each unit is of 16 ohms. They are wired first into pairs in parallel, creating impedance of 8 ohms to each pair. The pairs are then wired together in parallel to create 4 ohms mono as required by the subwoofer amplifier I used. The wiring diagram to show how this is done is included in the user guide, which is downloadable from the Dayton website. I live in Sydney, and the pucks are not available from any dealers in Australia, so I imported mine direct from the US.

The subwoofer amplifier I used was one of these, which I purchased from a local electronics store.

https://www.altronics.com.au/p/a2451-op ... amplifier/

With careful adjustment of the subwoofer amplifier's controls for volume and active crossover I've tuned it to start responding half-way down the 16-foot octave and into the 32-foot octave. I listen only through headphones, and the experience of realism generated by the pucks is nothing short of astounding.

Highly recommended!

Andrew
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Wall.e

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Re: Buttkicker / Quake 10B

PostTue Mar 12, 2019 6:28 am

Thank you very much for your answer, it seems to be a very affordable solution. The point why I was looking for some bigger transducers was because they seem to be able to manage the very low frequencies down to 5 Hz, which would be really interesting, but your approach with 4 transducers is a very nice idea, where the budget isn't affected too much. I will think about it and perhaps someone else is posting his experiences with some other transducers here.

Many thanks!
Wally
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OrganoPleno

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Re: Buttkicker / Quake 10B

PostTue Mar 12, 2019 9:51 am

Wall.e wrote:The point why I was looking for some bigger transducers was because they seem to be able to manage the very low frequencies down to 5 Hz, which would be really interesting... I will think about it and perhaps someone else is posting his experiences with some other transducers here.


I am also using the Dayton Audio Pucks. Just one, connected to my Organ Bench... a "temporary" connection with large rubber bands to hold it in place, because I couldn't bear to drill into the beautiful finish of the Bench. But it really does the job! A second Puck is on a free extension so my Wife (or other 1-person Audience) can place it on her lap for the full effect while listening.

We purchased a set of six Pucks, so we are keeping a few spares on hand .

The two Pucks are wired in parallel, which fits the impedance of my Amplifier within an acceptable range. We listen with Headphones, and the Headphone Amplifier (or "Pre-Amp") feeds an exta output into the 100-Watt Subwoofer Amplifier.

We have set the crossover to start responding half-way down the 8-foot Octave, and ALL the way down from there! Successfully tested down to 4 (FOUR) Cycles-per-second... equivalent to the lowest note on a 128-foot Organ Rank! The gain is set between 25% and 33%, which gives a very generous impact as desired.

The sense of "really being there", to both hear and feel the Organ in all its Beauty... is indeed spectacular. Again, highly recommended!
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Andrew Grahame

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Re: Buttkicker / Quake 10B

PostTue Mar 12, 2019 2:16 pm

The transducers don't need to shake the building off its foundations for the effect to be felt. When I first turned mine on I had the volume set far too high and was nearly thrown from the bench when I hit Bottom C! Having 4 pucks for impedance purposes also allows them to be spaced out across the length of the bench on the underside of the seat, which spreads the vibrations evenly throughout the entire structure. The bench in effect becomes the sound-producing medium. I found that very careful adjustment was needed, and that for maximum realism the effect needs to be subtle, increasing gradually as the scale descends. As you can see, the puck solution is relatively inexpensive and not at all hard to install. If you are a headphones-only player like myself, you'll find that this enhancement will change your life!
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Wall.e

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Re: Buttkicker / Quake 10B

PostThu Mar 14, 2019 1:43 am

Thank you very much for your answers, I will order these days 4 Dayton pucks! I think it will be a major improvement towards realism, because I miss all the nice vibrations from the low frequencies. I will try them and write here my experiences!
Thank you again!
Wally
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Andrew Grahame

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Re: Buttkicker / Quake 10B

PostThu Mar 14, 2019 1:50 am

Good luck, Wally! I'm sure you'll be thrilled with the outcome!

Andrew
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engrssc

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Re: Buttkicker / Quake 10B

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Wall.e

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Re: Buttkicker / Quake 10B

PostFri Apr 12, 2019 9:23 am

Thank you for your advices and helpful hints! After being absent for some days I finally had the time for installing 4 Dayton Transducers and I have to say, the realism is much better now! With my amplifier I reach the 32' octave and it still feels great.
It's really hard now to leave the bench...
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engrssc

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Re: Buttkicker / Quake 10B

PostFri Apr 12, 2019 7:08 pm

Sensational 8)

Rgds,
Ed
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Andrew Grahame

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Re: Buttkicker / Quake 10B

PostFri Apr 12, 2019 9:40 pm

Glad to hear it's working well!

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