Tacticle Tranducers/Bass Shakers and your optimal build

I've been reading a bunch of posts across forums on what people have done but am also curious what people would do differently.

For people that have the experience, or have looked into adding transducers to your rig:

1) How many is ideal? 4 at the corners and 1 on the seat? Just the 4 corners? 4 at the corners, 1 under the pedals, 1 on the seat?

2) Buttkickers model xyz vs. Auroras vs. others.

3) Favorite amps that have withstood the wear, tear and heat?

4) Recommended model of the 2nd sound card?

Thanks for any insight. Hope this was the right section of the forums to post this.

 

I have four buttkicker SE's from simxperience. One in each corner. I dont know how much more others would help but I couldnt be bothered going through the hassle of another sound card and more amplifiers.

I find with the OSW and the rift I am not wanting more. I got a behringer 4 channel amp, if I could do it again proably something with a bit more power. It was cutting out when I first got it but doesnt any longer so maybe not an issue.

The only thing to consider is what you are putting it on. I had steel frame that was good for transmitting the vibration but it was bolted on to a big heavy MDF platform to raise the height. That absorbed a lot. I ended up putting some vibration isolation pads between them and that helped.

So make sure you have a rig that will transmit and make use of the vibration, not just dull it down.

Edit, I use the onboard soundcard as I always use headphones on usb for my sound.

 

I have aura shaker only under my butt to get more road feel. since I use motion platform I have plenty of feelings already
So I guess the need and amount of transducers should be apropriate depending on the static/motion rig, but Nic Moxley as far as I know have more than 2 shakers using 3dof rig

 

I went the cheap route, bought 2 lepy amps of Amazon and 4 cheap shakers also from there. Ended up with sub 250€ system (including the simvibe licence).
I found that too much of the vibrations were absorbed by my wooden rig, so I mounted 2 of the shakers on the side of my seat and the 2 others underneith the footrest. I run in chassis mode and just love it, this combined with wheel ffb gives me a proper idea of what the car is doing an can anticipate or react before it is too late.
Another advantage of mounting the sharkers onto the seat itself is that I can keep the volume down, thus not disturbing my neigbours on my nightly strolls.
My point being that you do not need to spend 1000€ to be able to enjoy another great level of emmersion.

 

This is my DIY bass shaker setup:

Amp: http://www.parts-express.com/4x100w-at-4-ohm-tk2050-class-t-digital-audio-amplifier-board--320-335

Power Supply: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SUPERNIGHT-...676334?hash=item4d14c106ee:g:hV0AAMXQjWtRKt4z

Bass Shakers: http://www.amazon.com/Reckhorn-Bs-200-Tactile-Transducer-Theater/dp/B00AMH17GC/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1425568544&sr=8-5&keywords=bass shaker

Second Sound card: http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Sound-Blaster-Audigy-SB1550/dp/B00EO6X7PG/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1402934998&sr=8-8&keywords=sound card

Individual Components cost:

Bass Shakers: 4 x $40

Power Supply: 1 x $24

Amp: 1 x $50

Sound card: 1 x $30

DIY Total for a 4 bass shaker setup: $264

Examples:

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/showthread.php/724042-My-DIY-SimVibe-racing-rig

http://www.overclock.net/t/1354257/project-log-my-diy-simvibe-racing-rig

Racing Sims: Use SimVibe for racing sims($90).

*IMPORTANT*
This extra sound card does not have quadrophonic option which is required for chassis mode in SimVibe. I was using my on board sound card to drive the bass shakers and the extra sound card for my headphones but now I have the cv1 which has its own audio driver so I don't need the extra sound card and have uninstalled it.

 

At the moment I have a bodyshaker under my seat that is powered by the Bass output from an old PC 2+1 speaker set. The audio source feed is coming from a Y splitter form either the Headset socket or my main PC 4+1 speaker set, depending on what I am using at the time (Normally the headset and the the speaker set when I have friends around for a drive) If I do not have this connected the experience looses a lot of immersion. I do not need too much power. So far I have spent €18 on the transducer €0.00 on old PC 2+1 speaker set
My plan is to get "Simvibe" another cheap amp or two and few more small puck sized transducers to give me 4 chassis and 3 extensions. this will certainly up the immersion with my office chair (strapped to the desk) and pedal platform rig with 3screens
Coming costs:
€ 30 -Sound Card
€ 90 - Simvibe" software
Up to € 100- 4 or 6 Blanko Mini bodyshaker

 

Cv1 has its own audio driver?. How's that?

 

When you plug it in, it shows up as a new audio device that is not controlled by your on board sound card. Are you asking how is it possible, or are you asking how is the quality?

 

More qbout the possibility. I guess, this is because of hdmi input? But hdmi sound always come from pc sound device and that is usually soundcard, I just can't understand how another audio driver makes base soundcard free for simvibe

 

"The Oculus CV1 HMD has a built-in DAC (audio over USB connected to the headset) and ADC (for microphone). The audio subsystem is class compliant and supports Windows, Mac and Linux. The HMD has integrated headphones as well and a microphone."

https://developer.oculus.com/documentation/audiosdk/latest/concepts/audiosdk-hardware/

 

Oh, I see. Amazing, that means I can also turn on simvibe on my transducer

 

When I have my cv1 on, the rift takes the role of default sound device and allows simvibe to use my onboard soundcard to drive the bass shakers. That is how my system works.

 

I have a PlaySeat WRC. I use SimVibe with two Aura Bass Shakers mounted under the seat on left and right side and two ADX shakers under the pedals. I have four separate Dayton 70 watt sub woofer plate amplifiers driving each separate shaker. I use a cheap audio card to drive the unit this is not about high fidelity but simply getting the signal from sim vibe to the brutish amplifiers.

I really am happy with this set up.

Raw amplifier power is really important if you want to feel the vibrations coming from all the elements of the car as well as the road. The amplifiers get hot and I have a dedicated fan blowing air over them. It is easy to over drive them and have them go through a thermal shut down. I drive them as hard as I can without shutting down. The shakers individually also get warmish.

The shakers and the amplifiers are $50-60 per unit. I have about $500 in the total tactile set up.

 

If it was free to change, would you keep your 2/2 split between Aura and ADX shakers, or would you go with 4 of one of the models?

 

I had started with a two shaker design, under the seat with the Aura's. When I decided to go with four I choose the ADX shakers because they had a slightly smaller footprint and I was space limited under the pedals. It is impossible for me to tell any performance differences between the shakers themselves.

They both work fine. I think the ADX looks a little more robust but it costs a little more. I would buy four of the same for convenience.

In regard to overall design I get very noticeable separation in signal front to back, there is some noticeable separation left to right in the seat but it is very subtle. I can't see separation left to right under the pedals and my feet are engaged in other things but the engine vibes and wheel surges are clearly noticeable.

I really, really like the overall addition of the tactile/vibrational elements to the experience. SimVibe does a great job of delivering them to your amps and shakers. My advice is not to skimp on raw amplifier power. Get sub woofer amplifiers that deliver true watts in the 20-200hz range and have shakers that can deliver that power to your rig.

 

Some people go overkill with shakers when couple of buttkickers under the seat with Simvibe is all that most will ever need.

 

If you have the money to burn, and it doesn have to be ultra expensive then the four shakers at different positions can give you effects you wouldnt otherwise.

I still remember when I first got it set up that as I went over curbs I could feel the effects transmitted from the front of the chassis, to the middle and then out the rear as I went past.

So it depends what you want from it but with just a couple on the seat you won't get that feeling of actually hitting and passing something.

 

That is kind of where I'm at. I don't want to piss money away, but I will save up/buy whatever seems to be the an agreed great setup.

 

Hey guys, kinda resurrecting this thread.

I own 2x buttkickers mini lfe and i used to use them with simvibe.
I had 1 screwed directly under my seat on my rig and the otherone under my pedals plate.
My rig is wooden and very heavy so mounting them on it was problematic because i was losing all the power.
I used to power them with a car amplifier, which was cumbersome and large (also had to use a 220v to 12v converter).
I stopped using them when AC got a little more demanding and back then i had an i7 950, simvibe was using cpu cycles and it had to go.
Now i upgraded my pc i decided to mount them again, but i have a couple of questions for the more experienced people.

1. I am thinking of using this amplifier Link or this one Link, i think 2x100 is enough, what do you think?
2. Mounting: one bolted on my seat, the other one on pedal plate? I was not so happy with how it performed on my pedals plate before, should i go for 2x buttkickers under the seat? What do you think.
Any suggestions or recommendations appreciated

Here are some pictures of my rig to give you an idea, maybe you can spot a better place to mount them.
https://goo.gl/photos/d7vo4i7JNppuycYT7
Ignore the G25 and the triples they are long gone

 

@Psit

The use of Brackets can often provide stronger response as the entire transducer becomes mobile; determining bracket design requires trial and error in most cases.

Flexibility through Dampening Mechanisms can de-link the rigid structure from the seat / pedals shifter; Near-Direct contact can dramatically increase vibe-effectiveness. The use of isolators can increase vibes while decreasing resonance and noise through the rigid structure; these can be springs or dampeners - rubber or urethane type.

Transducers are very power demanding - more-so than audio speakers. It's generally better to use an amplifier with ample power and good cooling characteristics. I use the iNuke NU1000 to drive my mid-size bass-shakers but, it can drive smaller transducer's also and has active cooling. For a large transducer such as the BK-LFE (I have one under my seat), you want to have at least 1500 watts available.

SimCommander / SimVibe (SC4) has been updated (also combined) and is now more efficient than ever.

That might work to power a Mini-puck Array but, you'll get better results with more power; remember that the out-put ratings given are generally very liberal, you want to look for RMS ratings to get a good idea of the actual output for real-world use. Even then, it's better to have reserve for cleaner output and longer life of the amp and other components.

I love the results I get using the BK-LFE under my seat but, my seat has a suspension that allows some travel which increases the transducer's effectiveness in replicating large bump effects. I also have a pair of mid-size bass shakers mounted on brackets attached to the front of the seat-frame that replicate the smaller bumps and road details. I also mounted a mini-puck-array inside the seat-back to proved engine vibes or very small details. Combined, these provide a broad range of effects much the way a high-fidelity audio system does using sound.

Certainly, two transducers under the seat will be better than one but, how they are mounted will be key to getting the most out of them. For more information regarding transducers and mounting solutions, here is a link to some recommended reading.