Hello Sir, hope you are well.
Given you as much detail as anyone could need, if you get lost in it, hey ask.
You owe me a coffee though...
1) The bigger and more powerful the units the higher level of isolation you should consider and will likely need. This does not have to be a single isolator but can compromise of anti-vibration rubber based materials like neoprene or others as well as sound deadening materials like Fatmat or industrial springs and anti-vibration mounts. If you are on a concrete based floor then this makes things much easier as vibrations will not go through it. A wooden floor is a different matter or a rig on an upstairs flooring/apartment etc.
Ideally your objective is to maintain the vibrations as best possible in the attached area/surface and these exit through your body via bone conduction. To have vibrations spreading all across the frame to regions the vibrations won't even be felt or will blend with additional vibrations from other channels is just wasted tactile energy.
If looking at SimXperience own cockpits, even these are not ideal. For instance to highlight the rear channels. The tactile energy has to travel quite far to deliver vibrations via the rear motion extrusion arms and then down another metal frame into the base of the seat. This does not seem to offer any way of maintaining independent L/R channels for the seat, as both would be mixed into this metal frame prior to even reaching the seat. To me this to some extent may hamper any directional based L/R effects being properly felt on the appropriate side.
Ahh but the back shakers/tactile units are where the rear wheels would be some might say...
The idea of units replacing wheels with them in the 4 corners is not going to always be the best solution even if some think it is relevant. Best to place them where will give you the best energy and detailing from them and usually a more direct connection with sufficient isolation can deliver this in seat & pedals.
Metal will be best, like steel but what is important is how you deliver the tactile into the seat/pedals, for best results you want to try and maintain stereo separation as well as possible but the biggest units will deliver "suspension based effects"
that are stereo with plenty of energy and if using the right type of frequencies for these effects, suspension bumps will easily still be detectable for left/right curbs even with additional effects added (several which are only mono).
With 80/20 and the available mounting adapters
(I don't have first-hand experience with this) clearly, fittings can easily be repositioned. So effectively you can try different mounting solutions or positions. The problem here is many people will just go with the first idea or attempt they do in a rush to get it all setup and running. Experimenting can improve what you may have just settled for by trying alternatives. While advice can be given, personal preference and differences in materials or seat used can all have an effect as to what is most suited for each individual. Some people will be happy with decent results others may want to seek the optimal.
Cables etc are not difficult nor are the connections, help can be easily given but these depend on what amps and configuration you go for as to what may suit best. Do you plan to use 1 or 2 units, perhaps 4 or follow my own crazy immersion desires with a combination of 12 Chassis Mode units
(3 sets of Chassis Mode using Buttkicker / Clark TST / Sub-woofers). Then using 2 more additional units over the Extension Mode for seat and pedals? Beyond the normal configuration is certainly possible.
2. If using GPU for game/system audio via HDMI then the motherboard/onboard audio is often used for the Chassis Mode. An additional card is then required for Extension Mode (if you need or want it), you don't need to spend big money, it's hard to tell if an upmarket soundcard produces better bass output than the popular Asus DGX that seems to perform well and is affordable but some just want the best regardless. I believe USB based cards are not recommended for Simvibe usage.
3. Stated many times that inuke DSP are the best-suited amps for the money regards Simvibe. Already a proven unit within the home cinema enthusiasts for powering subwoofers. Yes plenty of good quality amps are available but most people do not grasp the ability using Simvibe to be able to not just control volume but importantly the "amplitude" of "specific frequencies." This is one thing the inuke DSP do at a price point no other amp offers and it enables you to better control how the tactile/shakers operate with the frequencies. The benefits should not be underestimated but again the more powerful units are the ones that may benefit the most with such additional control.
I will have a thread on these models as to why this is important, appearing soon and plan to bring more "Simvibe" related content to the forums here. This whole subject is part of a hobby for me as much as enjoying racing/sim titles being a tactile immersion hobbyist. I have researched and poked into Simvibe deeper than anyone I know of or have seen with over 500 hours testing and monitoring its effects and settings. Why all because its as frustrating as hell, due to the lack of proper guidelines and understanding given on many of its controls or the different effects in how they operate or should be paired, configured or used.
4. Comes down to budget, you throwing 400 at this tactile immersion, 1000 or crazy like 4000?
Just recently, I have been working with some guys
(some members here) with my own attempts at building high-quality Simvibe Profiles. This highlighted how different units perform to their own limitations, yet in truth I have found there isn't
one single unit that is perfect including those sold at $549 each. Buttkickers produce the best low end. Clark TST produce the best detailing and more immersion to things like engine effects including their harmonics. They act like a speaker too (also helps hearing the stereo curbs, positional presence). A current popular model at the moment seems to be the ADX which is similar to the older Aura Pro giving a decent amount of strength and detail for the money.
In layman's terms, Buttkickers are best for lowest end of the scale. Many entry/mid level units typically at around 40Hz is their peak performance. Models like the Buttkicker Mini LFE or Gamer will hit harder than transducers. However regards the sub-harmonics below 20Hz down to 5Hz only the bigger Buttkicker models handle these with proper sufficient energy. Transducers like the ADX or TST are to me better for detail and mid-range bass frequencies above 60Hz. This is noticeable on engine effects revving through the RPM range no question about it.
The best configuration I would say is one that can implement both types (shakers/transducers), If done properly, to get the best low-end energy and also the added detailing. This can be applied in different ways depending on the users desired configuration, Just depends on your budget and how much effort you want to put into it.
Tactile can be great addition when it's configured well within Simvibe.
For me, I'm personally as a hobbyist pushing the extremes of where it can be taken but few understandably will go to such extremes, yet many have invested quite a lot of money and time into this area. Do take note, the bigger more capable units can make all the difference. It's not a wattage, compare the numbers thing neither, it's their ability at producing the deepest lowest frequencies, producing better representation of them and also gives you more usable frequency bandwidth to use on the effects within Simvibe.
Pheww...........
Hows that?
