Tactile Immersion - General Discussion - Hardware & Software

[NeoGrotesk]

Hi Mr Latte, long time lurker here! I've been following this thread with interest, but your comments on the exciters has made me think I might take the plunge. I've got a buttkicker gamer 2 mounted to an NLR v3, I think your idea of the exciters on the shoulder/back might complement them nicely.

Looking at your component list, I see you have both the Ultra and the Thumper versions. If I were to just get two, for the shoulder position, which would you recommend? I see the Thumper is 40W and the Ultra is 20W (does more mean 'better' in a tactile sense!?).

Looking forward to your review of the Nobsound too, looks like a great little amp from the youtube reviews I've seen, so it'll be interesting to see how good it is for tactile.

 

[Mr Latte]

Hi Mr Latte, long time lurker here! I've been following this thread with interest, but your comments on the exciters has made me think I might take the plunge. I've got a buttkicker gamer 2 mounted to an NLR v3, I think your idea of the exciters on the shoulder/back might complement them nicely.

Looking at your component list, I see you have both the Ultra and the Thumper versions. If I were to just get two, for the shoulder position, which would you recommend? I see the Thumper is 40W and the Ultra is 20W (does more mean 'better' in a tactile sense!?).

Looking forward to your review of the Nobsound too, looks like a great little amp from the youtube reviews I've seen, so it'll be interesting to see how good it is for tactile.

Hey thanks....
I've been testing the Nobsound amp today a bit with a TST unit and exciter just to break it in.

Out of the two exciters that I liked most, while both are really good, the Ultra (20w) unit has better low bass @30Hz but the Thumper 40W model has more energy with @150Hz and above.

As I plan to run specific effects on these the truth is, both are a good idea. Some effects will benefit from the improved detail with higher frequencies and some with the lower bass.

I will be doing a thread on these soon and how well the 6 units work with the new Shakeit Beta.
Will be trying different effects being used on the various units.

As I clear out the room (Spring Clean) I decided these ole girls now look set to be keeping the attic boxes company. Too big and clumsy for the room when we can use small amps like the Nobsound for the basic/budget tactile units.

 

[RCHeliguy]

Sorry to hear about your business, but glad you've recovered!

I tend to just try to find good homes for old electronics. I hate having stuff hanging around that could be useful to someone else.

 

[Mr Latte]

Sorry to hear about your business, but glad you've recovered!

I tend to just try to find good homes for old electronics. I hate having stuff hanging around that could be useful to someone else.

Thanks, there is a chance some of these can still be used, yes I do that with friends/family as well. Although some things I keep for personal attachment and memories.

 

[millen]

Heard reports the BST-1 wasn't that great but not tried personally.
I would go with 2x ADX for now or just spend a bit more and go with 4 of those as it is a proven budget unit that pleases most people that buy it.

having trouble tracking down any ADX units, Would the AuraSound AST-2B-4s be a good alternative. Seems that a lot of people are running those.

They are also out of stock at the moment anyway... so build delayed slightly again.

 

[Mr Latte]

having trouble tracking down any ADX units, Would the AuraSound AST-2B-4s be a good alternative. Seems that a lot of people are running those.

They are also out of stock at the moment anyway... so build delayed slightly again.

If you are able to stick units to the back of your seat then I would recommend getting the exciters. These are a great entry-level option to start to enjoy tactile. Having 4-6 of these will perform really well and let people position effects to specific units.

The Aura is I believe the older unit of the ADX
An alternative that is similar is the Reckhorn BS200i

 

[dwightyone]

Hi - another thread lurker. (Great regular read)

Please help...
Up until this point been using a cheap lepy style amp https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hi-Fi-Audi...W9BW61FJKP8&psc=1&refRID=FY1Q2W9QTW9BW61FJKP8 with a value 4ohm bass shaker https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bodyshaker...s=Bass+shaker&qid=1554622287&s=gateway&sr=8-1 - i connected single bass shaker to subwoofer output of amp and it worked okayish.

Reading Mr latte's post, he bought a nobsound ns 20g - so I bought one but before delivery I came to the conclusion that the power supply was only 12v 60/65 watts so cancelled and then instead ordered a smsl sa 50 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gemtune-SA...d=1554706860&s=electronics&sr=1-2-spons&psc=1 which comes with 24v 108 watt power brick.(50 watts RMS per channel)

I connected my bass shaker to one channel on back of amp - fantastic, feel much more but the bass shaker was boiling hot and then it broke. Luckily had spare same bass shaker - same thing again; hot and broke my bass shaker.

I then bought another smsl amp (same version) , and got different bass shaker https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reckhorn-S...=Bass+shaker&qid=1554622287&s=gateway&sr=8-14 - same again; hot then breaks.

I used 13 awg cable and I don't know what I'm doing wrong - all i know is I'm burning up money - but yep, love the tackle for the 30 mins before it went pop.

Any help would be great as I am going to buy again to try and get working

 

[asteroulis]

100 Watts could be the max peak power handling but not for prolonged use. Normally it's 50Watt Rms /100Watt peak. Also cooling is important for shakers as well. That's why many shakers have fins in their casing for extra cooling. So depending on your placement you should be able to cool them , or drive them with less power?

 

[dwightyone]

Thanks for replying.

Initially I ran the amp 3/4 - I then ran it under half way and still gets boiling hot. Was then thinking is it because I only have 2 channels on amp, and I am only using 1 of them, which leaves the other channel doing nothing then maybe all the electric power from the empty channel is then going into the 1 used channel. The amp is running cool no matter what I do and the bass shakers are not covered by material which would insulate them. Totally confused - feels like a electric mismatch but no idea what.

 

[nolive721]

I have my set up with a cheap lepy 2.1 amp but i left the subwoofer channel alone
I connevted my 2 dayton pucks to the right and left channels of the amp and you can see my post about how i drove them software wise
No overheating and achieved good spatialization

 

[dwightyone]

Hi - I'm using simshakers wheels telemetry, I also tried shakeit with my 1 bass shaker but same problem.

 

[Hiro Abe]

I purchased the 40w Dayton Audio exciter and started playing with it over the weekend. I placed it on the back of my seat around where my left shoulder blade contacts the seat.
I'm using SimHub (not the latest beta) and only feeding it the sim's telemetry (no audio). My initial impression is a mixed bag. On the upside, as Rod has mentioned, it does offer terrific feedback especially when using it for RPM. On the downside, i have yet to find a setting that offers the feedback without the little bugger being noisy. If i only drove with headphones or always had the audio cranked, it provides an awesome dimension of tactile feedback. However, that is not reality for me and I'm finding the exciter simply too noisy. I'm talking physical noise, not audio it is producing. I'm still playing but so far i have found the sweet spot to be around 40-45Hz and at that low of a frequency, the unit is moving a LOT (not surprisingly) and is generating physical noise. The higher frequencies are too buzzy for my liking but i haven't gone beyond, say, 70Hz or so.

I'll do some more testing tonight.

 

[Mr Latte]

Hi - another thread lurker. (Great regular read)

Please help...
Up until this point been using a cheap lepy style amp https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hi-Fi-Audi...W9BW61FJKP8&psc=1&refRID=FY1Q2W9QTW9BW61FJKP8 with a value 4ohm bass shaker https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bodyshaker...s=Bass+shaker&qid=1554622287&s=gateway&sr=8-1 - i connected single bass shaker to subwoofer output of amp and it worked okayish.

Reading Mr latte's post, he bought a nobsound ns 20g - so I bought one but before delivery I came to the conclusion that the power supply was only 12v 60/65 watts so cancelled and then instead ordered a smsl sa 50 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gemtune-SA...d=1554706860&s=electronics&sr=1-2-spons&psc=1 which comes with 24v 108 watt power brick.(50 watts RMS per channel)

I connected my bass shaker to one channel on back of amp - fantastic, feel much more but the bass shaker was boiling hot and then it broke. Luckily had spare same bass shaker - same thing again; hot and broke my bass shaker.

I then bought another smsl amp (same version) , and got different bass shaker https://www.amazon.co.uk/Reckhorn-S...=Bass+shaker&qid=1554622287&s=gateway&sr=8-14 - same again; hot then breaks.

I used 13 awg cable and I don't know what I'm doing wrong - all i know is I'm burning up money - but yep, love the tackle for the 30 mins before it went pop.

Any help would be great as I am going to buy again to try and get working

This seems odd that its happening. Both are matched for 4ohm, speaker cable is okay, so the only other thing I can think of is possibly you have the gain levels too high, combined with the amp set to a high volume. First thing that comes to mind is reduce the Hz range via crossover or soundcard EQ then ensure your soundcard volume and software used for effects is not at full whack.

Amps offering .1 bass outputs are not ideal. We should stick to setting the channels to full range audio in windows and then using CO/EQ to limit the frequency range sent to the tactile with reasonable volume settings. Telemetry software titles if your soundcard is set to max out and if the software itself is at 100% volume may be too high.

The power supply that came with my Nobsound N20 is DC 19V 3.42 Amp
If anyone is expecting these to be outputting 100 wpc as RMS then good luck to them. Like many amps, the wattage ratings used are more likely for PMPO.

The higher you have your soundcard settings and the telemetry software output gain level then the less actual volume you should need on your amp. It is not a good combination with any tactile to have both set high but often I think some people are drawn in to try and get as much "thump" out of a unit with its peak bass frequencies as possible rather than the unit delivering a more composed output with greater detail over the frequencies it is operating with.

 

[NeoGrotesk]

Hey thanks....
I've been testing the Nobsound amp today a bit with a TST unit and exciter just to break it in.

Out of the two exciters that I liked most, while both are really good, the Ultra (20w) unit has better low bass @30Hz but the Thumper 40W model has more energy with @150Hz and above.

As I plan to run specific effects on these the truth is, both are a good idea. Some effects will benefit from the improved detail with higher frequencies and some with the lower bass.

I will be doing a thread on these soon and how well the 6 units work with the new Shakeit Beta.
Will be trying different effects being used on the various units.

As I clear out the room (Spring Clean) I decided these ole girls now look set to be keeping the attic boxes company. Too big and clumsy for the room when we can use small amps like the Nobsound for the basic/budget tactile units.

Thanks for the info on the difference between the two exciters... food for thought.

I purchased the 40w Dayton Audio exciter and started playing with it over the weekend. I placed it on the back of my seat around where my left shoulder blade contacts the seat.
I'm using SimHub (not the latest beta) and only feeding it the sim's telemetry (no audio). My initial impression is a mixed bag. On the upside, as Rod has mentioned, it does offer terrific feedback especially when using it for RPM. On the downside, i have yet to find a setting that offers the feedback without the little bugger being noisy. If i only drove with headphones or always had the audio cranked, it provides an awesome dimension of tactile feedback. However, that is not reality for me and I'm finding the exciter simply too noisy. I'm talking physical noise, not audio it is producing. I'm still playing but so far i have found the sweet spot to be around 40-45Hz and at that low of a frequency, the unit is moving a LOT (not surprisingly) and is generating physical noise. The higher frequencies are too buzzy for my liking but i haven't gone beyond, say, 70Hz or so.

I'll do some more testing tonight.

This is something that concerns me quite a bit too, not sure the missus would be too happy if my rig got even louder!

 

[Mr Latte]

I purchased the 40w Dayton Audio exciter and started playing with it over the weekend. I placed it on the back of my seat around where my left shoulder blade contacts the seat.
I'm using SimHub (not the latest beta) and only feeding it the sim's telemetry (no audio). My initial impression is a mixed bag. On the upside, as Rod has mentioned, it does offer terrific feedback especially when using it for RPM. On the downside, i have yet to find a setting that offers the feedback without the little bugger being noisy. If i only drove with headphones or always had the audio cranked, it provides an awesome dimension of tactile feedback. However, that is not reality for me and I'm finding the exciter simply too noisy. I'm talking physical noise, not audio it is producing. I'm still playing but so far i have found the sweet spot to be around 40-45Hz and at that low of a frequency, the unit is moving a LOT (not surprisingly) and is generating physical noise. The higher frequencies are too buzzy for my liking but i haven't gone beyond, say, 70Hz or so.

I'll do some more testing tonight.

Hope to help with this...

Okay, first thing for people reading to realise is that "Exciters" are like speakers. They are audible just like TST tactile units are audible. If left untouched with no crossover control then if attached to the seat, the seat itself will become a speaker. This is what exciters do, they turn objects/materials into speakers.

To control the "audible speaker/sound" the unit outputs we determine and reduce the "Crossover Level". 100Hz, 150Hz 200Hz are options to test. To control the unit from having any excursion (bottoming) as operational noises, we then can adjust the relevant frequencies amplitude levels. In this scenario be it a BK Gamer or Exciter what's happening is too much gain being applied to the units peak output frequencies. The unit cant handle it and may impact the surface....

What may be ideal is to reduce the amplitude level for strong frequencies like the 40-50Hz range. Try these with -3dB or -6dB then boost some other higher frequencies. By reducing the peak energy frequencies of the units operating character this may help reduce the cause of the unit to bottom.

Different materials we attach the units too will reverberate with different frequency levels. So part of the fine tuning would be to test different frequency ranges on an installation to then notice what frequency band at a comfortable volume is causing reverb issues or discomfort. Simply then just reduce these frequencies amplitude via EQ to find a better operating balance to your user preference and installation.

I need to cover this in the review and when testing several units on the seat.

Tip:
Test your units via "Audio Tacitle" and using test tones.
Use 20Hz ranges

20-40
40-60
60-80 * (can cause reverb on my seat)
80-100

And so forth.

Report back how you get on or what EQ you think needs applied to decrease some or increase other frequencies to find a more balanced operational character for the units being used.

 

[dwightyone]

This seems odd that its happening. Both are matched for 4ohm, speaker cable is okay, so the only other thing I can think of is possibly you have the gain levels too high, combined with the amp set to a high volume. First thing that comes to mind is reduce the Hz range via crossover or soundcard EQ then ensure your soundcard volume and software used for effects is not at full whack.

Amps offering .1 bass outputs are not ideal. We should stick to setting the channels to full range audio in windows and then using CO/EQ to limit the frequency range sent to the tactile with reasonable volume settings. Telemetry software titles if your soundcard is set to max out and if the software itself is at 100% volume may be too high.

The power supply that came with my Nobsound N20 is DC 19V 3.42 Amp
If anyone is expecting these to be outputting 100 wpc as RMS then good luck to them. Like many amps, the wattage ratings used are more likely for PMPO.

The higher you have your soundcard settings and the telemetry software output gain level then the less actual volume you should need on your amp. It is not a good combination with any tactile to have both set high but often I think some people are drawn in to try and get as much "thump" out of a unit with its peak bass frequencies as possible rather than the unit delivering a more composed output with greater detail over the frequencies it is operating with.

Must be my settings then - been thinking about this all day and its my own stupidity which has led to me blowing up my bass shakers...

I ha SSW gain at 50% and around 20% threshold - this is for bumps anand road surface.
I also added lateral acceleration at 50% and I think adding that effect fried my bass shakers. I leave all other SSW effect settings disabled.

But i also ran amp at about 90% volume plus 80% in windows speaker volume.

I then lowered amp to 70% still boiling (let cool down), then 50% not as hot but over warm and the tactile was far less.

I can sense tactile is awesome, but if you don't understand it then it can be daunting. It's not going to stop me ploughing on thought

Can wait for your budget guide!

Thanks to you and the others for replying - I was soooo hoping for a reply. )

 

[Mr Latte]

Must be my settings then - been thinking about this all day and its my own stupidity which has led to me blowing up my bass shakers...

I ha SSW gain at 50% and around 20% threshold - this is for bumps anand road surface.
I also added lateral acceleration at 50% and I think adding that effect fried my bass shakers. I leave all other SSW effect settings disabled.

But i also ran amp at about 90% volume plus 80% in windows speaker volume.

I then lowered amp to 70% still boiling (let cool down), then 50% not as hot but over warm and the tactile was far less.

I can sense tactile is awesome, but if you don't understand it then it can be daunting. It's not going to stop me ploughing on thought

Can wait for your budget guide!

Thanks to you and the others for replying - I was soooo hoping for a reply. )

Hey no probs, its the only other thing I can think it may be.
RPM and ACC Long are two effects that will have high level of operation.
What settings had you for ACC Long?

The units should of had thermal protection kick in, but not sure if the units you used have this?

 

[dwightyone]

I don't have any engine effects on, nor engine acceleration/rpm effects. The only acceleration effect i have enabled is lateral but I think (well to me) that feels like a road effect and that's at 50% gain. That and "road surface" and "bumps" is all I have on. I tend to find engine effects spoil road effects and muddys everything - probably to much going on for 1 bass shaker.

Edit: amp stays really cool.

 

[dwightyone]

Sorry to double post - if I edit you may miss the edit reply...

If the bass shaker gets boiling hot, and the amp is cool, should the amp still thermal protection cut output?

 

[Mr Latte]

Sorry to double post - if I edit you may miss the edit reply...

If the bass shaker gets boiling hot, and the amp is cool, should the amp still thermal protection cut output?

Some tactile units have thermal protection in them. BK & TST units do, I'm not certain which others have. Amps do as well in many cases but as you mention your amp isn't getting hot.