@SpinelliI don't believe the smaller MBQ1 compares to the BK Advance, I thought by its size it compared more with the Mini lfe units.
It's hard to say. The ES MQB-1 seems like it's in-between the the BK Mini and the BK advance in-terms of physical size but on the BK-A's level in terms of power. The MQB-1 is rated for 50-500 W while the Buttkicker Mini is 50-250 W. The MQB-1 is RMS/continuous @ 300 W. I'm pretty sure the BK Mini/Gamer would fail if attempting 300 W RMS/continuous. People mount the MQB-1 to small sofas and love-seats with good results but I don't think I've heard of BK Gamers/Minis being able to produce good results in those scenarios.
What's a little unclear is the ES ShellShoxx. At first I thought it was smaller than the MQB-1 but it's specs seem very similar. I'm starting to wonder if the ShellShoxx isn't just an MQB-1 with a different housing and with an included clamp (like the BK Gamer).
@SpinelliI have heard pretty good things for the larger Q10B model but its expensive and its specs list it as worse than the largest BK units.
Difficult to say. Specs don't always tell the full story. Different engineering/design choices.
@SpinelliNow, the specs from all manufacturers need a grain of salt tbh but I don't believe the Earthquake units will be much more musical.
I've read from multiple users that the Earthquake models are more musical/faster/accurate than the BKs. The Q10B moreso than the BK LFE and the MQB-1 much moreso than even the Q10B.
@SpinelliFor music usage, this one of the primary benefits of a TST unit. The speed is more to do with lag from a frequency being sent to the unit generating it, I can detect some lag on a BK LFE compared to the best unit I have used for music being the TST 429 as it is very smooth and detailed rather than for beefy, fat slam that the BK can bring.
Although I haven't tried them yet (still in the box), I believe these type of transducers (Clark Synthesis style) are a must have for simracing transducers.
@SpinelliMaybe at some point I will take a notion to try a larger Earthquake
The MQB-1 is a steal at $123 as it is right now
@SpinelliShaker Center does have the frequency response listed as "Frequency Response: 15 - 200Hz" which is very different to what the specs state. So its hard to know for certain other than I think it may fit in between performance wise to a BK Mini lfe and BK Advance but that is also reflected in its pricing too.
Earthquake Sound's specs say 15-100 Hz for the MQB-1, 15-50 Hz Shell Shoxx, and 5-70 Hz for Q10B yet the Q10B can work well above 70 Hz even up to 150 Hz. The thing is, after 80 Hz, it will get more and more out of phase as the frequency goes up. Buttkicker doesn't mention out-of-phase in their specs; they just say the BK will work from 5-200 Hz (BK-A). So the specs are misleading with one company measuring their "working range" differently.
Q: What frequency range does the Q10b support?
A: The actual frequency response is 1 to 80HZ above 80 HZ the piston moves slightly out of phase with the signal proportionally increasing up to about 150HZ. Beyond 150 the majority of the signal energy is converted to heat. We recommend that the unit should not be used at high power at frequencies above 120 HZ.
We have altered the specifications over time to best reflect the usage that will give optimum results in the typical home cinema environment. For special industrial and military applications it can be used to its full bandwidth and power capability.
Q: What are the differences between Buttkicker and Earthquake tactiles?
A: The main differences between Buttkicker and Earthquake are weight of piston, length of travel and that Earthquake uses electromagnetic instead of kinetic braking of the piston. A Lentz center coil prevents the piston from over-excursion so you have a graceful overdrive characteristic with no obtrusive sounds. Whereas Buttkicker uses rubber bumpers inside the cylinder so at overdrive you hear a loud clapping sound. Buttkicker uses a very heavy piston 1.48 kg, which will give incredible amount of rumble, but the BL (motor strength) is nowhere near sufficient to keep the piston in phase with the signal .
If you look at heavy duty 18 inch industrial subwoofers, they have magnetic/coil structures double the size of the buttkicker and they only have to control 400 grams or less. The Buttkicker has a piston travel potential of 1.5cm which greatly limits its linearity. The Q10B has a 500gram piston that it can move in phase up to 80hz with a travel of 5 cm.
In general the Buttkicker will give you a lot of rumble with less control and the Q10B will give you very high percussive power with a linear output into the infrasonic. It will feel very precise and it will augment the low end in an integrated way. The Buttkicker will feel somewhat more separate from the subwoofer because it can not keep in phase with the signal. Which is best depends somewhat on what you want out of it.
In the FAQ "Every time you go down one octave in frequency, it requires 4 times more stroke to keep the same amplitude," I think it is rather a matter of weight (of the piston) times velocity (of the piston) that decides on the force output of the transducer.
Now the Q10B piston is lighter than the BK LFE piston, but has more stroke (= higher velocity at the same frequency). What about the force (= impact) at those low frequencies compared to the BK LFE?
A: Amplitude here is voltage as the frequency decreases more stroke will be produced from the same amplitude. The power of a transducer is a combination of Weight, velocity and travel distance as travel distance relates to the frequency response and amplitude capability of the transducer. But several other factors play a big role for the qualitative output. Biggest being the transducers ability to accelerate and de-accelerate the piston accurately in phase with the signal. When the signal changes the Q10b snaps with it so lets say a cannon is fired in the movie the q10b will hit you very hard very fast and then be silent the second the signal stops .
The buttkicker will give you a thumb that will linger. If the signal stops the Q10B will stop like it hit a concrete barrier, whereas the buttkicker will stop as if it was caught in a net or hit soft foam. It is force / energy released at the time of the signal that truly matters. So for a cannon shot the q10b will depart all its energy in a split second. The buttkicker will depart more energy, assuming they are both operating within travel xmax, but since the heavy piston does not start or stop right away that energy is released over a much longer time-period, basically until the motor can bring the piston to a stop. Years back we did some tests with sending squarewaves and triangle waves into the transducers and the kinetic energy departed from the one Q10B from a single cycle square wave measured no more than 20 degrees offset to the signal was equivalent to 5 Buttkicker LFE units.
source http://www.earthquakesound.eu/info/faq/tactile-faq.aspx
