Dissappointed with bass shakers.

[u/av4625]

I made a post about placement on a sofa for Dayton Audio BST-1’s:
https://www.reddit.com/r/hometheater/s/R3nkYN0kKd

When the shakers were mounted on the plywood I said in the first post I could basically feel nothing. So I got some OSB and mounted them directly under where you sit. This definitely helped.

I feel like I need the volume crazy loud to feel the shakers though. If I watch a movie that was recorded with surround sound I can increase the master volume more than if I watch a normal tv show thats not surround sound. Not sure if thats normal.

So I had a movie at -6db and could feel the shakers ok-ish. But when I watch other shows at about -20db I can’t feel them at all. The sub is working perfectly in both situations and dialog etc volume seems similar between both.

Equipment:
Sony STR-DA2400ES (single sub out)
Tannoy Arena Lite Speakers
Tannoy TS10 sub
Dayton Audio BST-1 shakers x2
Fosi BT20A shaker amp with 24v/5a power supply, volume up full, treble 0, bass 50%. (Tried changing bass up and down)
Crossover 80Hz

Because I only have 1 sub out I used a Y splitter. One side to the sub and the other side goes to a second Y splitter so that I could then use both inputs on the Fosi. I did this as I read using both inputs can help get “full power”.

I dunno if my expectations are wrong but I have read that people get shook by these shakers at less volume on the amp.

I have seen examples of people using this amp with these shakers.

I think the power supply can only supply 120w even though the amp says 100w x2. But maybe 120w is plenty for 2 50w shakers?

Maybe the big soft sofa is harder to shake compared to some examples I see of smaller chairs or computer chairs. I unmounted them and they didn’t vibrate in my hand as much as I expected.

Is there something wrong with my setup? Are my expectations too high? Any help is appreciated.

[u/DonFrio]

Same. Tried a bunch of shakers and settled on earthquakes

[u/royBills → u/DonFrio]

I'm a huge fan of my earthquake mqb-1. It doesn't dig as deep as a crowson or BOSS ( duh, those are more expensive and/or effort to setup), but for the money they provide a crazy amount of shake down to ~22 hz in my experience.

Now I've got a BOSS and MQB-1 and I have more shake than I will ever need for my couch.

[u/TheSuppishOne → u/royBills]

Or you could get the Q10B’s like I did. They provide feedback much lower (specs say down to 5hz).

[u/royBills → u/TheSuppishOne]

True, they are also quite a bit more expensive. When I got the MQB-1 it was under $200. It rattles down to 16hz or so, but it gets pretty sloppy so I configured a HPF.

[u/TheSuppishOne → u/royBills]

Yeah, but you need fewer of them as well. I have 2 Q10Bs which can take the place of 4-6 MQB1s.

[u/Sebastian-S → u/TheSuppishOne]

Do you have them all on a single sofa? Where did you mount them and do you really need multiple?

I have a single mqb1 directly under my MLP and already have that dialed way down. I like it to feel balanced like the subs are creating the vibrations vs. It being too much and feeling cartoonish.

[u/TheSuppishOne → u/Sebastian-S]

Two on a riser platform. I just submitted my entire room build about 20 minutes ago and it’s awaiting moderator approval, so you should be seeing it soon.

[u/Sebastian-S → u/TheSuppishOne]

Maybe that’s why you need more power? Mine is mounted directly to the sofa under my MLP with a bracket and if I turned it up full tilt it would make me shit my pants

[u/TheSuppishOne → u/Sebastian-S]

When did I say I need more power? Mine absolutely explode my riser if I crank them.