ButtKicker BK-LFE Low Frequency Effects System User Guide
- June 5, 2024
- ButtKicker
Table of Contents
ButtKicker BK-LFE Low Frequency Effects System
Product Description
The ButtKicker® LFE is a patented 4 ohm low frequency audio transducer that features a 31/4 lb. (1.48 kg) magnetically suspended piston. The ButtKicker is musically accurate, has powerful low frequency response, and is virtually indestructible and maintenance free. With a natural working range of approximately 5-200Hz, it is designed primarily to move structure, not air, and to provide a much more direct method of sound perception. Because it provides a more effective sense of feeling than that produced by the speaker system, the ButtKicker enables your subwoofer and speaker system to function in their more natural, audible working ranges. Many users wind up turning the sound system down when using the ButtKicker, reducing the amount of sound that their significant others, family, friends and neighbors hear outside of the theater area. For this reason, the ButtKicker is an ideal solution for connected housing, such as apartments. We like to call it, “spouse and neighbor friendly”. For musician monitoring, stage and studio use, we recommend using the ButtKicker® Concert which has more power in the 40 – 80 Hz range than the ButtKicker® LFE. Please refer to our website, www.thebuttkicker.com for further information.
Quick Setup
This section is for those who are more experienced with sound system
installation. The ButtKicker® is a passive, 4 ohm speaker load, which requires
power from an audio power amplifier, which in turn requires an adequate signal
feed from your sound system (Figure 1). Shaking forces are produced in the
direction of the axis of the shaker as shown (Figure 2). A positive voltage at
the red terminal wire will produce a “push” by the ButtKicker toward its feet
(red terminal is positive). It can be mounted on the topside of a surface or
inverted and mounted to the bottom side of a surface. It may also help you to
consider the ButtKicker as a “mechanical” powered subwoofer that enables you
to “feel” the low end (bass) by vibrating the surface to which it is attached
as opposed to moving air like a subwoofer. And, like a powered subwoofer, the
ButtKicker also requires a separate amplifier to power it. While powered
subwoofers have their amplifiers in the speaker cabinet, the ButtKicker’s
amplifier is a separate component because the ButtKicker is typically mounted
in, beneath or on what it shakes, typically not an appropriate place for an
amplifier.
Additional details are provided in the following sections.
Integration into Your Sound System
Power
The ButtKicker® is a passive load and therefore requires its own dedicated
audio power amplifier. Suggested minimum required power is 400 watts. The use
of 14 gauge speaker cable between the amplifier and the ButtKicker is
recommended. For cable runs over 25 feet, 12 gauge speaker cable is
recommended.
Low End Roll Off
When choosing a power amplifier other than the ButtKicker Power Amplifier
(BKA1000-4), please be aware of the low frequency response of the amplifier.
Many manufacturers roll off, or cut frequencies below 20 Hz, usually because
anything below 20 Hz has been considered unusable and damaging for speaker
systems. Therefore, amplifier manufacturers often include additional circuitry
to reduce or eliminate those damaging “unusable” signals before they are
amplified and sent to the speaker. This roll off of low frequencies (also
called “Low Cutoff” or “Hi Pass” filters) is not best for the ButtKicker,
although a shallow roll off can be tolerated (i.e. –1.5 dB to –3 dB at 10 Hz).
A full cut at 20 Hz and below is not acceptable because it will severely limit
some of the remarkable qualities of the ButtKicker. You should find frequency
response listed among the amplifier manufacturer’s specifications.
Source Material
The ButtKicker responds to a broad range of bass frequencies, including those
far below what we hear, or deep down into the feeling range of sound. Today’s
digital sound sources (DVD’s, MP3’s, etc.) are capable of carrying signals
down to 5 Hz, but it is the producers who determine the content of a sound
track. Therefore, the level and range of bass contained within any given sound
track will vary. Even though a DVD may show the launch of a rocket, the audio
track will contain only what the producers chose to include in the audio
track. The ButtKicker responds accurately to the existing low frequency
content, much as a subwoofer responds to the signal given it.
Source Hookup to Amplifier
Surround Sound System
One signal source for the ButtKicker® is the “Subwoofer” output of your
surround receiver/processor. This output is controlled by the master volume
control and usually a separate subwoofer control. If a subwoofer is also a
part of the sound system and connected to this signal output, then a “Y” cable
may be used to split the signal two ways (Figure 3-C).
Gaming Consoles/Stereo System
The ButtKicker also works well in a two channel, stereo system and with gaming
consoles like Microsoft’s XBOX®, Sony’s PlayStation® 2 and Nintendo’s
GameCube™. In a two channel stereo system, the low frequency signals are very
seldom only on the left or right channel, so a connection to either left or
right channel preamp output would produce satisfying results (Figure 3-B).
A further note about gaming consoles:
The XBOX®, PlayStation® 2 and GameCube™ all have digital out capabilities that
enable the console to connect to a surround sound (5.1, 6.1, etc.) system.
Many new games feature 5.1 digital sound with a .1 or LFE track that is ideal
for use with the ButtKicker. If you connect your gaming console to a surround
sound processor then the ButtKicker will connect to the system using your
processor’s “subwoofer out” as described in the preceding “Surround Sound
System” section.
No Separate “Subwoofer Output”
If no “Subwoofer Output” exists on your processor/receiver/ preamp please
visit our website, www.thebuttkicker.com, or contact our technical support
department.
Physical Mounting and Placement
Some consideration regarding the human sense of feeling: Your brain is
constantly making perceptions of your surroundings- indoors or outdoors, size,
shape and material of a room, etc. Your brain and body have been doing this
with all of your senses since the day you were born, confirming and
associating what it hears with what it sees, feels, tastes and smells. You
probably at some time have become aware of something or someone by seeing a
shadow it cast within your view (its effect on your environment) rather than
seeing the item itself. Have you ever “sensed” someone enter the room without
them making a sound? You were unconsciously aware of a change in the room’s
sound characteristics associated by your mind with the addition of another
person. Your brain and body have “perceived” this many times before, whether
you are consciously aware of it or not. Your body also knows more about its
surroundings via the sense of feel than you probably realize. The field of
entertainment has come great distances to capture your senses of hearing and
seeing, and the next major sense to “capture” is your sense of feeling. Our
bodies feel sound through both air (momentary changes in air pressure) and
structure (i.e. the ground or floor on which we stand). The speaker system
supplies the air vibrations and pressure changes we hear and feel in the air.
The ButtKicker supplies the structural vibrations.
Mounting Considerations
General
The best way to understand the movement or shaking potential of any structure
is to first identify areas that will NOT shake: (see Figure 5)
- The earth will not shake. While this is not an absolutely true statement, it is a very practical statement, and for the purposes of this User’s Guide it will be considered an absolute. (#1 in Figure 5)
- Any hard support or structure that vertically ties a surface to earth defines a secondary “hardpoint;” a point not allowed to shake by virtue of its connection to the earth. For example, a supporting wall, concrete slab, building foundation, pier, or column (#2 in Figure 5).
What DOES shake:
- Any horizontal structure suspended between two or more hard points will flex, bend and shake between those hard points, depending on the construction and rigidity of the suspended structure. For example, a wood joist floor or a couch between its legs (#3 in Figure 5).
What does shake, cont.
Example one
A room with a suspended, joist floor measuring 12’ by 14’. The floor is only
supported around the edges (at the walls) by a foundation, and is capable of
bending and vibrating in the area between its supported hard points. This is
similar to a guitar string that can vibrate between its supporting hard points
at each end of the string. This floor would be best shaken by a ButtKicker®
mounted to the floor in the center area of the room away from the dampening
action of the walls. Example two A room, similar in size to the room of
Example one, but this construction is different in that the floor has
additional support underneath, made up of a pier or foundational wall that
runs under the floor about 5 feet from one of the room’s walls. The floor is
now supported at an additional point, which effectively divides the floor into
two suspended sections measuring 12’ by 5’, and 12’ by 9’. This effect would
be similar to placing a finger on a guitar string, holding the string against
a fret. This floor will vibrate in a different manner than that of Example
one. The 12’ by 5’ section will not allow as much bending of the floor’s
materials between its supports (hard points) and will therefore exhibit less
low frequency shaking than the 12’ by 9’ section. (For example, a higher note
on a guitar string.) As an additional note, if the wider section of this floor
were shaken with the ButtKicker, the narrower section would still exhibit some
“sympathetic” and less pronounced vibrations because of its connection to the
wider section of the floor.
Example three
A room with a concrete slab floor, lying directly on the earth. This floor
will be practically impossible to shake. In your main listening area, your
favorite couch is the best option. The feet at the ends of the couch are
pressed and held firm against the concrete slab by its weight and are
therefore unmoving hard points of the couch. The horizontal length of the
couch between the feet is suspended and will bend and shake but only to the
degree allowed by its materials and construction. See the “chairs and couches”
section for more information.
Floating Wood Floors
The surface below you is your physical connection to your environment. A
suspended, joist floor is an ideal mounting surface for the ButtKicker®. Best
results are obtained by installing two 2” x 6” boards between two-floor joists
(Figure 6). Place them near the center of the room, or near the seating area
of the audience, avoiding any supports and bracing that would not allow the
floor to move. Then mount the ButtKicker to the two 2” x 6” boards. An
alternative method is shown in Figure 7. Here, a 2” x 6” board is attached
broadside across the bottom edge of three joists.
Chairs and Couches
When properly installed to your couch or chair the ButtKicker will provide
excellent low-frequency sound reproduction without excessive midrange
vibrations. If possible, we recommend using rubber isolators on the bottom of
your furniture’s legs (or as a replacement for the legs) to better isolate the
furniture from the floor.
Platforms and Risers
Many home theaters have more than one row of seats, with the second and third
rows built upon risers. These risers, for ButtKicker applications, have two
purposes: raise and support the seats and occupants, and allow vertical
platform and seat movement. The ButtKicker can be mounted above or below the
top surface of the riser. If above, consider people traffic and furniture
placement. If under the surface, some simple framing can be done to avoid the
extra room needed under the riser. As always, keep in mind any maintenance
that may become necessary. Think “suspension.” In essence, you’re constructing
a floor above the room’s floor. Build the riser similar to a suspended wood
joist floor to give the riser its greatest low-frequency response. The major
differences between a riser and real floors are the suspension points and tie
points (to other external structures). The riser should be free-floating (not
tied into any adjacent walls), and suspended by short sides only. Use rubber
isolators on the short dimension to support the riser from the room floor. The
greatest flex of the riser will be along its long dimension, the riser’s short
dimension will offer much less low-frequency flexibility. Therefore, when
possible, avoid any support along the long dimension.
How to Determine How Many Isolators You Will Need
Rubber isolators come in different weight capacities. Isolators are designed to be partially compressed in the application and therefore are made with varying weight specifications. This specification (RDA-55, RDB-120, RDB-220, RDB-375) indicates the amount of weight in lbs. that each isolator is designed to support (per isolator) for the greatest efficiency. When used with furniture, a platform, or a riser, calculate the total weight to be carried by the isolator, including the weight of the platform, furniture and people. Divide this weight by the total number of isolator feet to be used (i.e. a minimum of 3, a usual number of 4, more only when necessary). This will give you the weight per isolator. Pick the isolator model closest to your calculated weight.
Vertical vs. Horizontal Mounting
The ButtKicker was designed for optimal performance in the vertical
orientation but will function at any angle. Movement sensation is very
different in the two axis, and only when specific sensationsare required
should horizontal mounting be utilized. Horizontal orientation will not damage
the ButtKicker. Please note that vertical installation is strongly recommended
in when mounting in chairs and other types of furniture.
Thermal Protection
If the ButtKicker® is driven too hard (i.e. given too much power for too long of a period) it may overheat. For this reason, each ButtKicker contains a thermal switch. This switch will automatically disconnect the ButtKicker from the amplifier if the internal temperature of the shaker reaches a preset limit. This should happen only rarely, and only when the unit is overdriven. In most situations, the level of “shake” that is produced by the ButtKicker, until it overheats, will be far more than needed. This is also related to the “flexibility” and size of the surface you are endeavoring to shake. However, if tripped, the thermal switch will automatically reset after the unit has cooled sufficiently. Then the ButtKicker will resume normal operation. Cooling off time can be 5 – 20 minutes, depending on ventilation. While in thermal protection mode, the ButtKicker may feel quite warm to the touch, but the cutoff point has been set to avoid damage.
Warranty
The Guitammer Company products are warranted against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of two (2) years from date of purchase by the original end-user. Items returned for repair under warranty will be repaired or replaced at the sole discretion of The Guitammer Company without charge for materials or labor, providing such items are returned for inspection, transportation prepaid, to The Guitammer Company or an authorized service center. All repaired or replaced items will be returned freight-collect. Warranties do no apply to products that have been subjected to abuse, accident, modifications, improper handling or installation or repairs made by anyone other than The Guitammer Company or an authorized service center. The Guitammer Company shall be the final authority in the determination of all warranty service claims. Please contact us before returning any defective products to the store where they were purchased.
Specifications
- Dimensions: 5.375” h x 5.5” w
- Frequency Response: 5 – 200 Hz
- Weight: 11 lbs. / 5 kg.
- Nominal Impedance: 4 ohms, inductive
- Power Handling: 400 watts min. / 1500 watts max.
- Wiring polarity: Red terminal is “Hot”
- Thermal Limit (internal): 150 F. (70 C.)
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Read User Manual Online (PDF format) >>