Buttkicker & Buttkicker Accessories
When I bought my Berkline Recliners I bought a set that was a store demo so I wasn’t able to customize them at all, which was fine cause I got a good deal on them. I had Aura Bass shakers but I knew that you could get Berkline recliners with Buttkickers pre-installed. After I got the Berklines home I hopped onto craigslist just to see if there were any Buttkickers out there. As luck would have it, a guy was selling three Buttkickers (I got three Berkliners) and he was selling them at a great price. This was just too serendipitous to resist so I contacted the guy and arranged to pick them up. I had been happy with the Aura Bass Shakers but I had been reading about the Buttkickers for years and always heard that they were in another league so I was really curious to try them out.
Now, I didn’t have an amp really capable of powering the Buttkickers so I ordered myself the Buttkicker BKA-1000-4 amplifier. The BKA-1000-4 is a beast of an amp at 1100 Watts @ 4 ohms which is absolutely plenty to power my three Buttkickers. I also wanted to be able to easily turn on and off different Buttkickers because I know some people just don’t enjoy them so I also ordered the Buttkicker Quick Connect Package which is a nice little unit.
Installing the Buttkickers is pretty straightforward. Since my Berkliners didn’t come with the Buttkickers they also didn’t have the mounting hardware for them. Lucky for me, Berkline sells these separately. Installing the mounting brackets to the chairs was the most difficult part of the install as the space under the seats is kind of cramped, it’s not that bad, just a little annoying. After getting the mounting plates installed on the chair I installed the Buttkickers to the plates and I was ready to wire them up. From the subwoofer out on my Integra DTC 9.8 I run a Y splitter, one half goes to my sub, the other goes to my Buttkicker BKA-1000-4 amplifier, from the amplifier it runs into my Buttkicker Quick Connect Package and then from the Buttkicker Quick Connect Package I run speaker wires out to my three Buttkickers.
After getting them all hooked up I sat down and got ready for my first Buttkicker experience. Holy crap, these things can kick like a mule. After experiencing the Buttkickers for the first time I can safely assure you that the Aura Bass Shakers don’t even compare. I really enjoy my Buttkickers, I don’t use them all the time but when I get a big action movie or something I love turning them on, they really add to the whole experience.
If you’re in the market for Buttkickers I highly suggest SMARTHOME, they’ve got great prices and great service. Here are the direct links to the products I have.
Buttkicker LFE Electromagnetic Transducer
Buttkicker Audio Amplifier
ButtKicker Quick Connect Package
Filed Under Speakers | 2 Questions/Comments |
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December 15, 2009 4:52 pm
I read both your Aura bass shaker and Buttkicker reviews and the biggest difference between the two setups is the amount of power you were feeding them. The three Buttkickers have 1100 watts (350w each) and you fed your two Aura shakers a paltry 20w — in series, which is more like 10 watts each. They can handle MUCH more power than the 25w they’re rated for.
I have two 50w Aura shakers fed by a 100 wpc amp I got for $30 on Craigslist and they shake my couch big time. Also, I have two 25w shakers on my gaming chair (also 100 wpc receiver) and my vision literally blurs from vibration when I’m driving a tank or helicopter in some games.
You might also want to do a price comparison — $40 per Aura shaker + ~$50 old/used receiver vs. $180 per Buttkicker + $330 amp.
December 15, 2009 9:04 pm
Joel, You sure make a lot of assumptions in your comment. At the time of writing my article on the bass shakers I was powering them with the weak amp, it later got replaced with my Outlaw 1050 (60 watts per channel) when I got my Outlaw 950/7100 combo. I’ve also been in several other theaters that use Aura Bass Shakers as well so I know very well what they are capable of.
I didn’t pay full price for my Buttkickers, I got all three of them for $240.
While I had a lot of fun with my Auras they are not even in the same league as Buttkickers. It’s like comparing a Boston Acoustic speakers to Wilson Audio speakers, sure the Bostons get the job done just fine and sound good but they simply don’t compare.
If you’re happy with your Aura bass shakers that’s great. I was very happy with mine as well but the Buttkickers are simply in a different league. If you’ve ever got an opportunity to check them out, you should.
Cheers,
Moe