Buttkicker BKA300 Wireless Kit

[Mr Latte]

I thought the UK had Amazon? You can also try the Buttkicker site to see if you can order one through there.

Amazon USA will not dispatch this item to the UK and the UK site does not stock it.
Not only that but your forgetting the UK/Euro voltage being different, so the product has to be tested and approved for the markets here.
No release date or announcement has yet been made on a UK/EURO version.

I actually purchased mine via Amazon because of the great offer price they had. Think it was £218. However I got it delivered to friends USA address and to avoid extra shipping charges to the UK, I have a friend bringing it home to the UK in May.

I did find a website with googling quite a bit that would ship to the UK but it cost much, much more.

The "ShakerCentre" within the UK does have a new similar product but when you compare the specs the BKA 300 is more powerfull with a wider DB range and wireless to boot.

Looking on many gaming based UK forums I found very few people seem to have experience with these in the UK. Seems more of the racing sim and flight sim forums have more users. Quite often though only the "Gamer Version"

The product does get good writeups by owners also on AVS forums (Home Cinema Fans) so thats good enough for me.

 

[Mr Latte]

I have been really enjoying the Buttkicker while playing GT5P, I am working on my qualification run for the GTP registry so this is based on the Fuji track. I changed some sound settings in the options and completely turned off the music and turned up the sound effects to 150. While racing I can "feel" the vibration of the road in the seat, wheel, and shifter. This effect is in relation to your speed and the wind turbulence that is produced. For those of you who play GT5P in surround you "hear" the wind in your front/rear speakers and sub. With the music turned off I could get a real feeling of what was going on without the thump of a bass beat. The rumble strips (red/white raised curbs) are definetely more defined with the music off and sound effects turned up. This effect alone gives an added sense of where your front tire is in the turn especially if you like using the rumble strips while racing. The music is enjoyed when I play a replay of my run or in the menu mode as I left these setting turned on. As for the in car (cockpit) view it too is a lot of fun and was actually the first time I tried driving in this view. I didn't really pay much attention to the engine sounds since I was in the Mazda, but will have to try a few different cars and play some online races. I ordered F.C. today so I can't wait to see what it has to offer.

Appreciate more input on how you found other cars within GT5.
Anymore comments and has it continued to impress on your racing?

 

[gslooney]

Amazon USA will not dispatch this item to the UK and the UK site does not stock it.
Not only that but your forgetting the UK/Euro voltage being different, so the product has to be tested and approved for the markets here.
No release date or announcement has yet been made on a UK/EURO version.

I actually purchased mine via Amazon because of the great offer price they had. Think it was £218. However I got it delivered to friends USA address and to avoid extra shipping charges to the UK, I have a friend bringing it home to the UK in May.

I did find a website with googling quite a bit that would ship to the UK but it cost much, much more.

The "ShakerCentre" within the UK does have a new similar product but when you compare the specs the BKA 300 is more powerfull with a wider DB range and wireless to boot.

Looking on many gaming based UK forums I found very few people seem to have experience with these in the UK. Seems more of the racing sim and flight sim forums have more users. Quite often though only the "Gamer Version"

The product does get good writeups by owners also on AVS forums (Home Cinema Fans) so thats good enough for me.

Might be worth noting that theres some speculation that a new Gamer version is in the works.

The US price does look good but it doubles in cost when you get it in the UK.
Which frankly makes it a bit rich. The guys on SRT did a review of them and whilst the gamer was good the feedback was that the extra power of this unit added to the effect. That could be because Shaun's sim pod is solid though

 

[Mr Latte]

The gamer model was really just for PC/Office chair applications and not so much for a racing frame/sim. Besides that i think the wireless ability of this new model makes it so much easier to tweak.

 

[jswilli1]

Appreciate more input on how you found other cars within GT5.
Anymore comments and has it continued to impress on your racing?

I haven't played much GT5P in the past few months, I will try a few different cars and get back to you on how the BKA performs any requests? The only effect that is not reproduced with the BKA300 is when slamming into the wall.

 

[No46_TheDoctor]

Just a few points on these Buttkicker type devices.

I just bought one from an American firm called Earthquake, same principal as the buttkicker but after looking at the other kit these guy's make I decided they might just know a little bit more about this kind of stuff !!

Anyhow, after installing the unit and switching it on I was dissapointed to say the least, with my amp up full, and the Earthquake amp up full all I was getting was an almost undetectable hum, hardly an earthquake I thought!!
I've always been a little suspicious of the subwoofer output of my amp, it's a sony unit with a powered sub but it doesn't exactly move the earth.

Luckily it's already been butchered and mounted on my cockpit so I wasn't bothered about having to open it up, what I had to do was use the feed to the speaker of the sub to supply the input for the earthquake amp, the result is astounding, it really does feel like an earthquake now.

Trouble is, If i had a nice new shiney surround sound system and I bought one of these LFE systems, I don't think I'd be too chuffed about having to rip my subwoofer apart to get decent effects.

There surely must be some device that will boost the power of the sub-outup from an amp without having to open your sub?

I did alot of searching on this very subject before I bought one of these units because as I said previously, I had my suspicions about my amp-sub setup not being very powerfull.

Hopefully this will be helpfull to someone who's about to buy one of these units.

On another note, It is amazing on Ferrari Challenge, you can feel the gear changes, the engine backfire, the kerbs, simply stunning.

On GT5 Prologue, it's non operational, I know this is something to do with the game because on Ferrari Challenge I have the unit set at 40 percent, in GT5P even at 100 percent there isn't a mute even out of the subwoofer, hopefully this will be changed in the full GT5, but for anyone wanting to get this for Prologue, I'd save my money for now.

 

[Mr Latte]

I think Doctor you have issues with your system and connection.
If its connected properly to a system that outputs on the LFE channel then their should be no problem.

These are sound activated devices and what ive read is they do require a certain degree of callibration.
For instance you dont want too high of a signal rating which will make the unit bottom out and vibrate madly. At the same time you want to hear/feel the extra benifit from the transducer.

It seems it requires finding a balance for input and source but keeping the unit within the limits of its peak performance.
Theirs a big difference in performance from some units to the Buttkicker and the specs on the BKA300 are very good for the price.

The handy thing with the Buttkicker 300 is with its wireless/remote control which easily allows settings to be changed or it turned off for different sources.
Still yet to get mine yet but looking forward to it.

GT5P does work according to reports , so perhaps its your system or connection/settings as mentioned by the OP and in reviews he noticed and commented on it.


Please Test
Motorstorm II
What cars feel best in GT5P?

 

[jswilli1]

I think Doctor you have issues with your system and connection.
If its connected properly to a system that outputs on the LFE channel then their should be no problem.

These are sound activated devices and what ive read is they do require a certain degree of callibration.
For instance you dont want too high of a signal rating which will make the unit bottom out and vibrate madly. At the same time you want to hear/feel the extra benifit from the transducer.

It seems it requires finding a balance for input and source but keeping the unit within the limits of its peak performance.
Theirs a big difference in performance from some units to the Buttkicker and the specs on the BKA300 are very good for the price.

The handy thing with the Buttkicker 300 is with its wireless/remote control which easily allows settings to be changed or it turned off for different sources.
Still yet to get mine yet but looking forward to it.

GT5P does work according to reports , so perhaps its your system or connection/settings as mentioned by the OP and in reviews he noticed and commented on it.


Please Test
Motorstorm II
What cars feel best in GT5P?

You are 100% correct, the Input to any of the transducer amps should be from the Subwoofer Preamp Out on your receiver. The amp that drives the Transducer will be doing all the work it just needs the LFE signal to send to the transducer to reproduce it. And yes if you overdrive the transducer it will vibrate madly and bottom out. On my buttkicker I have to normally use the crossover setting for Gaming with is a preset of -6db. The other two presets are Movie 0db and Music which is +6db. I sometimes have to manually drop the intensity an additional -2 to -3 db to keep the transducer from acting up. Yes I have had issues with my transducer acting up and it sounds and feels horrible, but once dialed in it is absolutely fantastic! I have noticed that I have these issues primarily when playing Blu-ray disc movies and of course PS3 games. When watching HD cable or DVD I don't see any issues of overdriving the transducer and I can use the Movie or even the Music presets. The Blu-ray movies with the Lossless codecs tend to give the transducer a real workout (I.E. the movie Doom, Day the Earth Stood Still). I mounted the amp on my chair which allows me to adjust the intensity up or down as needed without the remote. The bottom line is depending on the movie or game if they included a soundtrack with LFE or low freqencies for explosions, engine idling, gun shots then you should "feel" them the same time you "hear" them from your Subwoofer.

 

[Mr Latte]

Did you get the chance for further testing?

 

[jswilli1]

Did you get the chance for further testing?

I will give it a go tonight. Any Car requests? I was going to try the Audi R8, Ford GT, Mustang, something with a rumble. I will get back with the results.

 

[Mr Latte]

Try the F40 and a few of the bigger engine cars.

Im interested to know if some although not all of the rumble strips on different tracks make use of the BKr

Suzuka perhaps?

Ive read that Motorstorm 2 is a blast with one, try that or the demo if you can as well.

 

[jswilli1]

Try the F40 and a few of the bigger engine cars.

Im interested to know if some although not all of the rumble strips on different tracks make use of the BKr

Suzuka perhaps?

Ive read that Motorstorm 2 is a blast with one, try that or the demo if you can as well.

I know for a fact the the Buttkicker reproduces the Rumble strips on Fuji and High Speed Ring. I will give Suzuka a whirl and see how it does, I'm sure the result will be the same as HSR and Fuji. Not all rumble strips are raised, only the ones in the corners, the red/white rumble strips in the straights are flat (I found this out with the BK). I also found that using the bumper cam or the in cockpit view with BK has the most effect than the other views. The BK response is also based on your Reciever, I use a Onkyo 805 and found that the Multichannel setting works best. Their are other sound fields that sorta inhanced the BK. When I started last night I didn't notice that my receiver was setup correctly and had to restart. Sometimes the kiddos don't shutdown the PS3 correctly and all my audio options were off and all I had was Stereo output. After getting the PS3 audio options turned on I tried again with much better results. The Audio options I setup within GT5P are Large theater and all sound effects turned up to 150. I turned down the music to 85 (except menu) so I don't feel the bass while driving. Like before the rumble strips and wind/road noise could be definetely felt along with some of the exhaust notes from the cars. I also noticed that clipping a few of the walls and getting hit by the AI cars sometimes emitted a jolt into the chair. While watching the replay movie the rear view cam (behind the car) had a rumble from the tail pipes particularly on the Audi R8. Each Car had it's own uniqueness while using the BK. I tried the Audi R8, GT Viper, Mustang GT, Ford GT and LM Race Car, Lotus 111R, Ferrari California, Mines, and the least rumble was the Ferrari F2007? The Mines was cool with the rumble and the whine of the Turbo. With a little tweaking of the audio settings (outputs of the internal EQ) on the Receiver I think I could get more out of the BK. I also had the intensity on the BK amp turned up to full. I will give the F40 a try along with Suzuka. I don't have MS2, and only 3Gb left on the HDD so it may be awhile before I can try MS2. I will be upgrading my HDD to 320gb soon so I don't have a storage issue anymore. I really enjoyed playing GT5P last night (till 2am) since I have not played in months. Forgot how fun online was and how great the graphics were. I ran 650 HSR (intermediate) and had some good clean "rumbling" racing last night.

 

[Mr Latte]

Thank you for the work and great reply.
From what you say it seems you enjoy the enchancement it brings.

One last request, as you seem to be enjoying your GT playing again can you try this experiment:

Play 3-4 races in a car, then do the exact same but with the Buttkicker off.
I think from that you will have a clear idea of how much or how little it adds to the experience in enjoying the racing.
Mt belief is that when you notice the missing vibration from kerbs, or downshifts etc it will be like playing with and without rumble but to a greater degree in a fun factor or immersion sense.

Im going to have a cockpit with 3 screen mode and the Buttkicker combined with the GT3RS & CS pedals so as you can imagine im really hoping it will all be a great fun experience.
Thats why ive beeen relying and ordered actually the product because of some of your early comments.

PS next time your playing can you see if DTS/DOLBY modes or even a 5 or 7 channel stereo mode from your amp changes things?
By this i mean does one offer better BASS/RUMBLE from the transducer kinda in the way DTS used to be renowned for better audible tighter bass.

Thanks again

 

[jswilli1]

Thank you for the work and great reply.
From what you say it seems you enjoy the enchancement it brings.

One last request, as you seem to be enjoying your GT playing again can you try this experiment:

Play 3-4 races in a car, then do the exact same but with the Buttkicker off.
I think from that you will have a clear idea of how much or how little it adds to the experience in enjoying the racing.
Mt belief is that when you notice the missing vibration from kerbs, or downshifts etc it will be like playing with and without rumble but to a greater degree in a fun factor or immersion sense.

Im going to have a cockpit with 3 screen mode and the Buttkicker combined with the GT3RS & CS pedals so as you can imagine im really hoping it will all be a great fun experience.
Thats why ive beeen relying and ordered actually the product because of some of your early comments.

PS next time your playing can you see if DTS/DOLBY modes or even a 5 or 7 channel stereo mode from your amp changes things?
By this i mean does one offer better BASS/RUMBLE from the transducer kinda in the way DTS used to be renowned for better audible tighter bass.

Thanks again

That would be no fun turning off the Buttkicker, but hey I will try it. I did notice that I enjoyed it more watching the replay of my run since I was not so immersed in the driving aspect. I leave my Onkyo in Multichannel so It plays back whatever the PS3 decodes via HDMI. Depending on your receiver you can play with sound fields. I have an internal EQ within the amp and I can manually adjust the subwoofer channel, I think it is at -5.5db now. I could play with this and increase the intensity of the BK also. Secondly with the Onkyo in Multichannel it will playback any format the PS3 Games are recorded in such as Dolby Digital DTS (MGS4). I have noticed that the lossless formats for Blu-ray tend to work over the BK which is why I have to turn down the intensity. Without trying the experiment I can tell you that you "Hear" the rumble strips when racing and this audibly lets you know where you are on the track. When you "Hear" and then "Feel" the rumble strips the physical combined with the audible stimulation adds that extra Wow to your simulator experience. Not sure what GT5 soundtrack will be comprised of Dolby Digital DTS or what, but hopefully it makes use of the subwoofer channel. I think a Sound Transducer will ultimately be an integral part of any cockpit and the game designers will incorporate a sound channel the transducer can use in future games.

 

[Mr Latte]

Thanks again.

In ref to DD or DTS what i should of explained better was to try the PS3 in Pro Logic output mode. Then use different methods on the amp to compare these encoding soundfields to your current Digital method.

I was wondering if on some games had you tried this and compared then say:
Pro Logic II 5.1 (PLIIX 7.1) eg "PLII Music" "PLII Game" "PLII Movie" are sound fields on my Yamaha.

DTS Neo also has several modes on my amp

As your probably aware your amp can simulate a 5.1 or 7.1 sound field from those soundfield methods with even a stereo signal. Yes it may be that your best to just use typical Digital decoding as you get what was intended sonically but i supose its worth a shot to see if it alters anything with the soundfileds encoding/bass management from Prologic and how well the transducer works.

Perhaps see if say a car like the F1 which didnt work that well in PCM, is any different with the PS3 in Pro Logic (non PCM) and try out a few DD or DTS soundfields on the amp.

 

[jswilli1]

Thanks again.

In ref to DD or DTS what i should of explained better was to try the PS3 in Pro Logic output mode. Then use different methods on the amp to compare these encoding soundfields to your current Digital method. I tried using different output modes, but Dolby PLII not an option on my receiver based on the outputs of the audio settings from the PS3. Several of the soundfields did enhance the buttkicker however. My receiver automatically lists the soundfields available based on the incoming audio signal. From the prior post where all my audio options had been turned off on the PS3 I did have Dolby PLII as an option.

I was wondering if on some games had you tried this and compared then say:
Pro Logic II 5.1 (PLIIX 7.1) eg "PLII Music" "PLII Game" "PLII Movie" are sound fields on my Yamaha.

DTS Neo also has several modes on my amp

As your probably aware your amp can simulate a 5.1 or 7.1 sound field from those soundfield methods with even a stereo signal. Yes it may be that your best to just use typical Digital decoding as you get what was intended sonically but i supose its worth a shot to see if it alters anything with the soundfileds encoding/bass management from Prologic and how well the transducer works.

Perhaps see if say a car like the F1 which didnt work that well in PCM, is any different with the PS3 in Pro Logic (non PCM) and try out a few DD or DTS soundfields on the amp.

Last night I sat down and tried the F40 on Suzuka as a warm up before going online . I did play with the available soundfields which included THX, Mono, Mono All Stereo, and several other preset soundfields. Although some where better than others I still chose to keep my Onkyo 805 in Multichannel. The one setting I found that really paid off was on the internal EQ settings of the amp like I had previously mentioned. The subwoofer setting was at -5.5db like I thought when I adjusted to 0.0 db then to +3.0db it made a HUGE difference in the way the transducer responded (naturally). I also tried your experiment of turning off the Buttkicker during a race to see if it affected the driving experience. Sorry I only did it for one race because after adjusting the subwoofer channel adjustment it was not as much fun with the Buttkicker turned off . Along with the adjusting the gain of the subwoofer channel I noticed that most wall impacts, car impacts, rumble strips, wind/road effects became even more stimulating. I also noticed that when I spun out on Suzuka (first turn) in the F40 and was passed by the AI cars I could feel them literally driving by while sitting idle. Like any other track the rumble strips are raised and can be easily felt with the Buttkicker on Suzuka. I had gone back to HSR with the Audi R8 and experimented with the new settings. After watching the replay of the run I set the camera view to the rear shot of the car, WOW you could really enjoy the exhaust notes of the Audi now. The placement of my transducer is on the rear leg of my chair, not sure how it would "feel" by moving it to the front leg. The reason I mention this is because of the gain made to the subwoofer channel I can now feel the vibration clearly in the wheel and shifter now while driving. Moving the transducer may increase this effect since it will be much closer to the wheel mount and shifter mount.

Bottom line from the above experiment: Looks like I will need to create a Soundfield on my receiver to enhance the subwoofer output while playing GT5P! 👍 I can even increase the gain more but would rather tune the transducer to a natural feeling. The bass in the music in the main menu was just pulsating in the chair (felt really nice!), No bass while racing as I have the music volume turned down to 85. I think the bass "thump" may take away from the driving aspect especially when driving over the rumble strips.

Let me know if there is anything you guys want me to try, Overall the Buttkicker in my opinion is well worth the $300-$400 price for any cockpit setup. I would also like to thank you for the experiment idea as I found out that I have not been utilizing my Buttkicker to its full potential. I will be creating a soundfield on my receiver and I will post the setting here after its completed.

 

[Mr Latte]

Ahh been waiting for you to reply mate.

Thanks for the detailed response oh and your making me itch till i get mine now. Id agree with you that its finding the best settings for the LFE output from your Onkyo and adjust that with a good match for power output and settings on your BKA amplifer.

Post your settings for both your Onkyo LFE (eg + or - setting on the LFE channel) and the BKA Amplifier whatever best you have found.

Oh and i forgot to say did you also try taking the GT5P game setting from the largest room to a standard room size.
I think from memory the 2nd setting or standard room setting had actually louder effects.

Keep me posted.

 

[jswilli1]

I have moved from sunny California to the high desert of New Mexico. I reran my Audissey calibration in my on my Onkyo 805 in the new living space and now my subwoofer setting is at -9.5db. I have really enjoyed playing Battlefield 1943 using the Buttkicker as the bombing raids, gun shots, and explosions give a "feel to the game". The transducer is kinda cool when somebody starts up a tank, you can really feel it, especially when it is not your team mates starting up the tank! I will be moving the transducer from the couch back to my cockpit and prepping my chair for the upcoming release of GT5. Its been about 3 months since I played GT5P so its time to start sharping up the 'ole skills. See y'all on the battlefield or track!