Earthquake Sound Q10B tactile sound unit and XJ600R amp

m4rky_m4rk

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Hi,

I started a journey that began with thinking about the film Earthquake and its amazing, for its day, Sensurround effects Sensurround - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. I wondered what could achieve something similar at home, today, in my setup (See sig). That thought journey lead me to tactile sound transducer units.

There are a quite a few to choose from but I eventually settled on the latest and apparently greatest unit from the American company Earthquake Sound. For sometime now I have had two Earthquake Sound Quake 10B tactile sound transducer units and the company's XJ 600 R amplifier to power them. I’d thought I conclude my initial, now too long thread, with my final thoughts here. That original journey is here in this thread http://www.avforums.com/forums/subwoofers/923711-butt-shakers-anyone-got-advice-these.html

Manufactures specs

Quake 10B



Q10B-vi.jpg




Frequency Response: 5-40 Hz
Nominal Impedance: 8 Ohm
Power Handling: 40-1000W
Dimensions:
H: 6 3/16” - 157.1625mm
W: 3 9/16” – 90.4875mm
D: 3 9/16” – 90.4875mm



Amp XJ-600R



XJ600Ramp-vi.jpg




Frequency Response: +/- 0.5dB, 17Hz to 2kHz
Power Output: 270 x 1 @ 8-Ohm
500 x 1 @ 4-Ohm
700 x 1 @ 2-Ohm
Signal to Noise Ratio: >89dB (balanced) 85dB (unbalanced) @ rated power
Load Impedance: 2 Ohms or greater
Slew Rate: 50 Volts / Microseconds
THD: <0.08%, (1W @ 4-Ohm)
Damping Factor: >500
Power Requirements: 110-220 VAC/60Hz
Dimensions: H=1.7" x W=19" x D=14.5" / 44mm x 483mm x 367mm
Weight: 18.04lbs. • 8.2Kg
Finish: Flat Black



Quake 10B Installation
Q10B is a quite small for the punch it packs and was easy to install inside my sofa. There are many mounting options with plenty of bolt holes at each corner and an L shaped very sturdy bracket for optional use. The bracket provides additional mounting options but is also said to provide mechanical amplification of the shaking effect. The amount of mechanical amplification can varied by choosing the appropriate mounting position on the bracket. The Quake 10b itself can be mounted side onto any suitable vertical surface, or mounted from the bottom, or from the top. Whichever method you use the unit must be mounted vertically. As it is so powerful I added a few strengthening screws to the sofa frame and chose to bolt the Q10B transducer to the supplied substantial bracket, fixing this very securely to the strongest support inside my sofa. It wasn’t hard to do and was completed in one afternoon with no outward obvious signs that anything had changed. I also fitted BK rubber isolating feet to the sofa. This not only isolates the vibrations to just the sofa but actually enhances the effect by allowing the sofa to move a little and respond more easily to the Q10B. The Q10B can run a little warm and when new, emitting a pleasant, to an engineer like me, mechanical aroma when there’s a lot of action. It never seems to get more than just a little warm to the touch. I have two units but one is easily enough to power my 3 seat sofa. The other I planned to put in my adjacent two seat sofa.

I have had no problems whatsoever with the Quake; it is very well built and reliable.

The Amp
The amp is really designed to power sub woofers and isn’t purpose designed for the Q10B which tells in some ways. The amp can easily power both Q10Bs and even four of them if required, but there is only one output which means that I can get the setup just right for my three seater but then find it’s a little too much for my two seater. I really needed volume controls for two separate outputs. Not a big problem for me in reality as my two seater is only for occasional guests. The amp takes an RCA input as well as high level and XLR inputs. I used a Y split cable to tap directly into the sub input and further split this to utilise the left and right channels of the amp. There is one speaker level output.

Quake 10B and Amp in use
I intended to use the tactile sound units for movies and occasional games with LFE and it was a bit of a suck it and see experiment on my part. I am delighted to report that these units add another dimension to the movie experience and one that I personally thoroughly enjoy. Others may find the new experience a little disconcerting at first and it can certainly be frightening :devil: The unit can punch with such incredible power that it’s literally shocking on first experiencing it :eek: For example, when the space ship lands bringing Eva in the film Wall-E my sofa seemed to leap in the air by a few cms with the shock wave of the landing.

The Quake 10B really excels when the volume is cranked :devil: :devil: :devil:

It’s like the difference between hearing a heavy mallet blow a few meters away and actually feeling it pound down dangerously close, a few cm’s away. Scary!

You may get some idea of the effect by sitting on a comfy cushion placed on top of your sub when it’s at full tilt :rotfl: Imagine this and x1000 for the Q10B effect.

My sub cannot come close to the infrasonic pounding this unit can deliver. I didn’t try sitting on my sub but it is no slouch and I can easily feel the LFE from the sub in my room. Adding to the bass effect from the sub and the fact that Q10B can shake your eyeballs and blur vision in prolonged rumbles, if that’s your desire, and you may begin to appreciate that we are into another territory when comes to infra sonics. The effect is startling when the sound track dictates and yet for quieter moments the Q10B remains dormant waiting to surprise the unwary. Movies are not recorded with this sort of LFE effect in mind and so the amount and quality of the shaking varies from film to film. Not a fault of the Q10B but it can reveal some rather inconsistent LFE effects in some movies.

The Q10B is not a one note device and can respond subtly to the sound track, helped by applying the amps EQ, crossover and phase settings. It does perform better at high volumes though and this is where I have another problem with this amp.

I would have liked some presets so that I can have various Q10B setups eg games, action movies, music, low volume, high volume etc. I can’t seem to find one setting that suits all scenarios. It’s not helped by the fact that the gain control has no useful markings. It can be turned full revolution many times in either direction and there is no end stop and no display saying what the gain actually is, only a light when it reaches max output! This makes it impossible to have a manual gain setting for movies and another for music. So although I am very happy with its prime use for movies I find its use for music and little more hit and miss. Partly because I feel I need a different setup for music and partly because the frequencies at which the Q10B excels at are often not given as much attention on sound recordings as they should for today’s AV kit, its especially noticeable on older recordings.

The amp I have is my second. The first one I found to hum quite noticeably and was easily the loudest unit for mains hum in my AV setup. I spoke to the distributors who were very helpful and sent another for me to compare. The second unit was much better but still I find it a bit loud. I have got used to it now and it doesn’t bother me so much but I wouldn’t want it nearer than a few meters from my seating position.

To make the most of the Q10B it really needs a purpose built amp with more controls suited to tactile sound units. I love the Q10B but the amp has room for improvement. Maybe a better suited alternative amp could be found. The Q10B’s input impedance is 8ohm and so there should be plenty of choices.

I wouldn’t consider the Quake 10B to be a replacement for a good sub but more in addition to a good sub. However, if you have neighbour problems and a sub is a no no and yet you still hanker after some LFE effects then it’s a good way to go. The shaking for my setup is limited to the sofa, which is on rubber isolators, and doesn’t transmit through to the floor and so it’s a lot more neighbour, family friendly than a sub would be.

I wondered why these units are not as popular in the UK as they are in the US. There are many reasons of course but some of which stem from ‘old’ reputation of being rather a one note type off effect. Unsubtle, distracting and are the often stated negatives for not considering tactile sound units, but I wouldn’t apply this to the Q10B myself.

Fun would be the word I would use. :thumbsup:

This reputation for unsubtly isn’t helped by the choice of product names by some makes. Earthquake is a little better than some but the name may still dissuade those who are looking for quality and finesse over shock and awe.


So finally, are Earthquake tactile sound units worth having, even with a good sub already in the system…… IMHO YES… loads more LFE fun :D :D :D


I obtained my units, amp and rubber isolator feat from the Shaker Centre but as I am outside the UK I actually communicated mainly with their distributor, Network Music Ltd. Thanks Mike for your help.:smashin: You can find other types of tactile sound units there too if your interested.


edited to add:

XJ-600R Amp is too expensive!
The XJ-600R has a smaller brother, the XJ-300R. It's phyisically smaller, less powerful and with no EQ option but its enough for one or even two Q10's and less than half the price of the 600R. The 600R can power up to 4 Q10B's.

Frequency Response
I ran some test frequencies to test how low in frequency the Quake 10b can actually go. Please read post#64 in this thread for frequency response results.

Update on reliability:
Its been about a year since I installed the Quake in my sofa. I still love it, action films would be far less fun without it. I cannot see me going back to just infrasonics from my sub. That would be like going from colour to black and white TV. So far it has been quiet in use and totally reliable.

Do I need one or two Q10B's?
See post #152 for my tests on this. Conclusion is one is OK for a three seater but if your a seriously addicted to strong vibrations and your sofa is much bigger and heavier than mine then you may like to use two.

I made a video showing the difference in infrasonic effect between the Q10B and an SVS PB13U subwoofer.

http://www.avforums.com/forums/subw...-svs-pb13u-tactile-sound-infrasonic-test.html

Have Fun,
Mark.

There's a review here by Home Theatre HiFi for the older model Q10.

Earthquake "Quake" Chair Shaker and XJ-600R Power Amplifier" Review

A Quake 10B transducer features towards the end of this clip:

YouTube - Earthquake Subwoofer - ComputerTV at CES 2009




and a Quake 10B transducer featured in the Gadget shows self build of a gaming chair:

FiveFWD - Rollercoaster - Part Three video from The Gadget Show
 
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I recently had the opportunity to hear an SVS PB13U and was interested to see if I would be chucking out my Q10B should I buy an SVS PB13U, as some on here had predicted.

During the listening tests I was almost sat on top of the SVS and often placed my hand on it while listening. No matter what was played it was clear that the SVS doesn't come remotely close to the Q10B's infrasonic shaking abilities. The SVS was a cute pussy cat in comparison. The Q10B a hungry lion.

The Q10B is frighteningly powerful when called for and you will need to Velcro your glasses to your head if you let it rip. I haven't dared try it at max for fear of destroying my sofa. Also, the fun ends when your eyeballs are wobbling so much that the film becomes just a blur!!. With the Q10B and its own amp makes it much easier to tune the infrasonics to my personal tastes. I can have as much or as little additional infrasonics as I like without affecting the overall sound or annoying the neighbours. I just wish it had some presets.
 
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I'm interested in this unit now, not least because I'm an avid gamer and and its an extension of what we find in our control pads, and is a step closer to what those big arcade machines produce in terms a physical experience added to your games.

I have a problem though. My suite isnt a single unit, its modular and as such each of the 5 seating positions is isloated from the next. I could be selfish I suppose, heck others may not even like what this produces (although I cant see how could a woman hate this :devil:), but for me to get it right I would need at least 2 :(, which puts the cost up considerably, and if I liked it there would be no way I'd be able to put up with taking turns on it. For that matter, do women even know how to share like that :D

In all, even though I've never tried anything like this other than in simulators :)clap:), I cant see how any sub could ever compete unless the thing was pretty naff.
 
A decent sub can rattle your chair about as well as these bass shakers:

Welcome to www.aurasound.com - The AuraSound Home Page Although they have there place, eg latenight gaming where you don't want the whole house shaking :)

but m4rky_m4rk has something in a different league entirely :)
 
A decent sub can rattle your chair about as well as these bass shakers:

Welcome to www.aurasound.com - The AuraSound Home Page Although they have there place, eg latenight gaming where you don't want the whole house shaking :)

but m4rky_m4rk has something in a different league entirely :)

Yes, I didn't fancy the bass shakers. the tuning is very sharp and they are not as powerful as a Q10B. The Q10B comes from tank recoil stabilisation technology.

Dan, If your sofa modules are securely bolted together then the forces should be transmitted. Ideally the sofa should be on a raised platform and the Q10B bolted to the platform. That way for forces are transmitted through your feet for even more realism. Some folks in the US do it this way but its a lot more work to get it done neatly. I have mine bolted on the inside of the sofa and its completely invisible except for some speaker cable.

I have not used the Q10B for games much. It does not work like a rumble pad and is much more sophisticated than that. From my admitedly limited gaming experience I have found so far that the gaming sound tracks have been disappointing in the really low LFE. They seem not to have the same low level stuff as a good action movie... I need to test more to be sure this is an accurate reflection of games though.
 
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Yes, I didn't fancy the bass shakers. the tuning is very sharp and they are not as powerful as a Q10B. The Q10B comes form tank recoil stabilisation technology.

Dan, If your sofa modules are securely bolted together then the forces should be transmitted. Ideally the sofa should be on a raised platform and the Q10B bolted to the platform. That way for forces are transmitted through your feet for even more realism. Some folks in the US do it this way but its a lot more work to get it done neatly. I have mine bolted on the inside of the sofa and its completely invisible except for some speaker cable.

I have not used the Q10B for games much. It does not work like a rumble pad and is much more sophisticated than that. From my admitedly limited gaming experience I have found so far that the gaming sound tracks have been disappointing in the really low LFE. They seem not to have the same low level stuff as a good action movie... I need to test more to be sure this is an accurate reflection of games though.
Unfortunately the modules are completely independent of each other and dont bolt together. We chose this so we could re-arrange the modules to our taste and it adapts to our room better because of this. It just makes a Q10 a one seat option, especially as the floor is solid one.

As for gaming, Ive noticed a lot of explosions are quite low down, things like grenades going off etc, and for that I'm sure it would be perfect running along side the sub :devil:
 
I'm interested in this unit now, not least because I'm an avid gamer and and its an extension of what we find in our control pads, and is a step closer to what those big arcade machines produce in terms a physical experience added to your games.

I have a problem though. My suite isnt a single unit, its modular and as such each of the 5 seating positions is isloated from the next. I could be selfish I suppose, heck others may not even like what this produces (although I cant see how could a woman hate this :devil:), but for me to get it right I would need at least 2 :(, which puts the cost up considerably, and if I liked it there would be no way I'd be able to put up with taking turns on it. For that matter, do women even know how to share like that :D

In all, even though I've never tried anything like this other than in simulators :)clap:), I cant see how any sub could ever compete unless the thing was pretty naff.

You could start with just one Q10B and buy more later if needed. I had a simliar problem, two sofas, and have two Q10B's but I rarely power up the second. The XJ600 amp can run four of them or maybe you have an old spare amp that might do.
 
I'm sure I could run it off my Onkyo, using the zone 2 speaker outputs set as full range?
 
I'm sure I could run it off my Onkyo, using the zone 2 speaker outputs set as full range?

It would be best with some sort of EQ and crossover but you could just use an inline crossover. I do not think they reccomend full range. I currently have xover at 40hz with a progessively increasing boost at 40 30 and 6db at 20hz. I did try a higher crossovers and a flat EQ and this was quite good too. I am still experimenting with the best setup.

At the end of my butt shaker thread I posted a link where you can obtain in line crossovers.
 
The mini quake FR isnt down to the 5hz of the Q10 though is it. Plus I could turn it down and extend its life so to speak couldnt I.

Out of interest Mark, whats the total cost of the unit plus amp, and just the Q10 roughly?
 
Cheers Mark. Looking at that sit the smaller unit does look more like its designed for a single seat. I just dont want it to be no better than the sub, as a lot of owners seem to end up thinking.

As f0r amplification, if I was to try the smaller unit, the recommended amp seems quite an expensive way to power it. Wouldnt it be preferable to buy a single monobloc for around £100, site it under the seat, and feed that amp from the low level outputs on the sub. It would be far more preferable than running cables round the room and would hide it all out of site with no further cabling needed at the front of the room. Its messy enough there till I change the the setup without adding more in there :D
 
Wouldnt it be preferable to buy a single monobloc for around £100
Any suggestions, I'm still trying to source a cheap amp to try my butt kicker with.

I confess I bought it as joke present for my wife's birthday :rolleyes: (as it was only £5 on ebay:cool:) and if I spend anything on an amp for it I'm likely to get into trouble :D
 
I wander if even something like this would work.

Oh BTW Iron, those modules from BK come as per picture, so its worth baring that in mind!
 
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Thanks Moonfly, don't those car amps require massive powersupplies if running them off the mains?
 
Keep car amps in the car, the only way a car amp will work well in the home is if you have a big and expencive 12-14v power supply and then for the money you might was well just bourght a stout PA amp instead.
 
thanks :thumbsup:
 
Well they usually run directly off a 12v car battery. I'm sure someone on the appropriate forum would have a solution to that. A 12v mains adapter plug isnt hard to find, and calling into a branch of halfords when passing by might prove worth a look, but there could well be a work around somewhere if it interests one enough to look into it.

I reckon that BK module is probably the best way forward though as long as your happy with its power. It could be mounted inside your sofa with the shaker, then you could use something like this mounted somewhere on the underside of your sofa to leave it as a self contained finished unit :smashin:. You could do the same for the power supply with a socket mounted flush under your sofa too. You can also buy these as a fused unit for peace of mind if you desire. As you can see, its less than half the cost of the recommended amp and will disappear much better if you have any sort of DIY inclination.
 
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When I got my bass shakers I bought a 625 Watt car amp and tried running it from a 12V from mains converter and got more output from an old 25W Technics stereo hifi amp, so I'm not keen to repeat the mistake unless I can definitely source a cheap 240V to 12V converter that will work. I'm happy to try it if it's viable though :)
 
I'm going to drop BK an e-mither and see what they say. If I give this a whirl I'll post my results. If BK say this is a no no then I'll post back to fill you's in.
 
Ah, crossed wires maybe, I thought we were still discussing the car one, I think the BK one has a power supply already on board doesn't it? So it should be fine.

"Power Requirements - Supply

240V AC 50 - 60Hz"
 
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