I Beam Transducer Features, Installation & Calibration

The I Beam VT-300 Transducer is very compact. Its design resembles a train track or sectional piece of steel, thus the name I Beam. The VT-300 transducer features push-style binding posts that can accommodate wire sizes from 18 AWG to 12 AWG. The bottom of the transducer has ten pre-drilled holes for mounting to a desired surface and wood mounting screws are even included. The manufacturer claims their design offers much better frequency response, efficiency, and “vibro tactile response” compared to other more conventional shaker devices.

Sonic Immersion Technologies specifies that the VT-300 should be used at frequencies up to 250Hz. Our experience with past tactile transducer systems is that frequencies should not exceed 80Hz and are really not that desirable for music listening sessions. Because the manufacturer feels so strongly that the device should be used at higher frequencies, we will evaluate it this way, as well as at the more conventional lower frequency limit.

Installation

The I Beam’s low slim profile makes it perfect for installation in a wide variety of chairs, sofas and loveseats. It is often difficult to incorporate motion actuators into recliner chairs because of interference from the reclining mechanism. Sonic Immersion Technologies offers custom mounting brackets for many home theater-seating manufacturers. With a little ingenuity, the installer can manufacture a simple DIY solution for most chairs. We decided to take the DIY approach and manufacture our own simple bracket. We started by cutting a small piece of ¾-inch MDF that would fit onto our chair without interfering with the recline mechanism.

Using 5/8-inch deck screws we secured the I Beam VT-300 to the MDF. We also applied a small amount of clear silicone to the deck screws threads before screwing them into the MDF. The use of silicone on the threads will prevent them from backing out or working loose from the vibration action of the transducer. Next we drilled two 3/8-inch holes in the cross section brace in the chair and our DIY bracket.

We secured the DIY bracket to the cross section using two 3/8-inch bolts with washers and self-locking nuts. The use of self-locking nuts is important, as the locking function will prevent them from working loose from the vibration action. We also applied a small amount of construction adhesive between the bracket and the cross section brace of the chair. Verifying we had proper clearance when the chair is fully reclined, we wired up the I Beam VT-300 transducer and tacked the speaker wire to the frame of the chair to prevent the wire from getting tangled in the mechanism.

The VT-300 can be installed and terminated in different configurations. The most common approach would be to use an RCA “Y” splitter from the LFE output of your receiver or pre-amp and connect one RCA Interconnect from the splitter to your subwoofer and the other to the amplifier that is being used to power the I Beam VT-300. Then, connect speaker wire from the amplifier to the transducer. If your subwoofer has a bypass LFE output, another approach would be to daisy chain the subwoofer amplifier and the transducer’s amplifier and then follow the same procedure as above for the rest of the installation. The system can also be connected using your receiver’s right and left stereo analog pre-outs, outputs, or Aux or Tape monitor (we only recommend this type of configuration as a last resort).

We used the excellent high bang for the buck Buttkicker BKA-1000 to evaluate the I Beam VT-300, this amplifier has to be considered one of the best buys in home theater. The BKA–1000 is very powerful, producing a whopping 1100 watts @ 4 ohms and 2100 watts @ 2 ohms. The BKA-1000 features a variable high frequency cutoff of 40-160Hz and a switchable low frequency cutoff. The huge power supply, filter capacitors, and features found on the BKA-1000 and the low MSRP price of just $499 make it an excellent amplifier for use with motion actuators and passive subwoofers.

Calibration

Now that the I Beam VT-300 transducer is installed and wired, it needs to be calibrated to the desired level. When calibrating any motion actuator or tactile transducer, it is important to keep in mind that actuators and transducers are designed to enhance the enjoyment of your system. Too little tactile action diminishes the experience; too much tactile action is distracting and can also diminish the experience. Finding the perfect balance will require some time and effort. Using DVDs that have excellent LFE content like U-571, The Haunting and War of the Worlds can make the task much easier. Just keep in mind that too much of a good thing can actually be bad. Take your time during the calibration process.

Adjust the volume control on your receiver or pre-amp to the SPL level that you normally use for listening to DVDs and other content. Then, adjust the volume control on the amplifier used to power the I Beam to the desired level. Once the correct volume level is obtained on the transducer amplifier it does not need to be adjusted again because the level will be increased or decreased with the volume control on the receiver or pre-amp in conjunction with the rest of the system.

Generally we have found that a crossover setting of about 50-80hz to be the best in our system for good tactile performance. However, experimentation is the key. We found that choosing a setting above 80Hz introduced some subtle dialogue into the tactile response. Additionally, we found that a setting below 50Hz is lacking sensation and impact. One important note: If you use an electronic crossover in your receiver or preamp and it is set to a low setting all content above that setting will be filtered out before it reaches the I Beam VT-300. Our internal electronic crossover was set for 80Hz and the crossover setting on the BKA-1000 amp was set at maximum preventing crossover cascading. Sonic Immersion Technologies indicates that they think the I Beam VT-300 should be used in conjunction with higher crossover settings. It has been our experience in the past that higher crossover settings for motion actuators and tactile transducers do not perform well. Because the manufacturer believes so strongly in this installation method, we will evaluate the I Beam VT-300 this way later in the review.