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RBMODS REVIEWS |
Date 2006-01-05
Provider: Buttkicker
Author: Niko Lupala
Editor: Amber Lupala
The Buttkicker Gamer
We review everything computer based and I mean everything! Today we got a cool little gadget for you
that we will share our thoughts on. Buttkicker sent us their latest gamer product. Some of you may think "Buttkicker" is he serious now?
Yes I'm serious, this is a subwoofer that is mounted under the chair and with the amplifier connected to the sound card you get a
vibrating chair to get a more real gaming experience. We will during this review show the product and also give out testing thoughts
to see if this product really does work.
About Buttkicker:
Company History
The Guitammer Company was founded in 1990 by Ken McCaw, an accomplished musician, composer and producer, in order to commercialize a patented guitar accessory called the Hammer Jammer (www.hammerjammer.com). The name, "Guitammer" is a conjunction of "guitar" and "hammer" and is pronounced, "git-hammer."
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The ButtKicker was developed to solve a problem Ken (a bass player) and his drummer had. How to enable the bass player and drummer to feel the low end without turning the stage monitors up so loud that it disturbed the rest of the band.
Joining forces with Marvin Clamme, former sound engineer for Tom Jones and Merle Haggard, Ken and Marvin developed the original ButtKicker™ prototypes in 1994.
After several years of product development in 1999 a patent was granted for this new type of magnetically suspended transducer and the ButtKicker Shaker was commercialized. In late 4th quarter of 99 the ButtKicker was put on the market and has enjoyed sales worldwide with such notable users as the Backstreet Boys, the Who, custom home theater dealers worldwide, Warner Bros. (a 200 seat theater in London for the Live 2000 trade show) and many other amusement park, virtual reality, ProSound, custom home theater and sound design firms. Notable industry experts such as EQ magazine, Secrets of Home Theater and Wide Screen Review have positively reviewed the ButtKicker™ Shaker. Additionally, Guitammer has received extensive TV, radio and media coverage worldwide with appearance on SkyTV, NBC, CBS, WB, ZDTV and BBC radio to name a few.
Scandinavian Distributor:
iFORE-Medlyd
Hundbjergvej 139
DK-7700 Thisted
Denmark
ns@ifore.nu
Specifications:
ButtKicker Gamer
Dimensions: 11.5" L x 2.75" H x 3" W
Frequency Response: 10 - 250 Hz
Impedance: 2 ohms
ButtKicker Gamer Power Amplifier
Dimensions: 12.9" L x 3.6" H x 9.3" W
Power Output: 100 watts
The product:
 
Please click on thumbnails to get bigger pictures
On the box itself you can see the subwoofer unit. Everything was extremely well packed in the box and seperated into their own little slot.
You can read some features and specifications on the box. I look forward to seeing how this unit performs!
In a small zip lock bag that had a red piece of paper on it I found a Ground Loop Isolator.
This little gadget removes the hum sound from the sub, this occurs when you connect the system to a computer for example.
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There is a path that is provided for the electricity to flow from one unit to the other and when it tries to balance it out
you get the hum sound. Basically the isolator prevents the imbalance to appear and make the humming sound. The paper itself says nothing about what I said above, but it does advise you to use this device and tells you how to connect it.
 
Please click on thumbnails to get bigger pictures
There are several small manuals included but I found the quick start guide to cover everything needed.
It explains with pictures and text how to connect everything and which settings to set for music, movies and gaming.
The amplifier is just a black box with connectors in the back and buttons for settings in the front.
You can find recommendations on the settings in the quick start manual.
 
Please click on thumbnails to get bigger pictures
We can see that it's easy to use this product for gaming, movies, and music, because they have their own settings for good performance.
If you don't think that the tips from Buttkicker are good just try your own settings. On the back you have three plugins, one for power, one for the cable from the sub unit itself, and the cable going between the soundcard and amplifier. There are loads of cables included but the quick start guide
covers it all on how to connect this, it did not take me more than 5 minutes to have this running.
On the right picture you see two small pieces of plastic, those are actually stands for the amplifier if you don't have room for it to lay down on the floor or table, or just prefer it standing up.
Testing time >>>>> Page 2
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