Buttkicker or powered sub?

Question

I dont know if i should get a buttkicker or a powered sub, i want the whole body shaking, lung collapsing feeling of a sub, but i dont know if a buttkicker dose that or just shakes the sh@# out of you under your chair. which one is the best sounding for home theater use? what is so good about buttkickers? thanks a lot-Mitch.

Answer 1

Hi Mitch. Real Subwoofers are speakers that supplement the main speakers and only play the lowest two octaves below 80 HZ. Good Subwoofers don,t play muddy one note bass.They are clean and clear and you can easily follow the bass line in the music.To integrate Subwoofers properly into a system you must place the Subwoofer at the same end of the room as the main speakers and cross it over at a low frequency and use two Subs. to balance the sound.Quality is more important than quanity.Buy the subs. that have the clearer sound.over the louder sound. If you follow these rules you will have a good system.You have to decide yourself which sub. to buy. Don't get carried away with unreasonable requests from your Subwoofer.If you do it will spoil the sound coming from your other speakers which are more important than a Subwoofer. You cannot get the same effect at home as you do in a Cinema.

Answer 2

Definitely use real subs. Buttkickers will become very annoying very quickly. Especially if you listen to music a lot.
Real subs are what you were intended to use when the movie or music was recorded. They actually produce sound and don't just shake your butt. If you want to feel the bass, buy a sub with a lot of surface area - 12 to 18" depending on room size. A smaller sub may do it if it has a lot of wattage (500 or better) and a long excursion. The more air you move the more bass you will feel.
I prefer JL audio home subs or Velodyne subs. They aren't cheap, but they will definitely do the job.

Answer 3

Buttkickers will give you the physical aspect of

deep bass, and a good powered subwoofer will

give you the audible as well as physical portion

of the bass octaves.


A Buttkicker is more compact, but will be best

suited with full-range front speakers that cover

the bass range from 40~50 Hz on up.


Buttkickers work best if positioned, well... in close

proximity to your butt (i.e. underneath your seat),

whereas a good powered subwoofer usually will

work its best when placed in a corner behind one

of the front speakers -two subwoofers are ideal

for what you are looking to get from the subwoofer

channel in a home theater.

Answer 4

Buttkicker Subwoofer

Answer 5

both! seriously!

there's a lot involved in room acoustics, but two large powered subs would blow you away. not the cheap ones though.

note that real subs are more "stomach" than "chest" so you need good midrange satelites too - ones that crank and are at least 8" - genelec 1031's are my fave. get 4 of those mama's and two genelec 7071's and you will be blown away.