Hardware setup for tactile transducers and amplifier

[Maschine]

Good afternoon/morning to all.

I'm trying to get my gear up and running but so far I'm hearing crickets instead of shaking.
What I cannot get working:
2 x Buttkicker LFE's
1 x Behringer inuke 3000DSP

Now, here's how I've tried to set it up. Please correct me if I'm wrong...
I have two speakon cables, I've cut one end of both cables, split and stripped the two wires inside the cable and wired the red and white wire into the corresponding Buttkicker plug. At the other end, the speakon cables are plugged into the L and R outputs of the inuke.
Then, I have a dual XLR to 6.35mm TRS cable. Dual XLRs go into the inuke's rear input, the 6.35mm end then goes into a 6.35mm to 3.5mm adapter, then I have 3.5mm headphone cable from the adapter to the PC's separate sound card using the black (this is for rear use in Simvibe) port. I have the sound card set to quadrophonic as I'm supposed to. I'm getting absolutely no vibration at all.

Is the 6.35mm balanced to 3.5mm unbalanced adapter the issue? I'm struggling to find a dual XLR to 3.5mm cable that is longer than a metre. I almost have to use an extension piece.

I'm realising setting this stuff up isn't as easy as I thought.

Thanks in advance everyone. I appreciate your feedback and ideas.

P.S. If it helps, I'm happy to take some picks and upload.

 

[Conny Naslund]

Just some thoughts if they might help you.
I have a similar setup but two amps instead with a Y connection (I will get an Inuke soon).
However I take the sound out of the green port of the sound card and have it set in stereo instead of surround.
Also have you set the card you use as driver in simvibe.

 

[Mr Latte]

Easiest way to check cabling and wiring is all correct is to test the sound card with just audio at the start.....

In windows temporarily set the sound card for Simvibe as the PRIMARY AUDIO sound card selected for these tests. Then later set the card as the Simvibe selected card.

You can first do channel soundests via your PRIMARY sound cards own settings/software or from Windows setup. This will confirm the channels are matching the installed configuration and responding.

Next, as advised in PM is to do frequency tests. This let's you feel your units with various Hz. By this you will discover what Hz your unit works best and worst with.

Note:
Simvibe can sometimes be a bit of an issue at the start getting it working right with the selected sound card. Yet if not working it then leaves the user in your situation wondering what/where the fault is.

Also the frequency tester in Simvibe has always been broken, it does not output the Hz a user selects correctly. Use it only to establish a "Response" that the correct or connected channel is working.

Hope it's some help...

 

[Maschine]

Thanks for the replies and assistance. Unfortunately, I still haven't had any luck. I've tried changing the setup from quadrophonic to stereo, I've also checked that the sound card itself is working and it is. All of the cords are brand new as well. It's infuriating as I live in an area that doesn't have any type of stores assistance for this sort of thing and none of my friends are into this stuff. I'll just keep trying I guess. Thanks guys.

 

[Mr Latte]

You don't give enough detail, you say the card is working but did you get tactile response with the card and just audio.

Confirm that the card/cables/amps are working first. Plug 3.5mm into GREEN.

At amp ensure the Speakon are pushed/twisted to lock in place.

Have you installed the Behringer Remote Connect software and set amp settings for 4ohm etc.

We will get to the issue....

 

[Jeremy Ford]

I'd repeat a comment from a previous reply from the the good Mr Latte. As this is where you you need to start and ignore Simvibe.

"You can first do channel soundests via your PRIMARY sound cards own settings/software or from Windows setup. This will confirm the channels are matching the installed configuration and responding."

Transducers are essentially speakers. Try playing audio through your amp to your buttkickers. Any video, music, a YouTube video; whatever. Basically test to see if anything is going getting through at all. The transducers will react to the audio and like speakers the vibrations will fluctuate to the audio frequency. This will tell you whether your transducer hardware configuration is working at all.

 

[Ceolmor]

The way you describe your wiring sounds correct. There is probably something really small but important in settings somewhere that you have missed. Well, that’s what happens to me.

1. Are you new to the simvibe software? It can be a pain to set up.

2. When you say it’s not working, have you tried it in a car or only by pressing the tests, either in windows sound or simvibe software?

3. If testing in simvibe check the length of the test is more than 55ms and change the hz of the test to a lower amount.

3. Go into iNuke Remote. Click on 4 ohms like Mr Latte says. Does the meters for left and right channels register in the Remote software when you do tests in both windows sound and simvibe? Do the lights next to the volume controls on the front of the amp light up when testing? At what position do you have the volume controls?

4. Try the Green sound output on your sound card. Are you trying to do chassis or extensions mode? Have you mapped simvibe to your sound card?

 

[Mr Latte]

Just quoting here to give more info and thoughts have to agree on many points.....

The way you describe your wiring sounds correct. There is probably something really small but important in settings somewhere that you have missed. Well, that’s what happens to me.

1. Are you new to the simvibe software? It can be a pain to set up.

With Simvibe, sometimes such issues may be with the Output Mixer.

2. When you say it’s not working, have you tried it in a car or only by pressing the tests, either in windows sound or simvibe software?

Keep in mind guys that this uses soundcard based test like "normal audio" not a telemetry-based "tone generated" effect as when in-game.

3. If testing in simvibe check the length of the test is more than 55ms and change the hz of the test to a lower amount.

This function is faulty in Simvibe, it does not change the Hz at all, only the amplitude but does use a different Hz for CM & EM channels. Some people in the past used this feature to do "frequency tests" not knowing they constantly were feeling the same Hz but only with different amplitude. Yet thinking they were feeling different Hz.

It was over a year that I last monitored what this was doing but doubt it has been fixed as it went for years with this fault. I can see exactly the Hz and output it generates on professional audio monitoring tools and was how I first noticed this.

3. Go into iNuke Remote. Click on 4 ohms like Mr Latte says. Does the meters for left and right channels register in the Remote software when you do tests in both windows sound and simvibe? Do the lights next to the volume controls on the front of the amp light up when testing? At what position do you have the volume controls?

I have to agree, often the easy way is to go straight to basics.
I've seen problems with just a simple issue regard SpeakON plugs not wired correctly.

Below is an example of me doing channel checks with "audio monitoring" a long time ago. While it is showing one test with SSW, it is also using standard channel tests with a soundcard and showing a response also in the iNuke Remote Connect software.
Here

4. Try the Green sound output on your sound card. Are you trying to do chassis or extensions mode? Have you mapped simvibe to your sound card?

Assuming it's not a cable or soundcard issue.
I think its best to delete any outputs in Simvibe Output Mixer and then to be sure restart the PC. Upon going back into Simvibe then re-select the appropriate mode. Ensure the tab is then toggled wihin the Output Mixer to turn that output on. I have seen in the past issues regarding this but it may not be the case here. First priority should always be to confirm soundcard,cables,amps are getting a response and to the correct channels.

Once that is determined, then it is a good time to consider configuring Simvibe or SSW setup etc.

It can be frustrating, many of us have had such issues.

 

[Mr Latte]

So I got home and thought, what the heck I will recheck the Simvibe Device Manager "Test Tone" feature. Since I brought it up and its been quite a while that I tried it.

Note:

While this is fine for checking to see if a unit is active and the correct unit responds that is all it should be used for.

As I alluded to earlier....

Here is an image of results for Chassis Mode on each of its 4x channels. Each was done with completely different Hz selected. For this example I have fabfilter Pro-Q2 monitoring the 4 channels. I set it to capture and freeze the "PEAK" frequencies from the test as it is active.

Yet notice how they appear very similar which should not be the case at all as the frequencies used were very different.





It is proof that this part of Simvibe simply does not work properly or do what it appears to do. As far as I am aware, such has never been made known to owners/users or highlighted by SimXperience as a bug issue. So because of that, many people have been caught out with this and I know from personal past PM discussions. Often people new to Simvibe, thinking this was a good way to test their tactile at different frequencies by using the slider feature for changing the supposed Hz.

My advice to anyone reading this thinking of getting into tactile, if you get your tactile connected and want to start first tests do not dive straight into Simvibe. Do the discussed tests with audio first to check channels. Then consider using the online testone website for proper testing of different tones. This will let the user get used to the felt sensations of various frequencies and what their own hardware is capable of. Alternatively get a specialist app for doing accurate tests. I've linked or mentioned these many times in the past.

Online test-tone generator

My own preference, application for such.
Test Tone Generator