PS4 with bass shakers help

[Mikey Hudson]

Hello,

I am somewhat new to the sim racing scene even though I have played F1 games on the PS4 since F1 CE. In the future I plan on having a pc built and get into it a little deeper.

I have a problem that I can't figure out and am asking for any help with the matter. Please forgive me because I am not the best with this stuff. I used a single buttkicker gamer 2 on my 1st sim rig and that worked great, but I am wanting some more immersion when racing.

My plan is to have 4 aura pro bass shakers hooked up to my 2nd sim rig (currently being built) along with my 5.1 surround sound (Logitech Z506). I would like to have 2 under my seat and 2 by my pedal area and have them hooked up for left and right bias.

I am running into an issue with hooking this all up properly. I believe the issue is that I don't have a sub out connection from the subwoofer, it only has inputs. Do I need to invest in a better or different surround sound system or am I able to buy a few extra pieces to get this to work properly?

This is the equipment I am using and how I have everything hooked up at the moment .

-PS4
-AGPtek audio extractor converter
-Logitech Z 506 surround sound
-Sure Electronics AA-AB33182 4x100W at 4 Ohm Class D Digital Audio Amplifier Board STA508 (TK2050)
-Mean Well MW NES-350-24 24 VDC 14.6A 350W Regulated Switching Power Supply
-AuraSound AST-2B-4 Pro Bass Shaker x4
-RCA Y Cable (1 female to 2 male) x4-

-HDMI cable from PS4 to audio converter input
-HDMI from audio converter output to TV
-RCA cables from audio converter output hooked up to two Y splitters (1 for red and 1 for white)
-1st Y splitter wire plugged into input on subwoofer, 2nd wire plugged into another Y splitter
-2nd set of Y splitters plugged into each channel on amp board (all 4 channels being used)
-Each base shaker hooked up to individual channel on amp board

I tried this out yesterday and everything worked, but I was getting some sound coming from the bass shakers. What can I do to remedy this? Do I need a different amplifier?

If their is any confusion, I can draw the wiring out and post a pic. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Mr Latte]

Hi, Mikey.

I left this a few days to see if any others would post you some help but thought would give you a reply.

Frequencies & Harmonics
As your using full channel output (not a sub output) bass shakers will produce more sound as they are generating multiple frequencies and harmonics when you use "full range audio sources". A crossover or EQ unit with crossover control would allow you to limit the frequency spectrum to say only using frequencies below 100Hz rather than the full range. Really around this level is fine for tactile to operate.

4 Way Tactile
You want to use Front/Rear Stereo channels for directional tactile and not a mono Subwoofer output x 4.

Multichannel Inputs
Your Logitech Z506 does not have a simple digital input so I see requires analogue multichannel inputs for 5.1 or can use only L/R Stereo RCA inputs. So my advice would be to get a different audio extractor that converts digital audio into analogue.

I will link one below that would operate with upto 6 channels and be suitable for your Z506 and the Sure Electronics Amp board. Yet not for both together. This uses Optical Digital INPUT from PS4 and giving multichannel output connections. You then only need appropriate cables. If you use Y-Splitters to try and create 2 outputs this can reduce the signal strength.

Lets look at best options:

PS4 Dual Audio Output
You can set the PS4 to output both to Optical & HDMI.
The issue with some HDMI converter boxes is if you go 4K they may not support HDMI 4K video and at 60hz. (Some Newer Models Will) as others will only support 1080p video pass through,

By using Optical output connection you avoid any of these HDMI issues.

This Convertor Example:
* Note be wary as some USB PC Soundcards look identical to these.

How?
You could use your current converter and only send L/R RCA to the Logitech Z506. Yet if you want true surround sound from the PS4 then it will be best to use the multichannel connections.

Really you need 2 of the linked converters to give you 2 sets of multichannel outputs (1 tactile /1 audio). To connect these, the first one uses the Optical Output on the PS4, the 2nd could use the Optical output on your current converter box.

*You could in theory use Y-Splitters from only 1 multichannel output converter but it may degrade the volume output level going to both the Z506 and Sure amps. Possibly worth trying it depends on how good the output level will be and if lower then require more/increased volumes on both Sure and Logitech amps.

Optional
EQ and crossover is possible and this happens after the convertor but before connecting to the amp. However these are generally "Stereo" so again 2 of these would be needed to control the 4 Channels for tactile.

One of the best analogue EQ with Crossover and boost/cut control for tactile is this

Behringer FBQ 3102


* If your or anyone is in UK and wants, I have some of these I could sell cheap.