Butt kicker

[CaptainAust 1]

PS4PRO 1.04
Not sure if this is a technical thing but. On track i can barely feel the butt kicker. When your in the garage and you flick to the tv stream the initial noise really shakes but on track its barely noticeable. Switch to GT Sport and the same settings on my butkicker amp almost rattle my rig apart. Even tried using different FFB settings just in case it was unusually linked,  no change. Anyone else had or solved this problem? 

[davidjgurney 7]

Hi @CaptainAust, are you outputting in surround sound from the PS4 Pro? Do you get shaken when you drive on kerbs and on grass/gravel? Also do you feel upshifts?

[CaptainAust 1]

Yeah output from ps4, tried 5.1, 7.1 and stero sound from the audio menu to no avail, the problem is everything is too faint to be noticed. If i put my hand on the butkicker you can fell it 'hum' a little, but it should be really shaking when you hit curbs and things. Butkicker works fine in gt sport

[Faya 1,190]

Hi @CaptainAust, Once the PS4 gets the 1.07 update, could you let us know if the Butt Kicker's output has improved at all for you?   

[CaptainAust 1]

@Faya will do....... 

Body is 6 foot tall....... 

[CaptainAust 1]

@Faya. The rumble strip effects have been improved  There are still no 'on track' effects being felt though the buttkicker same with car effects such as gear shifts and engine. Down the main straight of Australia for example  you feel the bumps thu the wheel but nothing thu the buttkicker, the kicker remains non operational until you hit a kerb. Whatever was changed in the patch was definitely a step in the right direction though.. Do you know if the butkicker is in anyway linked to the vibration and ffb settings of the wheel? I usally run mine pretty high anyway but i think i noteced a change in the butkicker when i increased the 'rumble strip' effects. Its definitely an improvement  the effects just need to be coded for the on track and engine now. 

[davidjgurney 7]

Hi @CaptainAust, the FFB is not linked to the LFE Buttkicker channel. There should be 'some' feedback from the Buttkicker at high speed, but not nearly as much as you're probably expecting - only when the car contacts the floor. There should be feedback when you shift gear, and there should also be feedback if you go off-track.

Have you tried increasing the gain on your Buttkicker?

[CaptainAust 1]

That depends on what codemasters version of what a buttkicker should do vs what i think it should do i guess. As mentioned i can reach under my seat when im going flat out down the main straight of Melbourne and there's no vibration at all, there is little if any movement when shifting gear. Slight activation when the car is dropped from a pit stop,  ripple strips are felt but need to be stronger, cant say ive experimented by holding it while off track or collisions with another car. I have adjusted everything i can on my buttkicker amp from the frequency range to cut offs, mono vs stereo, and flat freq vs normal. Adjusting my gain (volume) higher to compensate for the games deficiency would only result in shortening the life span of my amp. All other driving games that support the buttkicker make full use of it at mid amp volume, i should only need to adjust the frequency to compensate for different cars in different games (a mustang vs an f1). As stated  the ripple strip effects are improved but in my opinion still not where they need to be (its more of a high frequency activation than the deep low "bbbrrrr bbbrrrr" you can hear when an f1 runs on them). There should be a 'buzz' activation from the buttkicker when over revving and maxing out in top gear and prob a mid when changing gears (wouldn't expect too much with smooth f1 gear change because of engine cutt offs). Its an improvement from the nothing to begin with but it is nowhere near making full use of what the buttkicker was design for or its capabilities. I should also mention that im running a higher spec amp than what came with the butkicker, i have tried with the original amp with the only difference being that i have to run the original amp almost constantly in the 'clipping' range which again, would shorten the lifespan of the amp.

[CaptainAust 1]

Though its interesting you specified it as the lfe butkicker channel, does this mean you have specifically supported only the lfe version of the buttkicker? I have the most common one used for gaming  the buttkicker gamer 2.

[davidjgurney 7]

CaptainAust said:

Though its interesting you specified it as the lfe butkicker channel, does this mean you have specifically supported only the lfe version of the buttkicker? I have the most common one used for gaming  the buttkicker gamer 2.

We are also using the Gamer 2. The LFE content (bass, subwoofer) is what makes the Gamer 2 vibrate. I hate to ask questions like this but are you taking the .1 feed from your amp? I'd like you to get the full experience like we have designed. :)

[CaptainAust 1]

Buttkicker connect to the amp, amp connected to a 4k audio extractor(which you have to have to run a buttkicker with a ps4) via rca,  i have tried using both left and right channels plugged in and just the left (which is what a sub runs off). I can switch to a game like gt sport and have the butkicker almost shake my rig apart, so i know my configuration works fine. Ask as many questions as needed, that's what trouble shooting is lol. 

[davidjgurney 7]

@CaptainAust, and the PS4 console is outputting a surround signal (5.1/7.1)? By that, I mean from the PS4 system settings - not from the game settings.

[CaptainAust 1]

Ive tried all audio output combos both hdmi output and optical, Dolby to linear . What output settings do you recommend and ill try those ones again and see what i come up with

[davidjgurney 7]

I don't know what your settings are likely to be as the 4k extractor might be forcing the audio output of the PS4 HDMI into stereo, in which case you won't be receiving the .1 channel. However, I'll describe what's going on here so that I can use the Buttkicker with no issues. Hopefully this will help you debug your settings.

In my studio I'm using the PS4 Digital Out (Optical) > Dolby Digital 5.1ch, with Audio Format as "Bitstream (Dolby)" setting, this is plugged into the back of my AV surround amp with an optical cable. The amp is then sending the LFE feed to a subwoofer (via an XLR cable) and into the Buttkicker Power Amplifier (with an RCA cable). The screen on the amp shows that I'm in surround with an icon that shows L, C, R, SL, SR and LFE speakers are all in use.

[CaptainAust 1]

I could possibly try that setup and see but couldn't run it permanently like that as my headset/mic uses a usb and the optical of the ps4. Which is why the audio extractor is a must if i want to run everything. I have one of the top of the line extractors which can output in bitstream and 5.1. Just seems like a convoluted way to get it running when it works ok with other games. I wonder if A) there's an optical splitter and B ) if that would work

[CaptainAust 1]

@davidjgurney @Faya @issueskid      holding my hand up for this one... Connected to the same setup @davidjgurney has and not only does the game perform better but i now have about 3 times the output in other games.. ill be copping this one as my bad. interestingly tho @davidjgurney setting my ps4 to linear seams to get a much better result than bitstream,, although with all settings i can only get my sony amp to show it is sending a signal to the sub channel and not the lfe channel. Am also yet to get an optical splitter to run both the amp and my headset but im sure all of the afore  mentioned is a matter of setup and trial. Once again,, this ones on me and i prob owe you each a beer

[davidjgurney 7]

@CaptainAust that's good news, though. On the note of it sending to 'sub' and not 'LFE', it could be it's labelled differently.

So the Buttkicker is working nicely now?

[CaptainAust 1]

Yeah its working well , my amp has both sub and lfe,   im running from the sub output to the buttkicker amp and optical linear from ps4,  tried bitstream but no different ... I'll have to delve into the amp settings   poor thing has been thu a few gigs

[davidjgurney 7]

CaptainAust said:

Yeah its working well , my amp has both sub and lfe,   im running from the sub output to the buttkicker amp and optical linear from ps4,  tried bitstream but no different ... I'll have to delve into the amp settings   poor thing has been thu a few gigs

I guess it doesn't matter provided you're receiving a signal. The audio format is the codec that the amp uses to de-construct the signal into a surround sound signal.

[CaptainAust 1]

Yeah true , as long as it works ,, but at the same time the ocd part of my brain wants to know why lol

[Guest]

hi, I have the same problem. I have given myself a buttkicker gamer 2 for my birthday, but I do not get this to F12018 as desired.

After a lot of searching work on Google, I came across this thread. And I hope someone can help me too.

I also have an HDMI audio extractor between my PS4 (regular) and the television. I now have my connection exactly like that, but then it is barely perceptible without setting the volume of the bk2 amp so high that it will clip.

video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bylGfC3haYA

is there a possibility to get it working in this way? Or does someone have an advice what I have to do to get it perfect. F1 2018 is actually the only game I play at the moment and € 250 in "chair anchor" is a waste of money.

I really hope that someone has a solution

thank you for the help

Gr Davey

[CaptainAust 1]

Instead of running the audio from your hdmi extractor to the buttkicker, you need a 2.1 or 5.1 amp  as long as it has a sub woofer input and output youll be fine (i used my old sony 5.1 receiver). Run the audio from the hdmi extractor to the sub input of the amp and then use the sub output and run that to the buttkicker. Make sure the settings on your amp are set to dolby or surround or whatever is the case,    set your ps4 audio to output linear and dts or dolby (i found the linear setting to be a little better than the hdmi setting ) and you should be good. 

[Guest]

thanks for the quick answer.

I'm going to hunt tomorrow for a reciever tomorrow.

[CaptainAust 1]

No problem, as i said, anything that outputs dolby dts to a  sub will be fine. Therefore you MAY /SHOULD be able to run it thu one of those logitec 5.1 surround setups and use the sub output of that unit to run to buttkicker then not only will your butkicker work but you will have a surround sound setup for your ps4. If you have to buy an amp anyway that might be something to concider

[Guest]

what exactly do you mean?

I now have a hard time finding a reciever with a Sub Input option. Most are equipped with a pre-out. So all tips are welcome

and I assume that the Amp must ensure that the signal from the HDMI extractor is converted into a full surround sound.

Or would it also work by simply connecting a seround set to the ps4 and from the reciever to connect the amplifier of the BK2 via the pre-out? Without the hdmi extractor.