A Guide To Home Theater Tactile Sound

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CinemaSource Technical Bulletins. Copyright 2001 by CinemaSource, Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this bulletin may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in brief quotations embodied in critical reviews. CinemaSource is a registered federal trademark. For information contact: The CinemaSource Press, 18 Denbow Rd. Durham, NH 03824

Home Theater Tactile Sound

Chapter 1: Introduction To Tactile Sound About Sound ----------------------------------------------------------------------- What musicians have to say about tactile sound ------------------------- A letter from Patrick Moraz------------------------------------------------------Chapter 2: The Physiology of Sound Hearing via air movement ------------------------------------------------------- Feeling via deep tissue movement ------------------------------------------- Feeling via skeletal Joint movement ----------------------------------------- Feeling via tactile stimulation -------------------------------------------------- Feeling via bone conduction --------------------------------------------------Chapter 3: Tactile Equipment Profiles RBH Sound ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Clark Synthesis -------------------------------------------------------------------- ButtKicker ---------------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter 4: Installing Tactile Transducers Using chairs and couches ------------------------------------------------------ Moving floors -----------------------------------------------------------------------Chapter 5: Wiring Tactile Sound Systems Cables -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Connecting to the tactile amplifier -------------------------------------------- Connecting to Transducers -----------------------------------------------------Chapter 6: Calibrating Tactile Systems How to calibrate a tactile system ---------------------------------------------- What about imaging ---------------------------------------------------------------Appendix Specifications for Clark Tactile Outputs ---------------------------------------

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Chapter One: Introduction To Tactile Sound

Introduction To Tactile Sound

loudspeakers, the industrys standard sound reproduction device, do just that. They are designed to push the air molecules closest to the drivers thereby creating longitudinal waves that eventually reach our ears. The result is what we call sound. However, this is a one dimensional way to look at our perception of sound because the phenomena of sound involves many more facets. In fact there are several other pathways that acoustic energy travels to us that reinforce our perception of sound, even though they do not enter our ears the standard way, that is, through our ear canals. In the following section you will see that there are five ways that pulsations in the auditory frequency range, when applied to the human body, can be perceived. Each of these sensory pathways has a different mechanism but all of them can reinforce the sounds that come in through our ears. The general term that seems to have been adopted for all these additional four pathways is Tactile Sound. The range of tactile sound, as identified by Clark Synthesis, is from about 1 hz to 800hz. As you can see, this is quite a bit higher than what subwoofers deliver and extends into the lower registers of the human vocal frequency ranges. Tactile sound reproduction can be utilized for many purposes. Of primary interest is the addition of tactile frequencies to the reproduction of recorded music and movie sound tracks. The effects in both of these arenas can be quite dramatic. Participants often refer to the experience as being thoroughly engaging, and describe a feeling that encompasses a sixth sense. That six sense is the increased realism obtained when tactile cues are added to conventional air-transmitted sounds. In addition to standard entertainment venues, tactile sounds and transducers find their way into other venues. These devices are one of the only ways that the profoundly deaf can experience external sounds. Tactile transducers have been used under Wenger floors at concerts for the hearing impaired. The results have been described as a miracle by many participants.

emember the scene in the original Jurassic Park when all the landrovers sputtered and stalled during the park tour? The rain was drumming hard on the roofs of the vehicles and the tension begins to rise. Slowly the camera zooms onto the surface of a still glass of water and then the surface begins to ripple. Here Spielberg was trying to visually give you a sense of something big about to happen. Because he was unable to shake the actual theater floor, he used the next best thing; a visual effect of water rippling. However, just suppose he was able to shake the entire theater floor and shake it in the way that a nearby 20 ton stomping T. Rex could. That would raise a few goosebumps would it not? Well, maybe the local theater cant do it, but you can at home with Tactile Transducers.

Tactile Transducers are electromechanical devices that are designed to drive large surfaces, such as seats and floors, with auditory information ranging from 1hz to 800hz. They are very powerful devices, but are intentionally installed and calibrated so as to subtly add the tactile sense that is missing from music and movie sound tracks. The result is nothing short of engrossing. Anyone who has experienced it will tell you that tactile sound adds another dimension to home entertainment.

About Sound Many people conceptualize sound as the perception our brain produces as a result of auditory energy traveling through air and stimulating our ears. This is further reinforced by the audio/video industry because

Chapter One: Introduction To Tactile Sound

The original environment for tactile transducers is commercial. In military simulators, for example, they are used to generate motion cues, These very low frequency cues are necessary to impart realism into flight and tank simulators. At the various Disney theme parks, hundreds of tactile transducers are employed in conventional rides and simulation rides.

A Famous Conductor Experiences Tactile Sound Reproduction... This anecdote was related to us by Tom Fenner at Clark Synthesis: During a reception, the conductor for the Denver Symphony Orchestra stepped out onto a cedar deck that was playing a Bach orchestral piece via Clark Synthesis transducers. After several minutes he exclaimed that he had never heard reproduced orchestral music so clearly and with such feeling. He exclaimed that he could hear and feel each instrument individually. Soon, he was sprawled out on the deck with his eyes closed and a grin on his face. Musicians do indeed here music with a different frame of reference than the rest of us. If you want to be privy to their inner sanctum of musical euphoria all that is required is a properly designed tactile reproduction system. On the next page we show a letter form Patrick Moraz, the keyboardist for the Moody Blues. Patrick is now a big supporter of this technology.

What Musicians Have To Say About Tactile Sound One of the earliest groups to embrace the use of tactile transducers is musicians. In order to understand why this is so requires a look at the physical mechanisms at work in a live music performance. Lets take a violinist, for example. When you listen to the recording of that violinist you attempt to recreate the exact perceptions that one feels during a live performance. It may surprise you to realize that what you feel and what the violinist feel are two different things. Heres why: When a violinist performs, he/she is drawing a slightly abrasive set of strings (the bow) across a set of finely tuned steel wires. This excites the wires to resonate and we hear these vibrations through our ears. However, consider our performer. He/she also feels these sounds. This feeling is direct in the fullest sense of the word, right up from the chin piece into the violinists body. The three main sensation mechanisms for a musician then are: 1) Through the ears via air-transmission, 2) through their skin via tactile sound reception 3) through their Cochlea via bone conduction. In short, musicians during a live performance experience music quite differently than we do as passive listeners. You can thus guess at what it is like when a musician hears tactile sound for the first time. They are usually ecstatic

Chapter One: Introduction To Tactile Sound

Chapter Two: The Physiology of Sound

for this is the overlapping of five different perceptual phenomena:

The Physiology of Sound

1) Hearing Via Air Transmission (Energy Pathway A) The standard way we perceive acoustic energy is through our ears. The mechanism is pretty simple. Vibrating air molecules enter the ear canal and push against the air drum. This energy is transmitted to the cochlea through the inner ear bones. The cochlea is a fluid-filled sense organ in which small hairs (Cilia) convert mechanical vibrations into the perception of sound.

n order to better understand the physiology of sound, lets take a look at the launching of a space shuttle mission. In the illustration below have a man and his son watching a lift off. The sonic impact of this event on our two observers involves two distinct pathways and a variety of psychophysiological mechanisms.

2) Feeling Via Deep Tissue Movement (Energy Pathway B) The ground that is vibrating almost imperceptually beneath our observers is stimulating nerve endings that reside in deep tissues and muscle mass. This sense is called Kinesthetic. It comes from the Greek word, Kinos, which means to move. These kinesthetic sensations are gut feelings that occur when powerful objects excite the ground near us.

First, lets examine the event itself. When the space shuttles engines are initially ignited, a tremendous blast occurs at the launch site. The enormous energy released travels through the earth and is transferred to our two observers via the ground they stand on. This energy is felt almost immediately because sound waves travel very fast through solid media. Next, after several seconds, the actual sound of the shuttle reaches our observers in a thundering roar. By this time both father and son have goosebumps covering their entire backsides. The reason

3) Feeling Via Skeletal Joint Movement (Energy Pathway B) The ground that is vibrating beneath our observers is also stimulating nerve endings that reside in skeletal joints and

Chapter Two: The Physiology of Sound

deep tissues. This sense is called Haptic. It comes from the Greek word, haptein, which means to touch.

4) Feeling Via Tactile Stimulation (Energy Pathway B) The ground that is moving beneath our friends is also stimulating the nerve endings that reside just under the outer layer of skin. This sense should be familiar to you, it is your sense of touch. Ordinarily, the sense of touch does not come into play with acoustic events but in the situation where loud noises are being produced it does. It also comes into play for musicians who hold their instruments when playing.

5) Feeling Via Bone Conduction (Energy Pathway B) If you look at the diagram of the inner ear (on the previous page) you will see that the Cochlea, the sense organ that takes the mechanical movements of acoustic energy and translates them into nerve impulses, is firmly encased in the skull bone. This bony protection allows for a secondary pathway for sound waves to reach the Cochlea; directly through the bone mass itself. The phenomena of bone conduction is well known and has been exploited by many people. For example; in cases of structural hearing loss, where the ear drum or the inner ears bones are damaged beyond repair, various companies manufacture bone conducting hear aids. These devices clamp onto the back of the ears, or are actually implanted into the skull, to directly stimulate the Cochlea via local bone conduction.

Nerve Receptors in Skin Surface

Nerve Receptors in Muscle Tissue

Chapter Two: The Physiology of Sound

Diagram of The Inner Ear

Sound waves push on the eardrum which mechanically stimulates the three ear bones These push on the oval window of the cochea and create the sensation of sound. .

Chapter Three: Tactile Equipment P rofiles

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Tactile Equipment Profiles

On the next three pages w e profile three manufacturers of tactile sound equipment

RBH Sound, Inc 976 N. Marshall -Bldg # 2 Unit 4 Layton, UT 84041 800-543-2205, Fax: 801-543-3300 info@rbhsound.com

FX-80 Motion Actuator Technical Specifications:

Frequency Response: 15Hz-90Hz (+3dB) Resonant Frequency: 43 Hz Recommended Power: 20-150 Watts Impedance: 4 Ohm Force: 60 Lbf @ 100 Watts Dimensions: 4 34 Dia. x 2 34" H Weight: 3 Lbs.

SAM-200 Amplifier Technical Specifications:

Amplifier Type: Discrete Class A/B Power Output: 200 Watts into 4 ohms @ 1% THD Distortion (THD): <.15% @ 1 Watt S/N Ratio: >75 dB (without filter) Input Impedance: 45 Kohms (line level in) 200 ohms (speaker level input) Input Sensitivity: 18 mV (line level input) 100 mV (speaker level input) Crossover Slope: 12 dB/octave Crossover Freq. Range: 40Hz-180Hz (-3dB) Auto Turn-on Sensitivity: 6mV @ 50Hz Frequency Response: 10Hz-40kHz (-3dB) (crossover off) 10Hz-Variable from 40Hz-180Hz (-3dB) (crossover on) Damping Factor: >100 Dimensions: 17" W x 4" H x 13" D Weight: 17 Lbs.

Chapter Three: Tactile Equipment P rofiles

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Clark Synthesis, Inc 8122 Southpark Lane, Building 300A Littleton, CO 80120 303-797-7500 Fax: 303-797-7501 info@clarksynthesis.com
Clark Synthesis was one of the first companies to target the home theater market with their tactil products. Today they remain one of the best tactile products available. On the next page the wide variety of tactile products that they offer are profiled.

Chapter Three: Tactile Equipment P rofiles

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TACTILE PRODUCT S PRICE LIST

1229 PACKAGE Special Two (2) TST229 One (1) Amp One, Two (2) XCF 50 Crossovers, Two Year Warranty $699.99 TST 229 Tactile Sound Transducer Magnet: 20 oz. Ceramic, Tactile Force: >1.6 lbs/watt Application: Single seating In home theater and car Installation $199.95 TST 329 Tactile Sound TM Transducer Magnet: 20 oz. Neodymium, Tactile Force: >2.8 lbs/watt Polyswitch Protected Application: Risers and seating In home theater Installations $499.95 TST 3710 Tactile Sound Transducer Magnet: 25 oz. Neodymium, Tactile Force: >3.5 lbs/watt Polyswitch Protected Application: Risers and seating In home theater Installation $599.95 PLATINUM I Tactile Sound Transducer Magnet: 25 oz. Neodymium, Tactile Force: >6.9 lbs/watt Application: Risers and seating In home theater Installation producing maximum low end response $699.95 TST 229WP Weather Proof Tactile Sound Transducer Magnet: 20 oz. Ceramic, Tactile Force: >1.6 lbs/watt Polyswitch Protected Application: Decks Benches and outdoor use, high humidity environments $239.95 TST 329WP Weather Proof Tactile Sound Transducer Magnet: 20 oz. Neodymium, Tactile Force: >2.8 lbs/watt Polyswitch Protected Application: Decks Benches and outdoor use, high humidity environments $529.95

TST 3710WP Weather Proof Tactile Sound Transducer Magnet: 25 oz. Neodymium, Tactile Force: >3.5 lbs/watt Polyswitch Protected, Weather Proof Application: Decks and outdoor use high humidity environments $629.95 TST 229 WT Water Tight Tactile Sound Transducer Magnet: 20 oz. Ceramic, Tactile Force: >1.6 lbs/watt Water Tight submersible 60 p.s.i.g. Application: Retro-- fit spas Marine applications boat hulls, bilge's $259.95 TST 329 WT Water Tight Tactile Sound Transducer Magnet: 20 oz. Neodymium, Tactile Force: >2.8 lbs/watt, Water Tight submersible 60 p.s.i.g. Application: Retro-- fit spas Marine applications boat hulls, bilge's $549.95 TST 3710 WT Water Tight Tactile Sound Transducer Magnet: 25 oz. Neodymium, Tactile Force: >3.5 lbs/watt, Water Tight submersible 60 p.s.i.g. Application: retro-- fit spas Marine applications boat hulls, bilge's $649.95 Aqua 229 AquasonicTactile Sound Underwater Speaker Magnet: 20 oz. Ceramic, Tactile Force: >1.6 lbs/watt Sound Lens for high fidelity sound, Application: Small Pools, Spas $359.95 Aqua 329 AquasonicTactile Sound Underwater Speaker Magnet: 20 oz. Neodymium, Tactile Force: >2.8 lbs/watt Sound Lens for High fidelity sound, Application: Pools, Spas, Underwater communication $599.95 Aqua 3710 Aquasonic Tactile Sound Underwater Speaker Magnet: 25 oz. Neodymium, Tactile Force: >3.5 lbs/watt Sound Lens for high fidelity sound, Application: Pools, Spas, Underwater communication $699.95

Chapter Three: Tactile Equipment P rofiles

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TST 229 WTL Aquasonic Tactile Sound Underwater Speaker Magnet: 20 oz. Ceramic, Tactile Force: >1.6 lbs/watt Application: Flush mount in American Products Amerlite light nicheunderwater swimming pool light fixture $339.95 TST 329 WTL Aquasonic Tactile Sound Underwater Speaker Magnet: 20 oz. Neodymium, Tactile Force: >2.8 lbs/watt Polyswitch Protected Application: Flush mount in American Products Amerlite light niche underwater swimming pool light fixture $575.95 TST 3710 WTL Aquasonic Tactile Sound Underwater Speaker Magnet: 25 oz. Neodymium, Tactile Force: >3.5 lbs/watt Highest Fidelity & Output Application: Flush mount in American Products Amerlite light nicheunderwater swimming pool light fixture $675.95

Amp 5.2 Amplifier Amplifier 1 Channel, 240 Watts at 4W, Front panel gain control, Stable into 2W, RCA and XLR inputs, small profile. Dimensions 5 1/2W X 4 1/2H X 11 1/2D $249.95 EQ 2 Graphic Equalizer Ten Band Stereo Spectrum analyzer display, Channel Level controls, Two stereo line inputs, Dual Tape monitor loops,unswitched 120v outlet .01THD. Dimensions 16 1/2W X 3 1/2H X 11 1/2D $159.95 LLC Line Level Converter Converts Line level (speaker level) to RCA (low level) Made in USA $34.95 Y3 Y Cable Gold Plated Y Splitter, 2 female X 1 Male RCA connector $7.95 XCF500 Crossover 500Hz Low Pass Gold Plated inline crossover 12db per octave. Application: reduce localization and high frequencies in home theater applications. $34.95

Amp 1 Amplifier Amplifier 2 Channel, 135 Watts per channel XCF200 Crossover at 4W, Front panel gain control, 200Hz Low Pass Gold Plated XCF500/XCF200 Crossovers Mono Bridgeable, Stable into 2W, inline crossover 12db per octave. Line out jacks, unswitched 120v Application: Reduces localization outlet .04THD. 110 db S/N and high frequencies in home Dimensions 16 1/2W X 2 3/8H X 11 5/8D $299.95 theater applications. $34.95 Amp 3 Amplifier Amplifier 2 Channel, 240 Watts per channel at 4W, Front panel gain control, Mono Bridgeable, Stable into 2W, Line out jacks, A &B Speaker Switching, .04THD. Dimensions 16 1/2W X 2 3/8H X 11 5/8D $549.95 XSF20 Subsonic Filter Sub sonic Gold Plated inline crossover 12db per octave. Application: Reduces ultra low frequencies in signal that is not needed in some applications. $34.95

Chapter Three: Tactile Equipment P rofiles

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The Guitammer Company, Inc . PO Box 82 Westerville, OH 43086 support@guitammer.com Voice: 888-676-2828 Fax: 815-346-9532
The Guitammer Company offers their Buttkicker series of tactile transducers to the home theater enthusiast. These transducers are large but very powerful. Note that they need powerful amplifiers to drive them also (1000 watts recommended)

SPECIFICATIONS: Impedance: 4 ohms, inductive Power Requirements: 350 watts minimum, 1000 watts recommended 1200 watts peak Resonance: 9 Hz. Response: 5-200 Hz. Size: 7.5" W x 7.13" H x 6.0" D Weight: 18 lbs. (22 lbs shipping) Thermal Limit (internal): 150 F. (70 C.)

Chapter Four: Installing Tactile T ransducers

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construction. As it sets, the furniture may not respond properly at low frequencies.

Installing Tactile Transducers

Using Chairs and Couches Two primary reasons for shaking furniture rather than the floor are: 1) It is not possible to move the floor. If your floor is a concrete slab, and therefore resting totally on the earth, it will not move. Shaking your entertainment room furniture is the next viable alternative. 2) You choose not to move the floor. If you live in an apartment building with neighbors below you, you may want to enjoy the low frequency shaking of a tactile transducer without disturbing their privacy. Shaking your floor may mean that their ceiling will also shake. Therefore the furniture to be shaken must be isolated from the floor and driven more directly. For full low frequency response in any configuration, the furniture on which you sit must be allowed to move with or without the floor. The best experience is obtained by shaking the floor and everything on it, because the floor is your physical connection to your environment. Moving the furniture alone, and therefore only part of the body, presents the distinct disadvantage of allowing the feet to rest on solid, unmoving ground, allowing your mind to deny all other senses input. This disadvantage can be drastically reduced by adding a properly built platform under the furniture with a forward extension for resting your feet. Since both configurations will be applied, we will cover each separately. Most furniture will not provide adequate low frequency

ll structures suspended between two or more hard points will bend and shake between those hard points, depending on the construction and rigidity of the suspended sections. For example consider a room with suspended joist floors. The floor is supported around the edges (at the walls) and is capable of bending and vibrating in the area between its supported hard points. This is similar to a guitar string that can vibrate between its supporting hard points at each end of the string. This floor would be best shaken by a tactile transducer mounted to the floor in the center area of the room. Another example: consider a room with a concrete slab floor, laying directly on the earth. This floor will be practically impossible to shake. In your main listening area, your favorite couch is the next viable option. The feet at the ends of the couch are pressed and held firm against the concrete slab by its weight and are therefore unmoving hard points of the couch. The length of the couch between the feet is suspended and will bend and shake only to the degree allowed by its materials and

Mounting Underneath A Home Theater Room Floor

Chapter Four: Installing Tactile T ransducers

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2x6 Bridge Details

Construction Of A 4 by 4 Home Theater Room Riser Platform

Chapter Four: Installing Tactile T ransducers

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response while resting directly on an unmoving floor. Therefore, some kind of "cushion" needs to be placed between the furniture feet and the floor to isolate the furniture from the floor allowing the furniture to vibrate. With some kind of rubber cushion between the furniture feet and the floor, the furniture is allowed to move without the floor moving. The material and shape of material are dependent on the mass of the furniture and occupants supported by the material. One simple solution is to use a rubber isolator of some sort (see image below). This offers a small surface suspended above the floor on which the furniture can set. If the weight supported by the isolator is too much then use multiple isolators. An extremely effective alternative is a simple platform, large enough for the furniture it will be under, and the

users feet. The tactile transducer(s) may be mounted on top of the platform, either under the couch or chair (remove dust covers) or behind the couch or chair. Moving Floors The floor of your entertainment area is your physical connection to your environment. A suspended, joist floor is the preferred mounting surface for the tactile transducers. Best results are obtained by installing two 2" x 6" boards between two floor joists (see the diagram on the previuos page). Place them near the center of the room, or near the seating area of the audience, avoiding any supports and bracing that would not allow the floor to move. Then mount the tactile transducer to the two 2" x 6" boards.

A Tactile Transducer Mounted Under A Sea t

Buttkicker Attached directly to Chair Wooden F rame

Rubber Isolation Feet

Chapter Five: Wiring Tactile Systems

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Wiring Tactile Sound Systems

Hz, but it is the producers who determine the content of a sound track. Therefore, the level and range of bass contained within any given sound track will vary. Even though a video may show the launch of a rocket, the audio will contain only what the producers chose to include in the audio track. Tactile transducers simply respond with great fidelity to the existing low frequency content, much as a speaker responds to the signal given it.

Cables The use of a large cable between the amplifier and the transducer is important, particularly if long cable runs are required. For shorter runs, 16-gauge wire would be minimum and 12-gauge is recommended. For lengths over 25 feet, 10-gauge wire is recommended.

onnecting Tactile Transducers to existing audio systems and home theaters is pretty straight forward. Conceptually it is similar to connecting an external amplifier and additional speakers to an existing sound system. Not all sound sources are alike Tactile transducers respond to a broad range of bass frequencies, including those far below what we hear, or way down into the feeling range of sound. Today's digital sound sources are capable of carrying signals down to 5

Choosing Power Amps Check with the manufacturer of the tactile transducer for minimum power requirements. Clark Synthesis recommends a minimum of 100 watts and suggests more. Buttkicker recommends a minimum of 350 watts and recommends up to 1000 watts.

Chapter Five: Wiring Tactile Systems

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When choosing a power amplifier for tactile use, please be aware of the low frequency response of the amp. Many manufacturers rolloff, or cut frequencies below 20 Hz, usually because anything below 20 Hz has been considered unusable and damaging for speaker systems. Therefore, amplifier manufacturers often include additional circuitry in their amplifiers to reduce or eliminate those damaging "unusable" signals before they are amplified and sent to the speaker. This roll off of low frequencies (also called high-pass filtering) is not good for tactile transducers, although a shallow roll off can be tolerated (i.e. -1.5 dB to -3 dB at 10 Hz). A full cut at 20 Hz and below is not acceptable because it will severely limit some of the tactile information reaching the tactile transducer. You should find frequency response listed among the amplifier manufacturer's specifications. Connecting A/V receivers and Pre-amplifiers to the Tactile Amplifier: The tactile amplifiers need a source of full range (not subwoofer, rolled off) signal. As shown on the previous page, we illustrate the Clark/Carver TFM-6 amplifier which has two sets of inputs for flexibility. The first set of inputs is for line level, left and right, audio signals. These can be accessed from A/V receivers and pre-amplifiers via several audio outputs. In our diagram, we show these

signals being accessed via the Tape Monitor outputs. This is probably the most popular way because few A/V and music audio systems have two tape players these days. Another method is to use the subwoofer out and a Yconnector to split the signal. This method is illustrated below. If line level audio is not available, Mobile Authority offers the HSHL-2 Adjustable Line Level Convertor. This passive device takes speaker level audio and drops it down to line level with no distortion. This device derives line level audio which can be fed directly to the amplifier.

Connecting to the Tactile Amplifier to the Transducers: Connecting the tactile transducers to the amplifier is similar to connecting speakers to an amplifier. As our diagram on the next page shows, you can use conventional heavy gauge speaker wire. (Note: be sure to wire the transducer in-phase. Two speaker cones pushing air out of phase is bad enough. Imagine two tactile drivers driving your floor out of phase. They will basically cancel each other out.)

Chapter Five: Wiring Tactile Systems

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Mobile Authority HSHL-2 Adjustable Line Level Converter

-Drops speaker level audio signals down to line level

Chapter Six: Calibr ating Tactile Systems

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1) The tactile effect can be simply annoying. The driven surfaces will be thumping and resonating constantly. This will ruin the desired effect which is to subtly add detail to the lower frequencies in the audio tracks.

Calibrating Tactile Systems

2) You can violate the Haas -10db level (See side bar below). When this occurs, the higher level tactile sound waves can mix with the speaker sounds and create imaging problems.

How to calibrate a tactile system: 1) Using a test CD or built-in test tone generator (All Dolby Pro-Logic Decoder have this) play a 1 Khz test tone.

alibrating the Tactile Transducer System is important for several reasons:

2) With a Sound Pressure Level (SPL) meter such as the Radio Shack 33-2050, adjust the tactile transducers 10db less than the main speakers using the C weighted scale. Its that simple!

1) If the relative level of the transducers is set too low then there will be insufficient tactile transduction to the floor and/or seating surfaces. This, of course, would be unfortunate because it ruins the potential effect of tactile sound. 2) If the transducers are set too high, two things can occur:

Radio Shack 33-2050 SPL Meter

What about Imaging?

A common question and possible objection to tactile technology is the effect of other transducers in the listening environment. Many A/V enthusiasts spend a considerable amount of time choosing the type and brand of audio equipment they use. Often they expend a similar amount of energy finding the best location for this equipment for optimum imaging and sound quality. Mention to an audiophile that you want to drive the whole floor with sound energy and you are bound to get a strong response. Maybe even a panic stricken one. Fortunately the situation is clear cut. Tactile transducers DO NOT interfere with other transducers when they are calibrated properly. And we have a German Scientist by the name of Helmut Haas to thank. The Haas Precedence Effect identifys the phenomena by which the human auditory system combines sounds reaching our ears within brief intervals. For example, in an auditorium situation, our ears and brain gather together all reflections arriving within 30 to 50 msec after the direct sound and integrate them into the the same sound perception. The exception occurs when the sounds during this time interval are greatly different in amplitude. Haas measured this amplitude difference and discovered that the number necessary to decorrelate the fusing of sounds is approximately 10 db. Sounds that are more than that in amplitude are perceived as separate sounds, sounds less than that are not. Conclusion: By calibrating the tactile transducer volume to 10 db (or more) lower than the primary speakers will eliminate interference. Imaging will remain intact yet the valuable tactile energy will reach the audience.

Appendix

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Appendix

Specifications for Clark Synthesis TACTILE OUTPUT for Electronics Products

The Clark Synthesis Tactile Output may be incorporated into stand-alone 5.1 signal processors or components such as home theater receivers that contain a 5.1 signal processor. The Tactile Output shall be made available through a dedicated pair of RCA-type jacks as either a letf/right stereo signal or as two (2) identical left+right monoaural signals. The default output configuration shall be left/right stereo. The Tactile Output signal shall be derived from the front left and front right channels, the LFE (.1 or Sub) channel, and the rear left and rear right effects channels. In addition, users will have the option of mixing in as much as 50% of the center (dialog) channel. This option, which increases dialog intelligibility, is intended principally for hearing-impaired users. The Tactile Output signal shall be subject to a useradjustable delay ranging from 0ms to 50ms. This delay allows users to compensate for the time differential between feeling the sound vibrations (immediate) and hearing the sounds (delayed by distance from loudspeakers). The Tactile Output signal level shall be user-adjustable from 50% of the 0dB reference level to 100% over the 0dB reference level, via either a hardware or a software control.

Composition of RIGHT Clark Tactile Output Signal 50% of FRONT RIGHT channel 50% of LFE channel 50% of REAR RIGHT channel 0% to 50% of CENTER channel Composition of LEFT Clark Tactile Output Signal 50% of FRONT LEFT channel 50% of LFE channel 50% of REAR LEFT channel 0% to 50% of CENTER channel Composition of MONOAURAL Clark Tactile Output Signal 25% of FRONT RIGHT channel 25% of FRONT LEFT channel 50% of LFE channel 25% of REAR RIGHT channel 25% of REAR LEFT channel 0% to 50% of CENTER channel Hardware or Software Controls to be Included MODE Stereo or Mono DELAY - from 0ms to 50ms in 1ms intervals CENTER BLEND - from 0% to 50% in 1% intervals LEVEL - from -50% to +100% of 0dB reference level MUTE - mutes the Tactile Output signal

CLARK SYNTHESIS 8122 Southpark Lane, Suite 110, Littleton, CO 80120 P:(303) 797-7500 F:(303) 797-7501 www.clarksynthesis.com

Appendix

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