Crowson Tactile transducers long term review (TES100 & A300)
Right, having had these devices set up in my home and been using them for a year now I thought it might be time to commit my thoughts to (virtual) paper.
For those who aren’t yet aware of the Buttkicker and Quake threads or are still wondering why the subwoofer forum had ‘tactile transducers’ added; the Crowson kit in question is a system designed to add extremely low (infrasonic) frequency effects to your films. Picking up around the point that the subwoofer normally stops producing useful output, tactile transducers provide, what is essentially, a powerful rumbling effect designed to complement your existing sound system and increase immersion.
There are several types of design and the Crowson’s are described as ‘linear actuators’, essentially you would normally find these pushing the cone back and forth inside a speaker. Here instead they will be pushing your sofa up and down!
The unique selling point of this kit is that not only does it work off the lfe channel (the .1 in your 5.1) it also takes a feed from your front left and right speakers, in theory this allowes a stereo affect in its low end rumbling.
So, with the theory out of the way, what do you get for your money (I paid around £1150 from Kent Home cinema):
An A300 Stereo amplifier, as the concept is to physically move you in your seats, plenty of grunt is needed here. Crowson’s own amplifier is rated at 160w into 6 omhs for each of its two channels. You could, of course, save quite a bit by specifying a different brand but the A300 does have excellent build quality, good looks, remote control and the essential variable crossover.
The TES100, a pair of metal plates which go under your chair or sofa, feature a rough top section to inhibit unwanted movement and regular binding posts to connect your speaker cable. You also get a couple of rubber feet to balance out your seating.
Setup is pretty straight-forward, effectively identical to setting up a simple hi-fi. Care needs to be taken by users of equalisation systems such as a Behringer, SVS or anti-mode, your feed goes into these after the Transducer setup before going to the subwoofer. Then you can also connect your pre-outs from your receiver from your front two channels to the A300 for the stereo effect. Otherwise your only configuration is to set volume and crossover.
Now, unlike setting up a subwoofer where great results tend to come from actual measurements, the Crowson system really needs to be set up ‘for taste’. Luckily the system has a remote which makes tweaking during a watching/listening session much easier. So, what did I think about the system?
Well, rather like a large speaker or sub upgrade, this is a product which certainly makes its presence felt immediately (pun intended, for which I apologise). Straight away I tore through my collection of action films on Blu-Ray, with everything from Master and Commander and the Matrix gaining an extra level of excitement and immediacy. The temptation is, of course, to overcook the level somewhat which can be a lot of fun, much in the same way as with a subwoofer the best results tend to come from turning the device down so that it is felt but is not intrusive. One of the commenters on the AVforums posted that it made large sub impacts feel like they were occurring, physically much closer to the seating position and I wholeheartedly agree. Watching the Moria scene from Fellowship of the Ring made this really stand out - as the cave troll crashes his stone hammer into the floor - the impact seemed dramatically more real and much more ‘in the room’ than with just a subwoofer.
Games improved to an even greater degree; playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 left me shaking with excitement from firing a .50cal static gun, as its bruising recoil thudded through my entire body. With the cross-over set low enough there are no strange moments of inappropriate bass just a feeling of extra immersion (yes, that word again). Playing Need for speed shift was the only time that the stereo effect really made itself felt; you could really tell that one side of your car was losing grip over the other, there was also the great feel of the engine thrumming through the sofa; good stuff.
Playing music is, fairly unsurprisingly, the point where the system fails to impress. I’m sure there are a few bass heads who would like the experience, but without any proper context for the physical impacts I felt that the sensation was detrimental to even the output of the likes of Nine Inch Nails and the Prodigy. Music will, I suspect, have you reaching for the remote to subdue or switch off the system.
Now purists will, of course, start complaining that none of this is what ‘the director intended’ and, to be fair, this is almost certainly true. I feel however, that directors and designers are not aiming for these devices as they are not popular enough, not because they don’t feel it would add to the experience. Generally no part of our setup will be ‘as the director intended’ whether we are watching on smaller screens, wearing headphones or perhaps have four subs to balance out room nodes. All we can do as enthusiasts is make the most of what is encoded onto the disc and the Crowson system does a really good job of making movies and games that little bit more compelling and exciting.
To sum up, an expensive upgrade and only you can decide if the money would be more profitably spent on other areas of your system. But given all that, should you buy one? Hell yes!
Overall rating 8/10
Pros
Extra immersion in Games and Movies
Excellent build quality and features
Easy to install
Plenty of wow factor for guests
Cons
No use for music
Expensive, rather over-priced compared to competing solutions
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