Bass shaker - maximum load

[fgelinas]

I just got my 2 Aura bass shakers pro. I had to add a bit of wood to the couch to mount them. I wired them in series to get an 8 ohm load. I'm powering them with a pro amp (Behringer EP 1500). They work fine. I'm concerned about their maximum load though. I think the amp could send more than the shakers 40W. With a sub, you can ear it when it's pushing too much, but how would I know when too much power is applied to the shakers?

[philiparcario]

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=299-028%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&FTR=bass%20shaker%20pro&CFID=9047412&CFTOKEN=84622758

the bass shaker pro is 50 watts. you have 2 in series giving 8ohms and 100watts. you have a behringer ep1500 amp. did you bridge the ep1500 behringer. or are you using 1 channel for the shakes and 1 for your sub?

if 1 channel is for the shakers and 1 channel is for your sub you can set the gain lower for the shaker then the sub. the amp can put out about 200 to 230 watts for 1 channel at 8 ohms. just don't max the gain knob set it at 18 and it should limit the wattage to a safe level.

if you have a very big sub that puts out a lot of sound. you may need more bass shakers to match levels maybe 2 more.

[fgelinas]

I'm using only 1 side. I knew about the Behringer's specs. Can I be 100% sure that it's safe to run the amp at the 18 mark? What's the math behind this?

What happens when a shaker is overdriven?

[HT-EXT]

The only way I have found to tell if you are over-powering shakers is the all too familiar smell of burnt wires. Run the shakers for about 10 minutes with heavy bass music. If they are warm you might be alright. If hot then you need to decrease your power. Shakers are pretty tuff and love power. My suggestion would be hook up more shakers to suck up the extra power. Just my opinion.



HT-EXT

[saturos01@aol.com]

I agree with that. My test was originally just to see how hot they get. They are pretty much just a Voice Coil attached to the furniture, so if they are getting warm, that's perfectly normal, but hot, not so good. I just let mine run at what I thought was a good level for a few hours and came back to them to make sure they weren't overheating. then I just kept turning it up and waiting until they did get a little hot and then that was my max.
Kind of round-about but it's the most assured way.
More shakers are always good....:rolleyes:

[Dirk]

Maybe this is just my take, but if you're worried about max power they can handle, then you're probably running them too hot. Most people, after they get over the initial "wow" factor, will find that it's very easy for them to be overwhelming. Realistically, you'll probably end up with the gain on the amp set pretty low.

You may want to consider looking for a subwoofer crossover to go along with them. Your mileate may vary, but I find there's too much upper-bass leakage unless you have a dedicated sub crossover. I would suggest an upper-end cutoff around 40hz.

[lhd]

I run regular auras at ~60w each with little issue. Mine do not have the fins the pros do and they rarely get warm to the touch. I dont get any clunking or burning at all.

[ocool_15]

I have had a 150W rms @ 4 ohm plate amp go into thermal shutdown running one of these after ~20 min. They do sound/feel cleaner at lower volumes though. I use mine mounted to the bottom of a chair for the pc so furniture doesn't block anything.