I bought a Buttkicker Mini LFE second hand and connected it to a failry widely available lower cost amp, the Nobsound G2 PRO Hi-Fi 300W. The combination was a lot cheaper than any used Buttkicker Gamer options but took some setting up which I thought I should share. Now that I have it configured correctly and tuned, it works great and is very immersive:
PC sound output: SPDIF-Out (Creative Soundblaster Z) to separate surround amp and speakers.
PC sound setup: Windows Settings, Sound, Output and MSFS 2020, General Options, Sound both set to SPDIF-Out (Creative Soundblaster Z) at whatever volume I want.
PC shaker output: Creative Soundblaster Z speaker output (green port normally designated for Front L&R speakers) to amp’s audio in. Amp’s speaker out (not Sub out) to Buttkicker. I have the advantage of two sound outputs from one soundcard so rather than having to split the sound signal between speakers and buttkicker, I can set the volumes independently and any change to my actual sound volume doesn’t impact the Buttkicker – see lessons learnt.
PC Buttkicker setup: Windows Settings, Sound, Advanced sound options, App volume and device preferences, HaptiConnect set to Speakers (Sound Blaster Z). HaptiConnect Flight Pack, Configure set to Speakers (Sound Blaster Z).
Nobsound G2 PRO Hi-Fi 300W setup: Gain dip switches set to the higher 36dB level, front switch set to Sub (not full frequency range PBTL), Sub Frequency Control set to max (supposedly this gives a range from 20 Hz to approx. 200 Hz) and the amp’s volume control set quite low e.g. approx. 9 o’clock which is 15 to 20% of its range.
Buttkicker Mini LFE screwed to the wooden underside of my cannibalised office chair.
HaptiConnect Flight Pack settings – they vary a bit with aircraft but typically:
Lessons Learnt:
- A cheap USB sound dongle that I tried was a hopeless way of outputting shaker signal to the amp. My guess is that it had a very poor frequency response that tailed off at the lower frequencies. I used a UGREEN dongle, here is the frequency data for another similar looking, similarly priced UGREEN model:
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My motherboard’s onboard Realtek sound output was equally unsuitable. With either the UGREEN dongle or the mobo’s REALTEK output, the HaptiConnect Test mode produced a fairly smooth but mid-frequency test pattern and in MSFS 2020, no matter what volume / HaptiConnect / amp settings I tried, the Buttkicker was unstable – it was either very underwhelming or banging away like the clappers.
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If I have interpreted an audiophile review correctly, the Creative Soundblaster Z has a much more neutral frequency response curve compared to the UGREEN dongle – here it is:
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The HaptiConnect Test pattern produces a much lower frequency pattern (like you would expect) when outputting via the Creative sound card and the whole set up is quite controllable.
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The best volume combination I have found for the Creative / Nobsound pairing is to set the Creative volume to 100% (Windows Settings, Sound, Advanced sound options, App volume and device preferences, HaptiConnect) and use the amp’s volume control to manage the intensity with the Flight Pack doing the fine tuning. I guess this has something to do with the Gain profiles of the various volume controls.
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One possible drawback of this setup is that the Nobsound amp’s frequency range, when set to Sub not PBTL is only 20Hz - 200Hz whereas the Buttkicker itself and presumably their proprietary amp can deliver 5Hz - 350hz. Switching to PBTL gives a higher top end to the frequency range but the amp has to be cranked up higher. Having never tried a full Buttkicker Gamer setup I can’t compare or say whether, in MSFS, I am missing anything in the 5 to 20Hz range but I’m quite satisfied with what I get. I suspect the 5 to 20Hz range may come into play in other games e.g. when a starship rolls overhead or something explodes.
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If you have the money, a Buttkicker Gamer is probably the way to go!
