ButtKicker BKA300 Wireless Home Theater Kit with ButtKicker Advance and Power Amplifier

by Buttkicker

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 19.5 x 10.5 x 19.5 inches ; 15 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 22 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B001HBH1B2
• Item model number: BK-Kit-4
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 14, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Buttkicker Adds Extra Kick to Your Home Theater

Standard 5.1 home theater was revolutionary in its day. But as moviemakers, game designers and special effects artists have pushed the envelope standard home theater has struggled to keep up. Not any more. By adding a ButtKicker to your existing home theater, you'll feel the action just as the director intended. Your new ButtKicker wireless kit sends bass — accurately, powerfully, musically — directly into your couch, chair or seat. The result is a connection to the action that standard 5.1 home theater can't touch.

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Power That's Wireless and Easy to Set Up

The ButtKicker wireless kit sends bass — accurately, powerfully, musically — directly into your couch, chair or seat. The Amplifier puts out 300 watts at 4 ohms and features a USB style plug-in connector to accept and power the RF Receiver.	Turn down the volume and crank-up the feeling by turning your home theater into a ButtKicker-powered home theater. It’s Wireless The ButtKicker Kit features an easy to use wireless RF Transmitter and Receiver so that you can send the audio signal from your A/V processor or TV to the ButtKicker amplifier and ButtKicker Advance unit.  Installation is a breeze and all the cables and wires you need are included. Remote Control This convenient Remote Control (IR) allows you to adjust the intensity of the ButtKicker system from the comfort of your Couch or Chair. The Remote Control also features three preset EQ settings to optimize the performance of the ButtKicker system for movies, music and gaming. All New ButtKicker Advance The ButtKicker Advance is a powerful and accurate low frequency audio transducer that is built with patented technology and is powerful enough to shake an entire couch. Easy & Versatile Mounting Options The ButtKicker Advance can be used with the Chair / Couch Mounting Bracket so that it can be easily slid under the one leg of your couch. The ButtKicker Advance features a universal mounting plate enabling the unit to be attached to both vertical and horizontal surfaces and used on all types of furniture and seating. You can also mount the ButtKicker Advance inside the couch and out of sight. Mounting Plate with Rubber Isolators Simply attach the ButtKicker Advance to the “Chair / Couch Mounting Plate” using the included hardware (even the wrench) and place it under one leg of your furniture.  Five additional rubber isolators are included to be place under the other legs of your furniture to maximize the effectiveness of the ButtKicker Advance and to reduce any vibration from being transmitted throughout the rest of your home or apartment. All New ButtKicker Power Amplifier The totally new BKA300-4 amplifier features BASH technology that is powerful, reliable and wireless.  The Amplifier puts out 300 watts at 4 ohms and features a USB style plug-in connector to accept and power the RF Receiver.  “Line in / out” connectors allow multiple units to be hard wired together and the “IR in / out” connectors allow multiple units to be used wirelessly and controlled by a single Remote Control. The optional base stand allows for vertical mounting and it ideal for placing the amplifier out of sight behind your furniture.	The ButtKicker Advance can be used with the Chair / Couch Mounting Bracket and features a wireless remote.
High Quality Cable and Wire Set The Kit comes with all  the cables and wires necessary  to connect to most home theater systems, gaming consoles and TV’s. Included are a RCA “Y” adapter, 1 m RCA male to male cable and a Speaker Level Interface Adapter” for connecting to your home theater or gaming system (whether “pre-out” powered subwoofer out, “passive” subwoofer out or simply a “line-out”) and 20’ of 14 gauge speaker wire with banana connectors for connecting the ButtKicker Advance to the Amplifier. What's in the Box Included in the box is the ButtKicker Advance low frequency audio transducer, ButtKicker power amplifier BKA300-4, remote control, wireless RF transmitter and receiver, chair / couch mounting bracket, rubber isolators, RCA ‘Y’ adaptor, RCA male to male cable, speaker wire, speaker level interface adaptor, amplifier base stand.

Product Description

All new ButtKicker Kit with new 4 ohm ButtKicker Advance transducer, the new wider couch / chair mounting accessory kit, new BKA300-4 amplifier (115v) with integrated wireless option, optional vertical stand, and remote control with preset EQ settings, 6m of high quality speaker wire with banana plugs, 1m high quality RCA interconnect and high quality male to female RCA Y adaptor and a speaker level interface adapter for connecting to A/V systems without subwoofer pre-outs, and an illustrated Quick Start Guide.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, but didn't work out for me, February 1, 2009

By	dash-o - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ButtKicker BKA300 Wireless Home Theater Kit with ButtKicker Advance and Power Amplifier (Electronics)

I purchased the ButtKicker BKA300 based on prior reviews here. This is my first time owning one of these systems. The intended purpose of was for more immersive movie-watching and playing on a PS3. The kit was setup with a HDTV using the line out on the TV using a Y-adapter to split between it and a 2.1 (two satellites one sub) speaker set. The rumble unit was setup under one of the four rear legs of a three-person sofa.

Watching live concert music on the Palladia channel really gives the feeling of being there. I started noticing that on regular TV programming one can hear muffled sound on most dialog as if the sofa was the speaker. This is a bit distracting, and an annoyance that could be addressed by sound proofing the furniture a bit.
The blu-ray version of The Dark Knight has some loud low frequency passages that causes a loud metallic thump. At first I though it was bouncing against the furniture or floor, so I took a couple of mouse pads as a quick fix test and put them in between the floor and another between the rumble platform and the sofa, but it did not fix the problem. I then watched Pirates of the Caribbean, again on blu-ray, fortunately not much of an issue here.

Gaming on the PS3 was another issue. Playing Call of Duty 4 with the rumble kit really brings gaming to a whole new level. Unfortunately, once I went online, grabbed a sniper rifle and aimed at someone, every heart beat the game produces started causing the metallic thump. I had someone else play while I tried troubleshooting the problem and noticed it was coming from inside the rumble module as if it was bottoming out. A few days later a family member was playing Resistance 2 and the module was not working. It had stopped working within an hour of playing, and was very hot to the touch. Once it cooled it worked again so it appears that it disables to prevent damage. I tried multiple settings for several days, lowering the "volume" on the amplifier, selecting different modes (music,movie,game,) but was not able to fix the problem.

Ultimately, I decided to return the unit. Really disappointing, I recently learned from reviews of the bigger brother (400 watts min, 1100 watts max) unit also bottoms out; this one is 50 watts. I may still give it a cautious try.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing product!, May 5, 2009

By	Richard Shuster - See all my reviews

This review is from: ButtKicker BKA300 Wireless Home Theater Kit with ButtKicker Advance and Power Amplifier (Electronics)

I've been enjoying my ButtKicker for five months now. The build quality impressed me and the instructions for installation are easy to follow. I've used it with Blu-ray discs/DVDs, an Xbox, and a Wii. To say that it adds another dimension to one's home theater is an understatement. As a gamer, I was blown away. The vibrations are proportionate to what is happening in the game. For example, while playing a WWII shooter, grenades resonate more strongly than bullets, etc. Also, being able to in essence, feel the proximity of an enemy adds an amazing degree of realism. Surprisingly, games on the Wii in Pro Logic II were just as impressive as Xbox games in digital 5.1. Using the ButtKicker with movies feels like being at an IMAX. I was concerned I might be disturbing neighbors when I watched The Dark Knight for the first time using the ButtKicker as it was so intense. My neighbors in the apartments below me and those next door said they heard nothing. I haven't spent a great deal of time using the ButtKicker with music but as was the case with movies and games, it delivers. That said, there are a couple things to consider before purchasing. As stated on their website, the BKA300 can't be expanded. So know going in that this will work with only one couch or chair. Also, while there is a remote, there are no level displays on the unit's receiver or remote itself. This was initially frustrating as I like different levels of intensity depending on the audio source. However, any smart remote can be used to control the ButtKicker which overcomes this issue. As an audiophile trapped in the budgetary constraints of being a full-time graduate student, the ButtKicker was the perfect purchase. It provides me the bone rattling experience of a dedicated home theater system before practicality allows me to have one. Any home theater enthusiast that lives in an apartment, dorm, or who uses their living room as their theater room should take a serious look at this product.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Turns your couch into an excellent subwoofer, but hard to install and the remote died too quickly., December 27, 2009

By	LawyerMom (USA) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: ButtKicker BKA300 Wireless Home Theater Kit with ButtKicker Advance and Power Amplifier (Electronics)

(What's this?)

We set this up to supplement our home theater system, which is run by a Pioneer VSX84TSXi A/V receiver and also uses a Polk subwoofer. The Buttkicker kit comes with the transducer itself, plus the amplifier for the unit, a long heavy duty speaker cable, a single-line RCA cable for signal connection, an RCA splitter for co-existence with a subwoofer, foot extension pads for the host couch and a remote control for the amplifier. Also included were a remote transmission system in case the transducer amplifier and your receiver are too far apart for the cable, and a four-line combiner if your receiver does not have a subwoofer channel (neither of which I used).

The kit as a whole consists of components packed together that are normally sold individually, so it was mildly confusing at first to piece together which parts would be needed for my system. There is a simple set of instructions for the overall kit, but it does not cover all installation possibilities.

Also, our home theater is idiosyncratic in that our couch is a sectional; the Buttkicker is really best meant to be attached to on a regular couch. The Buttkicker kit comes with five couch foot extension pads, so I had to supplement the kit with an extra rubber foot I scrounged up. I mounted the transducer unit at the back junction of two sectional units. I placed the unit amplifier on top of my receiver, ran the provided speaker cable behind my couch and connected the RCA cable (via the splitter) to the subwoofer channel of the Pioneer unit.

The first thing I did was to listen to the receiver's test tones. The subwoofer channel was a low shaking of the couch from the white noise, and demonstrated that the unit was working properly. I was worried that the large sectional would decrease its effect, but a rumbling was clear and it complemented the sound from the Polk subwoofer well.

For test media, I used a download of Star Trek from the iTunes store (with a 5.1 track) and the Extended Edition of The Fellowship of the Ring on DVD (with a 6.1 DTS track). The DVD player was connected to the Pioneer unit with a mini-TOSlink cable. The warp drive of the Enterprise came through splendidly, as did the battle rumbles and great roars of the Tolkien movie. For surround media sources, it's a welcome addition to our system. For plain vanilla stereo media without surround sound, it just shuts off automatically after five minutes of no surround input.

I have two other quibbles about the set aside from the confusing installation process that keep me from rating it higher. The first is that the remote control's battery died after a day. The remote does not use a standard battery, so we have not replaced it yet. This is particularly a problem because the remote is essential to switch between the Buttkicker's various frequency response modes, such as "music", "movies" and "games." There is no way to select these choices on the base unit without the remote. Also, there is no visual feedback for the volume settings, merely touch switches for raising and lowering it. It would be nice to know if I have lowered or raised the volume completely before I begin playback.

Overall, this is a good, if mildly pricy, product. The complexity of the setup makes it somewhat less than perfect for the not-so-technically savvy. For home theater enthusiasts for whom the price tag and the difficult installation process are not so much of an issue, however, it would be a very good way to increase the excitement of a home theater system.