• Thanks for visiting the Kaleidescape Owners' Forum

    This forum is for the community of Kaleidescape owners, and others interested in learning about the system, equipment, services, and the company itself.

    It is run by a group of enthusiastic Kaleidescape owners and dealers purely as a service to this community.

    This board is not affiliated in any way with Kaleidescape, Inc.
    For official technical support, product information, or customer service, please visit www.kaleidescape.com

  • You are currently in "Guest" mode and not logged in with a registered account.

    The forum is free to use and most of the forum can be used by guests who are not registered....

    ... but we strongly encourage you to register for a full account. There is no cost to register for a full account.

    Benefits of registering for a full account:

    • Participate in the discussions! You must have a registered account to make posts on the forums. You will be able to start your own thread on a topic or question, or you can reply to other threads/discussions.
    • Use the "Conversation" feature (known as "private messaging" on other forums) to communicate directly with any of the other users here.
    • Access the Files area. The "resources" area of the forum contains many "Favorite Scene" and Script files that can dramatically increase the enjoyment of your Kaleidescape system. Go directly to great scenes in your favorite movies, created by other owners, and add automation to playback of your system with Scripts.
    • You won't see this annoying notice at the top of every screen!😊

    It's easy and free to register for the forum. Just click the "Register" button in the upper right corner of this page, and follow the instructions there.

Seat Actuators or Video Processor

C

CPickler

Well-known member
I am trying to decide between purchasing seat actuators or a video processor as my next upgrade.

The actuators that my seat manufacturer (AcousticSmart) supports / recommends are the Crowson Technology Tactile Motion Actuators. I do find it interesting since these move the feet and not just shake frame of the chair. Tactile Motion Actuators - Crowson Technology Does anyone have these or have any experience with them?

I'm also looking at possibly doing a Lumagen or madVR Envy Video Processor. I'm running an Acurus Muse processor with a Wolf TXF-1100 projector. I'll be honest I only heard about MadVR recently and so I'm still researching, or if there are other processors I should be considering what would those be? I know if the recommendation is for the Video Processor that it is a heated topic right now between these two options.

KScape is my primary source of entertainment and I'm just trying to figure out what is the best place to put my money for the best experience for myself and my family / guests.
 
D-box was the first of the haptic devices to make the technology available to home theaters (IIRC). I only remember Crowson coming into play years later. I've seen and experienced both systems, and while I liked the added experience it is not something I felt compelled to add to our theater experience. Personally, it was fun to try, and I'm sure many love it, but I found it distracting at some points during movie playback. I'm sure some folks here have one of those systems installed, hopefully they comment.

I'm not going to get into the differences between the two VP's, and I'm sure like most things AV related people will love and speak highly of the products they own. That said, we only offer Lumagen in our business (you can reach out to me for additional info regarding Lumagen, or contact your dealer).

Jim
 
Thank you. I've never experienced the seat haptics and I wasn't sure if it was one of those that the novelty wears off quickly or was a real game changer. Thanks for your thoughts.
 
I can’t speak to the lumagen, but I can tell you I absolutely love my Crowson’s. If you do go that route and you aren’t using BEQ today, you’ll want to do that as well. They really shine in the sub 30Hz frequencies and without BEQ, they are lacking.
 
I´m with @cinelife i´m not a fan of haptic actuators. We prefer to create the tactile piece with a proper subwoofer installation.
So for me, the decision would definitely to go with a VP.
Which one to go for depends on your requirements and preferences.
 
DieZwei said:
I´m with @cinelife i´m not a fan of haptic actuators. We prefer to create the tactile piece with a proper subwoofer installation.
So for me, the decision would definitely to go with a VP.
Which one to go for depends on your requirements and preferences.
Click to expand...
My subs are capable of reference level output down to about 10Hz in my room and the Crowson’s add nicely to the tactile experience. I’m on concrete, so that certainly plays a part. What’s nice about the Crowson’s is how ”natural” they feel. When they’re on, I can’t tell what is coming from the subs and what is the Crowson’s unless I turn the Crowson’s on and off. My answer would be both, though :). I’m sure a VP adds significantly to the experience, too.
 
Crowsons are a bit less critical if you are on a suspended floor. Certainly on concrete, they make a significant difference. If dialed in properly (not difficult) they definitely give you a natural extension of the low frequency bass response. You can also easily add them yourself without assistance from a pro. A friend that has the D-box and Crowsons doesn't always use his d-box, but always has his Crowsons on.

A property calibrated video processor (and projector,) will give you a better picture in all circumstances. Better upscaling, automatic aspect detection (huge if you have a 235:1 screen and a Panamorph lens) and the plug-and play nature of a Lumagen is irreplaceable to me. As calibration is key, a VP will typically benefit greatly from the involvement of a professional.

My recommendation would be to do both.
 
rehr0001 said:
Bass EQ - Bass EQ for Filtered Movies
Click to expand...
Thank you. I knew I was being dense.

Thank you everyone for the replies. I am on a floating floor currently and I had my room tuned to reference which means the subs don't beat you over the head. I've had a couple people comment on that. If only they knew how low I had my four subs tuned so they weren't overpowering everything else.

Of course it looks like the Crowsons are out of stock now. I will absolutely be doing more research on the VPs and trying to determine which is the better one for my unique situation. Thank you again for everything to chew on.
 
CPickler said:
Thank you. I knew I was being dense.

Thank you everyone for the replies. I am on a floating floor currently and I had my room tuned to reference which means the subs don't beat you over the head. I've had a couple people comment on that. If only they knew how low I had my four subs tuned so they weren't overpowering everything else.

Of course it looks like the Crowsons are out of stock now. I will absolutely be doing more research on the VPs and trying to determine which is the better one for my unique situation. Thank you again for everything to chew on.
Click to expand...
I'd add that I've never had anybody say "Hey, something is shaking the seat!" The feel of the Crowsons is a 100% natural extension of what is produced by your subs. They can just more easily recreate <10hz (more felt than heard) in a realistic way.
 
ht guy said:
I'd add that I've never had anybody say "Hey, something is shaking the seat!" The feel of the Crowsons is a 100% natural extension of what is produced by your subs. They can just more easily recreate <10hz (more felt than heard) in a realistic way.
Click to expand...
May I ask how you have your Crowsons setup? Are you using 2 or 4 per seat? Do your seats have shared armrests? I have two rows of four seats with shared armrests and just trying to figure out what the best way to set my room up would be.
 
ht guy said:
I'd add that I've never had anybody say "Hey, something is shaking the seat!" The feel of the Crowsons is a 100% natural extension of what is produced by your subs. They can just more easily recreate <10hz (more felt than heard) in a realistic way.
Click to expand...
The question is just if you really want that. That is pretty subjective and should be personally tested (in a proper setup) before deciding.
And the test should definitely not be to jump through a couple of demo scenes, but to watch at least a full movie or even multiple movies (if possible at all, of course).
 
CPickler said:
May I ask how you have your Crowsons setup? Are you using 2 or 4 per seat? Do your seats have shared armrests? I have two rows of four seats with shared armrests and just trying to figure out what the best way to set my room up would be.
Click to expand...
Sure,

Our seats have shared armrests and we have two rows of 3 seats with one actuator per seat.

In my experience, one per seat is plenty. The idea is to use isolators for the other 3 (or more if the shared arm rest has additional feet) points where each seat is supported, so that the seat is essentially “floating” - other than the corner with the actuator.

Crowson provides isolators with the actuators, but I have always needed a few more. The nicer ones they sell are kind of expensive, but we also use another brand the users on the AVS Crowson forum have found another brand (Hudson) that are cheap and effective.

I’d be happy to dm you photos of the bottoms of one or two of our seats if that would be helpful.
 
Last edited:
DieZwei said:
The question is just if you really want that. That is pretty subjective and should be personally tested (in a proper setup) before deciding.
And the test should definitely not be to jump through a couple of demo scenes, but to watch at least a full movie or even multiple movies (if possible at all, of course).
Click to expand...
Agreed. Great point. Always best to demo if possible.

I only had to watch one scene with my friend’s d-box setup to conclude I had no interest. Maybe fun for a scene or two, but to me it was more like going on a ride than watching a movie.

That’s what I (and he) like about the Crowsons. The extension they provide is natural, basically giving you a better sub experience.

Having said that, as you point out not everyone will be a fan. If a user is happy with a single 10 or 12” sub, I can believe they would not necessarily care about Crowsons. Those with more/larger subs will be more likely to appreciate the extra extension.

I will say that the Crowson 501 amp (what we use) has settings from 1 to 32. In our setup, a setting of 32 is a bit too constant - great for a scene, but too much for a whole movie. In our HT, a setting of 25 is just right.

I’m certainly not advocating for Crowsons over a video processor. If I had to give up one of the two, it would (reluctantly) be the Crowsons. Fortunately that’s not a decision I have to make!
 
Last edited:
Agree with all, like most things that affect our sensors, individual tastes vary. When experiencing both of the tactile products being discussed at trade shows, and listening to related comments, some love them, some don't, and some are not sure. Personally, although they don't work for me, they do for others, so I would have no problem having some seating with, and some seating without, either of these products.

Jim
 
CPickler said:
Thank you. I knew I was being dense.

Thank you everyone for the replies. I am on a floating floor currently and I had my room tuned to reference which means the subs don't beat you over the head. I've had a couple people comment on that. If only they knew how low I had my four subs tuned so they weren't overpowering everything else.

Of course it looks like the Crowsons are out of stock now. I will absolutely be doing more research on the VPs and trying to determine which is the better one for my unique situation. Thank you again for everything to chew on.
Click to expand...
Note that the Crowson’s are basically never in stock. You have to email them, they’ll put you on a wait list (usually around 3 months) and then they’ll charge you when they ship.
 
I have Crowsons. Enjoyed them well over 5 years now. And while I enjoy what they bring to certain movies immensely, if you already have good bass in your room I'd say get your picture looking the best it can first with the processor.

And agree with above, when you do get the Crowsons, learn about the BEQ files to add because that will make them shine.
 
Rengozu said:
I have Crowsons. Enjoyed them well over 5 years now. And while I enjoy what they bring to certain movies immensely, if you already have good bass in your room I'd say get your picture looking the best it can first with the processor.

And agree with above, when you do get the Crowsons, learn about the BEQ files to add because that will make them shine.
Click to expand...
Thank you everyone. I think I'm going the VP route after reading everyone's comments.

If anyone near Memphis TN has any Crowsons they want to let me experience then I'll happily bring the popcorn and try to be convinced otherwise.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top