Project Time: 1-8 hours
Project Complexity: Hobbyist
Project Cost: $500-$1000

Overview
Home theater has always been a hobby of mine. From buying, building, and installing surround sound systems, to exploring new media platforms-I love my PS3 Blu-ray player/videogame player/internet web browser/wireless media server-I’ve just about done it all! Something that I’ve never tried, though, is to use a tactile transducer. I’ve thought for years about various ways of using a tactile transducer-a truly creative method of keeping pets off of the furniture-but I’ve never gotten around to it…until now. Tactile transducers work almost exactly the same way as speakers. The main difference is that instead of a motor (a speaker’s magnet and voice coil) oscillating a cone and coupling with air, the tactile transducer oscillates the solid surface to which it is mechanically connected. Different applications apply this principle in different ways. For example, CNN mounts Clark Synthesis transducers to the glass storefront of their studios and use air to transmit the sound of a telecast to the passersby. Hasbro Tooth Tunes uses bone conduction to play music through a toothbrush using a transducer-my daughter’s teeth have never been brighter or whiter! For home theater, transducers fool the listeners’ brains into thinking that what they’re seeing is real by exciting deep tissue muscles (kinesthetic senses), skeletal nerve endings (haptic senses), and by using bone conduction. Our brains are pre-programmed to pay special attention to high-energy low frequency events. Think about the way you react to the first boom of thunder that announces a storm; now imagine movies with this extra element. My primary goal for the Seismic Sofa was to transform my boring side-by-side recliner couch into more than just a place to relax; I wanted it to be part of my home theater experience and augment my subwoofer below 50 Hz. A secondary goal-and for you married guys, listen up-was to get my wife to agree to my madness. I accomplished this by promising to re-upholster said piece of furniture during the installation. Instant spousal approval!

About The Designer
Mike Van Den Broek as been an electronics enthusiast all of his life. Mike’s designs reflect a desire to stand out from the crowd, yet draw listeners in with the sound.

Project Parts List