HT seat opinions

[dguarnaccia]

Howdy folks,

I recently picked up a used buttkicker from a fellow forum member and I have to say, I'm totally addicted. I'm slowly putting the last few touches on my home theater, and I want to finish upgrading my seats. Right now, I have 3 power recline berklines in the front that I picked up at costco. Pretty sure they are this model:



The second row is just a used leather couch I picked up on craigslist. I'd like to ideally have 2 rows with 4 seats and I would really like to have factory installed transducers. In my research, I came across Roman at Ultimate Home Entertainment. After reading a lot of feedback at AVS, he seems pretty reputable. He has some chairs he called his "Private Collection" that have 2 mini buttkickers, each with dedicated amps and a individual seat controls.

Here's a diagram:


I'm thinking about the Ovations model that runs about $720 per chair. That seems like a good deal considering they have power recline, and buttkickers.

My question is this, has anyone tried these? How comfortable are they? How are the buttkickers in them, are they powerful enough? I have the Buttkicker LFE kit now, and while it's good, only having 1 transducer across 3 chairs isn't enough.

Would love to hear anyone's experiences with these chairs if you have any.

Thanks,

Darren

[Cujobob]

I've not tried the model you speak of, but had a great transaction with Roman earlier this year. The models he carries are all high quality and his pricing seems very fair.

[dguarnaccia]

Which model did you wind up picking up?

What I'm really after is a hand remote and indvidual chair controls. So far, the private collection chairs are the only ones in the market that offer this. Anyone found any other alternatives?

[Mike_TX]

I picked up 8 Berklines (no buttkicker) from Roman at AVS.
See my HT gear link in signature for list of gear.

Mike

[dguarnaccia]

That's a gorgeous room Mike, well done indeed. Good looking chairs as well.

[Mike_TX]

That's a gorgeous room Mike, well done indeed. Good looking chairs as well.

Thanks.
Mike

[Kevin_Wadsworth]

I'll throw in a plug for Roman - I bought Berklines form him a couple years ago and had a great transaction.

The price on those ovations seems reasonable - I think I paid ~500 a chair with grade 4 leather and power recline. $200 seems appropriate for the mini buttkickers.

That said, I am not a fan at all of buttkickers. For the $800+ difference you could buy yourself a pretty nice sub (or nice second sub) to get the real effect.

[dguarnaccia]

I've been pretty happy so far with them. Don't get me wrong, I love the visceral feel of the MFW15 slamming you in the chest, and I'll add a second one as well once I get my room closed off (back opens to stairs, and hallway that really screws with the bass trapping), but the buttkickers add a differnt element, and are wife friendly when watching stuff late at night.

I was just hoping to get someone who had sat in these puppies to compare them to berks but oh well..I'll probably pull the trigger on these for the front row. Just hate buying stuff like that before getting to sit in them.