Hello. I'm finishing my first FSX only PC build and will use headphones through satellite speakers most of the time. When I am not, is it worth it to have a subwoofer? Are there a lot of lower-end sounds in FSX or add-on aircraft? If it will not make much of a difference I would rather just use to semi-decent speakers and my headphones. I heard many add-on aircraft don't activate those "butt kicker" chair shakers, I assume those are running off of some kind of bass signal. PS I am somewhat knowledgeable about speakers, I used to built car stereos for a living, not building myself up just FYI. Thanks.

I have been using subwoofer for years. Definitely sounds awesome. Wait until you hear the PMDG 737 spooling down at TOD. Startup with the Aerosoft Airbus X rattles my windows and anything else loose in my room. The PMDG MD-11 has one of the greatest start-up sounds. The low pitch sound is great. The afterburner from Dino's free F-14 tomcat sounds true to life when doing flyby. A must have. I have a 5.1 but always run in 2.1 mode and sounds great.

The takeoff and landing probably benefit the most. You can feel the tires thud over breaks in the concrete, the hum of the engines, the ground contact on landing, and it can even change the ambient noise in cruise, maybe even mimic pressurization changes. Whether it's worth it is subjective. I use headphones with FSX too and am perfectly happy using them except for the cable. Those headphones cover the bass frequencies well, maybe even with greater alacrity than the sub, so I don't really lose anything using them. It's not a full-body experience, but full-body bass experience gets you in trouble with neighbors. I still see a sub as being worth it though, but I'm into hifi for movies and music, so using a sub for FSX in my opinion is only one of many tangible benefits. 

I love it - very realistic - I spent 7 years in Navy air and still feel the earth shake when a military jet takes off in full AB, I have a mid priced Insignia gaming system with two three inch mulitirange speakers at L and R with the subwoofer under the desk. If i"m the only one in the house I crank till the windows rattle. My ASUS monitor also has internal stereo speakers. I push FSX through the Insignias and the PMDG sound set through the ASUS speakers. It definitely fills the room so to speak. I also set up voice through front jack headphones so I hear ATC clearly. I can also push the voice feed throught he ASUS speakers and have the system cutback to 50% or mute while voice is active. I'm getting a pair of Bluetooth headphones for Xmas but I've heard that Windows Bluetooth won't support sound devices -  I guess we/ll see. I got them for my iPhone music and the hookup to FSX is just a bonus. I'll let you know after Xmas.

My sound system is a really old Creative 2.1 with sub woofer, and still makes a BIG difference;-)

It'll make a big difference for sure.  I actually split my low frequency output from my soundcard with a simple RCA Y connector  one end leads to my powered sub the other leads to a Dayton Audio 70 watt plate amp mounted in my center console. It in turn feeds a Aurora tactile transducer mounted under my seat.  (essentially the same as a Buttkcker  but with a bit more oomph) 

 

This combo adds an enormous amount of immersion for the amount of money invested.

I agree, full--spectrum sound using good speakers (and preferably 5.1 surround sound, IMHO) is a great way to enjoy flight simming ! B)

 

 

It'll make a big difference for sure.  I actually split my low frequency output from my soundcard with a simple RCA Y connector  one end leads to my powered sub the other leads to a Dayton Audio 70 watt plate amp mounted in my center console. It in turn feeds a Aurora tactile transducer mounted under my seat.  (essentially the same as a Buttkcker  but with a bit more oomph) 

 

This combo adds an enormous amount of immersion for the amount of money invested.

 

Indeed, "AuraSound AST-2B-4 Pro Bass Shaker Tactile Transducer" is a nice alternative to the 'Butt-Kicker' product line:

 

http://www.amazon.com/AuraSound-AST-2B-4-Shaker-Tactile-Transducer/dp/B0002ZPTBI/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1417877969&sr=1-1

Add to that sub-woofer a 'Buttkicker'.  You'll not only have the great low sound from the woofer but not the vibration as well.

Lots of great thoughts. I was surprised to hear so much enthusiasm for the woofer. I might consider a 2.1 system now when not using headphones. RickB1293, how were you able to send the ATC sound to the headphone jack? Does that require a separate sound card? 

Hi west,

I'm replying mostly in response to your last post.  Too much of a pain to include an image here but I have a little USB speaker thingy for voice.  It's an mVox MV100 which didn't work with XP but surprisingly works just fine with 7. It's about the size of a pack of regular cigarettes and I have it sitting off to the right and use it for "Voice" in the FSX sound setup.  I have an Altec-Lansing 2.1 system for the other sounds.  I can boost the Engine sounds with respect to the others as I see fit but am most impressed by the stereo effect when I'm in the VC and pan the view.

Jim F.

 

 

 

 

 

Bose Companion 3.  Awesome subwoofer that you can definitely feel.

 

Stan