Crowson - TES100 Tactile Transducer and A200 Amplifier - Review

Although subwoofers bring realistic bass sound to the home theater environment, there is still something missing - tactile sensation. In the real world, when something explodes, you feel it, not just hear it; when you drive a car over a bumpy road, you feel the bumps, not just hear the result. Now you can add tactile experience to your own home theater with the TES100 Tactile Transducer and A200 amplifier from Crowson Technology.

TES100 Tactile Transducer Features

1. The TES100 is a Transducer Plate 5.7 inches long (including speaker terminals), 4.8 inches wide, and 1.1 inches high. The TES100 which also comes with 3 Vibration Isolators for attaching to furniture support feet.

2. The Transducer's weight is 3.5 lbs. Maximum load that the TES 100 Chair or Couch Kit can be placed under is 1,000 lbs.

3. The TES100 connects to an amplifier via standard 18-to-10 gauge speaker wire and has nominal impedance of 6 ohms.

4. Minimum amplifier output power recommended for use with the TES100 is 50 Watts RMS. Maximum amplifier output power recommended is 500 watts RMS.

5. The frequency response of TES100 goes from 500HZ down to 1HZ.

A200 Amplifier Features

The A200 amplifier is a 2-channel amplifier that is specially designed for use with subwoofers and tactile transducers with the following specifications:

1. Power output in 2-Channel Operating mode is 85 Watts per Channel RMS at 6 Ohms. Power output in bridged mode (1 Channel Operation)is 170 Watts RMS at 6 Ohms. (Note: To use bridged mode, connect speaker wires to the two + terminals and use channel one inputs from the source component).

2. Gain controls are provided for both channel one and channel 2, however, use the channel one gain control in bridged mode.

3. The A200 offer both standard RCA and 1/4" phone plug input connection options.

4. The A200 has a frequency response from 1HZ to 500HZ +/- 1 db, and features a 200HZ low pass filter.

The TES100 is installed by connecting the unit to the A200 amplifier, via standard speaker wire, and then placing the transducer plate under the right (or left) rear support foot of a chair.

In addition, three spacers are placed under the chair's other support feet. This serves to isolate the vibration, so that it only goes to the chair and not the rest of the floor, as well as securing the chair so that it does not move off the plate.

You also have the option of actually screwing the spacers into the bottom of the chair's support feet if you need to further secure the chair, but this is optional. The screws are provided.

The key technology employed in the TES100 is Linear Direct-Drive.

Instead of vibrating air, like a subwoofer, or employing a piston that vibrates inside housing that indirectly transfers the shaking sensation to a chair, such as a bass shaker (both of which take of energy), Linear Direct Drive transfers sonic vibrations directly through the chair itself via its feet, which is similar to techniques used in direct hearing via human bone conduction.

If someone is sitting in the chair, they will feel the direct effect of the linear drive process on their body. This method requires much less energy to produce vibration effects than other methods, thus enabling a more dynamic effect with faster response times. In other words, the TES100 can capture the subtle vibrations of a car driving on a country road to the big boom of an atomic bomb explosion.

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