The Bottom Line
With the TES100/A300 combination, the user can turn his/her own chair into a home theater component that adds the sensory experience of touch to your viewing and listening enjoyment, and in stereo to boot! A significant improvement over the previous TES100/A200 combination, which was still great!
Pros
- Full Stereo Tactile Motion Effects
- Wide dynamic range - produces both subtle and extreme LFE motion effects quickly with little effort.
- A300 Stereo Motion Effects Amplifier comes with easy-to-use wireless remote control.
- Can be used in both Movie and music applications.
- The best speaker terminals I have seen on an audio component.
Cons
- Optimum gain settings may need to be changed, depending on source material.
- LED Peak Level Meters do not show precisely how much effect you are accessing.
- Very Realistic Motion Effects, but no visible chair movement, as in motion amusement park rides.
- Although reasonably priced, may still be expensive for budget-minded consumers.
Description
- TES100 Stereo Tactile Motion System Features:
- Two Linear Actuator Plates w/speaker terminals and 2 Motion Isolators for attaching to furniture support feet.
- Linear Actuator weight: 3.5 lbs. Max load the TES100 Chair or Couch Kit can be placed under is 1,000lbs.
- Nominal impedance is 6 ohms and is connected to amplifier via standard 18-to-10 gauge speaker wire.
- Minimum amplifier power recommended is 50 Watts RMS, Maximum power recommended is 500 watts RMS - per actuator.
- The frequency response of TES100 goes from 600HZ down to 1Hz.
- A300 Integrated Stereo Motion Amplifier Features:
- Power Output: 2 Channel Operation - 150WPC. Bass management and Gain control. Bridgeable Mono Operation setting available.
- Inputs connectors on A300 amplifier are standard RCA Audio connectors - 1 for LFE input, 1 each Left and Right channels.
- The frequency response of the A300 goes from 2HZ to 600HZ (+/- 1db), and features a variable 20-600Hz low-pass filter.
Guide Review - TES100 Stereo Tactile Motion System and A300 Integrated Stereo Motion Amplifier
The technology employed in the TES100 is Linear Direct-Drive. Instead of vibrating air, like a subwoofer, or employing a piston that vibrates inside a housing that indirectly transfers the shaking sensation, such as a bass shaker, Linear Direct Drive transfers sonic motion effects directly through the chair itself via its feet, which is similar to techniques used in direct hearing via human bone conduction. Thus, if someone is sitting in the chair, they will feel the direct effect of the linear drive process on their body.
Linear Direct Drive requires much less energy to produce vibration motion effects than other methods, such as pistons in bass shakers, enabling a more dynamic effect with faster response times. The TES100 can easily capture both the subtle motion vibrations of a car driving on a country road to the big boom of an atomic bomb explosion.
In tests with both movie and music material, I was impressed with the textures that the TES100/A300 was able to produce without experiencing fatigue from long term use.
With the new A300 amplifier, I experienced not only the LFE vibrations of the subwoofer channel, but also of the left and right main channels. This gave a better sense of realism, especially when explosions, crash effects, or bass instruments in a musical performance originate from different parts of the room.
