Closer Look
The quite popular Dayton TT25 Puck is the only one of the small transducers actually regarded as "bass shaker". It has wide frequency response perfect for tactile feedback - 20-80Hz. As it is quite big it usually needs some mounting solution like for example this T-Slot Extrusion Mount:
Dayton Interchangeable Mounting system
Recently Dayton Audio revamped their line of exciters and added a new mounting system. It can be attached with two M3 screws or adhesive tape. It allows easy interchange or replacement of exciters by simply unscrewing them. It also adds some distance between shaker body and mounting surface. This is very good addition as old models were too close to surface and with higher amplitudes they would hit it.
This interface is added to the EX32EP2-4, EX30HESF2-4 and DAEX32U2-4 products. It bumps the price somewhat but we really find this a welcome addition:
The Dayton EX32U2-4 looks very solid solution, but regrettably it features a plastic spider - this turned out to be enormous downside. The steel spider on the EX32EP2-4 is excellent upgrade.
Technical Issues
All of these exciters or their original designs (the new system came just recently) were utilized for more than 6 months. During this time we had multiple device failures as follows:
Dayton Audio EX32EP2-4 Thruster Sound Exciter
This is very popular solution for localised feedback but has high resonance frequency. Low frequencies drive it to very big amplitude which ultimately leads to broken steel spider. Out of 8 units we had 5 which after different time get one or more legs broken on the steel spider. One of them also got a dead coil.
This does not mean they cannot be used in such applications but this should be done with consideration. You will have to drive them at low volume and be extra carefully in SimHub sound tester - the test signal is very strong and it alone could kill them over time. Later in the review you can read why they are still so widely used for tactile feedback.
Below you can see comparison between the new model and old one with broken spider:
Dayton Audio EX32U2-4 Sound Exciter
This was a unit we never tested before and looked very promising. Issue is that it features a plastic spider spring. After two weeks both our units had a snapped spider. One of them also got a dead coil.
Dayton Audio EX30HESF-4 High Efficiency Steered Flux Sound Exciter 30mm
This was the unit we used the longest. It was driven in 100% volume and was quite stable. Out of 4 units after long months of use one died - coil failure. We have no idea why this particularly happened, could be defective unit.
Test Bench
We chose to test the exciters mounted on the shifter cluster. It provided easy place to put the vibration measurement phone, also it is complicated to properly isolate it and you will get vibrations spread - best place to test how localised low-powered effects will work. Also as we have one more big Aura shaker for engine sound that spreads throughout the whole rig - this will effectively show if the exciters are overpowered and cancelled by other shakers in your setup.
Exciters were always ran in pair on single channel. One was mounted on the side of the shifter arm right below the sequential and handbrake. This is good place to measure how vibrations will travel through the solid construction and if we have big losses. The other was mounted on the side of the BDH H1 Bazooka Shifter body.
All measurements were done with the Vibrations Analysis software for IOS. Phone was stuck with adhesive tape to mousepad so it does not move around when exciters are engaged:
Test Sequence
All tests were carried with the same sequence. First test is 3 consecutive gear shift effect engagements. Second test is the built-in SimHub channel sound test.
Next we proceed with a look over the different Mounting Options and Scoring System we used: