The bothering other people bit is what i feel is mostly stopping me from using anything but a headset. I do have experience with subwoofers and there is a certain joy when they hit you, but the thought of the whole neighbourhood hearing my excellent taste in music bothers me somewhat.

Have you looked into bass shakers? They are popular in home theatre enthusiast and driving / flight simulator crowds.

Still niche, but can provide the sensation of heavy bass with near silent sound.

I have a project integrating a wireless shaker system into the Herman Miller embody.

Damn, I completely forgot about those. Any recommendations?

I am still at the design stage, but I am looking at something like:

- AuraSound AST-2B-4 Pro Bass Shaker Tactile Transducer

- Nobsound Mini Bluetooth 5.0 Power Amplifier

- TalentCell Rechargeable 12V 3000mAh Lithium ion Battery Pack

My biggest concerns are custom mounting of the transducer(s). Not sure where will give the best effect without damaging the chair.

My goal is for it to be wireless, splitting bluetooth audio into channels for AirPods Max and this receiver.

Concern there is I don't know what the latency will be like, or if I'll need to introduce delay into say the headphones channel. I have a few of the Rogue Amoeba tools, including Loopback that I'm planning to bring into the mix if necessary. Another idea is to separate the amp and BT receiver, getting something more professional like the Fiio BTR5.

The MVP should probably just be a wired connection to the chair, so maybe that can prove the mounting and potential first.

That's where I am at. But I have the same concerns as you, I don't want loud I have great headphones, just more immersion and more bass feel.

The SubPac for me. Better than a sub, doesn't bother the neighbors, and people often use the term gamechanger with it.

Oh yes, I also have a SubPac, which made me fall in love with tactile transducers aka. bass shakers.

I ended up attaching bass shakers to my chair too. Custom setup with two Reckhorn BS-200i, a cheap TDA7498E amplifier from AliExpress (more than powerful enough, and sound quality doesn't really matter), and EqualizerAPO for the software part. It cost me around $200 and a few hours for the full setup.

I can vouch it affects neighbours, I've gotten many complaints from neighbours in the apartment below me. Especially when watching a movie. Cue a helicopter flying into the scene.

This goes for your car, too. A small powered subwoofer is such a huge improvement.

Love my Bose L1 compact for sound quality!