Unplug them? Do they have a volume level for the subwoofer? You could also use digital EQ to roll off the sub-bass.
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How Do I Keep My Apartment Neighbor From Hearing My Subwoofer?
- Thread starter intothedragon
- Start date
Unplug them? Do they have a volume level for the subwoofer? You could also use digital EQ to roll off the sub-bass.
JSmith
Master Contributor
I have enough trouble with my neighbours and I don't even run a sub atm... but my speakers go pretty low anyway without a sub including some well controlled bass extension. I have to turn the bass down regularly... yet they seem to think it's ok to slam doors all the time, go figure.
JSmith
JSmith
It's hard to say what they're actually hearing without checking yourself. My experience is it's almost impossible to predict what frequencies will and won't carry in an apartment building. So much depends on the construction materials and particular geometry of the units. Certain walls will carry a lot of sound and others almost none. If it's certain frequencies resonating walls and you can figure out what they are, notch filters can help. If they are willing to let you enter their place and troubleshoot with you a little, it might help a lot.
If the issue is actual floor resonance then isolating the sub from the floor with various things(springs, isopods, SVS pods, a big block of foam, etc) CAN help, but if the floor has a lot of mass and is inert like a concrete slab then it's unlikely this is the real problem. I suppose some wood-frame buildings might have problems with floor resonance, but I've never lived in one and tend to avoid them because of friends' stories of disgustingly poor soundproofing. If you can clearly hear chairs dragging on floors, doors slamming, or people yelling in other units? The building is poorly designed and constructed, IMO.
It can also help to reposition your speakers and/or subs. If a sub is near or against a wall, it could be causing a resonance which transmits right into the other unit. And of course, closer to the listening position means lower SPLs are needed to begin with. Pointing speakers away from internal walls is also best(this is more useful for neighbours on the same floor, though). I kind of suspect that speakers with controlled directivity in low frequencies(like the D&D 8C) might be especially good in apartments.
People think apartments are all bad, but some are totally fine even at high SPL. My building uses STC 72 as a minimum which is about 20dB better than code around here, and it's also a concrete high-rise to begin with, so vibrations from something as small as a sub aren't going to transmit into a million pound slab. As a result I can play music at >85dB LZeq with transients around 110dB and nobody complains.
If you're in a wood-frame building with thin walls and little consideration given to soundproofing you may simply have to turn it down.
If the issue is actual floor resonance then isolating the sub from the floor with various things(springs, isopods, SVS pods, a big block of foam, etc) CAN help, but if the floor has a lot of mass and is inert like a concrete slab then it's unlikely this is the real problem. I suppose some wood-frame buildings might have problems with floor resonance, but I've never lived in one and tend to avoid them because of friends' stories of disgustingly poor soundproofing. If you can clearly hear chairs dragging on floors, doors slamming, or people yelling in other units? The building is poorly designed and constructed, IMO.
It can also help to reposition your speakers and/or subs. If a sub is near or against a wall, it could be causing a resonance which transmits right into the other unit. And of course, closer to the listening position means lower SPLs are needed to begin with. Pointing speakers away from internal walls is also best(this is more useful for neighbours on the same floor, though). I kind of suspect that speakers with controlled directivity in low frequencies(like the D&D 8C) might be especially good in apartments.
People think apartments are all bad, but some are totally fine even at high SPL. My building uses STC 72 as a minimum which is about 20dB better than code around here, and it's also a concrete high-rise to begin with, so vibrations from something as small as a sub aren't going to transmit into a million pound slab. As a result I can play music at >85dB LZeq with transients around 110dB and nobody complains.
If you're in a wood-frame building with thin walls and little consideration given to soundproofing you may simply have to turn it down.
There are only two things I can think of that will be of any use. You will not likely like either one. The first suggestion is obvious: simply turn down the bass during the hours of the day when your neighbor is likely to be home. If you think you can do this, talk to him and tell him that you want to cooperate with him, and ask him to help you with figuring out the hours he is home. The second suggestion is off the beaten path but is like the first except that instead of turning down the bass per se, you put a convenient switch on one of the speakers to reverse the polarity. The major effect you will notice is a loss of bass when you are equidistant from both speakers. It may sound crazy to you, but you should reverse the polarity on one speaker and listen for a while and see if you can tolerate it. My guess is that it won't be as bad as you might anticipate. This will greatly reduce the extent to which the room pressurizes, which will greatly reduce the transmission of sound energy into the building structure. If you try it and think you can tolerate it, then a simple two-bladed double-throw knife switch will make it very convenient to swap between normal polarity and reverse polarity, for one speaker. Please at least give it a try before you assume that you wouldn't like it or that it wouldn't be effective.
JSmith
Master Contributor
Invite him in for a beer or spliff.
JSmith
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What speakers and sub?
restorer-john
Grand Contributor
A reversed polarity speaker in a stereo pair is just audibly hideous. I've lost count of the number of shops where ceiling speakers or other speakers are out of polarity and as you approach the store or walk through it, I can identify which are screwed up and which aren't. Plenty of friends houses where even HT setups had screwed up surrounds. Outside patio speakers etc. It drives me nuts.
I can't agree with this suggestion, it's headache inducing.
Robin L
Master Contributor
I say bake them cookies. There's something about how vanilla alters brain chemistry.Buy him a 15lb smoked ham ... a real good one.
Nobody can resist good meat
goldenpiggy
Member
If you run to the same exit everyone else is running to, you'll never make it out alive.
Be a good neighbor and CRANK IT UP!
Eventually they'll move.
Be a good neighbor and CRANK IT UP!
Eventually they'll move.
Listen to music at the time when it’s legal to be loud, something before 10 PM.
Unless they have babies, then crank it up even louder so you would instal some taste into the next generation.
Unless they have babies, then crank it up even louder so you would instal some taste into the next generation.
I'd never dream of having speakers and subwoofers in a apartment building or even a attached house . I just couldn't relax knowing I'm likely causing someone grief .
Maybe invite the neighbours round for music sessions and beer ... or murder them but others will soon turn up to take their place so...
Headphones , ... , move house lol
Maybe invite the neighbours round for music sessions and beer ... or murder them but others will soon turn up to take their place so...
Headphones , ... , move house lol
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Robin L
Master Contributor
I'm in an apartment. The speakers and sub are in a room where the wall is usually not shared with the neighbors. The apartment is on the first floor. I hardly ever use the speakers. When I do, the level is usually low.
The downstairs neighbor will crank it up every other Saturday, not a problem, she doesn't crank it up all that much. Worst problem is the guy upstairs exercising. I guess he likes jumping jacks at 7:30 am.
ASR and Solderdude really upped my headphone game, so I have no complaints. a/d/s 400s are mighty cute in a satellite/sub arrangement, but they don't sound as good as the Drop 6XX or AKG K371.
After wrestling with this when my son lived with me, I ended up only having the subwoofers on when he either wasn't home, or was listening with me.
I'd suggest maybe talking with them about specific hours that you could be expected to have it a bit louder/sub on, and the rest of the time they know it won't be intruding. Knowing you have a few hours that are usable can help fulfill that need, but bass really travels through almost anything.
I'd suggest maybe talking with them about specific hours that you could be expected to have it a bit louder/sub on, and the rest of the time they know it won't be intruding. Knowing you have a few hours that are usable can help fulfill that need, but bass really travels through almost anything.
Robin L
Master Contributor
My first system involved Acoustic Research model 3 speakers. 48 years ago. My dad would be watching football in the living room [loud], I'd be listening to Mahler in the bedroom [loud]. This did not work out all that well.
I've had excellent results in two (wooden) houses with the Auralex Subdude isolation pad. Very noticable reduction in sound.
I made a homemade version for my brother's mini subwoofer and this seemed to ease his "downstairs neighbor" issues as well.
https://auralex.com/subdude-ii/
It's not a magic cure, though, obviously. Not going to prevent 100% of the sound. Ultimately there's no substitute for communication with your neighbors.
I made a homemade version for my brother's mini subwoofer and this seemed to ease his "downstairs neighbor" issues as well.
https://auralex.com/subdude-ii/
It's not a magic cure, though, obviously. Not going to prevent 100% of the sound. Ultimately there's no substitute for communication with your neighbors.
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