Do room modes annoy neighbours?

[FireEmblem]

I've liked the Adam T7V a lot in my room, and I had absolutely 0 modes at my listening position. However, when I walked through my room, there were 2 spots with modes, and one of them was really strong.

I assumed that this would cause rumble in the walls/floor/ceiling and annoy my neigbours. Now I've asked AI, and it claims that room modes are only audible for me inside my room, and that they don't just make the floor or walls shake / get through to the neighbours.

Since AI isn't 100% reliable for these questions I want to ask you folks.. is that true? Can I easily use the 7" speakers in my room without worrying that these modes would as well be audible by my neighbours?

For clarification, this mode wasn't even at the wall (if that matters), it was like 1x1m away from a corner.

 

[Oddball]

I've liked the Adam T7V a lot in my room, and I had absolutely 0 modes at my listening position. However, when I walked through my room, there were 2 spots with modes, and one of them was really strong.

I assumed that this would cause rumble in the walls/floor/ceiling and annoy my neigbours. Now I've asked AI, and it claims that room modes are more or less only audible to me inside my room, and that they don't just make the floor or walls shake / get through to the neighbours.

Since AI isn't 100% reliable for these questions I want to ask you folks.. is that true? Can I easily use the 7" speakers in my room without worrying that these modes would as well be audible by my neighbours?

For clarification, this mode wasn't even at the wall (if that matters), it was like 1x1m away from a corner.

It is a matter of scale and construction of the room/building. Room modes caused by 7" driver are unlikely to be audible to your neighbours in reinforced concrete building. It will take a much bigger drivers do to that. But then we don't know the build of your listening space which is the key to the answer.

 

[FireEmblem]

It is a matter of scale and construction of the room/building. Room modes caused by 7" driver are unlikely to be audible to your neighbours in reinforced concrete building. It will take a much bigger drivers do to that. But then we don't know the build of your listening space which is the key to the answer.

According to what I read, modes are just local buildups that cannot travel through walls and create a rumble on the other side. Is that true? If yes, then I assume 7" monitors will be much quieter for my neighbours than my consumer system with a sub? My sub isn't as loud as the mode I heard, but if modes are a local phenomen while the sub does actually push energy into the building, that would be my conclusion. As for the 'real' bass, the 7" are of course not as heavy/loud as my sub.

 

[JPA]

Room modes by definition have their greatest pressure at the walls. So your walls will vibrate. The question is how much of those vibrations will pass through to the other side. Only your neighbors know.

 

[Oddball]

According to what I read, modes are just local buildups that cannot travel through walls and create a rumble on the other side. Is that true? If yes, then I assume 7" monitors will be much quieter for my neighbours than my consumer system with a sub? My sub isn't as loud as the mode I heard, but if modes are a local phenomen while the sub does actually push energy into the building, that would be my conclusion. As for the 'real' bass, the 7" are of course not as heavy/loud as my sub.

Mods for sure can travel through walls. It is just energy of the sound at at given frequency and not isolated local phenomenon.

7" monitors can be pleasant to hear, but unlikely to utterly displease your neighbours.

I am currently having an serious argument with my neighbours, but they are experiencing much larger drivers and kWs of power as a small measure of retaliation. I know they are suffering but that is the intention.

 

[FireEmblem]

Room modes by definition have their greatest pressure at the walls. So your walls will vibrate. The question is how much of those vibrations will pass through to the other side. Only your neighbors know.

Are you sure? This is what I got as an answer:

1. The mode is not extra bass​

A room mode makes certain spots in your room louder.
But this does NOT mean:

• your speaker is radiating more energy, or
• the mode itself is “radiating” outside the room.

The mode is simply a redistribution of the existing energy within your room.


Think of it like a hotspot in your room — there is no extra bass flying to the neighbor.

---

2. What actually passes through the wall​

Only the portion of energy that hits the wall before the mode hotspot forms.


The sequence:

1. Speaker emits bass
2. Bass hits the wall
3. Part passes through (depending on wall thickness)
4. The rest stays in the room and forms modes

The important point:
The mode forms after the part that passes through.


So the mode peak is not exported 1:1.

4. Walls “destroy” the modal field​

Once the sound enters the wall:

• the geometry is completely different
• distances are no longer the same
• the standing wave pattern collapses
• no reflections → no resonance buildup

Result: no mode outside the room.


Only a damped, muffled bass remains.


This is why neighbors typically hear:

• a dull, even bass, but never:
  • the 70 Hz peaks
  • standing waves
  • droning in specific corners

---

✔ 5. Perfect analogy​

You have a bass hotspot (mode) in your room.
The wall acts like a sieve:

• The hotspot inside is huge
• The sieve only lets a little water through
• Behind the wall, there is no hotspot

The neighbor hears the filtered original bass, not the room mode.

According to this, if it's true that modes are created after the bass passes through, I only have to consider the amount of 'real' bass when evaluating how loud it will be for the neighbours, without considering the mode. That's why I want to double check that we're really talking about the same thing.

 

[MoreWatts]

Digital room correction often/usually removes the modes that shake the walls, and actually increases the actual volume of bass in the room. This is ~counterintuitive -> the walls shake less but the bass is louder.

This is easier to accomplish with less channels (stereo), larger subs (like 15-inchers) and a larger room. High channel-count systems with multiple subs in smaller rooms can be more difficult to tame.

 

[Oddball]

Are you sure? This is what I got as an answer:


According to this, if it's true that modes are created after the bass passes through, I only have to consider the amount of 'real' bass when evaluating how loud it will be for the neighbours, without considering the mode. That's why I want to double check that we're really talking about the same thing.

Mode is just extra bass energy. Not different from anything else. Will pass through walls and get to your neighbours if loud enough.

 

[Curvature]

SPL, TL and STC are the relevant metrics. You can measure TL in your neighbour's place by comparing the SPLs on either side of the wall, but if you can't then you can assume an STC of 35 (poor) to 50 (good). Subtract that from your in-room SPL and you have a rough guess of the SPL on the other side of the wall.

Bass is very hard to isolate anyway. Basically, if you get no complaints, it's fine.

 

[FireEmblem]

Mode is just extra bass energy. Not different from anything else. Will pass through walls and get to your neighbours if loud enough.

Hmm.. bummer. I was hoping I could use the 7" then in my room. I had a much easier time taming the T5V with the T10S sub, because I can simply dial its volume down until it blends seamlessly into the back. But I hoped to save the extra amount of money that the sub would cost me, but more even the space. It's really a huge cube to have under / behind the desk, especially since I also need the space for my other system's sub too. And the 7" bass was sufficient to work with.

 

[Curvature]

Mode is just extra bass energy. Not different from anything else. Will pass through walls and get to your neighbours if loud enough.

Extra bass energy in a specific room location. Not related to transmission.

 

[FireEmblem]

Bass is very hard to isolate anyway. Basically, if you get no complaints, it's fine.

I only tested the T7V for two or three hours, I don't think my neighbours would immediately complain even if they heard it. I don't want to ask though and drag their attention onto the bass that comes from my apartment, as this can make people over-sensitive so that they keep spending attention to it and become more annoyed than usual.

So it would be easier if I could estimate it just on my own.

Extra bass energy in a specific room location. Not related to transmission.

So you're saying the modes don't act as an amplifier for what's being heard on the other side?

 

[Oddball]

Seems like all are making this simple topic complicated. I miss the mods at this point as know how annoying the 20hz mode was for them. EDIT: neighbours - their entire flat was shaking like an earthquake.

 

[DSJR]

My experiences in our small room keep bass below 80Hz at bay at the listening seat, but transmitted to the hallway, other rooms and into next door via a once hard-brick outside-now-party wall (our property was tacked on a year after the 1896 original build). A slightly organic-sounding/boomy-to 44Hz BBC-derived speaker basically sounded off at these low frequencies which our neighbour was only too happy to tell me about (grrr!) and the earlier speakers I now use, fall off at 80Hz, all but preventing the issue in this property - I can't play percussive music loudly in any case now, sadly.

A modern (tautly suspended cone) *actively driven* 7" driver should be fine I suspect if firmly stand mounted and maybe not tight to the wall behind, although that obviously depends.

 

[Oddball]

Digital room correction often/usually removes the modes that shake the walls, and actually increases the actual volume of bass in the room. This is ~counterintuitive -> the walls shake less but the bass is louder.

This is easier to accomplish with less channels (stereo), larger subs (like 15-inchers) and a larger room. High channel-count systems with multiple subs in smaller rooms can be more difficult to tame.

This is called Dirac ART. And I am grateful for that.

 

[FireEmblem]

A modern (tautly suspended cone) *actively driven* 7" driver should be fine I suspect if firmly stand mounted and maybe not tight to the wall behind, although that obviously depends.

I've only tried them on my desk so far, but my desk has a pretty big plate and didn't shake/vibrate at all. Also, the room mode occured far away from the table, so I don't think mounting would change something. Distance to the wall was more than enough.

I wish monitors would have dedicated volume knobs for low frequencies instead of these little dB switches. -2dB LF didn't help. But the big T10s subwoofer was super smooth, I just dialed down the volume until it extended low end naturally without being perceived as an extra piece of sound source..

My last straw would be to try out either Kali LP6 2nd wave, but they're only 0,5" smaller (maybe they do something different though). Or the Edifier MR5, they have this unusual side-woofer architecture and are supposedly good at low end. They're only 5" so maybe that will fill my room with bass without such audible modes.

 

[MoreWatts]

I would suggest to try some form of DRC/DSP to correct the room modes, before you start to buy/sell/swap gear. It should be cheaper/freeish. The Adam speakers measure well, and should be amenable to DRC.

Other folks, however, will have to provide specifics on DSP for your situation. If you use a PC in the audio chain, there is free, powerful software that can accomplish the task. You will have to procure a Umik-1 measurement microphone, which is ~$100 these days.

 

[FireEmblem]

I would suggest to try some form of DRC/DSP to correct the room modes, before you start to buy/sell/swap gear. It should be cheaper/freeish. The Adam speakers measure well, and should be amenable to DRC.

Other folks, however, will have to provide specifics on DSP for your situation. If you use a PC in the audio chain, there is free, powerful software that can accomplish the task. You will have to procure a Umik-1 measurement microphone, which is ~$100 these days.

I takes me just a single measurement mistake to completely mess up whatever correction is occuring, that's too hot for me. I would prefer if things just work straight out of the box so I'm seeking a pair of speakers that just suits my room.

Another option would be to use only a pair of 5", but I don't know if I can get used to the lack of lowend. Perhaps not.

 

[tineared]

I assume that there is a concrete block wall separating your apartment from your neighbor since that is the fire code in most of the US
I believe you are over-thinking the situation
Just play your music how you want to with reasonable consideration (try not to blast it after10pm on worknights, etc)
Start at a "conservative" volume and increase the volume little by little as the days pass
Good neighbors need to be trained
Have cocktails ready if your neighbors should happen to knock on your door
I survived this way for many years before moving into a house

 

[Grimoire]

Mods for sure can travel through walls.

Haven't the mods got enough powers already?