Is it acceptable to run a subwoofer/subwoofers in an apartment building?

[Vacceo]

For those that say "it depends", I thought about omitting this answer, because it is a little too easy to just click that, rather than make a proper decision, yes or no.

If you answer "it depends", how do you gauge when it is appropriate or not. If somebody knocks on your door at a normal time (say 4pm) and complains about the bass, do you turn off the subwoofer or not. How do you know if you are you being too loud or if they are complaining without good reason?

Check out your local legislation, get a sonometer and make sure your dB's stay just a bit below the legal number.

 

[ta240]

I said no, but I had 4, 12'' subs in my dorm room in college. Old man me would have kicked young punk me's ass.

Yeah, but a lot of stuff was more 'ok' in a dorm I was just thinking the other day how sad it was that our neighbor in the dorm had to complain that things were falling off their shelves. Old man me is often embarrassed for young me.

Nope. Wait until you live in an unattached house. Loud music in your situation is always a legitimate issue for someone, subwoofer or not. Day or night.

I've been the neighbor of the inconsiderate loud music broadcaster. It sucks.

A variation on the horses for courses saying. If loud music and bass is important to you then figure that in when you are looking for where to live.
Even then a house doesn't guarantee that it will be better for everyone. The kid across the street used to spend hours in the driveway at his car with the 'noise' so loud we could feel it inside. When we asked him if he could listen to it just a bit lower so we didn't experience it in our house with everything closed, his parents came unglued that we had the nerve to ask him that. Their defense was "he likes to listen to it like that".

When the weather is nice enough to have the windows open I keep our music much lower.

Empathy and common courtesy are two things the world could use a whole lot more of. And it could use a lot fewer Bluetooth party speakers...

 

[Doodski]

A variation on the horses for courses saying. If loud music and bass is important to you then figure that in when you are looking for where to live. Even then a house doesn't guarantee that it will be better for everyone. The kid across the street used to spend hours in the driveway at his car with the 'noise' so loud we could feel it inside. When we asked him to turn it down his parents came unglued that we had the nerve to ask him that. Their defense was "he likes to listen to it like that".

Complete and total breakdown of communications. Should never have happened. Everybody is to blame. Life is too short!

 

[posvibes]

Of course, one does have to have consideration for others and I do not run my system at satisfying levels during the hours when it would disturb the sleep of others.

Sleep is not the only thing that can be disturbed, general peace, concentration, enjoying relative silence even during the day can be made hell by loud music with or without subs. Again explain to me why I should have to listen to your noise at any time because you choose to listen to "satisfying" levels? Why should I abandon my outside activities and lock myself inside in order to avoid your pleasure?

 

[Digby]

Complete and total breakdown of communications. Should never have happened. Everybody is to blame. Life is too short!

In what way? Depending on your age, I imagine your parents would tell you to turn it down long before the neighbours had reason to complain. Nowadays, everyone's little darlings can do no wrong and some of those little darlings are well into their 30s and beyond.

 

[Doodski]

In what way? Depending on your age, I imagine your parents would tell you to turn it down long before the neighbours had reason to complain. Nowadays, everyone's little darlings can do no wrong and some of those little darlings are well into their 30s.

It's everybody's fault.

 

[Digby]

It's everybody's fault.

Surely there is a limit to tolerance though. I think subwoofers in cars, and chewing gum for that matter, should be banned (sorry Americans, may I offer you a mint instead?). Seriously. The benefit they accrue to the individual is far outweighed by the nuisance they cause to others.

In Britain everything is closer, so I think the level of consideration may have to be higher than your side of the pond, but I can tell you for certain it isn't.

My point is, surely the person who is making a disturbance at some point, indeed, is making a disturbance and not just enacting their inalienable right to be a ....(insert your word of choice here)

 

[Willem]

My 1960s appartment in Cambridge UK was pretty terrible and noise travelled through the construction, even if only from Quad ELS57s without subwoofers. With the same gear my subsequent 1980s appartment in Rotterdam in the Netherlands was far better, with solid reinforced concrete walls and floors. Our current detached house with concrete and brick walls and floors is better again, and now even with subs. Of course, there is no contact noise because the construction is completely separate from neighbouring houses, and at a distance of about 16 metres. The most important thing I now have to watch is to close all windows and ventilation openings before I play loud music, and even then I have to restrain myself a bit, because the living room has huge glass windows, even though with quite fancy double glazing. A detached house is a real advantage with this, and I wonder what I would have to do if I ever lived in an appartment again. My guess is I would only use small subwoofers, and work hard to get rid of room modes since those are often the real culprit.

 

[ernestcarl]

Totally depends on the construction and sound transmission levels.

Well, there are also such things as “mini subs” (only goes down to 40-50Hz) … which I suspect are probably popular in places where sound insulation between rooms is abysmal.

I’m thinking of Japan and the their Fostex pm0.3 and Fostex pm-sub-mini system. Lots of tiny single driver loudspeakers seem to also be popular there too — which is in contrast to the other images we see of tiny Japanese rooms with filled giant speakers. Hmmmn…

 

[Chrispy]

Surely there is a limit to tolerance though. I think subwoofers in cars, and chewing gum for that matter, should be banned (sorry Americans, may I offer you a mint instead?). Seriously. The benefit they accrue to the individual is far outweighed by the nuisance they cause to others.

In Britain everything is closer, so I think the level of consideration may have to be higher than your side of the pond, but I can tell you for certain it isn't.

My point is, surely the person who is making a disturbance at some point, indeed, is making a disturbance and not just enacting their inalienable right to be a ....(insert your word of choice here)

You can always move to Singapore! I think chewing gum on roadways only serves to add to their life.

Subs in cars can truly be annoying to some. Some I try to annoy.

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

Check out your local legislation, get a sonometer and make sure your dB's stay just a bit below the legal number.

That's my approach for obnoxious neighbors. My default bass spl became 3db below local regulations when measured from the curb after getting an anonymous noise complaint during my 4th of July BBQ.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Sleep is not the only thing that can be disturbed, general peace, concentration, enjoying relative silence even during the day can be made hell by loud music with or without subs. Again explain to me why I should have to listen to your noise at any time because you choose to listen to "satisfying" levels?

You are correct that we have to respect our neighbors right to "quiet enjoyment," as the lawyers say. In response to that one complaint, I did make changes to prevent a reoccurrence by replacing the apartment door and adding acoustic sealing. Aside from that one event, there have been no comments or complaints in 30 years although I would take them seriously.

Why should I abandon my outside activities and lock myself inside in order to avoid your pleasure?

Not relevant in an apartment building but I've never had any noise complaints (although I've made one or two) at my house either. Perhaps what I think of as satisfyingly loud doesn't qualify.

 

[Doodski]

You can always move to Singapore! I think chewing gum on roadways only serves to add to their life.

Take a look at the blackened Gastown/East Vancouver sidewalks they are gummy and sticky and gross. I'm sure condoms are sticking out out of that gummy strata. It's disturbing.

 

[Digby]

Subs in cars can truly be annoying to some. Some I try to annoy.

What about the backfiring 100db exhaust, do you have one of those too? Subs are pure bliss by comparison.

 

[Chrispy]

What about the backfiring 100db exhaust, do you have one of those too? Subs are pure bliss by comparison.

LOL no never had a loud exhaust....unless maybe my modified exhaust on my '70 VW Beetle counts (supposedly added 5-10 HP!). There was a Porsche 944 with part of the exhaust simply missing....that was kinda loud (but kinda cool too). I don't usually play the sub in my truck so loud to annoy others....for the most part.

 

[Chrispy]

Take a look at the blackened Gastown/East Vancouver sidewalks they are gummy and sticky and gross. I'm sure condoms are sticking out out of that gummy strata. It's disturbing.

That's why I said roadways, not a fan of gum on sidewalks, I'd rather swallow it if I need to dispose and there's no other choice (but a road). Inflating gum could be kinda weird, tho

 

[Sancus]

Unless you're talking about some very fancy buildings, I reckon most modern buildings have vastly inferior soundproofing to the apartment blocks of the 1960s with their thick concrete walls and floors.

The opposite has been my experience, newer more modern buildings have better soundproofing. I suspect this is due to stricter code requirements in the modern day. This probably also varies widely by location, and more expensive buildings often will require owners to use soundproofing that is 20-30dB or more above code requirements. In most North American places, it's against code for buildings taller than 8-10 floors or so to be built with anything other than concrete. (there is some limited use of specially engineered wood happening now, but it's very rare). That said, concrete does NOT guarantee good soundproofing.

The idea that it's normal to hear noise from your neighbours is caused by cheaply built mid-size wood frame buildings in the 3-6 floor range. In higher end condos I would say it's unusual to hear any noise and even when you do it's very faint. The noise coming in from outside my apartment is always louder than any noise inside.

I run 2 fairly large subwoofers at fairly loud volumes(-10dB or even sometimes -5dB on film/tv content, plus some bass heavy music) and do not get noise complaints. I seriously doubt that neighbours can hear anything that would be noticeably different from vehicle traffic outside.

So the real answer is "Do whatever you want as long as you aren't bothering your neighbours. It is polite to check with them to be sure." The assumption that ANY subwoofer usage would bother them is completely wrong.

 

[Vacceo]

That's my approach for obnoxious neighbors. My default bass spl became 3db below local regulations when measured from the curb after getting an anonymous noise complaint during my 4th of July BBQ.

We may get the gas cut off (we have a collective gas heater for the whole building) due to some neightbours not paying their parts.

Honestly, if they get annoyed by the subwoofers at home, I couldn't care less.

 

[Doodski]

We may get the gas cut off (we have a collective gas heater for the whole building) due to some neightbours not paying their parts.

Honestly, if they get annoyed by the subwoofers at home, I couldn't care less.

When does the cold weather start that necessitates heating for children and old people etc etc?

 

[Elitzur–Vaidman]

We may get the gas cut off (we have a collective gas heater for the whole building) due to some neightbours not paying their parts.

Honestly, if they get annoyed by the subwoofers at home, I couldn't care less.

In an apartment, my only concern would be the quiet enjoyment of my non-****** neighbors. My spite-sub days were in a house and my neighbor was just a miserable woman.