Is it possible to have a subwoofer in an apartment without disturbing others?

[Pancreas]

My brother and I live in an apartment that we received from our parents, basically our parents were loving enough to give us an apartment lol so we own it

I have Genelec 8030c and I really like them, but Ive been hesitant about buying a subwoofer since I live in an apartment.

I live in the first floor and there are two floors above me. The ceiling is concrete, but the walls are drywall.

If I were to get a subwoofer with feet to separate it from the floor and keep it low volume, I wonder if other can hear or feel it.

I read of people who built concrete enclosures for subwoofers

 

[droid2000]

Dangerous game. Sell the apartment and buy a plot of land no closer than 1 mile to the nearest neighbor, airport, railroad, freeway or petting zoo.

Then build a home of reinforced concrete, 3 foot thick walls, ceiling and floor. Relax and breathe deep while you max out the purifi amp.

 

[Hexspa]

What I do is high pass my speakers the majority of the time to varying degrees (250, 125, 60Hz, full range to 30Hz) and use the sub only when needed and for a limited amount of time - typically no longer than an hour and not every day. I’ve never had a complaint.

What irks me with people and their subs is when they run it full volume for over an hour every day or they have full THX reference level films every night. That’s totally unacceptable in an apartment imo. Once a week, ok.

But there’s another person in my complex who plays his subwoofers all night long sometimes. Luckily I live far enough away I don’t hear it. I don’t know how his adjacent neighbors deal with it. Some people don’t seem to care as much.

Often, communication is an underutilized asset. You can knock before you use it the first time and offer your number. Tell them you’re an audio and bass enthusiast but care about how they feel. Negotiate operating hours and frequency of use.

Overall, my view of the world is somewhat dim. I always assume someone is having a bad day or just received bad news or someone is dying of cancer or something. The last thing they want is a repetitive kick for hours or at night. That said, I’ve finally come to realize that pretty much everyone is a little annoying and I have equal right to be a little annoying too. If not, I get too tight and edgy.

 

[Rusty Shackleford]

My brother and I live in an apartment that we received from our parents, basically our parents were loving enough to give us an apartment lol so we own it

I have Genelec 8030c and I really like them, but Ive been hesitant about buying a subwoofer since I live in an apartment.

I live in the first floor and there are two floors above me. The ceiling is concrete, but the walls are drywall.

If I were to get a subwoofer with feet to separate it from the floor and keep it low volume, I wonder if other can hear or feel it.

I read of people who built concrete enclosures for subwoofers

Probably.

First, the subwoofer can’t be against a wall that you share with a neighbor. Use it against a wall that’s internal to your apartment (say, the wall between your living room and bedroom). Also, if it’s a side-firing driver, point the driver into the room. Or get a down-firing subwoofer.

Second, you’re on the ground floor. So that’s good. If the floor is concrete, that’s even better. But for extra protection buy (or build) an isolation platform like the ones available from Auralex.

 

[Sancus]

It's quite unusual(and probably against code in most countries) for an apartment to have typical drywall alone between units. Usually there is a 2-hour or more firewall requirement, so there will be at least a few inches of material between the units in addition to the wall surfaces.

Since you are on the ground floor, I wouldn't worry about vibration, but if you are worried the best solution is a dual opposed driver subwoofer. They don't physically move at all(only the drivers move, the opposing movement cancels all cabinet movement).

Do you typically hear voices from other units at all? If the answer is no, then you're probably fine. If the answer is yes, it means the sound proofing is very poor and you might have an issue.

 

[bodhi]

I have to two decent subs and sometimes play movies and games quite loud. I have asked my next door neighbors if the noise bothers them and neither had heard anything, ever.

It is a very new apartment complex though, I have lived in places where you can hear people washing dishes or hoovering next door. So it very much depends on the building.

 

[DavidMcRoy]

Decades ago I was renting an apartment over neighbors. I "floated" my sub on a big chunk of open-cell foam and that completely cured the issue. Just an anecdote, but it may be worth trying in your case.

 

[Sokel]

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

Discuss...

www.audiosciencereview.com

How Do I Keep My Apartment Neighbor From Hearing My Subwoofer?

I just bought a new pair of speakers and today was the second time I got the downstairs neighbor on my door complaining from the bass shaking his apartment. I swear it wasn’t too loud ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° ) but I mean, What can I do to try to isolate the bass from the floor? Is there any DIY solution...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Hexspa]

I have to two decent subs and sometimes play movies and games quite loud. I have asked my next door neighbors if the noise bothers them and neither had heard anything, ever.

It is a very new apartment complex though, I have lived in places where you can hear people washing dishes or hoovering next door. So it very much depends on the building.

I pray for a place like this. I have hoover walls.

 

[robwpdx]

https://subpac.com/subpac-pro/ and competitors

 

[Midwest Blade]

Don’t underestimate how low frequency travels in any structure including concrete. We enforce sound infractions in our condo building quite diligently to the dismay of many owners. Home theater seems to be the biggest offenders.

I gave up using a sub years ago, but if you can get a hold of a demo sub and speak to your current neighbors about doing some sound testing you may be able to determine and find a sound level that works for your application.

Condo living comes with a responsibility to be a good neighbor, unfortunately this is not a widely accepted practice at the present time.

 

[ryanosaur]

My brother and I live in an apartment that we received from our parents, basically our parents were loving enough to give us an apartment lol so we own it

I have Genelec 8030c and I really like them, but Ive been hesitant about buying a subwoofer since I live in an apartment.

I live in the first floor and there are two floors above me. The ceiling is concrete, but the walls are drywall.

If I were to get a subwoofer with feet to separate it from the floor and keep it low volume, I wonder if other can hear or feel it.

I read of people who built concrete enclosures for subwoofers

The biggest tradeoff you will need to make is not getting a Sub that will generate a lot of infrasonic content. In a way, that kind of defeats the purpose in my book, but as I said... Tradeoffs is the name of the game.
If I were in your shoes, I would just be looking for something that can go down to the low 20Hz range to flush out the bottom end and cross it to the Monitors at around 80-90Hz. Look for sales maybe on a Monolith 10 or 12"... they happen pretty frequently and the distortion measurements show them to be pretty clean units, even the lower rated 10".
If you think you plan on moving in the next few years and want to buy something enormous, now... I would say to get a DSP module like the Flex and put a High Pass Filter on the low end. Also, avoid creating a big house curve... keep the FR flat and output under control.
Lastly, the volume control is your friend. Use it smartly and communicate with your neighbors. Good neighborly relations can bypass a lot of problems and keep them from escalating to actual complaints.
Just remember you are in a shared space and need to be mindful of what will keep the peace with those sharing walls and floors with you!

This isn't guaranteed to work, but if you want to add a Sub it is your best approach. I had a small toy Sub in an apartment years ago and never received a complaint from my downstairs neighbor. It wasn't a monster Sub and didn't have insane output capabilities. On the flip side, it did distort easily which creates it's own issues because those types of rattles and bad bass sounds are what most people complain about IME.

Good luck!

 

[Mean & Green]

I don‘t know how anyone who cares about audio manages to satisfy their hobby in anything other than a detached abode without headphones.

 

[r042wal]

Sorry this really sounds like click-bait to me

 

[Balle Clorin]

No.

 

[fpitas]

As long as it's not powered you should be fine.

 

[Astoneroad]

Buy all the other apartments and get all the subs that you want. Otherwise, no.

 

[Astrozombie]

I wouldn't go beyond floorstanders........or Svs micro?

 

[GD Fan]

Absolutely. This is my situation to some extent, only yours is better being on the ground floor in what sounds like steel reinforced concrete construction.

My advice is don't necessarily optimize your FR curve on a stand alone basis - consider your environment and dial it back a touch.

Pick your spots / times to give it a workout. Midnight may not be best.

I've found that the music / mixing / era makes a difference. That is, the same setting for Led Zeppelin (and contemporaries) may be too much for modern music with more bass emphasis.

 

[GabrielBurger]

i dont use a sub in my garage personally, or anywhere in my non-audio designed house, going below 45hz just causes foundational problems in the house to show up audiowise.

plus being OCD and wanting my deep bass to be stereophonic as well, instead of putting a big sub in the middle of the room.. 4x sub the way to go but not many have the house for true deep bass.

the 7271a has just sat in place for most of its time here.., i tried it for one hour and it just shook everything and all you heard was shaking..

okay, for the guy who theoretically has a trillion dollars and dr manhattan esque superpowers. "

i like the 8341a as an all in one package for 99% of use cases.