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

[Mnyb]

Worked for me most of my life , just don’t play at insane level’s . ( now i’m Finally in a house ).

Content: music usually don’t go that deep and loud , movies do with a lot special effects

 

[ZolaIII]

If you decouple the sub from the floor so that it doesn't transmit vibrations to it or do it under hearing range (to say it properly as energy doesn't disappear) and don't exaggerate with SPL it can work. Without vibrations low frequencies actually fade away relatively fast.
How to do decoupling? With silicone under it or acoustic pack's.
Would go with closed enclosure front firing one of course.

 

[eboleyn]

You might want to take a look at some of the "dual opposed" sub models that have 2 drivers facing exactly opposite directions (one on each side of the subwoofer box), since that tends to cancel out box vibration.

 

[izeek]

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.

that last paragraph, doh.

 

[Snoopy]

Sorry this really sounds like click-bait to me

Look at his other 5-10 threads of the last few weeks with kinda the same questions.


But to stay on topic... I run a small subwoofer in a apartment with neighbours around me and above me. No complaints so far.

 

[Pancreas]

Look at his other 5-10 threads of the last few weeks with kinda the same questions.


But to stay on topic... I run a small subwoofer in a apartment with neighbours around me and above me. No complaints so far.

What sub is it?

 

[kemmler3D]

Agree with other posts. Generally you can't stop people from hearing the sub, but you can mitigate.

• Isolate the sub from walls and floors
• Highpass the sub at least on weeknights
• Don't run the sub full-out for too long or too often
• Make sure your neighbors have your phone number and know you don't mind being asked to turn it down.

I personally don't care what my neighbors think, because they suck, but YMMV.

 

[Snoopy]

What sub is it?

A small sub is ok for music.. but U won't be happy with it for movies (or games). So keep that in mind. And if the room is difficult you will most likely need 2 subwoofers anyway.

And that's where you want something like Dirac with bass management.

So before you go out buying a cheap small subwoofer consider Ur next steps and what you really want to archive.

Sometimes it's better to start over instead of throwing money at something to fix what you already purchased.

 

[Hayabusa]

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

Ask you neighbor if you can measure the transfer function from your room to theirs.. all you need is a long mic cable
I did this when I moved into an apartment.. conclusion: 70dB down in mid frequencies but reducing to 45dB at 60Hz
(I lookup the measurement)

 

[aslan7]

I have the opposite problem—I bought a sub to make noise. I sold my house and bought a co-op. My neighbors were extremely noisy and annoying, and completely uncooperative. Then a single parent moved above me with a screaming infant and generally ignored it. So, I bought a pair of 8930Cs and a 7050c to match. When ever the neighbors started in I blasted them for hours on end, usually with Colombian narco rap. I get up at 4:30 AM so that was extremely helpful because the offending parties all work ((I am retired). Suffice it to say that after one week my problems are over—the neighbors are perfectly quiet and the screaming infant is gone. So now I enjoy my classical music and jazz and normal volume and it sounds terrific. To me the 7050C was the great equalizer.

 

[Spkrdctr]

You can always by a big subwoofer that will crack the walls. Put it where you want it and enjoy the looks. But for heaven's sake don't turn it on!

 

[LoFiAudiophile]

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

I did, though I had a Sonos set at the time. The dual opposed Sub does wonders! Get a dual opposed Sub, keep it away from walls and use a reasonable volume. I never received a noise complaint and hope it works out for you (and your neighbors)!

 

[Pancreas]

I did, though I had a Sonos set at the time. The dual opposed Sub does wonders! Get a dual opposed Sub, keep it away from walls and use a reasonable volume. I never received a noise complaint and hope it works out for you (and your neighbors)!

which ones would you recommend

 

[Pancreas]

would the Genelec 7040A suffice for an apartment? is the smallest sub in their line up and is recommended for 8010 and 8020

I have the 8030c but I don't really that much volume, quite opposite trying to keep it low volume

I'd rather go with Genelec as integration is painless

The downside of the 7040a is it only has 2 inputs, whereas the 7050c has 5 for surround

 

[Snoopy]

would the Genelec 7040A suffice for an apartment? is the smallest sub in their line up and is recommended for 8010 and 8020

I have the 8030c but I don't really that much volume, quite opposite trying to keep it low volume

I'd rather go with Genelec as integration is painless

The downside of the 7040a is it only has 2 inputs, whereas the 7050c has 5 for surround

Added a Genelec 7040A sub to my 8030C monitors

I've been rocking my Genelec 8030C monitors for a few months now thanks in large part to the ASR review and measurements and I've been very, very happy with them. I always calibrate my setup using a UMIK-1 and REW and they just sound perfect. The effect they have of bringing the singer forwards...

audiosciencereview.com

 

[Pancreas]

Added a Genelec 7040A sub to my 8030C monitors

I've been rocking my Genelec 8030C monitors for a few months now thanks in large part to the ASR review and measurements and I've been very, very happy with them. I always calibrate my setup using a UMIK-1 and REW and they just sound perfect. The effect they have of bringing the singer forwards...

audiosciencereview.com

my guy snoopy lol

The only downside is that it only has 2 inputs, with the 7050c you future proof if you ever decide to do surround

Basically, is this the correct way?

You connect the subwoofer left and right OUT to the audio interface, and then connect the speakers to the subwoofer? Is this the only way it can be done?

Can you keep the speakers connected to the audio interface and then just connect the subwoofer left and right OUT to the audio interface and get sound?

I don't understand what's the difference or what's the best way

What if you have a AV receiver, you would connect the speakers to the sub and then sub to the receiver?

 

[Snoopy]

I don't have studio setup. But I believe the subwoofer just applies a high pass filter for the monitors. So they don't have to play the low frequencies at all.

But no idea how you connect a audio interface to that. Sorry. But I doubt this will be a good solution for Homecinema multichannel where you still need a AVR.

AVR have subwoofer outs...and Dirac for example.. way cheaper solution and probably more useful with passive speakers.

For that small Genelec sub you get already something really good for movies from other brands.

 

[bodhi]

Downside of 7040 is that it is too small, 7050 is already pushing it but works in a small room with medium volume. You can still push 7050 to clipping with reasonable volume but that depends on listening habits of course.

 

[Pancreas]

Downside of 7040 is that it is too small, 7050 is already pushing it but works in a small room with medium volume. You can still push 7050 to clipping with reasonable volume but that depends on listening habits of course.

Small for what?

I live in an apartment and want to make the less boom possible the only downside i see is that it only has 2 inputs and outputs

The 7050c is somewhat more expensive but it comes 5 or 6 in and outs i think basically you have the option if you ever want to do a surround system

So in regards to that the 7050c is more future proofing better to have the option for surround than not to

 

[Snoopy]

Small for what?

I live in an apartment and want to make the less boom possible the only downside i see is that it only has 2 inputs and outputs

The 7050c is somewhat more expensive but it comes 5 or 6 in and outs i think basically you have the option if you ever want to do a surround system

So in regards to that the 7050c is more future proofing better to have the option for surround than not to

You would still need a AVR with another Digital to Analog back to digital conversation happening. because the volume control of a AVR would be analog. that is if you want to use stuff like DTSHD, TrueHD, Atmos etc.
otherwise you can do 5.1 with a audio interface with a software that lets you do channel mapping to each loudspeaker but that's only good for your own music and won't help you with movies etc.

So at the moment you would be looking at a 1250 USD subwoofer (7050c). to do some future proofing for a less than ideal setup that would require you to buy at least another 3 Genelec 8030. what's that? another 1400 USD?
and since you don't have the gelenec SAM it would be better to get a AVR receiver with DIRAC.

so lets say you get a Denon with Dirac license on sale for 1000-1500 USD somewhere you are going to throw at least 3500 USD at this problem to make multichannel work with genelecs. and you didn't spend money yet on acoustic treatment.

for that money you could probably build a separate passive 5.1 movie setup . but would that even work in your room? looking at the pictures you posted and the way you want this setup to work I would say you are wasting your money