MAJOR RANT - Neighbors!

[Guest Steven1963]

You seem to want to ignore my analogy about the lawnmower. Which is completely valid and applicable. While it may be understandable that not everyone wants to hear my music at 4pm. Those same people would tolerate a lawn mower without calling the cops. Do you not get that that is the conundrum here?

Have YOU considered calling the cops on your neighbors for mowing their lawn at 4pm? Would you consider it?

[Shakeydeal]

No I would not consider doing that. But what I think is acceptable and what your neighbor thinks is acceptable are obviously two different things.

But like I said before, shutting your doors and windows will go a long way towards keeping the peace in the neighborhood. Not much you can do about the sound of a lawn mower outdoors. But you can affect the SPL of your system.

Now once your house is shut up tight and you receive complaints, that is an entirely different story and more likely than not unreasonable on the part of your neighbor.

Look, I'm not throwing you under the bus for playing your system that loudly. That is about the level of mine EVERY time I fire it up, sometimes very late at night. But opening doors and windows so that it can be heard easily outside is just asking for trouble.

Shakey

[Guest Steven1963]

Thanks for the advice.

[muel]

I think a phone call to say, "hey, I'm having a party on such and such date. Might get loud but I hope to not bother you." would go a long way in some cases. You could even invite them over... they might not want to come but might feel less inclined to complain if they feel welcome to come talk to you directly.

I was awakened at 3:00 AM this last weekend with the neighbors music along with hooting and hollering almost 300 feet away. If I had been warned or invited I would have been less PO'd. Luckily, the kids slept through it or I would have been more upset. I think it would have been funny to drown out their hair band rock with some Bobby Darin at 120db! Actually, I liked much of the music they were playing but I get too little sleep like it is.

Won't work in all cases... some neighbors are tools.

[Guest Steven1963]

I have no clue who the neighbor is that is calling the cops and complaining. If I could talk to them and determine what their issues are it might make everything more palatable. As it is, having the cops called on you for noise complaints without any recourse other than to turn it down or face fines is frustrating.

But it's not really as bad as it sounds. Because I don't play my music loud for long periods of time - perhaps for just a song that I really like. And since the cops can't ticket me unless they themselves witness the offensively 'loud' music they really never can catch me.

On the other side of that is: who the F calls the cops for 'loud' music that lasts perhaps 10 minutes and then is turned down?

Edited July 8, 2014 by Steven1963

[Ceptorman]

On the other side of that is: who the F calls the cops for 'loud' music that lasts perhaps 10 minutes and then is turned down?

A Bose owner!

[muel]

At 3 AM I'd go from zero to PO'd pretty quick but hey, you're just living up to the Klipsch motto!

If you have a neighbor with a baby that you woke up... whatever the time of day... they might not be too happy. Who knows... keep your cool if you ever find out.

Did you see the episode of the "Sopranos" (season 5) where they were blaring Dean Martin at all hours from a boat to annoy some homeowners? The harbor police would come by and they would turn it down until they left. At $200 per fine, the mobsters could continue that game for a long time!

[garyrc]

my next door neighbor mowing his lawn would be bone headed, as the sound from his mower would produce about the same amount of 'noise' as my music.

It's true that a lot of people have more tolerance for lawn mowers, leaf blowers, etc., than they do for music and movies. That may be because their (probably misguided) parents told them to "turn the music down!!!!" during their childhoods and teen years, and, for them, keeping music from being heard from next door became some kind of moral imperative. Parents didn't say, "Don't mow the lawn, it's too noisy!" Perhaps this can be filed under authoritarian submission and authoritarian dominance, a la Adorno, et. al.?

Just the same, you should have all doors and windows closed when playing it loud, IMO.

Edited July 8, 2014 by Garyrc

[muel]

Now it's my kids who say to turn the music down!

[babadono]

People who think they are owed absolute silence 24 hours a day living in a neighborhood where the next house is at best 100 feet away are living in a world of unreasonable expectations. They need to move out to the country.

[eth2]

The best neighbor is no neighbor! That's why I live far from civilization (OK, not that far but far enough to avoid unfriendly police visits.) Been there, done that, won't do it again.

[oldtimer]

Ahh come on. You don't know the limits until you test them. That being said, I live in a pretty tolerant neighborhood in a musical city. It is common for me to hear electric bass from the neighbors behind me (live bass, not reproduced). Therefore I really don't worry much and never had the police show up. My ex neighbor who we are good friends with used to call me sometimes to turn it down. She was a vocalist. I would say come over and enjoy the concert. She would say I don't have to I hear it over here. Her dogs were louder than my system or her warming up any day though. I could hear them over the mower.