Subwoofer vs Apartment ( noise need help / tips )

[QUiKSR20]

Hello all,

I move into my new Apartment this week 2nd floor. Cant wait. But on a sidenote im a little nervous with the subwoofer part of my home theater. I will do my best to meet the neighbors and let them know that I have a home theater and I will not play it super loud and if theres a problem they can always call me and I will lower it.

Im looking for some tips tricks and suggestions to make me happy and keep them happy as well. I have a down firing KSW12.

So far I havent had much luck searching for tips and tricks with home theater in apt's on the internet.

Would something like this help under the subwoofer?

http://www.auralex.com/sound_isolation_gramma/sound_isolation_gramma.asp

[DTLongo]

Place your downward-firing sub on three or four soft-foam doormats. That will at least decouple it somewhat from the floor.

Not knowing more about your apartment it is difficult to advise further. For example, even if your floor is thick such that the apartment below might not be much disturbed, the side walls between yours and adjacent apartments may be something else. If you have the ability to place your system far away from the side walls, say, in a center living room or den, that would help.

If you really like to crank loud, you might have to fall back on a high-quality pair of headphones.

Perhaps you can find some (more) tips on the subwoofer section of these forums.

[michael hurd]

To be frank, no. The air that is disturbed by the subwoofer will in turn pass on vibrations to the walls and floors / ceiling. Unless you build a room within a room ( like a recording studio ) with a lot of isolation, you will not be able to stop the low frequencies from transferring to other apartments.

Air, like water will pass through the smallest hole. A small hole < 1/8" in a wall system will reduce it's effectiveness.

One thing that I might suggest is the addition of a device like Aura's bass shakers, attached to the seating. (provided the seating is well isolated from the floor) This would allow you to turn down the volume of the subwoofer slightly, and still experience the " feeling " of low bass.

[michael hurd]

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Here are some suggested shakers. They can be tied into an existing system by simply inserting a Y adapter into the Lfe ouput from the receiver to the subwoofer, and connecting the shakers to an inexpensive power amplifier. I would recommend a used integrated amplifier, as you can use the volume control to balance the level of shake with the subwoofer.

The shakers work best when attached to the frame of a chair or couch, and in turn the furniture is isolated from the floor.

[Zen Traveler]

Invite your new neighbors over for popcorn and a movie. A keg might help If that doesn't work, have listings of other places they may want to move.

Something tells me I'm not much help.

[QUiKSR20]

Would something like this work good under the subwoofer?

http://www.auralex.com/sound_isolation_gramma/sound_isolation_gramma.asp

[michael hurd]

No. The vibrations of air set in motion from the cone, cause other things to vibrate in symphony. The subwoofer shakes you, the floor, the ceiling, walls and those of the people around you. Again, unless you were to build a room inside a room ( floating floor, sitting on vibration absorption pucks, with walls and ceiling attatched to the floor, not attached to the other walls at all ) vibrations will still be transferred through the structure.

The bass shakers may be an option, as they "move" whatever they are attatched to, rather than a cone setting air in motion.

[InFlux]

I agree with the bass shaker recommendation.

Thinking outside of the box, here is another long-shot alternative:

Pick up a 12V power supply and an electronic crossover for a car stereo that has a variable HIGH PASS filter ranging down into the 32Hz range. Pyle makes several. This will allow you to reduce the low-end bass without eliminating the upper end of the bass re-enforcement you want with your SB's. This will help reduce the vibration factor and it can easily be unplugged for full-range sound.

Of course for that kind of investment, you could sell the SB's and upgrade

[kenratboy]

The only reason I never want to live in a apartment is beucase of the fact I like music

We lived in a nice apartment for about a year while we were getting our new house. 2 story building with 6 units each. The side walls were cinder block, and the floors were over 18" thick and insulated. We talked to the lady who lived downstairs and she said she had never heard a thing from us. We used a 8" subwoofer (downfiring, right over her BEDROOM) and NOTHING.

Depends on where you live.

[SteelerFan]

You are really at the mercy of how well constructed your building is and how understanding your neighbors will be. If you don't have those two things working for you then the bass shakers might be the way to go.

This reminds me of my first apartment here in Florida. Down here alot of the apartment buildings were built as cheaply as possible. I remember going to bed my first night and lying there being proud (and frightened) of being on my own for the first time. All of a sudden I hear this tinkling sound and can't quite figure out where it was coming from at first until I hear the toilet flush. It was the girl in the apartment above mine. Can't imagine how embarrassed she would have been had she known I knew when she was using the bathroom.

[CECAA850]

Depending on how your room reacts, and is shaped, you may want to try placing the sub directly behind or beside the listening position. You will not need as much gain to achieve a balance with your mains when it is closer to you. It may not be the optimal position but you will get a more tactile response with less gain.

[Shade]

Living in an an apartment, I can relate. Definately try to find out about how the building is contructed. The floor here is 12 inches of concrete, but the walls are pretty thin.

Your best bet is to place the sub near your listening position & stay away from reference levels. I usually average around -30 to -25db.

Introducing yourself to the neighbors sounds like a good idea, wish I had done that. Better to meet on pleasant terms first.

One other thing to mention is that if you ever upgrade to a high power amp or sub, you have to consider the electrical. As the outlets in your living room are likely all off one 15amp line, it can pose a few problems.

[tommyboy]

Ilive in an apartment, and have a RW10. I put it next to the couch,so it's loud to me at low levels. It doestn't sound too great everywhere in the room, but when you watch movies, you'll be on the couch. Of course, you can't set the sub level too high, but I've never had any complaints.