Neighbor issues ...

sachinsood

Oh well, I was thinking of getting an SVS sub soon. But in the past 1 week, I had 2 neighbors complain twice already about hearing a thumping sound on their walls . One has complained about calling the cops also and the other said he thought I was banging my head against the wall all night. Heck yeah, I wouldn't be alive then idiot!!!

I listen to music late at night when I do much of my code debugging and browse Visual Basic/SQL forums online and well need music to keep me going like most other geeks .

Ah, but neighbors will be neighbors. And apartment walls will be apartment walls. Even at -70db volume with 0dB bass (with Bass Extension on) on my Yamaha, they complain about hearing the music. And they are both senior citizens who sleep light

Oh well, the craps about not owning a house. Just wondering if I bought SVS subs and blew the walls off here .

Receiver: Yamaha HTR 5590
Speakers: Polk Audio R50
DVD Player: Denon DVD900

izafar

Unfortunately there is no solution other then getting yourself a good headphone for late night listening. I have lived in couple of apartments with paper-thin walls and life was always horrible there.

The sound of subwoofer from the next apartment sounds really horrible as your walls and floor vibrate and act like a big giant driver. I had a neighbor once who placed his sub on some repetitive kick drum sequence and left the apartment for a couple of days. By the middle of next day I was frustrated like hell and had the apt management open his apartment and shut it down in his absence.

But all of this shouldn’t stop you from getting a SVS. Whenever you get the chance you should treat yourself with some good
bass

dorokusai

Its the nature of the beast. Buy what you feel is neccesary, but perhaps a hardcore set of headphones will square you away for now. Closed designs yield more bass, if that is what you like.

I feel your pain, I had the same issues.

sachinsood

Ah I thought about getting headphones too. But dang it. Spent a lot on Polks. My system is in the living room and my comp in the bedroom. Coz thats where the cable modem is hooked up. Below -70dB and I will barely hear anything.

But oh well, next time they complain, I'm just gonna shrug and tell them to get their apartment sound proofed or whatever.

-70db. I want to play that louder. Oh, and I'll get my SVS subs sooner or later. And hopefully a house too

Receiver: Yamaha HTR 5590
Speakers: Polk Audio R50
DVD Player: Denon DVD900

gidrah

Time for better computer speakers. My laptop has Polks. Man they sound......... like headphones turned all the way up and held about 2' away.:(

wallstreet

That's pretty funny. SVS and apartments don't mix.

Shizelbs

sachinsood,

I have your problem. Apartment with thin walls and two roommates and periodic bouts of the insomnia. I picked up a pair of Sennheiser HD-590's for my late night listening. I have been very happy since. They are working very well plugged right into my sound card. If you have MP3's, this would be a good way to go. Its probably a bit much to ask to run a cord all the way from your stereo to where you sit at your computer, but if you can do the MP3 thing, or rip your CD's onto your PC hard drive, I am sure you can find a nice comprimise that won't get Ranger Rick sent to your door.

kberg

sachinsood,

Sorry to hear about your frustration. But it might help to know that should you decide to get that SVS, you will hear MUCH better bass reproduction at even VERY low volumes. Not that I don't crank it on music and HT, but this was one of the first things I noticed when I fired up my PC+.

scottvamp

Apartments and HomeTheater DON"T mix.... Period!!!!!!!!!
Find a new hobbie or move...... No really!!!!!!;)

Shizelbs

If you are thinking about getting headphones, and you need the bass, here is an email I got from the folks at headphone.com:

Quick Answer. For tight full bass without being overly muddy, open back phones
generally do better although, they usually need a decent amplifier to sound
full. Closed back phones can sometimes produce more bass but not always true.
Sometimes the boost ends up in the midrange.

Hope this helps.

sachinsood

Thanks got the suggestions and support guys. Never imagined a topic like this would get this much response, but I guess quite a bit of us have been faced with similar scenarios.

There's no way I can get away from my HT hobby. So far, I have been listening to music at -76db at night after 10pm, but before that it's at a decent -56db to -44db. All my life, I've been listening to music on my 1998 Magnavox discman and Harman/Kardon computer speakers, which are not very bad either, but well if you had a neat and a bit over a month old HT lying in your apt., wouldn't you use it? I mean, in the silence of the night, it sounds amazingly clear and precise, even coming from another room.

My 1.5 yr old HP laptop has Polk Audio speakers too (they don't put Polks on HPs any more ). Its just that after all this and finally being able to get in to your hobby and noticing the clarity through better speakers, you can't and don't want to go back to square one. This is something I waited to own for more than 10 years.

If my neighbors can hear the music at night even if it's at -76db, it's not my fault at all - I bet the cops would understand that too. Not like I'm blasting the music. If they get disturbed, they can soundproof their apts or get drunk each night, which wouldn't be such a bad idea after all .

These are "supposedly" some of the best apts in the neighborhood too. When I moved in, never imagined the walls would be this thin. Back in the univ dorms that are really old, my room mate and I had a huge tube amp, mic, front speakers, 3 guitars and car subwoofers - and we'd jam almost daily and no one ever heard it or ever complained.

Oh well, need to speak to my boss about a raise . Time for a house. Really!!!

F1nut

FYI,

After 11pm it's quite time, yes it is your fault, your neighbors have the right to complain and the cops have the right to make your life miserable. I know it sucks, but that's the way it is. Get some headphones and be a good neighbor.

BTW, The reason your old place seemed more soundproof was that the walls were plaster and not 1/2" thick sheetrock.

sachinsood

Yup ur right. after 10pm is quiet time here. Means no blaring music after 10pm.

The thing that ticked me off was these guys didnt hear loud music! I went to their place and left my system on at -70db and only if you heard very carefully and strained your ears, you could hear a faint sound.

Now, this town was built coz of railroads...at 3am you'll hear the trains honking loud and clear...they usually wake me up at 6am way before my alarm rings...

If only I could afford a house...if only...

F1nut

Like I said, it sucks. One day soon you'll be able to blast it as loud as you want.....then you'll get married and you'll be right back to where you are now. :eek:

wallstreet

Originally posted by F1nut
Like I said, it sucks. One day soon you'll be able to blast it as loud as you want.....then you'll get married and you'll be right back to where you are now. :eek:

Come on now, let the boy dream for a day or two.

kberg

Originally posted by F1nut
One day soon you'll be able to blast it as loud as you want.....then you'll get married and you'll be right back to where you are now. :eek:

That's Gold, Jerry! Gold!

sachinsood

Haha. yeah one day I'll get married and then all this thing will play are nursery rhymes for my kiddo...hope the kiddo likes listening to some rock, pop and jazz at a loud volume early on

hope to get a house before i get a kid...

Tour2ma

good choice... houses are cheaper...