How to (least) bother my neighbors

I-SIG

I live in an apartment. I'm on the bottom floor. It's built on a slab.

To bother my neighbors the least, would I be better off having my rig on the wall adjacent to their apartments or to put it on an interior wall of my living room?

I know it sounds like a stupid question, but I also know that it take space for bass waves to spread out and develop. Would being away from the the wall between my nighbors help or hurt?

Thanks,
Wes

michael_w

I'm not sure how it will work in your room but we just recently moved our whole setup from one wall (the one that attaches our townhouses to the next one) to the one directly opposite to it(an exterior wall). It took a bit of the bass off of the wall and the neighbours said that their pictures vibrated less at high volumes ... so it seems that it was a slight improvment. I say play around and ask your neighbours what is the quietest on their side of the wall or just wait for some polk guru to precisly answer your question.

hellotheworld

At first I was planning to buy a sub, but considering living in an apartment I gave up finally:D

I-SIG

Originally posted by hellotheworld
At first I was planning to buy a sub, but considering living in an apartment I gave up finally:D

Too late. I just got an SVS PC+!

Wes

I-SIG

Originally posted by michael_w
I'm not sure how it will work in your room but we just recently moved our whole setup from one wall (the one that attaches our townhouses to the next one) to the one directly opposite to it(an exterior wall). It took a bit of the bass off of the wall and the neighbours said that their pictures vibrated less at high volumes ... so it seems that it was a slight improvment. I say play around and ask your neighbours what is the quietest on their side of the wall or just wait for some polk guru to precisly answer your question.

Like the little boy pissing in the ocean said:

"Every little bit helps."

Wes

scottnbnj

if treatment is out, i would try the sub as far away as possible first.

if more is needed, i think, the more reflections between the sub and the common wall the better it will be for them. maybe place something (like entertainment unit or sofa) between the sub and wall,.. so that wall isn't a first or direct reflection from the waves leaving the sub (where if you look from the output point of the sub you can not see the wall). you can go a step further with someone holding a mirror at spots you can see from the sub output.

if treatment is an alternative, what would the limitations be? i mean, you can go incrementally from little things like caulk, stuffing insulation here and there, adding a door sweep and insulation on the stop to,.. well, pretty radical stuff that might also help your listening room.

)

HBombToo

I would start by inviting the folks directly above you to a viewing... show him/her the sub and kick back and enjoy a movie. Ask him/her for their opinion and use that as a benchmark if they don't ****. If they do later ... invite them back for another viewing and drink more beer :cool:

twin

LittleCar_w/12s

Hmm... I've run into this problem a few times.
The last apt i had, I was upstairs. The subs I have are in a dual floor-box, full-range. I put some wierd little cardboard things under it, look like 4" wide toilet-paper tubes, and it got rid of almost all vibration to the floor for underneath neighbors.

I once had a townhouse, and the same system in a 25 foot long room. The neighbors on the wall opposite the system had more vibration than the ones on the system's end. If you think, if your subs are facing a wall, the first wall the sound hits is behind you.

You are best sitting it right off the wall, and a little off the floor (as little as possible connection with the floor. Mine maybe has a total of 6-8 in^2 touching via the cardboard tubes). This reduces floor, and connectedly the wall by it, having vibration. and the wall behind you will receive the most vib.

-Jerry

edit-note: If you do stand it off the floor, make sure that it has little connection area, but is sturdy. Ie. big circles, or a z or something. otherwise you compromise the sub/low range, as the entire setup moves opposite the drivers and eats a little output.