Noise proofing

[m Ransley]

It depends, are you complaining or is your neighbor complaining

[Steve Manes]

Speaking as both a bass player and former recording studio owner/builder, no. Bass is usually structurally-borne noise. Bass frequencies carry ~10x the energy of midrange frequencies and aren't treatable by things like acoustic insulation except in deep, specially designed bass traps.

I used to have a loft two floors under a NYC after-hours club so I've got a bit of experience with your problem. The owner was cooperative (he had no choice -- his club was illegal). I fixed the problem by building a plywood platform with vibration isolators as feet. He had mammoth speakers sitting on the floor so your situation is a lot easier, possibly as easy as just getting him to move the speakers off the floor.

If that doesn't work, you can pick up vibration isolation mats from a vibration control supplier like

Weigh the speaker first and buy the appropriate PSI mat.

Steve Manes Brooklyn, NY

[Don Phillipson]

So write a maximum noise level (in decibels) into the lease, as any owner/co-occupier can do.

[Joseph Meehan]

In general you want to block air exchange. Air caries sound very well. (Try opening your car's window as a train is going by.)

Next you want weight. Heavy things (drywall lead sheets etc.) block sound well.

You also want to prevent any direct solid connections. Stagger wall studs or use special isolation devices to keep the sound from traveling through the wall (remember the two cans on a string (well wire actuarially worked) you want to break the wire).

Filling in wall cavities with sound absorbing materials (accustical fiberglass bats) will do a little.

Point source control (special absorption material) at the source of the sound will also help.

[127.0.0.1]

try asking your neighbor politely to turn it down.

-a|ex

[jeffc]

It's "bass". Are you talking about aparments or detached houses? You can read "Guide to High End Audio" by Harley, which addresses some of these issues.

[jeffc]

Let me know if this helps and we can go from there. You haven't described your exact situation

[John H]

Apart from dealing with the neighbors, is there anything that can be done to combat the low base from stereos. Do noise reducing batts have any effect? I think having your own music playing quietly may help. John

[John H]

[John H]

[Steve Manes]

Nevertheless, what's almost certainly happening is that the bass is coupling with the building's structure and making it resonate like a big passive speaker.

There are two main ways to deal with bass noise. One is with mass, like a concrete wall. Some recording studios even line control room walls with lead sheets made for X-ray rooms because it's more weight for the bass energy to have to move. The other is by decoupling the source from the structure, essentially making the bass have to move through the air, which is a great shock aborber (Michael Rettinger's "perfect sound absorber" is an open window). Studios also use this approach by floating control rooms and using all sorts of trick hardware, like vibration-isolating water pipe connectors, to contain the energy. But you can accomplish some of that by simply floating the speakers.

The only thing I can think which might help on your end is to replace your windows with sound-absorbing units, which is incredibly expensive. These work in part by using a glass thickness which isn't an even multiple of common window glass, which therefore attentuates harmonic resonance from your neighbor's vibrating windows. Again, a recording studio trick.

Steve Manes Brooklyn, NY

[John H]

[Alan]

Cheapest solution - Contact you local police department and ask what the noise regulations are. If the neighbors are violating the ordinance, call the cops (non 911 number), and ask them to come out. The neighbors won't know who called (unless they have a friend at the police department).

[John H]