Sound deadening tips

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#2793376 11-Oct-2021 19:27

MadEngineer: Surely it can’t be right that even if they have the volume at a sensible level you can still hear the noise? I’ve lived in a joined flat before that had a firewall between the two units and I could have my surround sound system playing a movie and they wouldn’t notice the sound, similarly they had a loud stereo they’d play on occasion that I hardly ever noticed from inside. Our lounges were sharing the firewall.

Same here. I live in a unit that is structurally independent but joined to the one next door. My neighbour recently asked me if his loud music was bothering me, but I've never heard a thing except when he has his ranch slider open.

openmedia

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#2793739 12-Oct-2021 10:42

Now in the correct forum...

I've lived in semi-detached and terraced housing in the UK where you have an immediate shared wall with your neighbours. In their case it is typically brick.

Sound bleed was always an issue, from the noise of a TV, to in one case the love making of an over energetic couple.

Do you have access to a db meter so you can check how loud the Sub really is?

Generally known online as OpenMedia, now working for Red Hat APAC as a Technology Evangelist and Portfolio Architect. Still playing with MythTV and digital media on the side.

pmnz

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#2793761 12-Oct-2021 10:54

Nah i don't unfortunately.

Next time it happens will most likely ask them to come inside and listen, i need to give the benefit of the doubt that inside their place is sounds ok and they are just not aware how bad it actually is coming through.

It's got to the point that we are so desperate to have it fixed, if the building company wanted to pull the jib down to find the issue or sound proof more I would say yes in a heartbeat even if that meant we can't live in the place for a while.

DonH

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#2793777 12-Oct-2021 11:35

While you have the neighbour in, arrange a visit to the neighbour on his other side. If it's definitely much louder in your apartment than the one on the other side, there's likely a problem with the wall.

People hear what they see. - Doris Day

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#2793783 12-Oct-2021 11:45

openmedia:
Now in the correct forum...

I've lived in semi-detached and terraced housing in the UK where you have an immediate shared wall with your neighbours. In their case it is typically brick.

Sound bleed was always an issue, from the noise of a TV, to in one case the love making of an over energetic couple.

Do you have access to a db meter so you can check how loud the Sub really is?

Just beware that not all db meters go down to subbass levels, so may it may not give an inaccurate reading.

jonathan18

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#2793822 12-Oct-2021 12:07

IME, low frequencies are damn weird in the way they transmit through space and objects - anyone who's fiddled about trying to find the optimum placement for a subwoofer would have experienced how the sound can be amplified in some locations and negated in others within the same room thanks to those pesky long sound waves.

I've had similar issues with my neighbours' stereo: the bass can be disconcertingly loud from within our bedroom (waking me up/making it difficult to get to sleep), but (like your situation) if I walk outside our house I can hardly hear it - and our two houses are completely separated by about 10m if not more, which includes plants, fence etc!

I seriously doubt the council will be interested, or whether any SPL reading will be that useful - my bet is it'll show as under any limit. Low frequencies don't have to be loud (in an SPL sense) to be dominating and annoying - actually, I think just the 'doof, doof' of audio devoid of any of the rest of the frequency range can be more annoying.

Great idea asking the neighbours to come around to experience it first-hand; if they acknowledge it's loud and they're reasonable they'll hopefully adjust the settings and/or their listening habits. Could also be worth them trying different locations for the sub, too - I know that it's on the opposite side to the shared wall, but noting my own example above, bass transmission is weird...

Is the volume of the bass as loud all through your lounge, or does it vary a bit/substantially? Can you feel the shared wall vibrate at all? The floor? (Could look to get them to play some LF test sounds to help confirm, especially if they're willing to try different locations for the sub.)

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#2793831 12-Oct-2021 12:10

DonH:

While you have the neighbour in, arrange a visit to the neighbour on his other side. If it's definitely much louder in your apartment than the one on the other side, there's likely a problem with the wall.

Theoretically the neighbor on the other side should also be able to hear it? do the sounds subs make come out the back too? I know its further away from us but it i think it would be pointing in the direction of our wall.

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DonH

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#2793872 12-Oct-2021 12:51

The sound from a sub is very much omnidirectional. At sub frequencies, the sound waves have a wavelength similar to the dimensions of typical rooms. Think of the air in the room behaving like water in a bathtub - if you get the frequency right, it sloshes back and forth and builds up bigger waves. The same thing happens to the air in the room, it sloshes back and forth. That's why the bass can be louder in one part of the room than another (usually at the walls).

People hear what they see. - Doris Day

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#2793875 12-Oct-2021 12:52

pmnz:

Theoretically the neighbor on the other side should also be able to hear it? do the sounds subs make come out the back too? I know its further away from us but it i think it would be pointing in the direction of our wall.

The actual driver of a sub is typically on the front or bottom, rarely on the back, but there may be a port located there. Some may also have passive radiators. But that's kinda immaterial to the way low frequency waves travel - the waves are big (I understand c 17m long at 20 Hz!) and it's difficult to locate the origin - so that the sub is 'facing' your wall probably has little impact relative to other factors.

That subs are the most difficult of speakers to locate properly indicates the complexity behind your problem - you can see that in guides like this:

https://www.acousticfields.com/wavelengths-in-our-rooms/

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=48286

This was something interesting I found, which reflects the point I made earlier that LF sounds can be more frustrating than high-frequency or full-range sounds:

The adverse impact of low-frequency noise has caused considerable concern due to its pervasive sources in residential areas,1 –4 the fact that it masks higher frequencies more than vice versa,5 and the fact that it is more difficult to reduce than mid and high frequencies. Low-frequency noise can dominate residents’ perception of noise when the atmosphere, ground and building envelopes predominately attenuate higher frequencies6 or when sound masking is reduced at night, leading to health risks7 –9 and bringing more annoyance than the normal frequency range.

Source: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1461348420942972

pmnz

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#2793882 12-Oct-2021 12:58

jonathan18:

Is the volume of the bass as loud all through your lounge, or does it vary a bit/substantially? Can you feel the shared wall vibrate at all? The floor? (Could look to get them to play some LF test sounds to help confirm, especially if they're willing to try different locations for the sub.)

If i put my ear to the wall is basically sounds like the entire thing is shaking, very loud but i can't physically feel anything.

MadEngineer

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#2794135 12-Oct-2021 18:04

Are there any power outlets on that wall that you can pop off the face plate and check the gib inside? Proper sound proofing uses two layers.

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concordnz

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#2794705 13-Oct-2021 19:57

Perhaps a partial solution is to put an extra layer of Gib on the adjoining wall?
(I concur that it may not be a fix, as I agree low frequency sounds can be incredibly difficult to eliminate.)
But it may actually be one of the most 'cost effective' & time effective solutions, which you are going to get offered here.
[I'm not going go down the line of who should 'pay' for any of these things you try - that should be kept in a separate thread]

I'm going to focus on helpful/practical solutions.

I also suggest try rugs/mats on the floor (preferably thick ones), these should also absorb some of the problem waves.