[MONKEYWICKEDMONKEY]

All, so I'm pondering some new speakers possibly at the end of the year or next year. My issue is some of the speakers I am looking at go down to the low 30's powered by a 15" front ported woofer.

My issue is the neighbors I share a ceiling with. Is there a way to lessen or greatly diminish the amount of low frequency waves traveling up the front wall to my ceiling? I am pondering making temporary super chunk bass traps to run between the front wall and the ceiling above the speakers but not sure if I can pull that off and whether its even worth it.

Thoughts?

[richidoo]

Acoustic absorbers will not prevent low bass from radiating through the ceiling. You can read articles about soundproofing to understand the challenges and what's necessary. If you are renting it's probably not possible to build what's necessary. Bass is powerful and will travel through normal wood construction. But if you have steel/concrete construction then you might not have a problem.

Building code may require extra insulation and isolation between adjacent housing units to prevent fire and some sound moving through. Bass will be reduced but not eliminated.

Usually the best plan with neighbors is to communicate with them preemptively so they know you're audiophile and will be playing music, and so they understand you are a considerate person willing to compromise. You have the right to play music at a reasonable volume during daytime hours, usually 8AM to 10PM, but check your HOA rules, town by-laws etc. Make sure your neighbors know these rules also and that you intend to abide them. Then invite them to text or call you if they ever have a special circumstance that requires quiet during those hours, like sickness or studying, etc. If they know they have a way to stop the "noise" then they are less likely to become annoyed because they still have control if they really have a problem. People feeling out of control will panic and overreact. Nurture the relationship over time. Invite them to come for a drink and listen to their music on your stereo so they understand why it's important to you. Keeping the channels open and friendly works. Gifts of booze and dessert may help.

[FullRangeMan]

Is there a way to lessen or greatly diminish the amount of low frequency waves traveling up the front wall to my ceiling?
Headphones.

[Letitroll98]

I had the exact same situation in my old condo and followed the advice given by richidoo, albeit many years before he gave it.  It was reversed to normal hours, they worked the graveyard shift so I was quiet all during the day or when I came home from work until they left for work around 8pm, then I could rock out.  We were very friendly and they knew they had permission to bang on the floor if I mistimed it. 

An alternative is to avoid deep bass.  Buy bookshelf speakers and give up the two bottom octives.  It's somewhat liberating not dealing with all those deep bass issues anyway.

[JLM]

The best solution for in-room listening is the use of monitors plus subwoofers (that in this case you can adjust).  Suggest reading Floyd Toole's "Sound Reproduction" 3rd edition as the consummate audiophile primer for explaining how speakers/subwoofers behave in room.  The book will point you towards multiple subwoofers and mid-field listening both which would reduce sound transmission to the neighbors and those nasty bass issues Letitroll98 mentioned.  Large full range speakers are so yesterday.  Bass and mids/highs are ideally sourced from different places in the room and side-by-side bass sources just double up on peaks/dips. 

As Rich stated, room treatments have nothing to do with room isolation.  If in a rental situation the best you might be able to do is to seal off all ceiling penetrations (especially recessed can light fixtures).  I used headphones while living in a college dorm.  If a condo situation you could eliminate all ceiling penetrations (use wall sconce light fixtures and move smoke detectors to high wall positions), seal the openings, and add a layer of drywall with green glue (a special construction caulk) or gauge metal furring strips in-between.  Again check condo/etc. rules.

[dB Cooper]

The problem doesn't seem to be the evenness of sound in the room, but more a sound leakage or conduction issue, which seems unlikely to get solved by putting more low frequency energy into the room by adding sub(s).

The solutions would seem to be:

• Look at something that doesn't have a 15" powered subwoofer that reaches into the low 30's;
• Headphones as suggested fy FRM or minimonitor as suggested by Letitroll
• Planars. One owner here has commented on the low bass leakage outside their listening space due to the characteristics of planars.

Except for FRM's headphone suggestion, all of these may fall short of satisfying you if you're "all about that bass". Frankly, if you wish to keep peace with your neigbors, what you have said you are looking at seems a less-than-ideal fit for your living situation. In which case, there is one more, albeit drastic, solution:

• Move.

[toocool4]

How big is your room? Depending on how big your room is, you may be buying more speaker than you have room.

I don’t know why the name bass trap was created? Because you cannot really trap bass, you can only limit some of its effects.

[Elizabeth]

I am a multi unit dweller in an 'Over55" building full of old ladies who just itch for a reason to whine about something.. I do not give them any reason to add to the litany of complaints.
Been here 14 years and not one complaint about noise. Or even being able to hear the music through the walls.
The first thing is learning to play at a lower volume. IT takes time to adjust but it works. Naturally if you say play music average 85Db and then turn it down to say average 55dB is just SUCKS 100%. lifeless etc.. But if you ply music all the time at 55dB and crank it up to say 70,, LOUD.. wow that is loud...
Just food for thought.

FIrst off if you enjoy your life and place now..NO low bass. You have to be silly to think you can have a lot of bass, loud  low bass, and not get evicted/ police visits in a shared wall situation. IF you disagree, good luck not getting shot. 
IF the op here is planning on buying speakers with a lot of bass? big mistake. just asking for endless shit to be created.. no foolin'

Anyway, my solution was Magnepan. The bass from Maggies just impacts the walls less. less bleed through. When I went from the previous 3.6 to the 20.7 Maggies I was very worried about too much bass. but with some adjustments I can say not a problem. though it COULD BE if I just did a few different things to the system.
I am not rewriting the endless drivel I wrote about my speakers etc.
Just want to say yeah you can alleviate SOME bass.. but a lot there is just a limit to what can be done other than to NOT BUY SUCH SPEAKERS.
I am of the opinion that others have the 100% right to quiet enjoyment of their space. I expct the same. no gee it is midday so I can annoy the hell out of anyone I want stuff. (Lucky the building I live in the mgnt agrees and folks have been handed "3 day to quit" evictions  just days after moving in... over refusing to stop annoying others)

[Wind Chaser]

With open baffle subs you can turn it up much louder before the neighbors get annoyed than you could with conventional/boxed subs.

[FullRangeMan]

Worth mention headphones have much more musical small detail than a regular loudspeaker and have hi wife approval, just dont let her know the price, there is one open box in stock now:
https://store.hifiman.com/index.php/arya-630.html
Amps are cheaper than speaker amps and DIY cable are easy to made.

[toocool4]

I agree with Elizabeth, if you want to live in harmony with your neighbours don’t annoy them. But if you like confrontation, then go for it.

[WGH]

My issue is some of the speakers I am looking at go down to the low 30's powered by a 15" front ported woofer.

What speaker are you considering that has a 15" front ported woofer? The Legacy Whisper XDS has 15" woofers but I can't imagine putting those in an apartment. I have heard the JBL Everest (Summit series) in a small room at RMAF and the sound was excellent, which completely surprised me.

I really, really hope you are not thinking of the BIC America - RtR 15" or the Cerwin Vega - Dual 15".

If you are looking for that bone-rattling tactile sensations only 15" woofers can do then maybe a Bass (Butt) Shaker will give you what you need without disturbing the neighbors.
https://www.aperionaudio.com/blogs/aperion-audio-blog/how-to-install-bass-shakers-in-your-home-theater

[Big Red Machine]

Mass loaded vinyl works and can be hung on the walls.

I'd personally just move and take my wicked monkey Kovacs with me!

[Phil A]

All excellent advice above.  To not annoy neighbors is most important so don't buy this - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZGK3MGN/?coliid=I2XO7PCAFVC23W&colid=321FECHQA1Z6W&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

[Tyson]

With open baffle subs you can turn it up much louder before the neighbors get annoyed than you could with conventional/boxed subs.

Agreed.

[FullRangeMan]

+1 very open bass.

[JLM]

Another option is speakers that perform better at lower spls.  Unfortunately those are usually the ones that are less efficient/dynamic.