[brother love]

Brian or Glenn,

My wife & I retired 8 mos. ago & moved to a 3rd floor downtown condo that fronts a street that has a fair amount of traffic.  The building was built in 1927 & has large windows. Worst noise sources are motorcycles, souped-up cars, trucks w/ refrigeration units; but loud voices can be heard as well (esp. at closing time for the pub a block down the street  ).

My primary audiophile listening now is with headphones & headamp, but we still use the 2 channel audio rig for tv & movie watching, & lower dB level audio listening.

2 bedroom window openings are 61" w x 73" h each w/ 21" h sills that have 9" depth. 2 living rm windows are a little smaller. Currently only Levolor mini-blinds are utilized (insulated curtains or cellular blinds are options, but I know acoustical panels would be a more significant improvement). Wife likes lots of natural light from windows during daylight hours, so panels need to be stashed away.

GIK Acoustic panels would primarily be used in bed rm to aid in sleeping at night; but I would also move panels to living rm for tv/ movie watching/ low level audio in the evenings. I currently use ear plugs at bed time which helps a lot, but I need further attenuation measures.

Would 24" x 48" x 4" 244 bass traps be the best route, & with or without FRT ? I assume sitting panels on window sills then storing away during the day would likely be the best solution in this scenario ?

Thanks for your help.

[Guidof]

Is the option of replacing the windows with new insulating ones at all conceivable? It would likely be a more effective means of achieving a quiet environment than sound absorbing panels. Visit an airport-side (good) hotel to experience the degree of noise abatement that is possible with insulating windows.

Regards,

Guido F.

[ricardojoa]

I doubt bass traps and wall panels will do anything to attenuated the sound from outside.
You can try window plug. Basically it will plup up your window so that the noise wont come thru or at least it will attenuate. You can unplug them when you dont need them.
I have one made od MFD board and it made quiet a difference. But there are some that are made of other material which are much lighter so it will be more practical.

[jonbee]

Is the option of replacing the windows with new insulating ones at all conceivable?

We replaced existing double pane windows with windows that have safety glass (glass with a plastic film) in them. It cost about $1k more for ~200 square feet than regular double pane windows and it is noticeably quieter. I think panels will help a little to damp down the ringing but the windows are the culprit.

[brother love]

Our 3rd floor condo is 1 of 36 units in a 6 story historical building.  Condo rules do not allow messing with the windows. The windows are double pane though, but not really effective.

This is what I really need, but it is still in the prototype stage:

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/170649-sono-a-noise-cancelation-and-isolation-device-that-sticks-on-your-window

I used 2" & 4" Owens Corning 703 fiberglass board for homemade acoustic panel wall treatments in my last house & they were very effective. I'll never make my own panels again though as they were a royal PITA.

I think applying GIK acoustic panels in front of the windows would help greatly in noise reduction.

[Glenn Kuras]

The panels in front of the windows will help a bit but keep in mind that panels are used to make the room sound better vs keeping sound from coming in. Sure if you cover the whole window it will help but don't look for them to "sound proof".

[Elizabeth]

My close friends live in a condo they paid a medium fortune for and have terrific noise problems from the street. The condo association forces them to not have aany drapes, only some funky aluminum venitian blinds
A park 'Square' is in front of them, but the Square is fronted on one side by a series of 'bars' which can and do play loud obnoxious music all night long. The bars get ticketed and still do it anyway. Then the Square has concerts, and various programs.. Terrible.
I live in a cheap apt bordering a large park about two miles from them. Both of us have about the same amout of street traffic, just I am around the corner from the main street, they are right on the main street. At night I can hear a pin drop a half mile away. (My rent is way less than their condo fees).
The moral is Location is everything.
I would suggest moving

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I would get some heavy fabric triple cell cellular shades and lined curtains, using both together will help more than acoustic panels.   I use to work nights and this combo cut down on the noise and light.  Also, carpeting on the floors help if you have wood or tile.

[brother love]

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I had already looked into honeycomb triple cell shades & insulated draperies as noise reducing measures. I thought a set of 2' x 4' x 5" thk. 244 bass traps would do some greater good. 

Ultimately, we may move back to surburbia before it is all said & done (in which case the acoustic panels can be repurposed in a new A/ V room  ).

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I had already looked into honeycomb triple cell shades & insulated draperies as noise reducing measures. I thought a set of 2' x 4' x 5" thk. 244 bass traps would do some greater good. 

Ultimately, we may move back to surburbia before it is all said & done (in which case the acoustic panels can be repurposed in a new A/ V room  ).

The Bass Traps may help some but it will not dampen the sound coming through the windows which is really what you want to do.  Also consider a large fan for the floor for white noise.  This really helped when I was working the occasional night shift.

[Brucemck]

These would help, a lot, and could be removed when you move out:

http://soundproofwindows.com/

[Hipper]

I have a double glazed window on the speaker wall in my flat (apartment) and outside is also a busy road.

I installed a third pane of slightly thicker glass using a gap of some 20cm. A wooden and metal frame is permanently installed and sealed with silicon. The glass can be opened or removed if required. The gap is wide enough to hang net curtains and/or blinds which can be raised, opened and closed. Here in the UK there are companies that make the frame and glazing and you install it.

It's not 100% effective but has reduced noise considerably and was most definitely worth doing. At 50Hz and below I can still hear things sometimes but above and notably the higher frequencies the input is much reduced. This has allowed me to hear more detail in the recordings.

You could perhaps ask your landlord if you can install such windows as long as you removed them when you left. I would say it was an asset what ever the rooms use.