[PHHJ]

Hi everyone, I'm a new member and budding audiophile with admittedly quite little knowledge of acoustic / room treatments.  Would really appreciate your advice re: the following...

My apt. is the 3rd floor of an old house.  I have large floorstanding speakers and a pretty good amp, etc. - that are driving my downstairs neighbour crazy.  I'm respectful of her right to peaceful quiet but want to enjoy my music at volumes above a whisper too.  Think the problem is poorly insulated, old hardwood floors.

Speakers are currently on rubber feet.  It's been suggested that I put them on wooden butchers blocks atop some sort of rubber or other sound absorption or dampening product.  Does that make sense?  I'm not in a position to rebuild the floor or do anything too complex.  Looking for an expedient, affordable solution if there is one.

Really appreciate any suggestions!

Peder

[Rob Babcock]

Welcome to AC, PHHJ.  You may be able to improve the situation by placing your speakers on risers.  It's hard to say how much sound is being conducted thru the floor by the coupling vs just sound penetrating.

[bpape]

I suspect it's a bit of both.  You can do something relatively easily with some MDF and tennis balls for isolation.  Cut the balls in half and place them cut side down on a piece of MDF that has some foam rubber between it and the floor.  Then place the other piece of MDF on top of that.  That will give you a bit of isolation from direct vibration of the floor though it won't help with airborne sound.

[rajacat]

Maybe you could construct some sandboxes for your speakers. A couple hundred lbs. of sand in each box would isolate well. Just set the speaker directly on the sand.

-Roy

[jupejones]

http://www.auralex.com/sound_isolation_gramma/sound_isolation_gramma.asp available from amazon or guitar center come well recommended (check reviews or do a search on them cost $40-$50 each for the smaller one), have not used them but I am getting some this week. They seem to be a good way to decouple the speakers from vibrating the floor.

One method a friend of mine used was to get a large area rug that covered most of his room and placed it on top of an extra thick foam rubber carpet pad. That definitely dampened some of the sound.

FWIW, not claiming to be an expert

[palasr]

Tough one.  Mass (thicker more rigid floors) and distance (space between floor and the ceiling below) are the only things that will truly attenuate the sound leakage.  While a heavy carpet with a thick foam padding may help somewhat with higher frequencies, the low-end will still be relentless; the suggestion of decoupling with foam pads may help a bit.  The problem becomes your room's bass nodes exciting the entire structure, pressurizing your room, the floor, and the adjoining spaces.  Without owning the building and putting some cash into the problem I would suggest the best, most cost-effective solution is simply to move. 

[Elizabeth]

Seriously: moving is the ONLY option. The other option: Get good earphones.
The person below you is not going to be happy with hearing ANY low frequencies at all. As a female, i can tell you the booming of LF in any rock music will drive her nuts. (the absolute worst is a steady even boom, the 'water torture' at it's worst)  IF you are playing music with syncopated LF like jazz, that is not nearly as bad, or the sort in Classical music, with momentary thumps and wacks, but little repeated boomings.
Moving to a place where you are on the ground floor, in a corner apt of a larger building is best. Usually the ground floor (especially if underground parking is included, or no basement) is concrete.
Anyway, sorry to say that moving is the only real choice. I live in an over 55 apt building filled with other little old ladies (I am 61), and have to play very quietly.

[Tyson]

Blast the music and screw the neighbors.  What can they do, really?

[lonewolfny42]

Blast the music and screw the neighbors.  What can they do, really?

  ...... http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/12003552460192/man-breaks-out-hatchet-when-asked-to-lower-music/

[JLM]

Switch speakers, turn down the bass, turn down the volume, hang smaller speakers from walls/ceiling, headphones, drill holes in the floor and inject insulation, build a 2nd (insulated) floor for the speakers that does not bear weight on the "real" floor, move.

IMO too many audiophiles live with highly compromised spaces compared to the equipment they own.  Headphones have always been the poor (and should be the average man's) solution to listening to what you want, when you want, and at the volume you want.  It's hard to have close neighbors or family and satisfy all your audio wants without headphones.

You can still rock out with the speakers later or when she is away.

[Russell Dawkins]

Buy two big pieces of plywood and a Behringer DCX 2496. Remove drivers from the boxes and re-mount them on the plywood panel along with the crossover from the box (this might be tricky!) Hook Behringer inline and use it to re-EQ the bass to sound about right. Make a wood frame and hang the plywood sheets with drivers on them from bungee cords from the top of the frame, to minimize the transmission of bass to the floor.

Stay away from repetitive bass, as previously suggested.

All this only half in jest - dipole bass could be part of the solution.

A simpler solution might be to do as some member did years ago - just cut off the back of the box neatly so you can re-attach it when you find a more audiophile-friendly situation. Do this only if your speakers are cheap enough for you to consider them disposable. If they are Wilsons or Sonus Fabers - don't.

[Elizabeth]

In response to Tyson: You can be evicted, stabbed/shot/punched out by the old ladies son, have your electrical service destroyed "anonamously" (and it WILL cost you to fix it. 'cuz when the owner finds out why, they will either kick you out, or make you pay.)
The owner can raise your rent another $300. a month, The cops can ticket you, repeatedly (and THEN you will be evicted, as most owners cannot allow too many cop calls without action)  Little old ladies get special consideration from most cops. Unlike if your downstairs neighbor was another thoughtless 20something.
The main worry is being murdered over noise. Getting punched out, or stabbed, at least you can get the person arrested. Though a bad stabbing can hurt for life. (Get stabbed in the eye and you will ALWAYS remember it, if you live)
I personally prefer the electrical service interruption. Takes DAYS to get it fixed. And no guarantee it will not happen again, and again,,,
(little old ladies can have really mean kids...)
Tit for tat just telling a neighbor to go to Hell over noise can turn bad fast.

[timind]

Where's that "own home vs rent" thread when you need it?

[steve2701]

Hi PHHJ,
           This is a topic that is simpy huge and exceedigly difficult - I have never yet seen an easy OR cheap fix for what you want to achieve. your sentence '' I'm not in a position to rebuild the floor or do anything too complex.  Looking for an expedient, affordable solution if there is one.'' pretty much kills off any chance of a real reduction in noise transmission.

There is likely to be way more going on than simply isolating the speakers themselves - this is actually reasonably easy to achieve. As you will inevitably find though, sound has more ways of getting about than direct transmission from the speaker cab - at least if they are performing as speakers should!

You mention that it is an older construction, with hardwood floors. You will almost certainly be suffering from 'flanking noise' ie - direct leakage through gaps in planks, joists, ac outlets, pipework, heating ducts - the list goes on. On top of that  the only thing that will stop transmission effectively is mass - something you do not or cannot do. Simply put - the best and most efficient way of stopping noise to a lower floor is a fully sealed, floating subfloor that meets acoustical requirement. This usually means 3x2 beams set in acoustic mastic onto the existing floor, with acoustic  flooring above that - ie concrete impregnated chipboard etc. This is sealed but does not touch any boundary wall.. as I said, it's an industry all in itself and not cheap. It does, however, work as this is what we had to do in my in laws flat - to stop noise from his neighbours bugging him at night.

I'm sorry if that does not help your situation  - but it is the truth,. There are a couple of 'band aid' things to try - like playing music when they are out, and messing with speaker positioning and what they are sat on - but at realistic volumes you are pretty much stuffed.

[hibuckhobby]

I doubt there's a solution that will make everyone happy.  If you're on the third floor...in an older building...on hardwood floors, with large floorstanders, that's a recipe for bass notes going through the floors nearly unimpeded.  You "could" replace those speakers with quality stand mounted speakers, but you probably don't want to do that.  The suggestions made regarding isolation will help...but will not make it go away.

At the end of the day, when you live with community with others, there are often compromises in the desires of the individual that have to be made.  Just sayin...
Hibuck....