Bass problems

Riggy

Riggy

Riggy

Associate
Joined
1 Mar 2010
Posts
290
Location
UK
Hello,

I currently live with parents, and I love using technology with quality. So the sound I use is at good quality.
The tiny bit of bass I have when using my speakers is really annoying my parents downstairs.
I mean, they use headphones on the laptops and PC's they use regardless of what I'm using upstairs, but ANY tiny bit of bass they hear, they bang doors and bang ceilings.
When they have been out, I've tested different levels of bass and sound with the current subwoofer and the amount of bass they hear is tiny, I mean if you stick the TV on, you can't hear it.

I'm just wondering what I can do to prevent the tiny bit of bass being heard by my rents?

I thought that I could strap my sub to my desk with rubber pads against the metal robs that will be holding it? Will that prevent any bass travelling at all?

it's becoming a serious problem now, I've spent over £1300 on an AV receiver, sub, 4 bookshelf speakers, and a front centre speaker and I can't get the sounds I like out of it because 'I'm not allowed'. Any help would be appreciated?

Rig
 
Bass is really hard to deal with. The cabinet has to be fixed in place so that the driver works effectively, but as soon as you do that it starts to transmit energy in to the building - catch 22.

The traditional way to dissipate bass energy effectively is with mass. A couple of paving slabs or a marble plinth for example. You could also look up "auralex gramma isolation riser" and see if that might be of help.

Failing that then it's headphones for your too ;) :D
 
My problem is that I haven't spent £1300 to wear headphones. lol :(

These "auralex gramma isolation riser's". I've got thin carpet, will that effect the use of such items?
It's a bit late now, but I'm certainly going to do a bit of research on it to see if it'll help. Thanks mate, really is appreciated.

Rig
 
Riggy said:
Hello,
I mean if you stick the TV on, you can't hear it.

...

I'm just wondering what I can do to prevent the tiny bit of bass being heard by my rents?
Click to expand...

;-)

Although I'm guessing you've thought of that one.

Firstly, can you turn the bass down and still hear it okay? With music I find the bass less important than watching films, and when watching films it doesn't carry as far - music has a rhythmic thump, movies tends to be more of a random drone and isn't noticed as quickly in my experience (paper thin walls at uni). With decent bookshelves and centre you've presumably got a reasonably low crossover frequency, so you might get away with the sub down without loss of quality?

Unfortunately I think it's a fact of life that you have to balance your love of bass with the lifestyle of those you live with, at least until you can get your own place.

The pads or just rubber/concrete slabs will help reduce the amount transmitted to the building - although effectiveness depends on your sub, as does the effect on your listening. It's worth a go though, especially if they can't hear massive amounts of bass anyway.
 
Yeah your best bet is firstly decoupling the sub from the floor as others have suggested. Other things like bass traps in the corners are more about lessening the effect the room has on how you hear the sound than stopping it from travelling through surfaces. Ultimately it's going to be tricky to get the most out of a decent sub when you're not living somewhere that's conductive to it's use, but hey it's an investment for when you move out.
 
Thanks for the input guys.

Audigex, I totally agree with you on the music side of thing, it's mainly music I have a problem with.
I think I've come to realise that my Sub is going to be on very low until I move out lol Ahh well. Thanks though
 
Spend more money and get a bigger sub, it worked for me because they realised how much money I had put into it. Provided I was respectful of when I used it they were ok with it all.

I accept this may not work for everyone!
 
Try the night mode on your receiver, helps a lot but will still chuck out some bass. Other than that try some granite chopping boards from Tesco :D.
 
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