Hi all,

I moved from my house in AZ to an apartment in CA due to a work transfer. I have a lower level 7.1 system consisting of:

HK AVR 645
JBL E90 mains
JBL E35 center
JBL E250P sub
and 4 JBL E30s for the surrounds

I know this is way too much for an apartment but I can't just throw the stuff away.....

My question is if placement of the mains/center/sub on a wall that does not adjoin a neighbor would minimize potential annoyance of the neighbors (since the low bandwidths which are the ones to worry about, and are non-directional)

I use Sennheiser PCX 450 headphones later at night...

Thanks!

Putting them on a non-adjacent wall would help a little. I think you need to stick to the headphones or keep the volume down.

Put the sub in storage.

Put the sub in storage.So 4 Maelstroms and 4 Shivas might be a bit much then?

or you oul go the other route and get 4 def tech trinities and shake the neighbors out (literally) although eviction may occur first...:p

seriously though--apt ht and audio are a pain in the butt--even getting close to reasonable listening levels gets people upset--i resorted to a pair of sennheiser hd 650s and a musical fidelity xcan 3 when i was in resideny and living in an apt--maybe moving speakers to walls where people are not would help but i would guess not much...basically you are stuck with suboptimal volume ht/audio or headphones...until you move into a house again...
btw, nice avr! you could also put the full size jbl's in storage and get some stand mount monitors which might give you great sq with less neighbor annoyance--maybe some focal choruses, polk lsi 7/9, aperion, etc--i would imagine this would make as difference but youll still be lacking lfe/bottom octave performance but at least youll be set above 40 hz...i guessif you really wanted to be creative you could use some buttshakers under your furniture to make up for this--complicated and would add to the expenditure but may make your apt ht experience much better if youre going to be there for a long time. good luck...and i feel your pain!!!

or you oul go the other route and get 4 def tech trinities and shake the neighbors out (literally) although eviction may occur first...:pSounds like a plan. Not worried about eviction as I'm the owner. Muahahahaha.

Seriously, I'd planned subs before I bought this place, but as all 6 speakers will do 40Hz 1/2 space, that should be enough. Plus being sensible with levels at various times, and headphones at night.

Careful with your sub (loudness wise) or prepare yourself for alot of problems that will be coming your way with regards to your neighbors.

If any of them complain at all it will only be a matter of time before management will have to act. Trust me, I own a 50 unit complex and I deal with this myself. The management/owners have to consider the welfare of all the tenants.

It won't go your way if your neighbors start to complain. Have your moving money ready because the owners will evict you if you do not comply. Trust me on this.

Good Luck.

Hai,

Get something like a velodyne sms-1 so you can see how your bass is doing. Most of the time if you EQ it correctly it helps alot in how much it bother the others. You could even do some tests in their place using the sms-1 and see how much sound makes it and what freq.

Also maybe adding something like a bass-shaker(s) can help for keeping the bass feel but with less sound.

Last thing is talk to them, keep them in the know is the best way of attacking the problem.

Daniel.

I use Sennheiser PCX 450 headphones later at night...


What if your neighbor(s) work nights and sleep afternoons?

I like to make my ceiling flex. :D

Hi all,

I moved from my house in AZ to an apartment in CA due to a work transfer. I have a lower level 7.1 system consisting of:

HK AVR 645
JBL E90 mains
JBL E35 center
JBL E250P sub
and 4 JBL E30s for the surrounds

I know this is way too much for an apartment but I can't just throw the stuff away.....

My question is if placement of the mains/center/sub on a wall that does not adjoin a neighbor would minimize potential annoyance of the neighbors (since the low bandwidths which are the ones to worry about, and are non-directional)

I use Sennheiser PCX 450 headphones later at night...

Thanks!

I live in an apartment and in my experience your solution will work. I placed my speakers on a wall that is adjacent to my guest bedroom and even though I watch close to reference levels, so far I received no complaints. I have a carpeted floor though. I don't know the science behind it but from a practical perspective, it seems sound doesn't travel as much vertically to the lower floors.

i sometimes turn it up a prtty loud in my apartment. i also think a lot depends on the time of day. during weekdays i make sure to keep it at a low volume after 10, and on weekends i try to keep it reasonable after 12

havent had any problems yet

i'm running a lower level 5.1 system in my apartment, klipsch sf-1, ksc-c1, ss-1, and an 8" yamaha sub. i placed my gear so it would be on an exterior wall, away from the bedrooms so as not to annoy neighbors. I know with my current crappy sub I'm not doing too much if any damage below 30HZ, and my mains only go down 40HZ. Keep them off interior and bedroom walls and you should be fine.

My apartment is in a small older block and I don't have a lot of common walls. I have garage below and no one above. There are two ways sound/vibration can be transferred. One is by SPL which can be helped by the ideas mentioned above, but transferring LF via vibration through the structure itself may be an issue. When I get the sub finished, I'm going to look into decoupling it via squash balls or inner tubes to make sure there is no transfer that way.

My apartment is in a small older block and I don't have a lot of common walls. I have garage below and no one above. There are two ways sound/vibration can be transferred. One is by SPL which can be helped by the ideas mentioned above, but transferring LF via vibration through the structure itself may be an issue. When I get the sub finished, I'm going to look into decoupling it via squash balls or inner tubes to make sure there is no transfer that way.

Are your floors carpeted? If yes, then my take is you are reading too much into it. You will be fine :)

Are your floors carpeted? If yes, then my take is you are reading too much into it. You will be fine :)
Downstairs (where I watch movies) is all tiled. For the effort of trying a few simple cheap approaches, I reckon it's worth it.

Hi all,
My question is if placement of the mains/center/sub on a wall that does not adjoin a neighbor would minimize potential annoyance of the neighbors (since the low bandwidths which are the ones to worry about, and are non-directional)

Thanks!

You are right to worry about the low frequency. Soundproofing
insulation in apartments have to meet noise suppression guidelines
up to 100Hz. The sound from the sub will blow right pass the floors.

http://www.findanyfloor.com/sound/IICRating.xhtml
http://www.primaryacoustics.com/SoundControl.html

I like to make my ceiling flex. :D

Yeah? What do you do, jump on the bed and mash your head againt it? :p