Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Stereo SUbs for Apartment Living....

Oh-kay...
Another sub post..

What are everyone's thoughts on being a good neighbour while owning badass subs? Get a smaller sub? Turn the volume down? Etc etc? Driver size, power considerations?

Situation:

1. Subs in question: HSU STF2 and Adire Rava.
Downfiring, ported, 10" vs. Sidefiring, sealed, 12".

2. 90 percent Music, 10 percent HT.

3. HARDWOOD floors, 4th floor apartment!

4. Room size approximately 22 x 15 x 8

5. System: m60s, Denon 1604, Toshiba Dvd player

6. Listening habits: from medium loud to low volume listening at late evenings and night, need to bring out the low freq. for latter.

7. Aesthetics, black box vs oak veneer!

From what I have researched so far, it seems that a downfiring, sub in question, STF2 on hardwood floors while
undeniably great, might not be very neighbour-friendly. Have also read that the Rava, as a sidefiring unit, might be a better choice here. Also as it is mainly for music-listening, the latter comes highly recommended for being faster, tighter...

Thoughts, folks?

-AT

I'd be surprised if the Rava was faster/tighter than the Hsu. Very surprised.

As far as being a good neighbor. Just use common sense. Don't play it loud at odd hours. Music is more annoying than movies as there's a constant bass-line, whereas movies have an occasional rumble.

Good luck!

I'm curious as to what some people think of the importance of the subwoofer "coupling" with the floor?

In a situation such as this, "floating" the sub on heavy foam rubber or very heavy felt might help the downstairs neighbors; would it really adversely affect the sound?

I'm in a townhouse-style apartment: Only one common wall with another neighbor, no neighbors above or below me. In the four years I've lived there, I've never had any complaints. Of course, we don't really acknowledge each other's presence, either, so I can't say for sure how much I've annoyed him. On the other hand, he's an older guy and that leads me to believe he might not hesitate to complain if his peace and quiet is disturbed.

I recently upgraded(? - the jury's still out...) my sub to a HSU STF-2, and there's no question that it has greater extension than my EP175. This concerns me a little, because I definitely don't want to be "that annoying neighbor". But I've taken a few steps to make his life a little easier:

1. The M22s are well away from the adjoining wall - maybe 2-3 feet. The stands are filled with sand to minimize vibration.

2. The HSU is very close to my listening position (< 2 feet). The trade off is that it's much easier to localize the sub, but the upside is that the level can be reduced.

3. I definitely pick and choose my times to play movies with louder passages. If I throw in something like Gladiator or The Empire Strikes Back, I want the full experience. But I might wait until later in the evening when he's almost certainly in bed (the bedrooms in these units are upstairs and horizontally distanced from the living rooms), or I might wait until a Saturday afternoon when he's out of the house.

I've also tried feeling the walls when I'm listening to music or a movie at what I'd describe as a reasonable listening level. There's very little vibration, so that makes me feel a little better. Finally, a decent way to check things is to use your SPL meter. My feeling is that anything too far north of 70db is probably unfair to your neighbors.

Hope this helps.

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My feeling is that anything too far north of 70db is probably unfair to your neighbors.

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Oh...maybe that's why my last neighbor complained when I had it at about 85db, eh? My bad.

look no further than SVS PB10 or HSU STF2, they're under $425 and last I heard the STF2 was on sale at CompUSA for $200. :-)

Oh, don't get me wrong - I take every opportunity I can to turn up the volume. But in my living room, 72-75db works out to about -18 to -15 on the volume knob. And that's more than plenty for my situation. Your results may vary.

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On the other hand, he's an older guy and that leads me to believe he might not hesitate to complain if his peace and quiet is disturbed.

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HEY! WATCH IT! Are you implying "older guys" are grumps, and complainers? Hmmm?.........................I think you're right!

Good suggestions, Mike. Like Mike, I'm in a townhouse with only one common wall. I have a HSU STF-2, and I just follow basic rules of courtesy. I do watch movies at night, but I try to time it so I'm finished by 10PM. Occasionally I go as late as 11PM, but if I'm doing ANY listening after that, movies OR music, I have a good set of wireless headphones I use. It's not as good as using the Axioms, but it's satisfactory.

I use an SVS PB12 in a NYC apartment, with hardwood floors. I (knock on wood) have had no complaints through the years, despite playing a lot of movies and music pretty loud. I suspect my Building is very well constructed, as I never hear my neighbors either.

In any event, I had been using the SVS with just the basic rubber feet coupled with my hardwood floor (over concrete I imagine). The performance was excellent, but I recently installed a Gramma from Auralex that is a platform on top of foam to place your sub on top of. It fits fairly seamlessly with the sub (and passed the WAF).

There are now less vibrations in my apartment, and the bass is tighter and more forceful. I would imagine it has definitely lessened the impact going into my floor. It costs about $50, and is well worth the price imho. There's also a "Subdude" from Gramma that is the same thing but a different color. I got mine at Sam Ash but they're also available at sweetwater.com. Something to consider.

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HEY! WATCH IT!

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I knew that was probably a mistake the minute I sent it. Let's see if I can amend the thought a little:

"On the other hand, he appears to be an utterly humorless SOB and that leads me to believe he might not hesitate to complain if his peace and quiet is disturbed."