Subwoofer in New York City apartment (1 Viewer)

[Robert Hoffman]

As per my post below, I'm looking for a new sub. After doing some reading, its looking like the powered SVS 20-39 cylinder could be a great choice. However, I'm concerned about putting a sub like this into a NYC apartment. My present living room space is mabye 10' by 13', unsealed. I'll probably be moving into a larger apartment within a year, but it's New York, so you know the place won't be that large. Maybe I should just stick to one of the cheaper (less powerful?) Hsu options? What has been some peoples' experience with subwoofers in New York City? Do your neighbors complain often?

My listening habits are 70% music, 30% movies. Presently my front speakers are bookshelf & not all that good (but will be upgraded eventually). Receiver is likely to be a HK 230 or something similar.

 

[JamesGL]

When I lived in an SF apartment, the walls weren't exactly thick so I put bookshelves against the wall, hung as many frames, and caulked the edges of the wall.
On one wall, I borrowed a friends hopper gun and put a thick layer of texture on the sheetrock.
I can still hear some of the neighbors noise, but it helped a lot.

 

[AndrewRose]

the deciding question should be, "Do my neighbors own any weapons?"

 

[Jon_Krug]

i have a pb2+ in an apt in nyc. keep in mind that i do not go crazy with it (although i did at my friend's place when i compared it to his). the sound proofing in my place isn't the best, and when i first got the sub, i played the depth charge scene from u571 pretty loud for my roomate, and within 5 min, there was knock at the door. it a girl who lived directly upstairs from me, and she said she just walked into her apt, and all of a sudden thought there was an earthquake or something, so she ran to the window and then figured out that it must be coming from downstairs. so she said that she thought it was about time that she came down to introduce herself to me and my roomate. so, instead of appologizing and getting embarrassed, i asked if she wanted to come in hear a little demo for herself. she ended up being a pretty cool chick, and absolutely loved the system. i have not had any more complaints from her, and i haven't had any complaints from anyone else. so my advice is to go for the best sub u can especially if u plan on moving to a more sound proofed environment any time in the future. and on another note, when i first got it, and took it to a friend's apt., we had no problems in his apt except for when i was watching jurasic park 3 the doorman came up and said he received some complaints. and trust me, he completely maxed out his system trying to make my sub clip. he was very sad when he couldn't. as a reference, he had an m&k mx350.

 

[Jeff W.]

You're worried about noise in NYC?

I think as long as you're not running a jackhammer at 6am you should be OK.

It depends on your building's rules. My sister just bought an apartment in NYC, it's got wood floors but they are required to put down rugs on like 70% of it to keep the noise down. Your building may have different rules.

Far as actual noise regulations (laws), again it depends on jurisdiction, but most will say that you have to keep it down between 10-11pm and 7-8am, otherwise, crank the mother up and tell your neighbors to go buy earplugs!

 

[Jon_Krug]

lol
jeff, unfortunately, i don't think it works like that. i'm sure if i got regular complaints, management would have the right to kick me out. also don't forget that u have to LIVE next to these ppl. but yes, i agree, keep it down on weeknights after 10pm.

 

[Robert Hoffman]

Thanks for the replies. My current building is great...although not very soundproof, nobody in the building is older than 26. So we're all relatively passive when it comes to noise. Eventually though, I imagine I'll be moving into a 'nicer' place with folks who don't want to feel my stereo. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it.

So, SVS cube or cylinder?

 

[Jeff W.]

I know I have neighbors too, and keep my system turned way down most of the time. Poor guy works the night shift too..


IMO, cylinders are better simply because the shape makes them stronger so their cabinets don't have to be so thick and heavy, but read their website - it's really a subjective call.

 

[Robert Hoffman]

Ok, so I just put in an order for the SVS PC+ 25-31. Something tells me that this is going to be awesome.

 

[Jeffrey R]

Congratulations Robert. You should love the SVS.

I am running an SVS PB1-ISD in my NYC apartment, and have had no complaints yet. My building is well-constructed with concrete walls, so there is very little bleed of sound from one apartment to another. I guess I'm pretty lucky in that regard.

Keep in mind, you can always adjust the gain depending on what you are playing and the time of day. If I am watching LOTR at 11:00 at night, well, I have to reduce the LFE in my receiver a few db. But in general, I have the bass calibrated in line with my speakers, and have no issues. Good luck and enjoy the SVS.

 

[Michael Reuben]

The difficulty with assessing apartments is that every building is different, especially in a city like New York with construction dating from periods as recent as last year or as old as the early 20th century. A friend of mine lives in a Chicago apartment building that was converted from an old warehouse; it was built like a tank, with thick concrete floors and walls -- and yet every time he played his system, a neighbor complained about the sub vibrations. There's just no way to know in advance how sound will travel in any given structure.

(BTW, watch out for pipes and radiators. They can be great natural conductors of sound.)

A useful thing to do is to map out what walls your media room shares with neighboring apartments. That will at least give you an idea of likely points where disturbance may occur. I'm not exaggerating when I say that I chose my current apartment because it does not share a common wall with any other apartment on the floor, only a the floor and ceiling with the apartments above and below.

M.