Move to NYC Apt -- Vandersteen 3A Speaker Woes

I second that response - NYC is a fab place to live, for music and many other reasons. I have a rental in midtown which is great as it's a 1 bed penthouse in an older building. I don't share a wall with anyone and the floor seems to be about 3 feet thick, so I occasionally crank it.

If you are worried about noise, try getting into a pre war apartment building, or a new one which you can thump the walls real hard - many are fire proof such that they have very solid concrete walls. Make sure you don't live in a brownstone as you can hear lots through the wooden floors. One of the other long time tenants in my building was saying how the workmen used to fill between the floors with clay - if true that stuff will absorb a lot of sound.

The pre wars also have bigger rooms I think, whereas the newer ones tend to be a bit cookie cutter. Either way it's not cheap, but I always think you should pay up for at least a couple of years to get the best out of the city - you only live once (and you don't need a car here either so that cuts the expense down).

I also have a nice pair of headphones (Senn 600s) for when I fell the need for a bit of late night listening at volume...

The cool thing about NYC, is you can head out your door and hear the real thing at a club, or some other venue.

I've been wanting a pair of Vandys, but just haven't had the room, so I went with Ohm Walshes - no shipping, I picked 'em up in Brooklyn myself - very close to Manhattan. They're easier to place in odd NYC spaces, but I still have to keep the volume down to keep the co-op board happy.

if your apt dont work out with the rig you can get a house over in jersey alot cheaper than a shoe box in manhattan & be a short drive from the city but i also agree not to jump the gun & dump any gear till you know exactly what your up against.

mike

I live in NYC in a corner apartment. It was built in the late fifties solid concrete construction. So crankin the tunes has never been a problem. The outside noise can also distract people from your system. If you like your speakers try to bring them.

I live in a NYC midtown apt and have Vandy 3A Signatures there but without the subs. I did have problems with an elderly woman living next door, but she moved. I do live in a reinforced concrete building and what I have found is that it prevents you from hearing the bass but allows your neighbor to hear unbelievable levels of it, so I am not sure that it is an advantage. She invited me in her apartment once while my system was playing at quite moderate levels. The level of bass frequencies that she was receiving was incredible and it was hard for me to ignore or minimize, even though it was in my best interest to do so.

Otherwise and since, there have been no complaints and I do listen to music at volumes pleasing to me, which I would consider to be loud-but-not-deafening levels. As far as space is concerned, you may have trouble with placement in your room depending on the size and shape and whatever other furniture you have to get in there.

For your reference, a good-sized living room in Manhattan would be 22' x 12'. There are plenty much smaller and even plenty much larger. It all depends on what you luck upon and of course, what you can pay.