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Sound Insulation- how much can it help?

I am considering moving into a new apartment, but the neighbor's (with yound child) bedroom is right next to my living room. I want to listen to music and watch movies at fairly loud volume late at night. At a volume that was way too low for me, i.e. I need it 3-4 times louder at a minimum), they asked me to turn it down another half. We have concrete walls, and with a fairly large (5 meters long and 5 meters high- vaulted ceiling) shared surface area. Is there any soundproofing method that can work? How much sound can be reduced? At what volume will I be able to play my music any time of day or night?
no_slouch
lousyreeds1's avatar
lousyreeds1
286 posts
 
The decibel figures are irrelevant. The music is keeping a small child awake. As Jeff_Jones so eloquently said, "headphones".

You can get an absolutely killer headphone setup for a few hundred. You can get reference quality and -good- 5.1 emulation for $1000
jax2
3,031 posts
 
Possible solutions:

1. Get your neighbors to move out and take over their apartment: Watch the movie, "Pacific Heights" for some pointers to that end.
2. Perhaps Jeffrey Dahmer's spree started like this. Have you got a big freezer? You'll also need some heavy-duty plastic bags and a chain saw. I know what you're thinking, but I don't think you'll need to worry about the noise the saw makes at that point.
3. Headphones, as has already been suggested. Try a good setup and you may get hooked.
4. Buy your own house / Move to a different apartment with a better arrangement with the neighbors.
5. Find a new hobby.

Marco
fishboat
245 posts
 
Line your floors, ceilings, & walls with 1/2 lead plate...and then acoustically treat the resulting room, or buy a home, or pop for some headphones. I'm guessing the headphones are looking pretty good at this point.
no_slouch OP
48 posts
 
thanks for your responses...I decided to take another apartment in the same complex, where the sound insulation is a lot better. Now I still need to figure out how to get the best quality sound at low volume, in particular setting up a workable subwoofer solution. I live in China, where getting a standalone house is not an easy choice. Also, headphones would be OK for solitary listening, but how about for group movie or even music listening sessions?
rives
953 posts
 
Well, we can help you with the in room acoustics, and they do differ depending on volume. We've done quite a few jobs in Asia, mostly in Singapore. I don't think we've done one in China yet. I like incorporating the acoustics into Asian designs. We did one room with a really great lattice work on the ceiling, that was all specifically spaced as a diffusion grating.

If you decide to go the DIY route, then I would recommend that you spend some time on our resources page. There are many links to articles and books that can help you. Read as much as you can before you begin. Glad you found a better isolated place.
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