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Subs And The Downstairs Neighbors

I live in a brownstone in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. The building has the usual suspended hardwood floors but there must be magic insulation because I can listen at 90-plus decibels and remain quite friendly with the couple downstairs. Nor do I hear anything from upstairs.

I have an Arcam A19 and a pair of LS50s. The system sounds great but one wouldn’t call it chest-thumping. So I’m thinking about a subwoofer.

In traditional New York style, my apartment is both small and expensive. So I’m looking for a cheap, low profile, downfiring sub that will fit under the couch. Monoprice? I’d rather get something used but the only other low profile model I can find is a $1200 Focal.

The secondary question is whether I’ll be defiling the sound of the LS50s by using a cheap sub. I haven’t heard the Monoprice but it’s probably doesn’t sound REL-like. Supposedly it reaches 30 db. Is that low enough? The sound doesn’t have to be great, it just has to be better than it is now.

The primary question is whether the sound will break into the downstairs apartment. Just a gut reaction but it seems like I’d be asking for trouble.

There’s an similar thread from 2008. The poster only got two responses from people with actual experience. One nearly got evicted, the other had two subs and reports that all went well. I thought I would check to see if anyone in a similar position has joined since then. Anyone?
paul6001
jd55
6 posts
 
Subwoofers are all about placement. I have 4 SB-1000’s in the living room which is open to the dinning room. 130db in the living room 70db in the dining, it’s a dead spot. The kids room shares the front wall of the main speakers and is about 120db.
I would get an sub with dsp and play with placement and different heights.
soix
9,756 posts
 
The new SVS 3000 Micro is $800 and will get you down to 23Hz (-3dB), and at only about 11” square I don’t care how small your NYC apartment is (I used to live on the upper East side) — it’ll fit.  For $50 they also sell their SoundPath subwoofer isolation footers that will not only minimize transmission to the floor but will improve the quality of bass you hear as well.  SVS offers a truly risk-free and generous in-home trial (including shipping both ways) so if for some reason it doesn’t work out you’re out nothing except a little time.  Hope this helps, and best of luck.  
dynacohum
654 posts
 
Low profile subs for cheap are available from Parts Express:
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton-Audio-SUB-1000L-10-100-Watt-Low-Profile-Powered-Subw-300-639
For not so cheap from Bluesound:
https://www.bluesound.com/products/pulse-subwoofer/
maxlove1
21 posts
 
Showed up in my inbox.  Perfect timing.

https://rel.net/blog/2021-07-22/principles-of-sound/using-subwoofers-in-small-spaces/?utm_source=Kla...


yyzsantabarbara
4,937 posts
 
SOmeone above mentioned replacing the LS50 with Reference 1. That is a big jump in price but I think will provide the missing bass. In fact, I will be upgrading my LS50's to the Reference 1 when it goes META.

Someone who I know that has heard the LS50 (maybe owned it) and now has bought the KEF R3 tells me that it has much more bass than the LS50. He likes the R3 a lot more. It is also not expensive if the OP sells the LS50. The R3 is something like $2K.

My plan is to use the new KEF KC62 + the Reference 1 (or R3).
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