A love of movies + HT system + townhouse = fail

[Locut0s]

God dam it I hate it that the neighbours seem to call us to complain every time we watch a movie recently. I try not to turn my HT setup up too loud but at the same time I want to enjoy the set. That's the whole reason I bought it after all. I can't say I blame them entirely, I wouldn't like it much either I guess. However the setup is in our basement and I know for a fact that there is no way they can hear it from their upper floor. Sigh guess I'll have to unhook the subwoofer. They never used to complain much before and I've had it turned up really loud in the past but I think they are starting to spend more time in their basement. Their daughter studies down there for one.

UPDATE:

Well looks like we might be moving to headphones. Which kinds sucks considering I spent about 4000 on the HT setup. It worked for a while but she's starting to complain again. It's not so much that she complains (I understand and agree with not wanting to upset neighbours with loud noise). It's the fact that she's a stuck up prissy little bitch about it. She left a rude note on our door step. She told my father over the phone quote "Oh it's OK for people to watch movies so long as they know not to bother their neighbours" like she was lecturing him, He's 62, she's like 19!. And we have done a LOT to try to work with them about it to the point where it's hard to believe that they can hear much any more (sub-woofer off and speakers turned down). Oh well just part of what you have to deal with living in a town house.

 

[Locut0s]

I'm even starting to think that really good quality wireless headphones might be an alternative but that sort of makes the money I spent on the speakers a waste.

 

[TallBill]

Yup, I wont buy HT till I get out of an apartment.

 

[TheVrolok]

Yup, I wont buy HT till I get out of an apartment.

This, I've got a 5.1 set up that I've had for years that I still use even though I never get to crank it up in my apartment. I've been dying to upgrade but I just can't bring myself until I get a house of my own where I can crank the damn thing.

 

[venkman]

soundproofing not an option?

 

[brblx]

townhouse FTL. even in a packed subdivision, at least the walls aren't touching.

shared walls ruin everything. how is your basement set up? is there concrete and dirt between you? i can't see it being that bad unless it reverberates through the upstairs.

 

[Locut0s]

townhouse FTL. even in a packed subdivision, at least the walls aren't touching.

shared walls ruin everything. how is your basement set up? is there concrete and dirt between you? i can't see it being that bad unless it reverberates through the upstairs.

Here's the sad thing. No there is not concrete or dirt between the units. However the outside walls and floors are well insulated so you can turn the unit up really loud and not hear much one floor up in your OWN unit. However because of the layout of the complex the basements are offset from the upper floors by 20-30 feet. So our basement runs under their 1st floor. Because of this they may actually get more of the sound than we do.

 

[Locut0s]

soundproofing not an option?

Not practically. Not unless you want to talk about ripping out all the plaster which is WAY more than we would be willing to spend.

 

[ChaoZ]

It's still the same in a house except you're dealing with family members. If/when I get my own house I'm going to soundproof the shit out of every room. I hate how new houses cheap out on using thin wood.

 

[ElFenix]

party walls suck

edit: everyone knows this.

 

[darkswordsman17]

I'm even starting to think that really good quality wireless headphones might be an alternative but that sort of makes the money I spent on the speakers a waste.

Don't bother with wireless headphones.

Look into "bass-shakers", which will help give you feedback. This will help compensate for less subwoofer shake, can be used with headphones, and will even enhance when you don't have to restrict things.

Which came first, your home theater or your living situation. If it was the latter, then why did you invest so much in the home theater knowing the situation? If it was the former then that sucks, but sometimes you just gotta make do.

I know the experience, and its one of the reasons I got into headphones. I had an SVS 20-39+ in an apartment, and ended up selling it to my sister since as it was going to be a while before I'd be done with apartment dwelling and it was just way too much for an apartment. Until I can basically do a real home theater (acoustic treat the walls, projector or massive display, light control, etc), I'm not even going to bother investing much in home theater.

 

[spacejamz]

did any one force you to move into a residence with a shared wall? if you don't live in your own home, then you have no business buying a home theather system. period. unless you have no respect for your neighbors. give us a break with this 'playing movies at a reasonable level' crap...when I used to live in an apartment, I'm sure my asshole neighbors thought they were playing their home theather at a 'reasonable level'.

 

[DVad3r]

I feel your pain bro and that's one of the reasons I'm scared of getting a town house. I used to live in an apartment and had a similar story with my Klipsch 5.1 speakers and my neighbours wall. As subtle as you might think the volume is, it probably still sends vibrations through the walls and a thumping can be heard. The best way is to turn on your system and go to their house to just see how loud it is for yourself and find a suitable level.

I was forced to buy headphones. A good pair with an amp will give you better sound then your home theatre...

 

[destrekor]

that's what I fear about when I move into my own apartment.
The sound-proofing between units in my apartment-dorm on campus is excellent, but after I graduate I'll be moving into a real apartment. Hopefully I find an affordable one with at least decent sound-proofing between units. I definitely won't be able to enjoy movies at the volume levels I enjoy, however.

 

[brtspears2]

You sound like my upstairs neighbor. I can't enjoy a weekend home in peace due to his subwoofer.

 

[Anonemous]

So go to the movie theatres to get blasted away?

 

[JS80]

Are you deaf? Fucking set the volume low and turn on the subtitles. It's like you persian douchebags in high schools spending $2k on sound systems for your bmw so you can cruise down Sunset "bumping it."

 

[drebo]

I have these damn Mexican neighbors across the way from me (completely different building) and it's not that their damn marriachi music is so loud i can hear it, it's that their damn subwoofer is on so loud and so big that I can FEEL it. Every single thump. My wife is not as sensitive to it as I am, but when they're playing it, I cannot sleep. We chose this complex specifically because the lease stipulates 24-hour quiet time, yet I've had to threaten multiple times to withold rent because my neighbors are dickheads.

I don't want to feel or hear their music or conversations anymore than they want to feel or hear my music or conversations. Your neighbors probably feel the same way toward you. Thumping gets REALLY annoying, REALLY quickly.

 

[JS80]

I have these damn Mexican neighbors across the way from me (completely different building) and it's not that their damn marriachi music is so loud i can hear it, it's that their damn subwoofer is on so loud and so big that I can FEEL it. Every single thump. My wife is not as sensitive to it as I am, but when they're playing it, I cannot sleep. We chose this complex specifically because the lease stipulates 24-hour quiet time, yet I've had to threaten multiple times to withold rent because my neighbors are dickheads.

I don't want to feel or hear their music or conversations anymore than they want to feel or hear my music or conversations. Your neighbors probably feel the same way toward you. Thumping gets REALLY annoying, REALLY quickly.

Here's a tip for you.

1) call 911
2) say "someone pulled out a gun in a party on the 500 block of elm street."
3) hang up
4) police breaks up illegal mexican mariachi party

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

There is sound absorption drywall you know. It's roughly 8x quieter than regular sheet rock. Here's a product called "QuietRock." You can thank me later.

 

[Scouzer]

My neighbour below me loves pounding his subwoofer. My policy was whenever his subwoofer pounded, so did my heels on the floor. One day he came up to spaz on me for stomping. He had just woke me up from my daytime nap since I was on midnight shifts. I spazzed right back and he apologized and I haven't heard his subwoofer since.

Anyway, the point of my story is you are that dickwad. Many people are shift workers and expect to hear a small amount of noise when they sleep during the day, but if you're waking them up through the walls you are a dickhead! Even if they're not shiftworkers they have the right to NOT hear you. How would you feel if you were studying and your inconsiderate neighbour was blasting his movies?

When I moved into my apartment I didn't even bring my low end 2.1 computer speakers because I will not disturb my neighbours whenever possible. I try very hard to be courteous whenever possible; perhaps you could learn from this.

But you probably won't, there's two types of people in this world: courteous people and assholes. I'm guessing you aren't courteous.

 

[ManBearPig]

that sucks man, sorry. my new HT and I will enjoy a loud movie and game in your memory.

 

[Locut0s]

My neighbour below me loves pounding his subwoofer. My policy was whenever his subwoofer pounded, so did my heels on the floor. One day he came up to spaz on me for stomping. He had just woke me up from my daytime nap since I was on midnight shifts. I spazzed right back and he apologized and I haven't heard his subwoofer since.

Anyway, the point of my story is you are that dickwad. Many people are shift workers and expect to hear a small amount of noise when they sleep during the day, but if you're waking them up through the walls you are a dickhead! Even if they're not shiftworkers they have the right to NOT hear you. How would you feel if you were studying and your inconsiderate neighbour was blasting his movies?

When I moved into my apartment I didn't even bring my low end 2.1 computer speakers because I will not disturb my neighbours whenever possible. I try very hard to be courteous whenever possible; perhaps you could learn from this.

But you probably won't, there's two types of people in this world: courteous people and assholes. I'm guessing you aren't courteous.

Lol I am the last person to be insensitive here. We are entitled to try to enjoy our own lives in our house as well though. We are actively looking for a way to watch TV without bothering anyone. I understand their arguments perfectly. I said so as much in the OP and would not like things the other way around either. Thing is we have changed our viewing habits quite a lot recently because of this. The movie in question that caused me to post this was being watched at 8:00pm on Dec 26th (boxing day night) on a Saturday. I no longer watch movies late at night like I would like to nor do I turn the volume up nearly as high as we used to. From hear on out I will not be turning the volume up at all and likely we will be using headphones. However these neighbours are not shift workers let me tell you. The father worked a desk job with 9-5 type hours, they are fairly well off as he was on the board of several mining corporations, and is now retired. I think the only person in the household who works or goes to school regularly is their daughter who is taking community college courses. Both sides have been cordial to each other about the entire issue and there has never been any anger on either side. At any rate its something of a moot point as I won't be taking this HT system with me when I movie out of the house. I'll be leaving it with my parents here. When I am able to buy my own detached house years down the road I'll set up another system.

 

[nerp]

Here's a tip for you.

1) call 911
2) say "someone pulled out a gun in a party on the 500 block of elm street."
3) hang up
4) police breaks up illegal mexican mariachi party

5) arrested for filing false police report.

 

[OverVolt]

Lol I am the last person to be insensitive here. We are entitled to try to enjoy our own lives in our house as well though. We are actively looking for a way to watch TV without bothering anyone. I understand their arguments perfectly. I said so as much in the OP and would not like things the other way around either. Thing is we have changed our viewing habits quite a lot recently because of this. The movie in question that caused me to post this was being watched at 8:00pm on Dec 26th (boxing day night) on a Saturday. I no longer watch movies late at night like I would like to nor do I turn the volume up nearly as high as we used to. From hear on out I will not be turning the volume up at all and likely we will be using headphones. However these neighbours are not shift workers let me tell you. The father worked a desk job with 9-5 type hours, they are fairly well off as he was on the board of several mining corporations, and is now retired. I think the only person in the household who works or goes to school regularly is their daughter who is taking community college courses. Both sides have been cordial to each other about the entire issue and there has never been any anger on either side. At any rate its something of a moot point as I won't be taking this HT system with me when I movie out of the house. I'll be leaving it with my parents here. When I am able to buy my own detached house years down the road I'll set up another system.

Turn the bass down, it's a town house moron. It's really that simple, the bass is going to travel through the walls pretty easy.

My neighbors blast rock band and it doesn't bother me that much, but when it gets out of hand I let them know that the bass is all I can hear. Most people don't even watch movies with a subwoofer. Your neighbors study time is more important than getting to watch your movies with a subwoofer. If they spaz on you they have every right to do so.

You don't have to play the movie quietly, you need to turn down/off the damn subwoofer.