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Is soundproofing against bass possible?

Chaotic42

Chaotic42

Lifer
So there's been some music playing late on Saturday nights recently and the bass it's throwing off is making it impossible for me to sleep. It stays on until 3am, and I like to go to bed before 10. 😛

I live in a POA, and I called the security people tonight. I hadn't called them before, because I had hoped it was a temporary thing. They said they'd try to find the source and get it turned down. 45 minutes later, it's loud as ever, so I'm assuming they've failed. If I stand in my yard, I can hear lyrics. In my room it's just like having one of those cars with a booming stereo right outside. Best I can figure, the source is coming from about 750 feet away.

Anyway, aside from murder, is there any reasonable measure I can take against this? I don't really even know where to start with it, aside from taking it up with the local government since we have a strict noise ordinance.

I have a large window facing the noise source, is there some foam I could put up? I need to do something, I'm completely exhausted, but I can't sleep and I have more than three more hours of this shit to deal with.
 
From your description, I'm guessing you can't really tell where it is coming from and it isn't in your building... would that be accurate?
 
Judgement said:
From your description, I'm guessing you can't really tell where it is coming from and it isn't in your building... would that be accurate?
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Well, I have some theories. I live in a house in a small community. I drove around on the first night trying to find the source, and I thought I got really close to where it was (it's kind of on the "main drag" of town and I live in a neighborhood that wraps around it). I thought it was a local bar, but I couldn't be sure. That area where I thought I was close is about 750 feet from my house.

My boss actually plays music at the bar sometimes and said that it couldn't be them, since they don't have that powerful of a setup.

I don't know. I wouldn't mind it so much if it were going until like 11, but 3am? In a retirement community? It's nuts.
 
You can build bass traps, but they would be expensive and the noise is probably bothering several other people too, so it's best to get them to murder the stereo.

The best way to stop it is have the local government investigate it. Complain up a storm, and have more people do the same. The local authorities will eventually do what they can.

Bass is non-directional below a certain frequency (about < 80Hz) so you can only really find the location where it is loudest, but not loud enough to figure out which house or building behind a house it is coming from. You probably don't want to be walking through people's property searching for the source...
 
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Not sure what a POA is and I'm not sure I want to. 1) Move. Obviously away form people there are none to bother you. 2) rebuild. You will not block low freqs without barrier loading e.g. mass. Which means if you had double thick concrete walls you would not hear it.

Our home theater has 4 sheets stacked of commercial 3/4 sheet rock for this reason. The 18" Velodyne has no problem playing 10Hz and it would shake whole house otherwise. If I could re build it I'da made it a solid 1 ft thick concrete all around. live and learn.
 
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First POA's were created to trump the HOA on zero lots. Just that is a fucked situation for the mentality (I actually own land, you don't nanananaa).

You having to drive over 1/8th a mile to get close seems to me the problem is you.

This in your handle sort of qualifies it to me: Republic of West Florida - 16RBU
 
alkemyst said:
First POA's were created to trump the HOA on zero lots. Just that is a fucked situation for the mentality (I actually own land, you don't nanananaa).

You having to drive over 1/8th a mile to get close seems to me the problem is you.

This in your handle sort of qualifies it to me: Republic of West Florida - 16RBU
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The fact that I can hear the music in my yard and in my house at 230am, and that the source of the music appears to be 1/8th of a mile away suggests that I'm the problem?

And what about my location text bothers you?
 
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Rubycon said:
Not much you can do reduce it if it has lots of material below 90Hz, unfortunately.
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Yeah, in my house the only frequencies that get through are really low. I should just try to go to bed earlier, it seems to start at 10 or 1030. I think it might partly be the design of my house. The window points right at where it appears to be coming from and I have a big bedroom with nothing on the walls and no carpet.
 
Chaotic42 said:
Yeah, in my house the only frequencies that get through are really low. I should just try to go to bed earlier, it seems to start at 10 or 1030. I think it might partly be the design of my house. The window points right at where it appears to be coming from and I have a big bedroom with nothing on the walls and no carpet.
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You are slightly confused about sound proofing. The "carpeted walls" notion that you are thinking of is for absorbing high frequencies to stop resonances and deaden the sound. It doesn't reduce bass frequency volume. All professional studios use bass traps in the corners, which are essentially boxes tuned to trap certain low frequency waves, because bass magnifies in corners.

If it starts consistently at 10:00-10:30, I would say it's a business - possibly that bar you mentioned.
 
Chaotic42 said:
The fact that I can hear the music in my yard and in my house at 230am, and that the source of the music appears to be 1/8th of a mile away suggests that I'm the problem?

And what about my location text bothers you?
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lolz...anyone else fighting that good fight?
 
alkemyst said:
lolz...anyone else fighting that good fight?
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I don't know. I'm going to talk to our POA people and see if anyone else has complained, though I'm guessing that since most of the people in my community are older, they're all asleep before it starts. But, I have to say, I started this thread specifically asking what I could do in my house to get rid of the noise, not who I could sue or anything. Yet you still came in here acting like a complete douche.
 
Chaotic42 said:
I don't know. I'm going to talk to our POA people and see if anyone else has complained, though I'm guessing that since most of the people in my community are older, they're all asleep before it starts. But, I have to say, I started this thread specifically asking what I could do in my house to get rid of the noise, not who I could sue or anything. Yet you still came in here acting like a complete douche.
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you bought a Miracle Ear didn't you!
 
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