08-Feb-2019, 22:44
You're dealing with 2 problems. One is your listening satisfaction at low levels, the other is sound transmission at bass frequencies to your neighbours' apartments. They're different problems.
Our ears are less sensitive at low frequencies and they become more insensitive as you lower the volume. To get satisfying results at low listening levels you need to raise the level of the bass relative to the mids. Bass frequencies are more easily transmitted to neighbouring apartments and raising the bass level increases the amount of bass transmitted to neighbouring apartments.
Pick a low listening level you like for the mids. In order to get satisfying sound at that level you need to raise the level of the bass frequencies. You can do this by getting a speaker with more extension so it has less rolloff in the bass, you can use SAM to increase your speaker's extension, you can boost the bass with tone controls, you can add a sub. All of them increase the level at bass frequencies and that increases the transmission to neighbouring apartments.
As audio–engr said, some speakers need a higher volume in order to wake up but getting a speaker which wakes up at a lower volume won't necessarily help. You need a certain level of bass at whatever listening level you choose if you're going to have a satisfying tonal balance. If that level of bass causes too much bass transmission to your neighbours, the only way to avoid complaints is to lower the volume which leaves you unsatisfied or reduce the amount of transmission.
There are a limited number of options for reducing bass transmission. If it is being transmitted via a contact path you can try isolating the speakers from the floor. You can try increasing the distance of the speakers from your neighbour so if they're placed against an adjoining wall you can try moving them to another wall. There's no guarantee that either or both of those will be effective enough to satisfy the neighbours but they're worth trying and they're the cheap options. The other option is soundproofing your apartment. That isn't acoustic treatment of your room. Soundproofing requires structural modifications to your walls, floor and ceiling. You probably can't do it if you're in rented accommodation and it's expensive if you can do it.
About the only other option I can think of to avoid neighbour complaints is to resort to headphone listening which not everyone likes. You may be able to come to an agreement to use headphones after a certain time at night when the bass transmission is most annoying to your neighbours and that may be a compromise you're prepared to live with but you may not be prepared to use headphones all the time if that is the only thing which will satisfy your neighbours. A lot depends on how sensitive to bass your neighbours are, and also on how argumentative they are which is a different thing.
Improving your satisfaction at low levels is one problem with one set of solutions. Keeping your neighbours happy is a different problem with different solutions. I can't think of a single solution which will solve both problems for you.
There is one other option but it can only be offered tongue in cheek: start listening to music with less bass content. Instead of piano listen to clavichord, instead of double bass listen to violins, instead of baritones listen to sopranos; avoid drum solos, organ music, and synth, techno, and most rock, especially heavy metal, forget brass bands with tubas and euphoniums,. In short, make a complete change in your musical tastes. Bass transmission is causing the problem with neighbour complaints so a change in your music taste will solve that. As I said, this option can only be offered tongue in cheek, it really is too painful for most of us to consider and those who listen to music without bass content will have no experience of the problem you're facing.
Our ears are less sensitive at low frequencies and they become more insensitive as you lower the volume. To get satisfying results at low listening levels you need to raise the level of the bass relative to the mids. Bass frequencies are more easily transmitted to neighbouring apartments and raising the bass level increases the amount of bass transmitted to neighbouring apartments.
Pick a low listening level you like for the mids. In order to get satisfying sound at that level you need to raise the level of the bass frequencies. You can do this by getting a speaker with more extension so it has less rolloff in the bass, you can use SAM to increase your speaker's extension, you can boost the bass with tone controls, you can add a sub. All of them increase the level at bass frequencies and that increases the transmission to neighbouring apartments.
As audio–engr said, some speakers need a higher volume in order to wake up but getting a speaker which wakes up at a lower volume won't necessarily help. You need a certain level of bass at whatever listening level you choose if you're going to have a satisfying tonal balance. If that level of bass causes too much bass transmission to your neighbours, the only way to avoid complaints is to lower the volume which leaves you unsatisfied or reduce the amount of transmission.
There are a limited number of options for reducing bass transmission. If it is being transmitted via a contact path you can try isolating the speakers from the floor. You can try increasing the distance of the speakers from your neighbour so if they're placed against an adjoining wall you can try moving them to another wall. There's no guarantee that either or both of those will be effective enough to satisfy the neighbours but they're worth trying and they're the cheap options. The other option is soundproofing your apartment. That isn't acoustic treatment of your room. Soundproofing requires structural modifications to your walls, floor and ceiling. You probably can't do it if you're in rented accommodation and it's expensive if you can do it.
About the only other option I can think of to avoid neighbour complaints is to resort to headphone listening which not everyone likes. You may be able to come to an agreement to use headphones after a certain time at night when the bass transmission is most annoying to your neighbours and that may be a compromise you're prepared to live with but you may not be prepared to use headphones all the time if that is the only thing which will satisfy your neighbours. A lot depends on how sensitive to bass your neighbours are, and also on how argumentative they are which is a different thing.
Improving your satisfaction at low levels is one problem with one set of solutions. Keeping your neighbours happy is a different problem with different solutions. I can't think of a single solution which will solve both problems for you.
There is one other option but it can only be offered tongue in cheek: start listening to music with less bass content. Instead of piano listen to clavichord, instead of double bass listen to violins, instead of baritones listen to sopranos; avoid drum solos, organ music, and synth, techno, and most rock, especially heavy metal, forget brass bands with tubas and euphoniums,. In short, make a complete change in your musical tastes. Bass transmission is causing the problem with neighbour complaints so a change in your music taste will solve that. As I said, this option can only be offered tongue in cheek, it really is too painful for most of us to consider and those who listen to music without bass content will have no experience of the problem you're facing.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.
Brisbane, Qld, Australia
