I probably have a commomn problem, i live in a small condo with neighbors on both sides and on top. sounds travels though an adjoining wall, mostly bass rumble. The wall is drywall that a 3 inch air space and then the neighbors wall. Any one know of some deadening ideas? My sub is 8s cube from Cambidge

This is probably no help, but when I was living in a situation similar to yours, I would invite the neighbors over for a beer when I wanted to turn it up.
Then I moved.
:-)

Lonster

Unfortunately, the sound deadening options that are easy to implement affect mostly mid/high frequencies, not lower. In order to prevent the transmission of LF within a dwelling, it's typically structural improvements that make a difference (walls, floors, etc).

As Lonster said, a subwoofer owner in an apartment should expect to share the experience one way or another.

If you're just worried about bass rumble, you should look into a product called the "GRAMMA" from Auralex Acoustics. For $50 from most Pro Audio Stores, it does a pretty good job of isolating your subwoofer from your floor. I use one personally and have never had a complaint from a neighbor.

Good Luck!

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Thanks guys, for the info

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Wayne, that is good info

I talked to Auralex dealer he mentioned the gramma would isolate rumble from the floor but not help in sideways travel of soundwaves, which is more of my problem

That's kind of what I said in my post. The GRAMMA will definitely reduce bass rumble. Anything above the real low stuff, however, it doesn't do much. Actually, let me rephrase that. When you tighten up the bass by reducing the rumble, you can actually reduce the overall listening volume because the overall system sound becomes clearer. So, in a way, the GRAMMA can help with the rest of the sound also.

If you want some great acoustics info, try out the articles on this website.

www.realtraps.com

- good link Wayne -

Here is another question. I used a product called ensolite in my car, It is a closed cell foam about 1/8 thick. if i remember correctly it helps in deadening outside road noise from creeping in. i used it on the floor and the doors of my car. i can't tell you if it made a difference because i never heard my sytem without it. My car sounded great. Would a couple of layers of ensolite under the sub help any?

Keep in mind that the neighbors are likely not hearing much of anything from the contact with the floor, especially the one upstairs. Isolating your sub will help with sonic accuracy (and I'd recommend you do so anyway), but the fact is that the LF will still cause walls and floors to resonate when it comes into contact with them.

If you can't get into the walls to insulate, there's (unfortunately) no practical on-wall solutions out there that I know of (unless you want your room to look like an anechoic chamber).