How Bass Travels?

[Love4sound]

To Fm’s who have HT in flats.

I have booked a flat in 1st floor and would like to know if bass flows more to below or top floor? Bottom floor is stilt for car parking so not going to get any complaints. What has been your experience? Who complains more? Bottom or top floor neighbor? I have enough time and can modify to top floor if I want to.

 

[Analogous]

Good thinking
You can not enjoy music or anything much else if you have neighbours irritated with you.
In addition to the answers to your question above do consider asking neighbours (once they move in) about this.
Even your question (from above) “would you know if bass flows more to below or top floor? “ would be an icebreaker

 

[arj]

Bass below 150Hz is not directional so all your neighbours will have the pleasure depending on the amount of concrete separating them....

 

[Analogous]

The volume/loudness will matter too?

 

[mbhangui]

Bass is totally directionless as @arj has mentioned. Human ears are not very sensitive to bass. We are most sensitive to frequencies between 2000–5000HZ, which are high frequencies. Bass sounds are low frequency sounds that are close to the resonant frequencies of the chest cavity. Humans do not actually hear bass, but feel it. Your body translates the vibrations into resonance in your body. This can cause your whole body to seem to vibrate.

Bass: the Physical Sensation of Sound

Ever wonder why you can feel bass? We take a look behind the science of bass waves and the tactile sensations that they cause. Our bass experiments were quite revealing but don't try them at home.

www.audioholics.com

Bass also has higher energy. It continuously pressurizes and depressrizes your room in all directions. They can actually make the walls move and that's how person on the other room will get the sensation. When it comes to the floor and ceiling, both will receive the same amount of enery. It totally depends on the thickness of the ceiling and the floor (which in a typical flat will be the same). Now to complicate things futher, your room has a resonant frequency somewhere in the bass frequency. So how much bass gets transfered to the flat above and below will depend on the dimensions of your room and the thickness of the ceiling and floor. I think the only solution is to put low frequency absorbers on the ceiling and on the floor (but I have no idea about where to get them and the cost).

 

[skumar]

This may help in maintianing nice relationship with the residents above you:
Gyproc sound-bloc boards

Is there any lining material that could be used below the tiles to sound-proof the floor?

 

[sachinchavan 15865]

Suggestions for house-warming gift to your upper floor neighbour (take your pick):

- Soundproof carpet
- Noise-cancelling headphones
- Meditation course

But seriously I doubt there’s much that you could do to contain the bass. When the guy one floor below my adjacent flat, which doesn’t share a single wall directly with mine plays loud sound at home parties, I can feel the thump. Bass travels. The sensible thing to do would be to get cleaner bass (so it’s deep rumble instead of boom which is more irritating), play music/movies at reasonable volume at earthly hours, and make friends with the neighbours (they’d still complain, but to you and not the police)

 

[IndianEars]

To Fm’s who have HT in flats.

I have booked a flat in 1st floor and would like to know if bass flows more to below or top floor? Bottom floor is stilt for car parking so not going to get any complaints. What has been your experience? Who complains more? Bottom or top floor neighbor? I have enough time and can modify to top floor if I want to.

In practice I have observed that the bass vibrations below are SUBSTANTIALLY more than at the floor above.

This contradicts simple theory,. but it has been my observation. (YMMV )

The ceiling often has a False ceiling that probably reduces direct excitation of the slab above ...

I have a friend who lived in Paris for a while and he got constant complaints from the neighbour below regarding bass.

He installed thick rubber slabs on the entire floor below the carpet ... It did help but did not eliminate the Bass transmission.

The only way to eliminate sound transmission to a great extent, is to build a "Room-Within-A--Room"... Needs Great attention to detail in supporting the inside room....

 

[mbhangui]

In practice I have observed that the bass vibrations below are SUBSTANTIALLY more than at the floor above.

This sounds logical. The subwoofer is always placed on the floor. A substantial part of the vibration (especially the down firing ones) will be passed to the floor as the subwoofer is mechanically coupled to the floor

 

[ajuvignesh]

If you don’t use something like svs sound isolation stuff, bottom floor which is coupled directly to the subwoofer get more bass. This is because the subwoofer vibrates and inturn it vibrates the floor to certain extend. If the concrete is thick, the bass doesn’t travel much to the floor below.

 

[skumar]

I am also actively researching this issue and thinking of using recycled rubber gym tiles below the flooring tile (actually below the sand lining under the flooring tiles, loosley coupled to the slab below)) within the listening area. (Floor slab-rubber tile-sand/filler-mortar-tile) - will this work?
Floor undelrlayment

One more option - green glue

 

[Analogous]

I am also actively researching this issue and thinking of using recycled rubber gym tiles below the flooring tile (actually below the sand lining under the flooring tiles, loosley coupled to the slab below)) within the listening area. (Floor slab-rubber tile-sand/filler-mortar-tile) - will this work?
Floor undelrlayment

One more option - green glue

You will have an iso acoustic floor?

 

[flat_listener]

To Fm’s who have HT in flats.

I have booked a flat in 1st floor and would like to know if bass flows more to below or top floor? Bottom floor is stilt for car parking so not going to get any complaints. What has been your experience? Who complains more? Bottom or top floor neighbor? I have enough time and can modify to top floor if I want to.

Bass doesn't travel up or down, it travels everywhere.

 

[skumar]

You will have an iso acoustic floor?

we can register a patent and brand it, but the question is will it work? Is it worth?

 

[Love4sound]

Bass below 150Hz is not directional so all your neighbours will have the pleasure depending on the amount of concrete separating them....

Bass is totally directionless

Bass doesn't travel up or down, it travels everywhere.

Yes I am aware and would like to hear from others on their experience and want to know how they are dealing with this problem.

Suggestions for house-warming gift to your upper floor neighbour (take your pick):

- Soundproof carpet
- Noise-cancelling headphones
- Meditation course

But seriously I doubt there’s much that you could do to contain the bass. When the guy one floor below my adjacent flat, which doesn’t share a single wall directly with mine plays loud sound at home parties, I can feel the thump. Bass travels. The sensible thing to do would be to get cleaner bass (so it’s deep rumble instead of boom which is more irritating), play music/movies at reasonable volume at earthly hours, and make friends with the neighbours (they’d still complain, but to you and not the police)

Haha sure. Have to pamper the neighbors for sure.

In practice I have observed that the bass vibrations below are SUBSTANTIALLY more than at the floor above.

This is my assumption as well but opposite experience in my current scenario. I live in the top floor and my neighbor below doesn’t complain and I myself went down and checked. No disturbances due to bass from my room. But I will be always complaining to the below neighbors and he only has a 20k Sony system with passive subwoofer. My entire house will be shaking.

If you don’t use something like svs sound isolation stuff, bottom floor which is coupled directly to the subwoofer get more bass. This is because the subwoofer vibrates and inturn it vibrates the floor to certain extend. If the concrete is thick, the bass doesn’t travel much to the floor below.

sure will keep it an option

I am also actively researching this issue and thinking of using recycled rubber gym tiles below the flooring tile (actually below the sand lining under the flooring tiles, loosley coupled to the slab below)) within the listening area. (Floor slab-rubber tile-sand/filler-mortar-tile) - will this work?
Floor undelrlayment

One more option - green glue

Thanks for this suggestion. I’ll do some research on this.