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Sound Insulation- how much can it help?

I am considering moving into a new apartment, but the neighbor's (with yound child) bedroom is right next to my living room. I want to listen to music and watch movies at fairly loud volume late at night. At a volume that was way too low for me, i.e. I need it 3-4 times louder at a minimum), they asked me to turn it down another half. We have concrete walls, and with a fairly large (5 meters long and 5 meters high- vaulted ceiling) shared surface area. Is there any soundproofing method that can work? How much sound can be reduced? At what volume will I be able to play my music any time of day or night?
no_slouch

Showing 2 responses by no_slouch

no_slouch OP
48 posts
 
Ok, maybe I should be more specific about the decibels. Playing Norah Jones at -36 db in that room was acceptable to my neighbor, whereas -32 db was too loud. I felt that -32 db was too quiet, and made the estimate of 3-4 times by calculating across different types of music I might play, as well as movies (which I assume would be worse for neighbors because of wide range of volume...?).

Revisiting the apartment and seeing these comments, I could lower my acceptance threshold - if I could play Norah Jones at -30 db, I think the place could be OK given my lack of choices. I think I could selectively listen to non-bass heavy music at night, although I don't know what bass might be in movie soundtracks.

I'm not sure if these decibel figures help. I tested my stereo in another apartment, and at -36 db the overall sound volume seemed significantly lower than in the one with the vaulted ceiling.
no_slouch OP
48 posts
 
thanks for your responses...I decided to take another apartment in the same complex, where the sound insulation is a lot better. Now I still need to figure out how to get the best quality sound at low volume, in particular setting up a workable subwoofer solution. I live in China, where getting a standalone house is not an easy choice. Also, headphones would be OK for solitary listening, but how about for group movie or even music listening sessions?
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