Weird quiestion: Sound proofing

[gtmtnbiker]

I'm surprised by the results of that chart as well. You're better off taking the drywall off one side and putting quiet rock on it than to slap another board on it. I'm guessing that quietrock works better when it is attached to a firm surface (e.g, wood/metal studs) than another layer of drywall (softer).

The other approach is to use Green Glue and regular 5/8 drywall. Put the glue on and then slap the boards on top of the other board.

I can't comment on which is more effective than the other. The people in the avsforums seem to like GG.

[Niode]

The most effective and easiest thing you can do to sound proof a room is de-coupling. This is the process of insulating sources of sound from contact points. So for example, if you have a sub woofer, then you should raise it off the floor with some acoustic foam. This will absorb the vibrations from the subwoofer and therefore not travel through your floor to your neighbour.

Insulating your room from the inside is going to have some pretty adverse effects on your listening experience. The act of insulation is going to remove reflections from your listening environment, reflections that your ears will be used to. It's what makes a room sound like a particular room. It's the 'room's sound' as we call it in the business. Just be careful not to remove too many reflections from your room as it can make listening too difficult, as your ears and brain are expecting reflections that never occur. Long time exposure to this kind of environment gives you what is known as aural fatigue. Some people can get headaches along with it. You get used to it though. After spending years in acoustically treated environments you sort of just adjust to it. Your friends will be freaked out by it if they entire your room though. Especially if they have tinnitus.

Here's a couple of videos I made a while ago regarding the basics of sound proofing and acoustics:
http://www.youtube.com/user/musiccolleg ... YwMg8dc7yo
http://www.youtube.com/user/musiccolleg ... B8i43E9FIs

Have fun.

[Ziggy]

The other approach is to use Green Glue and regular 5/8 drywall. Put the glue on and then slap the boards on top of the other board.

Hmmm, interesting. Only thing is the Green Glue is a little expensive, about $14 per tube. The site says you need 2 tubes per 4x8 rock board, so I would need 9 or 10 tubes which would be $140 plus $10 per 5/8" dry wall which would be a total of $290 give or take. I'm just comparing this in my head to the Quiet Rock which would be about $175 for the one side of the wall ($350 for both sides of the wall).

Trying to sound proof is always expensive, this is why I came up with my ghetto idea, which I am now thinking wont make a difference at all.

The most effective and easiest thing you can do to sound proof a room is de-coupling. This is the process of insulating sources of sound from contact points. So for example, if you have a sub woofer, then you should raise it off the floor with some acoustic foam. This will absorb the vibrations from the subwoofer and therefore not travel through your floor to your neighbour.

To explain the situation a little further... Basically, all I'm really worried about is TV noise late at night going through the wall. During the day, noise from my floor standings or sub, or generally any loud noise, wont be much of a worry. I wont be listening to loud, thumping music late at night, just watching some TV at normal volume.

[Jrecee]

Buy your neighbor a pair of earplugs. Problem solved.

[gtmtnbiker]

Maybe the best option is to buy a pair of good headphones?

[Ziggy]

Would you wanna relax on a couch late at night wearing headphones? Besides, my TV doesn't exactly have a headphones jack.

[Niode]

The other approach is to use Green Glue and regular 5/8 drywall. Put the glue on and then slap the boards on top of the other board.

Hmmm, interesting. Only thing is the Green Glue is a little expensive, about $14 per tube. The site says you need 2 tubes per 4x8 rock board, so I would need 9 or 10 tubes which would be $140 plus $10 per 5/8" dry wall which would be a total of $290 give or take. I'm just comparing this in my head to the Quiet Rock which would be about $175 for the one side of the wall ($350 for both sides of the wall).

Trying to sound proof is always expensive, this is why I came up with my ghetto idea, which I am now thinking wont make a difference at all.

The most effective and easiest thing you can do to sound proof a room is de-coupling. This is the process of insulating sources of sound from contact points. So for example, if you have a sub woofer, then you should raise it off the floor with some acoustic foam. This will absorb the vibrations from the subwoofer and therefore not travel through your floor to your neighbour.

To explain the situation a little further... Basically, all I'm really worried about is TV noise late at night going through the wall. During the day, noise from my floor standings or sub, or generally any loud noise, wont be much of a worry. I wont be listening to loud, thumping music late at night, just watching some TV at normal volume.

In that case use the book case technique. It will absorb any sound without sounding too dead. Just put a book case filled with books (or games) behind your TV. I know it doesn't sound ideal but it will go a long way to insulating the sound AND it won't look like you've just stuck a bunch of egg cartons to the wall (which incidentally, don't work as well some claim). Book cases are really good at absorbing sound since the books all have different shapes and will absorb a lot of sound, the rest will be reflected at lots of different angles.

The only other thing I can think of is putting some sort of acoustic foam behind the speakers of your TV so that the sound that resonates behind the TV is lessened, and then using a book case behind you to stop early reflections going back towards your neighbours wall.

[gtmtnbiker]

Would you wanna relax on a couch late at night wearing headphones? Besides, my TV doesn't exactly have a headphones jack.

The pros/cons of headphones versus the same for soundproofing needs to be weighed for each person in their particular situation. I can't comment on what's best for you. In some cases, the headphones might be the lesser of the two evils.

If you get a good set of headphones, they can be very comfortable and have great sound. No, you won't be able to lay on the couch on your side wearing the headphones but it's definitely a viable option otherwise.

[Niode]

Would you wanna relax on a couch late at night wearing headphones? Besides, my TV doesn't exactly have a headphones jack.

The pros/cons of headphones versus the same for soundproofing needs to be weighed for each person in their particular situation. I can't comment on what's best for you. In some cases, the headphones might be the lesser of the two evils.

If you get a good set of headphones, they can be very comfortable and have great sound. No, you won't be able to lay on the couch on your side wearing the headphones but it's definitely a viable option otherwise.

I have a pair of Beyerdynamic DT250s. Best headphones I've ever had. Perfect sound (it might be a bit too flat for most though as they are reference headphones - IE they have a flat frequency response) and can be worn for hours as they're really well padded and light. They're closed too so I can't hear anything other than the sound from the speakers. Can be a bit weird at first but it really sucks you in. Perfect for playing some horror games with the lights off. (then promptly shitting yourself because your other half taps you on the shoulder and you didn't see/hear her walk in - true story)

[Ziggy]

I have considered headphones, but it's not an option as far as watching TV goes. I do have some headphones I keep in my room if I wanna play some FPS on my PC late at night (damn sub on the PC) or even a little guitar with the small combo amp I keep in my room. But I really don't wish to wear headphones while I'm lying back on the couch. That and the fact that my TV doesn't have a dedicated audio out (which frustrates me to no end) so I only have select things hooked up to my audio receiver (which does have a headphones jack).

The only other thing I can think of is putting some sort of acoustic foam behind the speakers of your TV so that the sound that resonates behind the TV is lessened, and then using a book case behind you to stop early reflections going back towards your neighbours wall.

I actually WAS thinking of that. My TV will be on my neighbors wall, facing away. I was thinking of putting something like this (but something cheaper) behind the TV, maybe 3x4 feet. Besides that though, the wall will actually be lined with furniture, so maybe that will help? The wall will look pretty much like this:

wall.jpg

^ Not to scale at all


But now I'm looking hard at the Green Glue. It's still a little expensive, but from what I've read it really works great. The site says 2 tubes per 4x8 sheet of rock is normal, but you can use 1 tube. Using only 1 tube will cause a 35% reduction in effectiveness. So two tubes would be about $30, plus $10 for the rock, which would be $40 per piece of rock. Where as the QuietRock was $35 per board. But from what I read, the Green Glue outperforms the QuietRock.