Need suggestions to muffle stereo sound in apartment!?

Question

I live in the upper level of a two story apartment. I love to listen to music as I clean. Most of the time I hook my mp3 player to portable speakers and use that. headphones are out because i constantly get interupted. I have a nice stereo that I would prefer to use but even on it's lowest volume my downstairs neighbor can hear it very well. Part of the problem is the arrangement of the speakers, they are pretty close to the floor due to lack of better placement and short cords. I plan on getting speaker wire to lengthen my options. to at least get them on the top of my entertainment center which will help a lot. All I want is to be able to have my stereo at an audible level with out complaints from the neighbors. any tricks or suggestions on muffling the sound so I can hear it and the neighbors won't be bothered. The stereo is located in my living room, not touching the walls, or the ceiling. just the shelf it sits on and the floor. Thanks in advance

Answer 1

Sound does NOT rise. I don't know where they got that idea from. Sound travels in straight lines from the source. Higher frequencies tend to get soaked up by barriers so mostly what people complain about are low frequencies. Get your speakers off the floor! If you need to get some extra wire do it. Another thing you can consider is placing your speakers on some foam which will help prevent sound from traveling. Other than that the next step would be to use some soundproofing foam on the walls, but if the sound is traveling through the floor that won't help much.

Answer 2

Most likely, the sound your neighbors are objecting to is the low frequencies that are being transmitted through the floor material.  Isolating the speakers from the floor will help a great deal.  Once you've gotten the speakers off the floor, see if your neighbor will help you find a volume setting that they can live with.

Answer 3

Sound rises. So it seems like your neighbors are just being a pain. You can lay rugs down. The ones with the foam padding on the bottom. Keep it away from the walls and try placing it about waist level in the center of the room.