Would carpet with underlay prevent some bass from going to floor below?

nugget2014

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Hi all

moved into my new flat and am getting new flooring in living room and kitchen, living room will have decent carpet and underlay. Will this help with reducing vibrations from sub to the floorboards? as sub and floorboards dont work well most of the time and they are a bit creaky. still want a sub for home cinema so don't know which to buy now, think bk monolith is a bit too good for my medium sized room..

which would you prefer in a room this size? bk xls200, bk xxls400, cambidge audio x200 (or x300) or (dare i say it...) BK monolith

mostly for movies, dont care about how good it sounds for music really..

on whathifi someone said a monolith would collapse the building..(yes, i know..) surely the bk monolith would perform just as good as any other sub at the same volume level but surely just turn the gain down a bit on the monolith if i were to get it? so it would be as loud as the other subs but go a lot lower than the other ones? if it makes sense.

pictures of room:
o75tu5S.jpg
csONus4.jpg
 
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Aurelex Gramma.....or DIY one

The size od sub you're talking about will all transfer sound below. The gramma will help
Both my 15" diy jobbies are on these.

Google reviews :)
 
Aurelex Gramma.....or DIY one

The size od sub you're talking about will all transfer sound below. The gramma will help
Both my 15" diy jobbies are on these.

Google reviews :)

i am now getting the sony str-dn1040 so i have option for 2 subwoofers, what if i were to get 2 cheaper subs such as the yamaha ystfsw050? goes down to 35hz, 6.5" driver and 2 of them would provide nice combined bass for movies. would 2 of them be better than a bk xls200?
 
One better sub is better than two not so good.

Google one sub or two....bigger subs used but thet heory is the same
 
Aurelex Gramma.....or DIY one

The size od sub you're talking about will all transfer sound below. The gramma will help
Both my 15" diy jobbies are on these.

Google reviews :)

just looked at the auralex gramma, seems ok. so it'll stop some vibrations going to the floorboards and making them rattle or shake if i were to have a powerful sub? i may be able to get a more powerful one such as the monolith after all? :)
 
The BK XLS200 is a magnificent sub, going down to around 17Hz and great for the price from a manufacturer such as BK who specialise in build and speaker quality. GET THE BK!
 
The BK XLS200 is a magnificent sub, going down to around 17Hz and great for the price from a manufacturer such as BK who specialise in build and speaker quality. GET THE BK!
You won't get a meaningful 17Hz out of an xls200.
 
At -6db you will
Try doing more than quoting the manufacturer specs :smashin: you may also want to note i said "meaningful", -6dB is not meaningful output at those levels.

I did used to have one of these btw, it is good for mid to high 20s in room in my experience. Great value and a great compact sub but it won't give you the really low stuff.
 
The BK XLS200 is a magnificent sub, going down to around 17Hz and great for the price from a manufacturer such as BK who specialise in build and speaker quality. GET THE BK!

I had a XLs200 and playing a 20hz test tone got nothing I could hear out of it, its still a great sub for the money. I now have a 15" DIY sub and at 20hz can feel the tone in the room.

If I had your choice I would go for the Monolith, great sub for the money and it will dig deep for movies.
 
just looked at the auralex gramma, seems ok. so it'll stop some vibrations going to the floorboards and making them rattle or shake if i were to have a powerful sub? i may be able to get a more powerful one such as the monolith after all? :)


An isolation pad isn't going to be of much benefit in this context. They aren't exactly "snake oil" but any claims of them reduction bass transfer to other areas should be met with ample skepticism.

Tom V.
 
An isolation pad isn't going to be of much benefit in this context. They aren't exactly "snake oil" but any claims of them reduction bass transfer to other areas should be met with ample skepticism.

Tom V.
This isn't entirely true as you won't know until you try it!

I have an Aurelex (not the Gramma), live in a flat with laminate flooring and it has significantly tightened up the bass for my room. MY ROOM, mind.
 
How thick is it Derek?
 
I'm of the same opinion as tom v above, unless you have some kind of loose flooring I wouldn't use one, 9 times out of 10 the difference in sound you hear is the result of the sub being higher up, which can alter the fr slightly and maybe reduce boundary gain making it seem tighter to you but only because it's robbed some low end
 
going to have the floorboards tightened so they no longer creak when walk on them, hopefully will help the bass too?
 
A monolith certainly wouldn't be over the top in that room. You just have to make sure that you run room calibration on all of your speakers, so everything is calibrated correctly. Then you don't need to mess with the gain on the subwoofer, but you may have to adjust the master volume of the whole system on the amp if the neighbours complain.

If you own the flat, then you can look at soundproofing it, but its not cheap. I'm currently soundproofing a room and it has cost me a fair bit already, but it's the only way you'll ever truly relax.

If I were you I'd set up your system first before buying a sub, set it to normal listening volume and go round the neighbours flats and see how loud it is. If its obnoxiously loud, then the sub is probably a no go until you've soundproofed the room, but expect to spend a couple of grand to do that properly.
 
Consider also laying thick foam between the underlay and the carpet for extra sound proofing... I have been in a room where this was done, and it made the carpet feel ultra deep and luxurious... as well as providing further sound proofing.
 

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