How can I minimize noise pollution cheaply and effectively?

[Mr.Poindexter]

Originally Posted by guitarist155

have to repeat myself here, if you use spot treatments as sound proofing and treat the whole wall as would have to be done to prevent sound from leaking. you will kill the acoustics as it will take all the highs out and make the room "boomy"

Not necessarily. To do it correctly though, one would have to cover absorption with reflective surfaces so that what goes past the reflection points is absorbed. In effect, one would make the whole room absorptive and then add reflective panels to effectively re-liven the room. That would of course be a large undertaking.

[guitarist155]

Originally Posted by Mr.Poindexter

Not necessarily. To do it correctly though, one would have to cover absorption with reflective surfaces so that what goes past the reflection points is absorbed. In effect, one would make the whole room absorptive and then add reflective panels to effectively re-liven the room. That would of course be a large undertaking.

yes to make the room more live, but that is just about like room in a room lol.. the problem becomes that with isolation, any little pin hole becomes like a speaker for sound.. it finds its way out.. now if it was a permanent residence then he could use Resilient channel on all the walls with double layer Sheetrock with green glue, but without a puck floor and offset outlet holes and seals it will still find a way.. i suppose it is all in how much isolation.. I would say treatments will only do well with maybe 70db of highs and minimal bass levels.. from 75db up would need renovation imho

[Mr.Poindexter]

I would be willing to bet that the HVAC is a source of a lot of sound pollution. He has a hardwood floor and not much in the way of treatment so a lot of sound bouncing around. A room like that probably has the HVAC going through the ceiling space which is going to be right under his neighbor's feet.

Another option that he might not like would be surround sound headphones for late night viewing. Of course, them make 3D glasses seem lightweight...

[guitarist155]

Yea we always had to use iso boxes on the hvac just before the register to isolate one duct line from the next, they are fairly simple to build but require space to put them. I would agree on the headphones, there is most certainly a time and place for them.

[shikoku86]

If your lazy like me, i bought Dynamat/Fatmat and lined the walls of my room then rippled carpet. I wouldnt be able to hear my fathers huge lawn mower unless i put my ear to the window and my parents don't hear anything when i am blasting a movie unless they walk by the door. They'd just hear a muffle.