Sound proofing a dorm room

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Uncle Humjaba

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 6, 2006
Messages
440
Hey all,

So next semester our room is going to be even more audio overkilled than it currently is. Right now, I have a logitech z-5500 set in a ~11' x 15' dorm room, and the neighbors are well aware anytime we watch a movie. Next semester, my friend is bringing up his sound system as well and we're going to try and run them together. We will have a less small room (15' x 15') and only a neighbor on one side.

My question is what is the best way to isolate sound? Dynamat + super double stick tape would work, but dynamat is VERY expensive, so we're looking for a more ghetto college setup. Also, something to put under the subwoofer to keep it from going to the floor below us would be helpful as well.

Thanks!

-Tyler
 
Egg foam? Not for isolating the subwoofer obviously. I think there is a denser version of this intended for soundproofing, but the topology does amusing things to sound waves.

BTW be cautious of fire regs / risks.
 
Looks like egg foam just stops reverb/echo, not the sound from getting to the next room. I'm not too worried about reverb. I'd just like to keep from pissing off neighbors
 
Uncle Humjaba said:
Looks like egg foam just stops reverb/echo, not the sound from getting to the next room. I'm not too worried about reverb. I'd just like to keep from pissing off neighbors
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It is going to be extremely hard since the dorm likely has crappy walls.

I say honestly, play at lower volumes, or go good headphones. OR suck up to the neighbors.
 
Put carpet on the floor and the walls.

You can usually find used carpet for free.
 
I'm in the same situation. We've got a 6 person suite and all of us have 5.1 systems or studio monitors. One wall conducts bass into another room's corner like a bass trap, so whenever one of my roomates in another room is listening to music, my bed thumps.

I've been trying to find a good deal on super cheap/thick carpeting that isn't disgusting, and drill some tiny holes to hook it to the wall, but I don't know if I could convince the roomates that a furry room looks good.

IMO if you only have to keep one set of neighbors happy, do what I did last year and (provided they are girls) get them a chocolate covered strawberries basket from Edible Arrangements so that they can't complain for a month or two.
 
Piss them off early so you dont feel bad about playing music loud.
 
unless the walls are built for soundproofing (which they arent) you are out of luck. I own a professional music studio and sound proofing consists of ALOT more than just hanging foam on a wall. The bass will penetrate everything. My suggestion is headphones as well.
 
Yeah, higher frequencies are relatively easy to deal with, but the lower frequencies will stop at nothing short of a 1 meter thick concrete wall.
 
Every options you gave require major work to the room. You need tons of insulation in the walls, and/or sandwich some fiberglass soundproofing 4x8 panels on the wall behind a new, second gyproc layer. Same goes for the ceiling. As for the floor, you can use floating floor with a foam subfloor to help, but ideally, concrete panels or a concrete slab needs to be installed under that.

Also, every small gaps need to be caulked with acoustic caulking (cheap and easy), and the door would probaby need to be changed. I'm not sure the caulking alone would work that much, but it might help with pressure changes when playing heavy bass.

There are some cheaper alternatives to Dynamat, like some tar-based waterproofing membranes, but they absolutely need a primer glue to be installed on walls, and multiple layers will be required as they are thinner than Dynamat.
 
Also for proper isolation you need to have no direct contact between the rooms. For instance homes that want a media room that isolates the sound they will build a double wall structure for that room. This way the drywall on each side of the wall is not connected by a common frame. This air gap is important because the sound waves will vibrate the drywall on one side of the frame pass through the frame and vibrate the drywall on the other side like a big speaker. Put an air gap and you reduce that by a great deal.

So for you build a wall and ceiling (ideally floor too but that gets very tricky) within your room and do not connect the framing to the existing wall. Course that reduces your already tight living quarters even more. I would just get headphones.
 
I recommend building a soundproof room inside your dorm room. Or turning it down/headphones
 
Question... Do you really need that much audio gear in a dorm room? I mean if you know if will bother others around you, why bring them into the dorm in the first place? /critic
 
Dorms require sacrifice. I suggest just buy good headphones. You'll spend way more on sound proofing materials that'll also be a bitch when you move out.
 
m1abram said:
Also for proper isolation you need to have no direct contact between the rooms. For instance homes that want a media room that isolates the sound they will build a double wall structure for that room. This way the drywall on each side of the wall is not connected by a common frame. This air gap is important because the sound waves will vibrate the drywall on one side of the frame pass through the frame and vibrate the drywall on the other side like a big speaker. Put an air gap and you reduce that by a great deal.

So for you build a wall and ceiling (ideally floor too but that gets very tricky) within your room and do not connect the framing to the existing wall. Course that reduces your already tight living quarters even more. I would just get headphones.
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Nail on the head! That is exactly right!
 
I imagine rooms that are excellent and keeping the sound *in* are also excellent at keeping the sound *out.* Why does everyone want nice stuff in college? I had a good time but I don't remember anything of mine that didn't get barfed on, knocked over by a drunk person, etc, etc. Your room will be killer until some idiot sets the building on fire. Everyone will be outside watching the building burn while you're in your room thinking "man we did a good job on this room!"
 
m1abram said:
Also for proper isolation you need to have no direct contact between the rooms. For instance homes that want a media room that isolates the sound they will build a double wall structure for that room. This way the drywall on each side of the wall is not connected by a common frame. This air gap is important because the sound waves will vibrate the drywall on one side of the frame pass through the frame and vibrate the drywall on the other side like a big speaker. Put an air gap and you reduce that by a great deal.
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Vacuum gap with magnetic levitation FTW ;)

Bit tricky to enter the room, but hey, it's worth it, right?
 
By the time you ADEQUATELY soundproof a dorm room, you will have less than half of the cubic space remaining. Though womb-like and silent, it will not be comfortable unless you're training for deep sea submersible vehicles or space module habitation.

Option 1: sell the speaker system and spend $300+ on a GOOD pair of headphones.

Option 2: invite the neighbors over to enjoy the entertainment at full volume, or include their preferences in your playlist because they will be listening from the other room

Option 3: bribery - though in the long run, this will cost more than your expensive headphones

Option 4: take up comparative religion studies and contemplate silence and meditation
 
rosss said:
By the time you ADEQUATELY soundproof a dorm room, you will have less than half of the cubic space remaining. Though womb-like and silent, it will not be comfortable unless you're training for deep sea submersible vehicles or space module habitation.

Option 1: sell the speaker system and spend $300+ on a GOOD pair of headphones.

Option 2: invite the neighbors over to enjoy the entertainment at full volume, or include their preferences in your playlist because they will be listening from the other room

Option 3: bribery - though in the long run, this will cost more than your expensive headphones

Option 4: take up comparative religion studies and contemplate silence and meditation
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This.

Living in a dorm or apartment means that you need to be considerate of other people around you. buy some headphones or move out of the dorms.
 
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