hi! I was thrilled to find this forum and particular thread because I am living this situation - but from the other side. I live below an HT owner in my condo. This is an investment I made for the long-term (particularly in this housing market) so any strife caused by the upstairs neighbor cannot be solved just by moving away... So I was hoping that, if I shared my perspectives with you, I might get your thoughts and insight in return.
The "suffering" that I endure due to the HT system has nothing to do with intolerance - or volume. It has to do entirely with the constant "boom, boom, boom" of every sound effect in the movie upstairs. Every screeching car, gunshot or explosion. More often than not, I cannot hear a single bit of dialogue, so I know that my neighbors have thought that they were being considerate by keeping the volume at a respectable level. It's the incessant vibrations and reverberations that drive me nuts.
I had a roommate once who told me, frustratedly, that she couldn't turn down the bass on her stereo because she did not have that option. My neighbors upstairs have told me that they have merely hooked their computer to their TV to watch some DVD's (and that their TV is off the floor). I cannot tell whether or not this is true. It seems that there must be more than that.. like, perhaps, they've added some kind of speakers to enhance their tv?
I am hoping that you might provide some insight as to whether it is true that some systems will not "allow" any modification to bass setting levels - and what I can ask my neighbors to do to help me not feel like I am in the middle of a thunderstorm, train track or airport runway. I know you guys commented about the complaining people being a minority.. but I gotta tell you, when you physically feel the boom, boom, booming vibrations for hours on end, day after day, it's not fun. So I am truly looking for the technical background to understand what options my neighbors might have on their system (indeed if they have one) or in their speaker configurations (if they do not) so that we can work together to bring my standard of living back to where it was while still enabling them to enjoy their movies.
Thanks so much!