Bad Vibrations

I an a Voice Actor and have a 4 x 4 double wall (enhanced) whisper room sound booth that has served me well over the years. I'm recently having having a problem with thumping noises (from the kids running and playing one floor below me). I have tried all sorts of things to eliminate this noise. I have a mic on new very good shock mount, I have 2 layers of carpet padding on a shag rug in the booth AND the mic stand is placed on a piece of acoustic foam (not for lack of trying). All these things have helped but not eliminated the sound. I think maybe the booth itself is vibrating and that the mic (sennheiser 416) is picking it up. I used to edit using just my monitors but now edit with headphones. I've attached a file to hear it, after "basketball goals" and for the remainder of the file you can hear the thumping. The floors below are hardwood. I'm wondering what I should do to eliminate this problem. Carpet the downstairs? Is there anything that I can put under the booth itself to float it? This thing is HEAVY. I also upgraded to the castor floor and floor isolation package: The booth diagram: http://www.whisperroom.com/pdf/diagrams/TD_4848E.pdf The floor: http://www.whisperroom.com/sound-booth- ... atures.php ANY ideas would be helpful. THANK YOU!

"I an a Voice Actor and have a 4 x 4 double wall (enhanced) whisper room sound booth that has served me well over the years. I'm recently having having a problem with thumping noises (from the kids running and playing one floor below me). " OK, it[the booth] has worked well over the years as you say but is now failing to met your needs. Did the booth change in relation to position in the structure, like going from the first floor to the upper floor? Usually the upper floor is what gives folks the "foot fall" issue, but yours seems to be either a new addition to the structure [the children] or something else that has changed in the environment with the booth. I would have to say that anything you do to reduce this sound transference would need to be to the booth, the exterior of the booth, not the interior. Certainly you can reduce vibration on the interior side of an assembly but your first line of attack is to stop it before it gets into the structure. It is no different than if you were discussing a structure, stop the vibrations from the outside rather than attempt to do it from the inside, were the vibrations have already penetrated the environment and search only for the weakest link.

Hi Brien, Thanks for the quick reply. The booth or structure hasn't changed but 2 other factors have. The kids used to not play in this new area (this is now unavoidable) and I've started editing with headphones (so its always been there, or has potentially been there, I just didn't hear it on the monitors). I agree, externally there needs to be something. Any ideas?

Hi "billysurf"- Welcome to the forum! :)

Carpet the downstairs?

That may well be the best solution. Impact noise is hard to deal with: once it gets into the building structure, there isn't much you can do to get it back out again. You could float your booth, but that would be prohibitively expensive, probably. It would be much easier, and probably much cheaper, to simply prevent the impact noise from getting into the structure on the first place, and a good way of doing that would, indeed, be to carpet the floor where the thumping is originating. - Stuart -

hmmm .... just throwin' out an idea ... Would Gullfo's 'Drum isolation riser' be something that the ISO booth could be placed on ??

Yeah- Im going to see what locations downstairs make the most impact and carpet that first- googlling Gullfo's 'Drum isolation now...

Would Gullfo's 'Drum isolation riser' be something that the ISO booth could be placed on ??

I have a feeling it might be too heavy, or too unstable. But that's just a hunch: no data to go on. - Stuart -

Glenn's drum riser is a specific thing for a specific acoustical issue. What the op is referring to is using owens cowning 703 rigid insulation and applying structural plywood to the topside, two layers layed perpendicular to each other to decouple the lower area from the structure. This is a good idea but should not be jumped on as an immediate answer since there are always mitigating circumstances that could render this useless. Like windows on the upper level that are producing air borne sound or overhead air traffic...ect.

again with the throwing out of ideas :) First ... as usual, xSpace has cautioned of 'other elements' as potential contributors so as to keep us aware of the myriad of issue faced .... as always ... Thanks xSpace !!! should the 'transfer' noise be localized due to the direct contact of the portable booth and the structure floor [direct flanking path] .... might it be feasible to consider a specific 'floating floor apparatus' just to mount the booth onto ?? If the weight is determined, might a 'spring suspension' float provide a break in the flank ?? Or would the 'transfer' sound pass through the spring coils anyways ??? Again ... I, too, am always trying to learn [better understand] this Science. Although my 'ideas' might be fraught with misunderstanding or shortsightedness, but sometimes suggesting a dumb idea can be a 'flanking path' to a better understanding :shot: got to use the 'rim shot' on 2 hours sleep .... yeah :mrgreen:

If the weight is determined, might a 'spring suspension' float provide a break in the flank ?? Or would the 'transfer' sound pass through the spring coils anyways ???

That would work, yes. You could indeed float the booth on suitably dimensioned isolation mounts. That might be overkill, though, as far as cost goes. Those things aren't cheap. Some of them incorporate both springs and rubber, so all problematic frequencies can be dealt with. Maybe call one of the big manufacturers to get their advise on what would be needed? - Stuart -

I think I have the answer to the concern. Explain to the children that they have to take their shoes off and stop running and screaming and acting like children in the house!!! That should fix it :)