<p>I am somewhat of an audiophile. I listen to mostly jazz, but i'll branch out if a sound strikes me. As a result i have invested in a nice set of speakers (klipsch pro media 5.1 ultra) which happen to have a very nice, and large, sub woofer. I dont have the bass cranked up by any means, but this thing can shake pictures off the wall if i wanted it to. </p>
<p>I realize i am going to be living in a dorm with a lot of other people and dont want to start any conflicts so i am looking for some soundproofing options; mainly for the subwoofer. I might try some egg crate foam, but low frequences can go through pretty much anything. </p>
<p>Does anyone have any suggestions or should i just bring my nice pair of headphones?</p>
<p>haha i'm somewhat of an audiophile too. i wouldn't worry about it...just don't play your music too loudly after 12am or night before exams...a lot of people are gonna blast their music and you have every right to do so too. one of my hallmates played his music so loudly you could hear it in the cafe on the other side of the building. it's just a fact of dorm life, something hard to enforce, and you can bet I'll be playing my trance/house/progressive music loudly too.</p>
<p>btw, what kind of cans do you have? i'm looking to buy a new pair of headphones, likely sennheiser, sony, or ultrasones, but they need to be studio or DJ model. anyway, the klipsch's are gonna sound nice...</p>
<p>Dorms will have designated hours for "quiet time". Generally for South Quad quiet time was 11PM-8AM, and 24/7 during exam periods. You can play it as loud as you want, just be respectful and turn it down if somebody comes and asks you because they're studying/trying to sleep.</p>
<p>I already have a pair of Etymotic er6i. I used to work in a guitar shop so i was able to get them CHEAP. I would compare them to the Sure e4c for about a third of the price. I would highly recommend them to anyone wanting a nice set of isolating headphones.</p>
<p>Completely unrelated question: I'm really interested in jazz. Do you have any good recommendations for someone who hasn't heard much/doesn't know much about jazz?</p>
<p>I would start from both ends of the spectrum and move towards the center. That way you will be mostly like the find a style you like and keep listening. </p>
<p>Start with the classics on one end and the more modern fusions on the other end.</p>
<p>The first albums i listened to were the cliches.
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
John Coltrane - Giant Steps
Freddie Hubbard - Red Clay
Bill Evans - Waltz for Deby</p>
<p>I still listen to those albums once a week, i still transcribe their solos (well maybe not giant steps). They are truely classics.</p>
<p>On the other end there are so groups that can easy the transition from pop/rock/and hip hop.</p>
<p>Soulive...amazing amazing funk trio...amazing
Roy Hargrove - RH Factor....anything with the RH factor has a lot of hip hop in it. He also puts out straight ahead albums which are awesome</p>
<p>Tomasz Stanko, or anything by his rythme section. This is european jazz at its best. Very unique.</p>
<p>Esbjorn Svennson...they are swedish i believe.</p>
<p>Also try some funk classics like Tower of Power or some fusions groups like Steely Dan (steely dan is amazing). The good news is that local libraries tend to have a lot of the classic, straight ahead jazz availible for you to take out and burn so you dont have to spend a lot. I took 100 CDs out at one time. Funny looks from the librarians that day ahah.</p>
<p>Do not use egg crate foam unless it is specifically made for sound proofing (flame retardant). Regular packing foam can easily set your room on fire and ruin your speakers and more.</p>
<p>Even though lots of people do play their music really loud, it's also the cause of one of the most common complaints about dorm life -- that it's too noisy to study. A lot of your neighbors would really appreciate it if you bought a great pair of headphones and limited the loud music to a couple of hours Friday or Saturday night.</p>
<p>just get the $150 bose noise-cancelling headphones. you seriously feel like you're in a live concert hall and you don't hear ANY outside noises. my friend was yelling right next to me and i couldn't hear a thing.</p>
<p>I've got the SHURE E4Cs.. I love em!!!!
BTW, any suggestions on speakers for my new laptop (inspiron E1705). I'm going to have to get 2.1s.. I'll miss my 5.1 logitechs so any suggestions because I am an audiophile myself... and I demand quality performance at quality bitrates :)!</p>
<p>I know Creative, and probably others make some little USB dongles that you can plug in for 5.1. I have no experience with any of these. Some notebooks have optical SP/DIF outputs as well.</p>