Hoboken, NJ Noise from Specific Sources: Low-Frequency Bass Limits (2026)

Chapter 133, Noise Control, defines dBC in Section 133-2 as sound measured with the C-weighting network, which the code notes is more sensitive to low frequencies than the standard A-weighting network used for the numeric decibel tables in Section 133-7, giving Hoboken's Noise Control Officers a separate, easier-to-apply tool for bass-driven complaints. The same section defines Plainly Audible around a bass example directly: if the source under investigation is a portable or vehicular sound amplification device, detecting the rhythmic bass component of the music is enough on its own to establish a violation, and the officer never has to identify the song title, lyrics, or artist.

Section 133-9G then sets the enforceable distance standard for self-contained, portable, nonvehicular sound devices operated in a public space or right-of-way: not plainly audible 50 feet away between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., tightening to 25 feet away between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Vehicular sound systems get their own, separate distance rule under Section 133-10C and 133-10D. Noise Control Officers and Noise Control Investigators, who include the Hoboken Police Department and Health Officer, enforce these standards, and a Plainly Audible bass violation does not require a certified sound level meter reading the way a numeric decibel-limit case would.