Quiet electronic drums for an apartment: Alesis Nitro Max or Roland TD-07DMK
Both kits have mesh heads on the snare and toms, so the pads won't be what your neighbor complains about. The kick will. Neither maker gives a measured noise figure that we could find, so we can't tell you which kit is quieter.
Specs and prices read Nov 4, 2026. We haven't played either kit.
The two kits side by side
| Alesis Nitro Max | Roland TD-07DMK | |
|---|---|---|
| Snare | 10-inch, two zones, mesh | PDX-8, 10-inch, separate head and rim zones, mesh |
| Toms | Three 8-inch, mesh | Three PDX-6A, mesh (size left out, see below) |
| Cymbals | 10-inch crash, ride, and hi-hat with a foot controller | 10-inch CY-5 crash/ride and hi-hat with a built-in foot pedal |
| Kick | Kick tower, with a kick pedal in the box | KD-2 kick pad that clamps to the drum stand. No kick pedal in the box. |
| Bluetooth | Yes, for playing along to music | Yes |
| Weight | 31.97 lb (three retailer listings agree) | Left out, see below |
| Price we saw | $399.00 at Sweetwater and Full Compass. $449.00 at Guitar Center. | $799.99 at zZounds |
The prices come from different stores, so the gap between the two kits is partly a gap between stores. Buy-box prices move. Check the current one before you decide.
Noise notes, kit by kit
Alesis Nitro Max
The heads are mesh. The zZounds listing calls them "ultra-quiet," which is sales copy, not a measurement. The kick is a tower with a real pedal. Your foot comes down, the beater hits the pad, and the tower sits on the floor. Roland says plainly that the foot stomp and the beater hitting the pad are what "can easily transmit through floors and walls." That's the part of this kit to plan around. Roland's floor-isolation board (the NE-10) lists specific kick pads and pedals it works with, and the Alesis tower isn't one of them. We don't know if it fits.
Roland TD-07DMK
The heads are double-ply mesh that you can tighten or loosen. The kick is a pad that attaches directly to the drum stand, and you bring your own kick pedal. Because the pad is bolted to the stand, kick thumps go into the stand's feet. Roland sells rubber feet for this (the NE-1) that it says let a stand "float on air." That fits the problem. Roland also sells beaterless kick triggers, the KT-9 and KT-10, for people who want to skip the beater noise altogether.
The hi-hat pedal is built in. Roland points to near-silent hi-hat controllers as a fix for stomp noise. Here the pedal is built in, so there's one less thing to buy.
If the floor is the problem
- Roland says its NE-10 platform cuts noise transfer through the floor by about 75 percent compared with using pedals without it. That's Roland's own test, and we haven't seen anyone else's.
- Roland's drum mats (TDM-1, TDM-10, TDM-20) absorb some vibration and stop the kit from creeping.
- Our read, not Roland's: if you live upstairs, deal with the floor before you spend on upgrades.
Which one
If money decides it, the Alesis was roughly half the price we saw and comes with the pedal. If you already own a kick pedal, that gap shrinks a little. We found nothing that shows either kit is quieter. Pick on price and fit, and treat the kick as the problem to solve either way.
Where to buy
Alesis Nitro Max at zZounds Roland TD-07DMK at zZounds
What we left out, and why
- Roland tom size. Roland's own page says 6.5 inches. zZounds says 6. We won't print either until one is corrected.
- Roland weight. Roland lists 18.0 kg but its note about what that includes is unclear. zZounds lists only a shipping weight. Those aren't the same thing.
- Decibel numbers. We didn't find any from the makers for either kit.
Where the numbers came from
- Roland TD-07DMK: roland.com and zZounds, read Nov 4, 2026.
- Alesis Nitro Max: zZounds, Full Compass, Sweetwater, Guitar Center, B&H, read Nov 4, 2026. Alesis's own page wouldn't load for us, so these are all stores.
- Floor noise advice: Roland, "How can I play drums without annoying my neighbours?" and the NE-10 page, read Nov 4, 2026.