The growing popularity of open plan office designs and industrial warehouse conversions into multipurpose spaces has led to the innovation of many acoustic treatment solutions to absorb the sound in such large and echoey spaces. For instance, installing acoustic foams reduces reverberations in a room, resulting in better sound quality. However, that may not be the best acoustic treatment for every application. Before we cover some of the popular acoustic treatments, here is a critical thing you need to understand.

Acoustic treatment vs. soundproofing

Many people confuse between acoustic treatments and soundproofing. Both are important and play different roles. When soundproofing a building, the intention is to isolate it from the outside sound that may be a distraction. For instance, it is essential to soundproof a house built in a noisy industrial location for a peaceful atmosphere in the home.

Often soundproofing requires dense materials that are often installed during the construction of the walls to prevent sound from traveling in and out of the room. So the goal in soundproofing is acoustic isolation, unlike regulating the quality of sound within the space.

Soundproofing may not be affordable for some people, so acoustic treatments are an effective solution. Although they do not isolate the room from outside sounds, they help you manipulate the acoustics of the space to improve the overall sound quality. They eliminate echo and reverberations for better sound quality.

Some of the popular acoustic treatments

Acoustic wall panels

Acoustic wall panels allow you to experiment with art, creating an overall aesthetic appeal in your interiors. These panels are mounted on the wall but contain sound absorption materials inside, creating a discreet acoustic treatment effect.

Acoustic ceiling treatments

Acoustic ceiling treatments come in handy if you have limited wall space because of the room’s size and design. They come in the form of:

Suspended ceiling clouds to facilitate noise reduction and reverberation from different frequency levels and create a modern ceiling appearance at the same time.

Ceiling rafts- large suspended panels installed hanging from the ceiling with a shallow gap around the edge. Ceiling rafts create the illusion of an entirely false ceiling hence lowering the ceiling height, especially in tall buildings.

Suspended acoustic baffles come in the form of panels that hang vertically from the ceiling and absorb sound from both sides. They create a strong visual impact, and the best part is that they can be retrofitted even to the most complex architectural designs.

Diffuser and deflector panels

Rather than absorbing the sound, diffuser and deflector panels scatter sound waves in random directions in the room to reduce echoey.

Helmholtz resonators

Helmholtz resonators are narrowband acoustic treatments made from a tube or container. The tube vibrates at its booming frequency hence eliminating it from the room. They are effective for containing a specific frequency issue in a facility.

The summary

Acoustic treatments are a cost-effective way to improve the sound quality within a facility or room. They come in various types, and your choice largely depends on the sound problems you want to solve and the room’s design.