Before we dive into the “how,” it’s essential to know the difference between soundproofing and an acoustic treatment. These two terms are often used interchangeably, but they address entirely different issues.

SOUNDPROOFING VS ACOUSTIC TREATMENT

Soundproofing is about keeping noise from traveling between rooms. It involves adding mass, sealing gaps, and isolating the room structure to block sound transmission. So, if you’re trying to stop noise from entering or leaving your space, soundproofing is what you need.

On the other hand, an acoustic treatment is the improvement of speech intelligibility and sound quality by controlling sound reflections to reduce echo and reverb and balance the sound within a space. The result is clearer speech, crisper recordings, and a more peaceful environment. The two things used to create that balance are absorptive materials and diffusion.

You can check out more on the difference between soundproofing and acoustic treatments.

WHY MOST ROOMS NEED AN ACOUSTIC TREATMENT

Echo and reverb build up can muddy up a space and make it very unbalanced and even chaotic. This can be distracting and lead to difficulty focusing and understanding speech, as well as lead to fatigue. In places like schools, offices, churches, hospitals, and restaurants, speech clarity is critical. In these types of spaces, listening can become a daunting task, and things can get easily miscommunicated and misunderstood, which can be detrimental. An acoustic treatment alleviates that.

For pro audio spaces like recording studios, home theaters, and auditoriums, an acoustic treatment becomes even more essential because sound quality is a top priority when recording and mixing professional work, and it’s necessary for full immersion into a movie or performance.

To do a proper acoustic treatment, you need the right material and the right guidance. Let’s take the first step to understand acoustic treatment materials and when to use them! Then, we’ll teach you how to apply them for best results!

TOOLS FOR AN ACOUSTIC TREATMENT

We have several different acoustic materials to choose from, with each set having their own set of strengths and best practices.

Acoustic Panels and Acoustic Foam

Get acoustic panels and fire rated acoustic foam to absorb sound throughout the room. They’re used to reduce reverberation time and improve sound quality by placing them throughout a space. They can be particularly effective in spaces with designated seating points where there are first reflections to control—the sound that bounces off walls and ceiling directly at the listener.

Bass Traps

Bass traps are thicker materials, usually placed in corners, designed to absorb low frequency sounds common in places like drum booths and home theaters. If your room suffers from booming bass or other low-end issues, bass traps are your best friend. We have fire rated foam corner bass traps as well as thick cotton fiber bass trap panels for all your bass control needs.

Diffuser Panels

Want to make your room sound bigger without the annoying echoes? Diffuser panels scatter sound waves evenly, reducing buildup in specific areas while maintaining a lively atmosphere. These are common in recording spaces and home theaters. Our favorite diffuser panel is the BlocknZorbe 3D diffuser, because of their ability to absorb and diffuse better than a typical 2D diffuser.

Acoustic Ceiling Clouds and Baffles

If you have a room with tall ceilings, hanging acoustic baffles from the ceiling is a great way to add absorption into a bigger room like gymnasiums, auditoriums, and churches. Browse our acoustic baffles here. It’s also common to use acoustic clouds for these kinds of rooms or just above a mixing board in a control room. Check out our acoustic cloud catalog! These are just some of the materials used to acoustically treat the ceiling.

DETERMINE HOW MUCH MATERIAL YOU NEED

We’ve made it easy for you. Take a quick look at this chart to find the kind of space you’re treating (or the next closest thing), and plug that into our acoustical coverage calculator to know EXACTLY how much absorption you need in your space to reach an optimal RT60 time (reverberation time). Check it out!

ACOUSTIC ROOM TREATMENTS BY APPLICATION

Different spaces require different approaches to acoustic treatment. Here’s the general approach to each of these spaces. If you don’t see yours here, don’t panic! Reach out to us for a custom gameplan!

How to Acoustically Treat a Room for Recording

There are generally four different spaces to consider in a recording space: live room, vocal booth, drum booth, and control room. In a live room, the goal is to make the sound natural and balanced. Use diffuser panels and acoustic panels with even distribution around the room to get that target RT60 in the 0.8s-0.9s range. Place bass traps in the corners to help control low frequency. Vocal booths should aim to be as “dead” as possible with maximum absorption on the walls and ceiling. Drum booths should be handled about the same, but thicker material is important for absorbing the low frequencies given off by a drum kit.

The control room is the most in depth. You want to have acoustic panels behind the monitors and on the sides of the monitors. You want to focus the rest of the acoustic treatment on first reflections relative to where the mixer and any guest listeners sit, and be sure to add an acoustic cloud above the mixing board to cover ceiling reflections.

For our more elaborate guide to acoustically treat a recording studio, read our article on the subject. If you need help acoustically treating a home studio in multi-functional spaces, we can help with that, too.

How to Acoustically Treat a Room with a Tall Ceiling

Rooms with particularly tall ceilings need a lot of help because there are a lot of highly reflective surfaces and plenty of room for sound to bounce around. The key is to add as much acoustic material into the space as possible to get the reverberation time down to a reasonable level. In recreational spaces like gymnasiums and indoor pools, don’t worry about trying to be too strategic with placement since the sound is coming from random locations.

Using acoustic baffles and clouds are great for keeping the absorption up and out of the way of play. We’ve also helped a handful of school gymnasiums with painted Timberwool™ wood wool panels on the upper portion of the wall.

For more help acoustically treating a room with a tall ceiling, read our article on the subject.

Timberwool™ Acoustic Panels Painted School Colors for a Gymnasium

How to Acoustically Treat a Room with Machinery

The best way to acoustically treat a room with one particular noise source like a machine or equipment is with a targeted approach. Install a soundproof enclosure around the machine to help contain the noise so it doesn't cause a noise issue in the rest of the space. Look at our mounted soundproof enclosures and portable soundproof enclosures, depending on whether you need to access the machine regularly. These are designed to block sound as well as absorb sound near the machine.

How to Acoustically Treat a Small Room

Small rooms don't usually require much of an acoustic treatment at all. Add enough absorptive material to control reflections and meet your RT60 target. In recording booths or vocal booths, there is need. Cover the walls and ceiling with thicker materials to keep reverb at bay. If the room is square, drop down a bit for our thoughts on that.

How to Acoustically Treat a Square Room

Square rooms deal with what we call a "double whammy" or a "triple whammy", which are rooms with dimensions that are the same or multiples of one another. Square rooms often struggle with standing waves and uneven sound distribution. Adding absorptive materials and bass traps to the corners can help mitigate these issues.

If you're building a new room with acoustics in mind, read up on the best room shape for acoustics!

We’ve covered the basics of how to acoustically treat several types of rooms, but if you have a space that doesn’t quite fit the mold, don’t worry. At Second Skin Audio, we specialize in creating custom acoustic treatment plans for every type of room. If you’re not sure where to start, or need help fine-tuning your plan, feel free to reach out to us. Our team is always ready to help you get your project sounding great!

By understanding the basics of acoustic treatments and using the right materials, you can transform any space into one that sounds balanced and comfortable. Whether it’s for work, play, or just peace of mind, the right acoustic treatment makes all the difference.