| Acoustic Panels Manufacturer |
| Page: Insulation & Absorption |
| The Differences
Between Sound Insulation and Sound
Absorbing Many people don't know that sound insulation is different from sound absorption. So what's the difference? If the objective is to stop sound from entering or leaving a space, then you will most likely need sound insulation or soundproofing. For example; your neighbor plays loud music at all hours of the day and night. The sound travels from their space into yours. If the objective is to enhance the properties of sound by improving speech clarity and sound quality, then the answer is sound absorption. For example, your staff or students have difficulty clearly hearing in the conference room or auditorium during presentations. Is there a single material that both sound insulation and sound absorption? No, there can't be. Acoustic panels usually refer to sound absorbing panels, while soundproofing panels usually refer to sound absorbing panels. If you need to keep sound from going through apartment walls (or through a window, or from coming in from the street). Will acoustic panels do that? No, acoustic panels(sound absorbing panels) won't do that. What you need is acoustic isolation (keeping sound from one area isolated from another area). Two pieces of advice on isolation are: 1. Make it airtight. Get rid of gaps under doors, etc. Even a small gap will let a lot of sound through. This makes a big difference. If you make it airtight you'll reduce mid and high frequency sounds, but still have muffled low frequency sounds coming through. Seal those big gaps with weather-stripping, plywood over openings, etc. For small gaps, especially during new construction and remodeling, you may use noise proofing sealant that's great for sealing cracks where sound gets through. 2. Make it rigid and decoupled. Low frequency sound (bass) requires rigid surfaces to bounce it off so it doesn't come through. Concrete walls are great, but you can't just pour one in your living room. Heavy plywood over a window, double-layer sheetrock on a wall, anything that adds stiffness and weight to your sound barrier will help keep those low frequencies out. Decoupled means when you vibrate one side of the wall, it doesn't transmit the vibration through to the other side. This is accomplished with shock absorption in between. This is where sound isolation products come in. |