If you have a room with a lot of hard, flat surfaces like drywall and concrete or large windows, you might want to consider using acoustical sound absorption products to improve the acoustics within your space. Unlike soundproofing, which is used to block sounds from entering or exiting a space, sound absorbers reduce the amount of echo and reverberation that occurs inside a room, making it easier for people to understand each other, and clearer for hearing speech and music.

When a wave rolls into the ocean, it hits all those little reeds and grasses and muck on the bottom of the marshland, and they move around in a way that dissipates the energy of the wave completely. That’s what a sound absorbing acoustic panel or acoustic foam will do to the energy of a soundwave.

Creating Serenity: The Importance of Sound Absorption in Workspaces

A material’s ability to absorb sound can be determined by its “sound absorption coefficient” at different frequencies. This is typically determined by measuring the average sound absorption of six frequencies that are considered representative of low to mid-frequency ranges – 125 Hz, 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz.

There are several types of acoustic sound absorbers available on the market including porous materials commonly made from matted or spun fibers, panel (membrane) absorbers that have an impervious surface mounted over an airspace and resonators formed by holes or slots connected to a volume of trapped air. All three have their own unique characteristics that make them suitable for a variety of applications.