How to simply improve room acoustics
Why are good room acoustics so important?
Spending time in a room with poor acoustics can feel uncomfortable. You can easily notice wether a room sounds ''good'' or ''bad''.
Think of the most cozy and warm room you have ever been in. It probably had very good room acoustics! Sound waves travel lightly toward you and there's little echo noticeable.
Did you know that poor room acoustics can lead to:
- Low speech intelligibility
- Poor concentration and productivity
- High stress levels
If you are not sure whether your room acoustics are good, you may have questions such as; what makes for good acoustics in a room? How would you describe room acoustics? How do I find my room acoustics?
Good room acoustics can make you feel at home
Achieve good acoustics by understanding how acoustics work
What people call "poor acoustics" can have many different meanings. For example, there is a lot of reverberation, poor speech intelligibility, transmission of sounds from other rooms, a high sound level or low sound quality in a room.
Every room has different properties, which influence the sound quality. So what are these?
Poor acoustics are usually the result of two different types of problems:
- Insufficient sound absorption. There is too much reverberation of sounds within a room. Absorption reduces the reverberation time of sound within the room.
- Insufficient sound insulation. There is too much transfer of sound from one room to another. Soundproofing prevents sounds from entering the room.
Simply put, sound absorption affects the sound within the room, sound insulation prevents noise coming in from outside the room.
Sound inside the room
When you speak, this creates sound waves (direct sound). These move from the sound source (for example, a person, speakers, or TV) to the person hearing the sound. However, within an enclosed space, the sound also travels in other directions. As it travels, it reflects on surfaces in the room, such as the walls, floor and ceiling.
Reflected sound waves are heard at different times. This creates reverberation. The amount of reverberation in a room determines the sound quality.
We explain it further in the video below.
Find out what kind of acoustic problem you are facing
Reverberation and other disturbing sounds within the room
- Sound takes a long time to 'die down'. Your natural tendency is to lower your voice because speaking out loud feels unpleasant. There's a noticeable reverb.
- The room is 'filled with sound' and you need to speak increasingly harder to understand each other well. The problem gets worse the more people get inside the room.
Clap your hands hard and listen carefully how long it take for the sound to fade. The longer it takes, the longer the reverberation time is. And the worse the room's acoustics are.
If you recognise this scenario, you have too little absorptive materials. Fortunately, these acoustical issues are easy to solve.
Turn one or more walls into huge silencers by applying Easewall to get the best acoustics. View our different collections here or order your free samples.
Noise from neighbors or other rooms
- You can hear people speaking or music playing from other rooms too well
- The room vibrates when people in other rooms move around or play loud music
To test, ask a person to speak from the other room and listen to the volume level. When it sounds like as if this person is in the room with you, you have a sound insulation problem.
If this is the case, look for air-leaks or so-called air gaps, such as a large crack under the door. These can be solved quickly and easily with a draft strip that closes well or raising thresholds.
If not, you probably have a structural problem. Every given space has its own acoustic properties. No amount of sound absorbing material can solve this acoustical issue. Easewall is not a good solution when you are dealing with this problem. Contact a construction bureau or acoustic engineer to see what your possibilities are.
Not completely clear? Do you have a mixed problem?
If you have any questions about the acoustics in your home or office - ask them directly to our acoustics experts. We can advise you on the options - tailored to your specific situation. Contact us directly. Business customers can also contact us.
Solving bad acoustics without compromising your interior style
Many factors in both small rooms and large rooms influence acoustics. In order to improve the sound within a room, you need little reflective surfaces and sufficient soft surfaces. In addition to using acoustic wallpaper, adding soft furniture pieces can help with a better sound experience.
We've listed the best tips that can help you improve room acoustics. Read all about the best options to improve the acoustics in your home (without using heavy acoustic panels).
Depending on your taste or possibilities, it may not always be your wish to add large fabric sofas, carpets or curtains to your interior. Then it is best to choose specially developed acoustic products.
Getting started with acoustic products, where to start?
Various acoustic solutions are available. Think of acoustic wallpaper, acoustical panels, acoustic ceiling panels or sound-absorbing materials (such as paintings, or furniture).
Depending on your room type and how you wish to use it, the best solution may differ. Find out which acoustic product suits you best in this article: Improving acoustics with acoustic panels, acoustic wallpaper and other sound-absorbing materials. What are the best options? What are the costs?
Choose acoustic wallpaper, solve your problem invisibly.
You want to improve your acoustics, but you would like to solve the problem invisibly. You don't want a heavy ''acoustic product'' like you see in offices or conference rooms, in your living room. And we get that!
Acoustic wallpaper provides better room acoustics, without looking like an acoustic product. It has a high absorption coefficient and therefore decreases reverberation times. By replacing reflective surfaces like plaster and wood (which negatively influence room acoustics), you can turn your wall into large acoustic panels.
Easewall is specially designed to fit into any interior, without changing the look and feel of your home.
Discover for yourself what Easewall can do - order free samples or get inspired by our inspiration page.
Apply Easewall and turn your house into a warm-sounding home
This is the start of your new project.
Improving acoustics doesn't have to be difficult. We've thought of everything to make installation as easy as possible. That is why Easewall is equipped with a very user-friendly self-adhesive backing, so that you can apply it directly to almost any wall.
Walls do not need to be pretreated, and no glue is required. You don't need to have good DIY skills or use heavy tools.
Read all about installation here or order your free sample and try it out yourself.
How much material do I need?
For good acoustics you need sufficient sound-absorbing material. The more sound absorption, the better your room will sound. Hence the following maxims:
- Place Easewall on one wall for good acoustics
- Place Easewall on two walls for perfect acoustics
Add one wall to this for kitchens, kitchens almost always consist of hard materials that have no sound-absorbing capacity.
Is acoustic wallpaper expensive?
You may be wondering whether it is expensive to improve room acoustics with acoustic wallpaper. The short answer is no. It is even very advantageous in comparison to other acoustic products, especially when you save plastering costs (you can apply Easewall directly to a wallpaper-ready wall). We help you make the comparison with other products.
You can read all about it in the following article: Improving acoustics with acoustic panels, acoustic wallpaper and other sound-absorbing materials. What are the best options? What are the costs?