Broadcast & Podcast.
Every once in a while, you hear a radio interview or press conference where the background echo or reverberant field is so prevalent, it is almost impossible to hear what is being said. The problem is that the microphone is unable to discern what is ‘relevant’ and what is ‘noise’. It simply flattens out the audio and sends it out the airwaves. Broadcasters are well aware of the problem – and have been treating their studios with acoustic panels for nearly 100 years. By eliminating the ‘sound of the room’, the message being transmitted is clear and intelligibility increases tenfold. The same logic applies when podcasting from home, the office or a remote location. In order to transmit a clear message, you must remove the ambient noise.
Reduce the ambient field by mounting 3Gen Wall Panels to the surrounding area. In this case, the more the better with at least 50% wall coverage from the waist up. This will eliminate primary reflections, flutter echo and subdue the reverberant field. It is also important to pay attention to the absorption range or frequencies that the acoustic panels are removing from the room. If you use thin panels, you will only absorb mid and high frequencies which in turn will color the voice and make it sound boomy. We recommend using 2” (5cm) or 3” (7.5cm) thick 3 Gen wall panels in order to properly absorb low frequencies down to 200Hz and optimize the room for broadcast. Smaller rooms often accentuate the lower midrange. This can be easily overcome by adding our signature bass traps and install them up high, out of the way. Acoustically treating your room clearly benefits by ensuring the message being transmitted is being received and understood at the other end.
Restaurant & Bar.
3Gen eliminates excess noise to create a quiet and comfortable environment for your customers. One of the biggest complaints with restaurants today is the ever increasing noise level. This was highlighted in a recent Zagat survey started by (Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979) where patrons rated ambient noise as the #2 complaint after service. Hard surfaces such as gypsum walls, windows, tile floors and metal ceilings reflect the sound of voices, background music and production noise back into the room creating a dense reverberant file. In an effort to communicate, patrons speak louder – then yell – in order to elevate their voices above the din. This further elevates the noise level to the point where you can no longer communicate. No matter how good the food, instead of a nice enjoyable evening out with friends, it becomes an unpleasant experience and the patrons never return.
Absorb excessive reverberation by applying 1” to 2” (2.5 to 5 cm) thick 3Gen acoustic wall panels to available surfaces. As a rule of thumb, applying between 15% to 25% wall coverage will dramatically reduce the reverberant field and improve communication for both the patrons and employees. Acoustic panels & Ceiling panels may be suspended from the ceiling. As clouds have two absorptive surfaces, they should be placed near the ceiling to capture reflections making them more effective. Merely add up the surface area of the walls, divide by four and then order the type of panel that best suits the décor or request a free estimate and we will gladly come by. There are a number of benefits that you will appreciate after you have addressed the acoustics in your restaurant. This includes a more enjoyable evening for your patrons, a reduction in order taking errors by staff and an environment that will bring clients back. And in business, the single most important issue is customer retention.
Education.
3Gen soundproofing helps reduce noise in the classroom and makes it easier for students to focus and keep their mind on task.
The problem with noisy classrooms
Most classrooms are rectangular boxes that employ solid concrete block wall construction interspersed hard surfaces such as blackboards and windows with a tiled floor. This provides the ideal ‘spawning pond’ for echo and excessive reverberation. As the reflected sound increases inside the room, the lecture being transmitted is lost in the ambient noise. Intelligibility decreases to the point where hearing becomes strained and learning difficult. As this is happening, noise from the air ventilation system kicks in and nearby traffic augments. In an attempt to overcome the noise, the teacher speaks louder, the students talk louder and the problem self-perpetuates. For students with hearing impediments or newly arrived immigrants, comprehension goes from difficult to impossible. The student becomes despondent. This adds a greater level of workload and stress for the teacher and ultimately impacts the effectiveness of the teaching.
How can we help you?
Absorb the random noise energy in the classroom by applying 1″ (2.5cm) thick 3Gen Wall acoustic panels to between 12% and 20% of the available wall surface. Our panels are made from high-density 6lb glass wool for effective absorption across the voice range. Each panel features architecturally pleasing lines and is fully encapsulated with micromesh to eliminate dusting. Placement is not critical. Should wall space be limited, suspending 3Gen Ceiling panels is an effective alternative and is done using eyehooks and adjustable cables. Once your 3Gen panels are in place, you will immediately notice the reverberant field (RT) will be significantly reduced and noise within the classroom attenuated resulting in a more comfortable and effective teaching environment.
Hair Salon & Spa
There is nothing worse than the one time where you want to escape and treat yourself to a nice day at the hair salon or spa and you cannot get comfortable due to the excess noise in the space. 3Gen has the solution. Depending on there size of space and availability of wall coverage we would install 2” 3Gen ceiling panels (clouds). If there is space Wall panels would be ideal. Let us make your space enjoyable for all of your clients.
Recording Studios.
The problem with studios
Today, the amazing power and low cost of digital technology has transitioned most recording projects out of the large studio into smaller spaces and homes. Once all the gear is set up and the first recordings are undertaken, the stark reality comes to light: What seems to sound good at home sounds terrible in the car and on your friends’ hi-fi system. The problem is simple-no matter how good the microphone, preamp or recording system, unless the acoustics are balanced, your recordings will not translate well when played back on other systems. Hard surfaces such as gypsum walls, windows and hardwood floors cause primary reflections which make placing instruments in the stereo field difficult. Secondary reflections introduce flutter echo and a reverb trail which interferes with your mix. Low frequencies collide – either in or out of phase – causing peaks and valleys (room modes and comb-filtering) which create hot spots depending on where you are sitting in the room.
How we can help.
Add 3Gen sound proofing acoustic treatment to your room to create a relatively neutral space that will enable your recordings to translate properly when played on other playback systems.
Strategically placing the 3Gen Wall panels to absorb primary reflections and attenuate flutter echo delivers immediate relief. Bass Traps attenuate low frequency resonance and room modes which help balance the sound of the room.
Because 3Gen Wall panels are made from high density glass wool (not low density urethane foam) you enjoy balanced absorption right down into the more difficult to manage bass range. Once your room is treated, you will immediately go back and listen to old recordings and remix them with a new sense of confidence. Not only will your recordings sound better, you will find that your work flow will be more productive, making decisions all the easier.
Media Room.
More and more professionals are working from home. This means that the home office is changing from a corner desk to a full-on work environment. With the advent of powerful communication tools such as Skype now available to our connected world, tele-commuting and video conferencing now plays a larger role in the workplace as folks shift their daytime activities from two or three hour commuting to staying off the roads and being more productive. Anyone that has listened to a second rate webinar knows full well that more often than not, hearing and understanding the dialog can be tenuous due to the poor sound. People do not realize is that the sound quality has very little to do with the microphone. The microphone is not selective. It captures everything inside the room. The problem is the walls, ceiling and windows are made from hard, highly reflective surfaces that are perfect incubators for echo. The microphone ‘flattens the sound’picking up both the wanted voice and unwanted room noise. The room acoustics are so poor that it makes communication nearly impossible. Broadcasters have been treating their stations with acoustic panels for nearly 100 years. The same applies when broadcasting over the internet.
How 3Gensoundproofing Can Help.
Hard surfaces from walls and windows reflect energy back into the room. Unlike our ears and brain, the ‘dumb’ microphone has no way to discern what is important and what to leave out. So it merely captures everything including the unwanted room reflections. At the receive end, the listener only hears what is coming out of the speakers and must work overly hard to comprehend. They tune out. The solution is to apply 2” thick 3Gen acoustic panels to 19% to 26% of the wall surface.
Office Spaces.
Most boardrooms today are multi-function spaces that incorporate video conferencing, microphones, projectors and loudspeakers. More often than not, the room is filled with hard reflective surfaces such as gypsum walls, glass windows, a hardwood table and a white board. Sound from the voices and loudspeakers reflect off these hard surfaces creating a dense series of reflections known as reverb. The larger the space; the longer the reverb trail will be and the greater the disruption to communication. To make matters worse, when the boardroom is used as a video or tele-conferencing space, the microphone has no way of discerning between the good sound and the problem noise. This makes it practically impossible to understand what is being said at the receive end of the transmission. The board members tune out and the chairman becomes frustrated.
Reduce the reverberant field by applying between 15% and 30% wall coverage using 1” thick 3Gen Acoustic Wall panels. These are as easy to mount as a picture. Distribute wherever space is available. Broadway panels are made from high-density glass wool and are extremely effective at absorbing sound energy in the voice range. This tames the reverberation in the room, immediately rectifying the problem caused by flutter echo and the powerful first order reflections that make it difficult to understand what is being said. Paintable panels offer an extra architectural twist by enabling them to be painted or have an image transferred onto the surface. It should be noted that broadcasters have been acoustically treating their radio stations for nearly 100 years. There is good reason for this – and the same logic applies to video-conferencing. Improving intelligibility is the best way to retain your listening audience!