Acoustic Calculator

Purpose: Our Acoustic Calculator helps you determine the reverberation time and/or “echo level” of your room.

Solution: Input your dimensions and material information below. The Acoustic Calculator will provide the Calculated Reverberation Time, and the approximate amount of acoustic treatment needed to meet your Target Reverberation Time.

1. Input Room Geometry
Height (Feet)
Width (Feet)
Length (Feet)
Floor Area (Square Feet)
Wall Area (Square Feet)
Ceiling Area (Square Feet)
Volume (Cubic Feet)
2. Input Room FinishesNote: Smooth, glossy, and dense surfaces reflect sound back inward, causing echo and reverberation, while plush, soft surfaces are acoustically absorptive. Select the material type of each surface to find the acoustic coefficient of that surface. A list of all surfaces by acoustical coefficient is here.
Floor Finish
Wall Finish
Ceiling Finish
Absorption Value = Square Footage x Absorption Coefficient
Floor Sabins
Wall Sabins
Ceiling Sabins
Reverb Time (Seconds)
3. Determine Room Target Reverb Your target reverberation time is dependent on your use of the space. Select from the below options to determine yours.The reverberation time you need in your space depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you're trying to record high-quality audio, you'll want the reverberation to be as low as possible. However, general uses for assembly, office space, and residential are typically fine in the 0.5-0.7 second range. A brief chart is below:

0.3 Seconds Dead Space
0.5 Seconds Ideal for Conversation
0.7 Seconds Acceptable Acoustics
1.2 Seconds Begin to Lose Speech Intelligibility
1.5 Seconds Reverberation is Classified as an “Echo”
Expected Room Use
Hidden
Total Sabins Needed
Hidden
Calc: Approximate Treatment Needed
Approximate Treatment Needed (Square Feet)
No Additional Treatment Required Based on Room Size and Finishes Entered
In order to receive a detailed assessment of this space, please provide your email and submit below.
First Name
Email*
Phone*
Additional Project Details (If Needed)

More Info on the Acoustic Calculator:

Acoustic Calculator Graphic for Measuring Echo/Reverberation Level in Room — Acoustic Calculator Graphic

We have also written extensively on How this Acoustical Calculator works as well as which Room Surfaces affect Absorption Coefficients the most. In Brief, to calculate reverberation values, we use Sabin’s Formula, developed by Professor Sabin of Harvard University to measure acoustical performance. The equation states: RT60=.05*V/Sa, where RT60 is the reverberation time, or more specifically, the time it takes for the reverberation to dissipate below a certain level. 0.05 is a constant derived by Professor Sabin, V is the Volume of the space, and Sa is the Acoustical Absorption of the space, which is simply the Surface Area multiplied by the Acoustical Coefficient of each surface.

So you know how much absorption you need to acoustically treat your room. Now What? Check out our Sound Absorption products to select which options fit your budget and aesthetics. Not sure which product is right for you? Use our Product Selector Tool to help choose the acoustical treatment that best fits your needs.

Acoustic Resources

There are a number of Acoustic Case Studies, Acoustic Absorption Articles, and other resources available throughout the Commercial Acoustics site to help answer any questions you may have,

Acoustic Case Studies – specific projects that required acoustic panels, ceiling clouds, or baffles to provide acoustic treatment for reverberation issues
Acoustic Absorption Articles – Tips and White Papers designed to educate on the specifics of acoustic issues, from calculating reverberation times to focusing on frequency-specific decay times
Acoustic Panel Layouts – Suggestions and inspiration for wall and ceiling mounted acoustic panels. Different layout options allow you to pick one that works with the design of your space, while still improving acoustic comfort.

Acoustic Calculator

More Info on the Acoustic Calculator:

Acoustic Resources

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