Many products described as Acoustic furniture promise to give acoustical treatment to open offices. These products imply they can isolate sound, reduce, and absorb noise without the necessity of walls and ceilings. There is a possibility that the word “acoustic” is added to the description of this item as a selling point instead of a proven fact to help reduce sound. Visual characteristics of soundproof materials are added to confuse the buyer without any scientific proof that they actually reduce noise and absorb sound.

Acoustic Furniture in Office Spaces

It is convenient for places like call centers and computer labs to have open spaces where they can fit more people also avoiding having to hire more supervisors and the list of benefits extend. But for obvious reasons, this is not the most effective method when you have employees trying to concentrate when they have coworkers surrounding them with no walls to avoid the distractions of overhearing conversations and annoying computer sounds.

Without diminishing line-of-sight sound propagation, the only reasonable option for many office renovations is the installation of a White Noise Sound Masking system. This consists of a network of sound masking speakers designed to provide speech privacy into a space. While these systems may be sold by furniture distributors, they are ideally designed and installed by acoustic professionals that understand the benefit the use-cases of these systems and where they are most effective.

Acoustic Calculator – How Much Absorption Do You Need

Most acoustic problems are created by the absence of walls, using light materials to create separations between spaces, and flanking. The solution to acoustic problems is not to add furniture but instead to use the four elements of soundproofing. Decoupling, Absorption, Adding mass, and Damping are methods scientifically proven to soundproof a room.

Acoustic is a term more complex than we think that involves formulas and background knowledge about how sound is reflected, transmitted, or absorbed. For this reason, when wanting to soundproof a space, furniture created by people who are not acousticians is not going to help solve the problems. It is better to consult experts in acoustics who can guide your needs and provide products like absorption panels and ceiling clouds that are assured to soundproof.