Sound is a complicated phenomenon. What’s even more complicated is the physics of the propagation of sound, and what’s probably the most complicated thing of all is building a sound environment that pleases the most particular of audiophiles, or someone that really values high-quality audio and high-fidelity sound reproduction. Now, while our acoustic ceiling company out here in Los Angeles and Ventura County isn’t exactly building recording studios, we are very interested in acoustics and sound design – after all, it’s in our name LA Ceilings.
What Is Acoustic Treatment? A Basic Look Into Well-Balanced Sound
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What we do offer the Southern California area is high-quality acoustic ceiling panels, ceiling installation and seasoned ceiling design for a variety of businesses and industries. From retail stores to movie theaters to government facilities and more, LA Ceilings should be your go-to ceiling installation expert that keeps sound quality in mind. Learn more about our popular services here!
Now, without getting into too much technical detail, we’re going to look at what acoustic treatment is and why it matters when it comes to great indoor sound design.
The Problem That Acoustic Treatment Addresses
Generally speaking, acoustic treatment refers to optimizing the sound qualities of a room or certain area through the use of specialized foam insulation on the walls. Through the intentional placement of these insulators, this creates an environment where sound can be heard “accurately,” so to speak. Untreated rooms – especially large, open rooms with a lot of echoes – have an uneven frequency response, meaning that any mixing decisions of sound that you make are based on a sound that’s “colored” or inaccurate.
Without quality acoustics in a room, it’s very difficult to tell how your sound will mix when played back in any other room or environment. In other words, any recordings you make of acoustic instruments will bear the hallmarks of the space in which they were recorded. So, basically, if you want your mixes to transfer well from one environment to another (and who doesn’t?), then your recordings need to be free of room “honk,” as it is informally referred to.
The Intention Of A Neutral Sound Balance
Before you begin acoustically treating a space, the first thing that you should grasp is the desired outcome. Many people believe that acoustic treatment should kill all reverberation and that a room should be covered floor-to-ceiling with foam tiles, but this is hardly necessary. Also, bear in mind things like the limitation imposed by room space and your budget. Creating something like a home studio isn’t the same thing as a professional space.
A primary goal should be to aim for a neutral sound balance in the room. To achieve this, one must interfere with the path of sound to control the sound energy itself. Taking care of sound quality comes after.
Achieving The Right Balance Of Sound
There are two main approaches to neutral sound balance: absorption and diffusion. Typical absorptive products that you’ll see in places like home studios, as we mentioned above, include foam materials as well as rigid mineral-wool. These materials ‘soak up’ the sound energy, so to speak, turning it into heat via friction. Absorption is most effective on high-frequency noises and is essential for reducing flutter echoes and taming bright-sounding or ‘ringy’ rooms. Bass trapping is another type of absorption, but it is specifically designed to absorb low-frequency energy.
Using Diffusion For Sound Balance
Diffusion (again, without getting too technical), refers to the scattering of sound energy using multi-faceted surfaces. Common diffuser products are typically made out of materials like wood, plastic, and even polystyrene. Diffusion is a great way to help with sound energy control and greatly improves the sound quality in frequencies throughout the middle and high range of the spectrum. It also improves the “sweet spot image,” or the place between the speakers where you should be sitting in order to get the best stereo image. Imagine that your head and the two speakers in front of you form an equilateral triangle – it’s all about being perfectly positioned right in front of the speakers.
All Things Considered With Acoustic Treatment
Here’s the bottom line: no matter how much you spend on instruments, amps, speakers and recording gear, you still need to pay attention to the space in which they are used. To reiterate, the treatment of home studios is rather tricky due to their size and the construction materials used in the process. Indeed, it is simply not possible to get a professional studio sound from a space that’s built as a spare bedroom. Simply put, the laws of physics just won’t allow it.
However, if you can effectively conceptualize exactly what it is you’d like to achieve with your own home studio space, you can still make a small area perfectly suitable for amateur or recreational recording purposes.
Your Professional Acoustic Ceiling Solution Is Here!
If you’re in Ventura or Los Angeles County and you need professional ceiling installation from an acoustic ceiling company you can trust, look no further than LA Ceilings!