Reverberation is an acoustic phenomenon that occurs when sound is repeatedly reflected by walls, ceilings and objects. The recipient will not only hear the sound directly (e.g. speech or music), but will also perceive it indirectly, because of the reflections. These reflections reach the recipient with a slight delay, consequentially causing ambient noise to fill the room. As a result, the intelligibility of the original sound is compromised.
Acoustics is the study of sound. The acoustic comfort of a room is determined on the one hand by sound absorption (i.e. the absorption rate of sound by means of all the materials in the room), and by sound insulation (i.e. the level in which sound is transferred to adjacent spaces) on the other hand.
COUST acoustics is specialized in installing sound-absorbing materials to optimize a room’s acoustics. We have a wide assortment of products to accomplish our goal, such as acoustic wall panels, ceiling panels, desk screens, baffles, etc.
Room acoustics concerns itself with the behaviour of sound in an enclosed space. Sounds and their reverberations are influenced by the room’s characteristics. These are the room’s design, dimensions and materials. Room acoustics studies these characteristics and their influence on sound.
What is reverberation time?
The reverberation time is the amount of time required for a sound reflection of 60dB to die down, after the end of the original sound.
When are acoustics pleasant?
There isn’t one fixed ideal reverberation time for all possible situations. It’s a variable due to its dependency from several factors: the function of the room, the dimensions of the room, the amount of people in the room, etc. The lack of one fixed reverberation time for all rooms is no wonder, because every room is unique. We calculate the ideal reverberation time for the room in question by taking its uniqueness into account.
What is noise absorption?
When a sound wave reaches a material, it is partly reflected back into the room, another part is absorbed by the material, and the last part passes through the material. Harder materials yield less absorption, and more sound reflections. In a room mainly constructed with hard materials (concrete, glass, steel, plastered walls, etc.), little absorption material is present, further reducing the absorption rate. There are more sound reflections, causing the problem of reverberation.
