Optimize the acoustics of your sound proof booth, cube and pod
Solutions like soundproofing room dividers, panels, baffles, tiles, and even paint now populate the market with a promise to deliver blessed quiet. The office pod is perhaps the most renowned solution of them all. At its essence, it’s an acoustic pod that blocks the noise both ways, restoring privacy and focus. Acoustic office pods are quiet rooms usually positioned within offices, equipped with a number of features to enable the employees to work more comfortably and efficiently. However, how do we know if they are truly sound proof?
Sound Design
At Sorama we are experts at low-noise and sound design. During our 10+ years of experience we’ve developed a solid acoustic design approach that we deploy in order to improve sound behavior in products. We work closely with our partners when designing their sound booths. We see that many solutions out there offer beautiful and aesthetically pleasant exterior design, but don’t provide a real soundproof solution. This inspired us to develop a method for quickly and efficiently spotting sound leaks of acoustic booths. The outcomes are astonishing.
Your benefits
Correct installation: Rework is a costly and time consuming process and hopefully you’ll want to have it done right the first time. That way, you can save time and money by ensuring that the acoustic booth is correctly installed.
Product validation: Easily validate that it does not leak any sound at the customer’s location.
Demonstrate sound reduction: With the method we propose, you can not only test the sound leakage during production, but also quickly check the average sound level inside the booth compared to outside. That way, you immediately know the sound reduction of your product.
Ease of use: The device is designed to be easy to use and user friendly. No prior experience or expertise is needed to operate the instrument. It’s ready to use by anyone right out of the box.
Applicable on every location: Due to the simplicity of the test, it can be easily performed on different locations and in different environments.
Innovation: Through the use of this innovative method, you can stay ahead of the competition.
Detection of sound leakages
Unwanted incoming sounds from the environment can be distractive. Often times manufacturers know that there is a sound leak in the booth – but that’s only the first step. Next, you need to pinpoint the sound leak in order to fix it. Normally, you would use your ears to listen at different spots and see if you can hear a difference in the amount of noise coming in. This is not a reliable nor scalable method. The method we propose can detect within minutes where the sound escapes in a fast, easy and scalable manner.
With the Sorama CAM iV64 and a speaker, the leaks can be visualized. Here’s how:
Step 1: Place a sound source inside the room. For optimal performance use an omnidirectional speaker radiating white noise (0 Hz – 23 kHz).
Step 2: Turn on the sound source and scan the booth’s exterior with the acoustic camera for any sound leakage.
Step 3: Set the distance of the acoustic camera to 1 meter from your source.
Step 4: For best results, select a frequency bandwidth between 7kHz – 15kHz
Step 5: The location of the sound leakage will be clearly visible on the device. Here is an example of the outcome:
Step 5: The location of the sound leakage will be clearly visible on the device. Here is an example of the outcome:
Step 6: Now that the problem is pinpointed, take the appropriate steps to solve the problem areas.
Don’t underestimate the costs of acoustic issues
Office productivity can drop as much as 66% when employees who are trying to read or write are disturbed by noise. It can take up to 15 minutes for an office worker to regain concentration after being distracted by noise. Studies show that employees are almost twice as likely to attend to complex tasks in quiet office environments than in noisy ones.
The noise level in office spaces averages 50 to 60 decibels. Exceeding that level is nothing to yawn at. Statistics link high levels of office noise to increased stress, accidents and illness. The risk of cardiovascular diseases increases when noise hits 65 decibel.
All walls and ceilings need to be sealed up tight. As little as 1% opening can let in 50% of outside noise.