Office buildings often feature large areas of hard surfaces; concrete, glass and metal, all of which reflect sound and create a reverberant environment. The impact of this is especially felt during video conference calls, when microphone systems can struggle to clean-up signals sufficiently to provide clear audio to far-end participants, and the remote sound coming through speakers can become difficult to decipher too.

Fortunately, mitigations exist that reduce reverberance, creating a suitable acoustic environment for conferencing equipment to perform. A system that performs well provides an equitable experience for all participants and enables AI platforms to accurately enhance productivity.

What is the process to assess and remedy poor acoustics?

RT60 Assessment

Assessing the likely reverberance of a space can be calculated using Sabine’s RT60 formula. RT60 is the key acoustic parameter for a room, defined by BS ISO 3382 as the time it takes for sound energy to decay by 60 dB after stopping – in live test environments this sound is often a balloon pop. Its duration, from fractions of a second to several seconds, depends on room size and construction materials.

The target RT60 score for Meeting Rooms is 0.60 seconds.

RT60 can be tested live using specialist equipment or calculated offline using a complex formula. Our team calculate RT60 scores using room dimensions and the acoustic properties of wall, floor and ceiling finishes. This outputs an score, which becomes the benchmark for improvement, should mitigations be necessary. 

Mitigations

The RT60 formula is again used to calculate the impact of mitigations such as sound-absorbing panels, wall coverings and art. Assessing mathematically allows us to recommend the right amount acoustic treatments, creating an optimal environment for conferences.

Acoustic products are varied and imaginative in their presentation, allowing organisations to build on an existing design language, whilst treating the space. A series of example projects are pictured below.

Images are courtesy of Muffle Acoustics Limited.