Are you wanting to soundproof a room? It sounds easy to throw up some foam to either block out sound or reduce the echoes in a room. However similar these two situations—sound proofing and sound absorbing—may sound, they require drastically different approaches. So, before you put foam on your walls only to realize you can still hear the noisy room next to you, checkout the following sections to decide what you need. After reading this you will have a clear idea of the right products for your project.

What is Your Goal?

First, ask yourself what you need soundproofing or acoustic material for. Are you building a recording studio and need the sound to be perfect within the studio with no echoes? Or do you want to beef up your apartment walls so you can’t hear your neighbors tv all night?

If you want to keep noise out or in a certain place, you need soundproofing. If you want to improve the quality of sound in a place, you need sound absorbing material.

Soundproofing

Soundproofing by nature is more extensive than sound absorbing. Soundproofing is often done when the walls are built. It is built into the basic construction of a room. Going back to the basics of sound, soundwaves move easily through the air. When they are used, soundproofing materials are heavy and almost always built into the construction of the wall, so it is harder for air and soundwaves to move through them.

Before undertaking a soundproofing project, consider if you will have to reconstruct any of your walls. If you don’t want to take your walls apart (a perfectly reasonable thought), there are also hybrid products to place on the outside of the walls that help with soundproofing.

Soundproofing is useful for thin apartment walls, offices that discuss confidential matters, and conference rooms where sensitive information is shared.

Sound Absorbing

Sound absorbing products often come to mind when people think about soundproofing because sound absorbing products are the ones you see. They are meant to be a finished product that becomes an integral part of a space. Sound absorbing material comes in many shapes and styles. From the traditional black squares of pointy foam ridges to retro-colored hexagons you can put in any pattern.

Sound absorbing is focused on improving the sound of an area. The thick foam it’s made of absorbs sound and keeps it from echoing around the space. Sound absorbing is ideal for theaters, auditoriums, recording studios, and anywhere you podcast.

Soundproofing, Sound Absorbing, or both?

Sometimes the answer is soundproofing, sometimes it’s sound absorbing, and sometimes it’s both. When combined, soundproofing and sound absorption products can create the ideal space. While soundproofing can keep sound in or out a room, the volume of the sound in the room will be the same, most likely causing reverberation within that space. However, when sound absorbing products are added to a soundproofed room, the noise entering the room is controlled along with the sound within the room. Now you know the best way to block out a noisy street or keep your voice from bouncing off the walls. Soundproofing and sound absorbing used separate or together can transform a space by controlling the sound in and around it.