We often are contacted by people wanting to solve ‘sound proofing’ issues in their home or business. There is an important difference between ‘sound proofing’ and ‘sound absorption’ that you need to be aware of when browsing the products on Sonio.

Sound absorption deals with the treatment of high reverberation or echo within a space. Absorbing materials and products work by absorbing sound waves that are travelling through a space and bouncing off hard surfaces. Absorption has a significant impact on the users experience within the space. Rooms with the correct Reverberation time will be comfortable for the occupants to work, study, host an event etc. and this can vary depending on the space.

Sound proofing is significantly different, as it usually involves blocking external noise from entering the room (or prevent it from leaving the room). It can be quite difficult to completely sound proof a room.

Its quite simple. Do you want to treat echo and noise within the space? You need sound absorption. Do you want prevent noise entering/exiting the space? You need sound proofing.

Products on this site will ONLY be effective for sound absorption purposes. We do not offer any product that will work as a sound proofing solution.

Reverberation time is the most important factor when assessing a room with a noise problem. RT is defined as the time it takes, in seconds, for the sound pressure level to drop by 60dB after the source has stopped generating the sound. A room with a high RT generally has a problem with noise as sound travels for long distances without being absorbed.Rooms with a high RT almost always have an issue with echo as sound is reflected from hard surface to hard surface.