Soundproofing and Sound Conditioning, the Difference

Many people get the terms "Soundproofing" and "Sound Conditioning" confused. Soundproofing is keeping sound in or out of a certain area or space. A good example is a home recording studio. Not only are you concerned about sound not escaping from the studio, but you are equally concerned about not having sound intrude into the studio and ruining your session. This is what is know as soundproofing and is generally accomplished by decoupling (sound clips or resilient channels) the walls and ceiling as well as adding mass to them. These procedures are explained in detail on our website: www.soundproofingamerica.com or you can go to another link and read acoustics 101 which is a detailed e-booklet on studio construction and soundproofing Go to: http://www.acoustics101.com/ is written by Eric T. Smith the founder of Auralex and is very informative. Soundproofing is also used in residential applications such as soundproofing a condo or apartment from neighboring units.
Now that we know a little bit about soundproofing, lets talk about sound conditioning. Sound conditioning deals with the deadening of the reflective sound in a given room or space. These reflective sounds are bouncing around freely in a room with multiple hard or rigid surfaces. Sound conditioning is primarily sccomplished with sound absorbent foams, fabric covered furniture and Fab Tech panels, to name a few. There are formulas that will tell you exactly the amount of absorbent material that is needed to reduce reverberation times in any given area. Sound conditioning is not limited to studio's or home theaters. If you have a living room or dining area that has too many hard surfaces such as marble, stone, plaster, or tile then sound conditioning would be in order for these spaces. Even your nice hardwood floor is a sound reflector, ain't that the pits?
Sound conditioning is something that many resturaunts are in dire need of. I'm sure you have been in an upscale resturaunt where you were unable to hear the person you were dining with, but had absolutely no problem hearing the people 5 tables away. If you look around the resturaunt, you'll notice that nearly every surface is made of a non-absorbent highly rigid materials. I'll even bet the chairs themselves are hardbacked with leather cushions. For the sound to be properly dispersed and to stop reflective and reverberative sounds from bouncing about the room, there must be a degree of sound absorbency in that space. The amount depends upon a myriad of factors. If you need to sound condition any room in your house or apartment, please feel free to call one of the professionals at Soundproofing America or go to: www.soundproofingamerica.com and we will be glad to assist you. Now that you know the difference between "Soundproofing and "Sound Conditioning" my job has become much easier. Thank you for reading.

As Always,

Dr.Bob
e-mail: dr.bob@soundproofingamerica.com
Call Toll free (877) 530-0139