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Category: Sound Masking

4 Tips for Proper Acoustical Control With Sound Masking Technology

Posted on by American Sound & Electronics

Sound masking technology works best when the acoustics in an office is ideal. Before installing a sound masking system, you should assess the acoustics of your space to make sure the sound masking technology works in conjunction with the physical configuration you have in place.

Certain acoustics principles can reduce speech privacy in your office, which is where sound masking can help if you don’t have the budget to enhance the physical environment.

Take a look at four tips for proper acoustical control with sound masking technology. 

1. Ceiling Reflections

Open office designs thrive on having a relaxed, airy feeling between workstations compared to traditional cubicles. To reduce noise transmission, consider having non-reflective ceiling tiles and light fixtures to help with sound masking.

For example, parabolic recessed light fixtures dramatically reduce ceiling reflections compared to standard, flat-panel fixtures. Absorbent ceiling tiles also reduce distracting noises.

Related Post: Sound Masking FAQs

2. Line-of-Sight Sound Transmission

Perhaps the most prominent way sound transmits through an open office comes from the line-of-sight transmission. While open offices are great where speech privacy isn’t needed, you should never have a line-of-sight path between two employees where you want to achieve speech privacy.

The solution is to have physical barriers between workers where they cannot see each other. Barriers should comprise absorbent materials such as cloth or foam to interrupt the sound in the room, and so sound masking technology can work properly. Shelves or files also offer good sound interruption.

3. Partitions

You’ll need quality, sturdy partition walls when workstations are adjacent to each other, and you don’t have a lot of space. Partition walls should be at least 66 inches tall (5’6”) and have quality materials to block sound. 

When shopping for suitable partitions, look for items with a noise reduction coefficient (NRC) rating of as close to 1 if you want to absorb the most sound.

4. Wall, Floor, and Window Reflections

Look for sound-reflecting problems from the walls, floors, and/or windows. Hard, reflective windows, glossy walls, and reflective floor materials all make sound masking more difficult. 

Consider sound-absorbing artwork to hang on the walls, curtains, drapes, or blinds for windows, and then rugs or commercial-grade carpeting for the floors. All of these items can improve sound masking for your facility when speech privacy is a concern.

Related Post: What Is Sound Masking?

Ready for world-class sound masking technology?

American Sound, with offices in Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Phoenix, and Louisville, can install sound masking technology for your office, corporate headquarters, medical office, bank, or attorney’s office. 

Call us at (859) 261-9024 for more information on what our professional team can do for you.

Noise Masking Sounds FAQs

Posted on by American Sound & Electronics

Noise masking sounds (otherwise known as sound masking) is designed to mask conversations where privacy is a concern. Healthcare offices, banks, government buildings, and lawyer’s offices are all good candidates for noise masking.

In today’s blog, we will answer frequently asked questions about noise masking sounds.

Noise masking sounds like air running through the room.

Unlike white noise that makes sounds over other noises, a professional noise masking system creates ambient sounds that make it seem like the air conditioning is running very slightly.

Between 44 and 45 decibels, or just below the average dishwasher. 

Every room’s situation is unique, however. Noise masking sounds may be set to lower or higher decibel levels.

Noise masking sounds come from speakers installed in the plenum of the ceiling or in the walls of a room outside of the room that requires privacy.

For example, the main lobby of a bank has members of the public coming in and out throughout the day. Offices just off the lobby have people discussing loan options in a private setting. The noise masking sounds would be coming from the lobby as opposed to the private offices where people discuss their finances.

Yes, people can hear noise masking sounds. But they are designed to be as unnoticeable as possible. 

Remember, these speakers are in the ceiling or walls. At 12-foot-high ceilings, noise masking sounds at 44 to 45 decibels will sound like a dishwasher running at low speed.

No, because white noise sounds like AM radio static you hear in car speakers. It’s also loud and distracting. 

Noise masking sounds are specifically engineered to overlap with the frequency of human speech, making it very difficult to overhear a conversation in the next room.

Noise masking sounds precisely match a certain band of frequencies for greater speech privacy and worker productivity when you want to cut down on people overhearing conversations in certain settings.

No, noise masking technology should be installed by professionals who know how to calibrate the equipment and set up the equalizers, speakers, and computer software properly.

No, because noise cancelling prevents sounds from reaching your ears. Noise masking sounds help your brain to stop focusing on background sounds.

American Sound, with offices in Cincinnati and Louisville, can take care of noise masking technology at your facility. 

Call us at (859) 261-9024 for more information!

What Is Sound Masking?

Posted on by American Sound & Electronics

Sound masking lowers noise levels by actually adding a slight amount of sound at precise decibels to protect the speech privacy of people in offices while increasing office comfort and reducing noise distractions.

A sound masking system has several vital components that make it work properly as a high-tech solution when privacy is important to your company.

Is sound masking different from white noise?

Yes, because sound masking uses specific technological components that achieve a precise match for the same decibels of human speech that cancels out someone’s ability to hear conversations coming from other rooms.

White noise can be irritating to someone and cause discomfort because the decibels are not precisely tuned.

What are the components of a sound masking system?

This high-tech system utilizes a series of speakers in the ceiling.

Speakers

A grid of multiple speakers delivers noise-canceling sounds at the correct radius throughout a room. Depending on the size of the room, there may be multiple speakers placed evenly across the space, in a grid-like pattern, where people will congregate.

One thing to note is that sound masking technology generally goes in rooms where people can hear conversations coming from other rooms, not in the actual rooms where conversations will take place.

Speakers can be round or square, and they are usually white to blend in with the ceiling tiles overhead.

Controllers

Each room will have a channel controller to feed all of the speakers. Controllers can go in the plenum space above the ceiling panels or in a server room cabinet. Sound masking system designers can connect multiple controllers together for flexibility and scalability. Controllers can be connected through a hard line or a wireless connection.

Volume Control Sensors 

The volume and decibel levels of rooms rise and fall with the number of people in the room. As such, the sound masking must compensate. Sensors automatically adjust the sound, and your staff can manually adjust the controls as needed.

Sensors usually go in the ceiling, and they collect sound almost like tiny ear canals that sit in the ceiling or stick out from the ceiling less than an inch. They are also white to match the ceiling.

Sound Masking Software

Every sound masking system needs software to manage the controllers, sensors, and speakers. You should have complete control over your system, and our staff will show you how it works. The best software works on mobile apps as well as laptops and desktops. The software should also let you give access only to necessary staff through administrative credentials and logins.

Sound Masking Technology Installation From American Sound

Does your office need sound masking technology to ensure client, customer or patient privacy? Do you want to reduce distractions from conversations at your busy office?

Contact American Sound for more information, or call (859) 261-9024 in Cincinnati or (502) 694-3339 in Louisville. 

We’ll discuss your needs and options with you for a sound masking system.

Sound Masking FAQs

Posted on by American Sound & Electronics

American Sound serves many industries, including offices that face privacy concerns for clients, such as law offices, medical offices, and financial institutions. 

Today, our team answers several FAQs about sound masking.

Sound masking represents a technology that produces ambient background noise that precisely matches the frequency of human speech. The idea is to cancel out normal human speech for better speech privacy when individuals have confidential conversations.

Sound masking reduces how far away conversations can be heard and understood by others. It does NOT cancel sound or eliminate all speech noise.

Companies that need sound masking often have privacy concerns or must follow regulations to ensure privacy for clients, customers or patients.

You might find sound masking in:

  • Public spaces
  • Reception areas
  • Pharmacies
  • Waiting rooms
  • Medical offices
  • Dentist’s offices
  • Hospitals
  • Banks
  • Insurance offices
  • Government offices
  • Attorney’s offices
  • Hallways adjacent to private offices
  • Open office plans
  • Private offices
  • Counseling offices

Speakers that emit sound masking frequencies are installed in rooms or areas where conversations should not be heard, not necessarily in rooms or areas where conversations take place.

Two people talking confidentially in a counseling office

Sound masking disrupts voices in a room, so they do not travel farther than the space of an ordinary conversation. This ensures no one outside of a room can’t overhear the conversation using normal means.

  1. Professional installation companies assess the space that needs this technology by taking measurements and looking at the structure of the space, including the thickness of walls, floors, and ceilings. This is called a site survey.
  2. Then a technician plugs in the measurements to their software to determine how many speakers, their sizes, and distribution throughout the room.
  3. The professional sound installation company installs the speakers, typically in the ceiling.
  4. After the installation of speakers, technicians calibrate the speakers and take measurements of the sound they produce. At this stage, technicians will tweak the ambient sounds for optimal results. 
  5. Following calibration, sound masking technicians will install software on an office computer that allows the company to control the system. All of the speakers in a system are controlled from a centralized location, typically a hub, where all speakers connect to (either hardwired or wirelessly).

This technology uses quiet sounds, similar to that of gentle air-conditioned air filtering into a room, to actually make rooms quieter.

Sound masking technology works through speakers emitting a specific frequency of sound over various channels. The frequency is near the same frequency as human speech, which disrupts speech coming from other parts of the room.

The noise from the speakers sounds just like airflow from a central air conditioning unit as it pipes air into a room.

Interior of a bank lobby

Average systems cost from $1.50 to $2 per square foot, but your actual costs vary depending on how many speakers you need and the size of the space that needs sound masking. 

For example, your building is 10,000 square feet. However, techs determine that only 4,500 square feet need sound masking speakers installed. This gives you an average range of $6,750 to $9,000 for installing this technology. Again, your actual results will vary.

In addition to maintaining speech privacy, companies may see the following benefits:

Less distractions. People are less likely to be distracted because they can’t hear conversations in other rooms.

Higher productivity. Because sound masking cuts down on distracting conversations, your workers may actually be more productive at the office.

Protect your customers. Think of what happens when a customer places an order over the phone. Do you read back the customers’ credit or debit card number to make sure you heard it properly? What if another customer overheard that number? Is the customer’s card information safe?

Remove awkward silences. Oddly enough, completely silent rooms can be distracting when a sudden noise penetrates the silence. Reduce this distracting effect with sound masking technology.

Installers may take a day or two to install a system. The company will make an appointment with you to be at your office or facility after the equipment comes in.

The best ones adapt to changing conditions in the room, such as when sound levels are low or high, through the system’s equalizer.

Calibrating the system is vitally important because there may be multiple channels through which the sounds flow. 

Think of calibrating the system like your television or radio. Your television uses three main colors, red, green, and blue, to generate all of the images on a screen. If even one of these colors is off, it will make images that you can tell are weird. On a radio, think of the bass and treble channels from the music. Increasing the bass means more “thump-thump-thump” sounds, while the treble produces lighter sounds. You can alter the music you listen to by changing different channels like the treble or bass.

Similarly, technicians must equalize and balance all of the channels in the sound masking speakers to make sure they work together properly to produce the right sounds. Otherwise, the ambient noise doesn’t sound right, and people in the room will notice.

Open dishwasher filled with dishes

Yes, these systems are perfectly safe for human hearing. It operates at a level of 48 decibels or lower. For comparison, 48 decibels sounds like a home’s automatic dishwasher. OSHA regulates the sound levels that employees can be subjected to over an eight-hour period, and the maximum amount is 90 decibels for every eight hours. 90 decibels is equivalent to heavy traffic, a window air conditioner, a subway, or a shouted conversation.

Yes, if your company is serious about installing this kind of system then professional installers may offer a free quote. They will need to see the facility first.

Professional installation is the best way to go for sound masking systems. Professionals will make sure the system looks cohesive, works properly, and trains the necessary staff on its operation.

American Sound can help! Contact us for more information or call (859) 261-9024.

Sound Masking Terminology You Need to Know

Posted on by American Sound & Electronics

American Sound prides itself on installing world-class, professional sound and video equipment. One aspect of our business is high-quality sound masking technology. Whether protecting confidentiality is a matter of preference or mandated by law, sound masking is an excellent good solution. Today’s blog from American Sound explains sound masking terminology you need to know.

ABCs of Acoustics

The ABCs of acoustics stand for:

  • A Absorb Sound
  • B Block Sound
  • C Cover Sound

A combined approach to absorb, block, and cover sound is the best way to ensure speech privacy in your building. Sound masking technology provides Cover Sound by generating white noise with overlapping acoustic signals that make speech in another room unintelligible. The noise from Cover Sound is similar to air circulating in a room.

Articulation Index

The articulation index represents a quantitative measurement of the intelligibility of speech in a given location. A value of 1 means all speech can be understood, while a value of 0 means no speech can be understood. Acceptable speech privacy is when the articulation index is 0.2 or lower for sound masking. American Sound will strive to hit this mark with every install.

Privacy Index

Privacy index is the inverse measure of the articulation index. Sound masking technology must achieve a privacy index of 80% or greater, either by itself or in combination with sound blocking or absorbing.

Channels

Appropriate sound masking technology needs multiple channels, or unique output signals, to achieve a privacy index of 80% or greater. For example, one channel may cover sounds with a higher pitch while another covers sounds with a mid-range pitch. Our technicians will adjust the channels on sound masking technology to achieve optimum results. Once we achieve the right results based on your building’s acoustics, the technology will be barely noticeable to ordinary people.

Directional

Directional describes the distribution pattern of sound coming from a speaker or sound source. Highly directional speakers project sound across greater distances, and they work well to cover speech coming from another room. Speakers may also use the ceiling to disperse sound to cover speech in the same room. Speakers with wide dispersal patterns radiate sound directly into a room. American Sound will determine the best system for your building based on the materials, shape, and size of each room where you need sound masking.

Decibel Tolerance

Decibel tolerance measures the uniformity of the sound emitted by sound masking systems. The smaller the tolerance level, the better the uniformity of the system. The best sound masking systems, like the ones we install, have a decibel (dB) tolerance of less than 1 decibel. In essence, this level of tolerance means you can’t tell there are different channels emitting various frequencies and decibels of sound that cover the sounds of speech coming from other rooms or across the same room.

Professional Sound Masking Installation by American Sound

Sound masking helps to ensure the privacy of patients and clients in the healthcare, legal, and financial industries. It also reduces distractions and provides privacy in boardrooms and conference rooms. Contact American Sound or call (859) 261-9024 for more details on our world-class sound masking technology.

How Sound Masking Technology Works

Posted on by American Sound & Electronics

Sound masking uses modern acoustic technology to make a quieter space for everyone. This technology comes in handy for protecting speech privacy, improving workplace acoustics, and reducing noise distractions. In today’s blog from American Sound, we explain how sound masking technology works.

Related Post: Sound Masking Terminology You Need to Know

We Add Sound

It seems counterintuitive, but sound masking works by adding ambient sounds to the existing environment. The added sound disrupts the way soundwaves travel and reduces the intelligibility of human speech. Less speech in the immediate environment makes the space quieter and less distracting. It also creates better privacy for clients, customers, and employees. The sound you hear is similar to air flowing and moving about the room. But this noise is special: It’s precisely tuned to disrupt human speech.

Precise Wavelengths

Sound masking technology works at specific wavelengths of sound. Not only do we have to take into account the volume of human speech, but also the acoustics of the building. As we install sound masking technology, our technicians measure the masking sounds at ear height in the room. Then we adjust the volume and equalizer accordingly.  

Properly Placed Speakers

The beauty of sound masking technology is that no one should ever notice it’s there. Speakers are unobtrusive, usually blending in with the existing ceiling or fixtures of the room. The speakers are small. They’re designed to overlap throughout the room at precise radii. A dedicated computer program manages all of the speakers at once.

Computer Controlled

Variations in noise levels can impact sound masking technology. That’s why a special computer program monitors everything while the system is turned on. Speakers should have a tolerance range by which they are allowed to deviate from the target sound frequency. Some speakers may change the frequency of sound output by a very little bit to compensate for more or less noise in the room. Testing for the optimal sound disruption level may take a few hours, but this process creates the best results.

Related Post: Who Benefits From Sound Masking?

Sound Masking Installation by American Sound

Sound masking technology not only improves the privacy of your building, but it also makes ambient conversations far less distracting (and therefore improves productivity). We can install sound masking technology in new and existing structures. Contact American Sound or call (859) 261-9024 for more details on what we can do for you.

Who Benefits From Sound Masking?

Posted on by American Sound & Electronics

Sound masking technology creates ambient sound throughout a room that’s barely perceptible to a room’s occupants. This technology overrides the noise of people talking in other rooms to eliminate the ability to overhear conversations in quiet or noisy settings. Today’s blog from American Sound discusses who benefits from sound masking technology the most.

Related Post: Sound Masking Terminology You Need to Know

1. Patients

Healthcare providers must follow privacy laws and strict HIPAA regulations. Personal privacy is of utmost importance to patients of hospitals, clinics, doctor’s offices, dentists, and even optometrists. Sound masking makes it nearly impossible to hear a conversation coming from another room, even if someone is talking right next door.

2. Bankers

Financial institutions also value the privacy of their customers. No one should overhear a customer’s account number, Social Security number, account balance, or the current state of their finances. You simply don’t know who would be unscrupulous enough to misuse information from a conversation you assumed was private. Sound masking technology adds a layer of security for bankers in a lobby, offices, and executive suites.

3. Attorneys

Attorneys absolutely need client information to remain confidential, especially in an office with multiple conference rooms for client consultations, depositions, and phone calls. Installing sound masking technology ensures no one next door overhears a conversation about a highly sensitive case.

4. Everyday Office Workers

Everyday office workers need to concentrate on their tasks at hand. Multiple conversations in the background simply lead to distractions. Sound masking allows for private conversations in managers’ offices when it comes to human resources, personnel decisions, high-level discussions, and strategy sessions when concentration is a must.

5. Architects

Architects are the master planners for new construction and renovations. Installing sound masking technology is much easier during new construction or major renovation because we can work the devices into the ceilings before the structures are finished. We don’t have to work around existing ducts, conduits, or wires. Anyone who designs or builds a facility should consider sound masking technology if there is a concern about privacy regarding staff, clients, or customers.

Related Post: How Sound Masking Technology Works

Sound Masking Technology Installed by American Sound

The professional sound experts at American Sound have been outfitting Cincinnati-area facilities since 1946. If privacy is important to you at your building, sound masking technology is one way to ensure conversations stay on a need-to-know basis. Contact American Sound or call (859) 261-9024 for more information. We offer video conferencing technology, professional sound, classroom technology, and event audio-visual rentals.

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