What is Sound Masking?
Sound masking introduces an unobtrusive, ambient background sound into an environment that renders speech unintelligible and reduces interference from distracting office sounds. It provides a random sound that does not carry information, is completely unobtrusive, non-directional and harmoniously uniform. Sound Masking is an electronically generated, broad band, low level background sound precisely contoured to cover conversations and unwanted background noise. It sounds much like a gently blowing breeze. The addition of sound masking is equal, acoustically to tripling the distance between employees. Sound masking can increase conversational privacy by as much as 100 percent.
Sound masking is a technique which is used to render unwanted sound inaudible, making people more comfortable. There are a number of uses for sound masking, ranging from making an open plan office more private and comfortable to work in to making it easier for people in noisy environments to sleep. Several methods can be employed to achieve sound masking, ranging from using systems which are integrated into a building to using standalone speakers for direct field sound masking. This noise reduction technique is accomplished by playing a consistent, harmonious background sound which drowns out unwanted noise. For an example of how sound masking works, imagine standing in the kitchen with the water running and trying to listen to a conversation in the next room. The noise of the conversation is still present, but the sound of the water overwhelms it. The same principle holds true in sound masking systems. Sounds of both natural and artificial origin can be used for sound masking. The sou
Sound masking is based on the phenomenon that when low level background noise is added to an environment, intruding speech and noises are less intelligible. The term “white noise” is widely used when referring to speech privacy or sound masking systems, although these systems don’t actually use white noise.The technology behind sound masking came out of the realization by scientists and engineers that oral privacy is actually a simple matter of making speech unintelligible. That is, if each of us can’t understand what the other is saying, we have effectively established oral privacy – even though we may still be able to see and, to some extent, hear each other.Sound masking “fills in” the sound spectrum around you with barely perceptible low level noise, so that speech is rendered unintelligible. It’s actually designed to sound like typical office air conditioning noise, so that you won’t notice it. In other words, it’s a gentle “whooshing” sound. An important note: sound masking is no
A sound masking system consists of a series of speakers, typically installed above the suspended ceiling, that distribute an engineered background sound throughout a facility. This sound is most often compared to that of softly blowing air.The primary benefits of this technology include increased speech privacy, reduced distractions due to noise, and a generally more comfortable working environment. It is easily installed in new or existing facilities of any size, providing an effective way of addressing acoustic problems at nominal cost and without remodeling.How Does it Work? If you have ever run water at your kitchen sink while trying to talk to someone in the next room, you will understand how masking works. You can tell your conversational partner is speaking, but it is difficult to comprehend what is being said because the running water has raised the noise floor in your area. The noise floor is the level of constant sound present in a space. If it is too high, you will find it i
Sound masking is the addition of a familiar sounding, air conditioning-like background sound to an environment. Masking covers up or masks human speech and helps mitigate the distraction of other sounds, making an environment more comfortable, workers more productive and creating speech privacy. Here is an analogy. Imagine that you are in a darkened room and a child is flicking a flashlight on and off. The light is noticeable and distracting. Now imagine, the lights are on. The same flashlight is being flicked on and off—but without notice—it has been “masked.” This is how sound masking works. Where is sound masking used? Sound masking is used anywhere speech privacy or speech confidentiality is desired or required and in any workspace to reduce distractions and improve productivity. The most typical installations are open office plans, private offices, and public spaces.
