• CEPro_logo_blue-new
  • TOPICS
      • News
        • People & Places
        • Product Briefs
      • Projects
      • Events
      • Control
        • Central Vac
        • Energy/Power
        • HVAC/IAQ
        • Interfaces/Devices
        • Lighting
        • Motorized Shades
        • Whole House Systems
      • Audio/Video
        • Audio/Video
        • AV Accessories
        • AV Racks
        • Cabling
        • Displays
        • Furniture
        • Headphones
        • Home Theater
        • Media
        • Mounts/Lifts
        • Multiroom AV
        • Projectors/Screens
        • Speakers/Subwoofers
        • Wireless AV
      • Security
        • Access Control
        • Alarms/Sensors
        • Services/Platforms
        • Surveillance/Cameras
      • Business Support
        • Associations/Buying Groups
        • Cell Phone Boosters
        • Distributors/Reps
        • Operations
        • Recurring Revenue
        • Research
        • Sales/Marketing
        • Software Services
        • Tools/Testers
      • Networking
        • Cellular
        • Devices/Equipment
        • Wireless
        • Wired/Installation
      • Markets
        • Builders
        • Commercial
        • Design
        • Europe
        • Outdoors
        • Resimercial
        • Wellness
      • CE Pro Hub Pages
        • Bose
        • Savant
        • Inside Sound United
  • PRODUCTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Reports/Downloads
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Webcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Digital Edition
    • CE Pro-iQ
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • CEDIA SHOW UPDATES
    • CEPRO PRINT EDITION
    • CEPRO DIGITAL EDITION
    • CEPRO NEWSLETTERS
  • DISCOVER
    • CEDIA Expo
      • September 29 – October 1
        Dallas, TX
      • VISIT SITE
    • KBIS
      • February 8 – 10
        Orlando, FL
      • VISIT SITE
    • Total Tech Summit
      • October 26 – 28
        Orlando, FL
      • VISIT SITE
    • Commercial Integrator
      • VISIT SITE
    • Security Sales
      • VISIT SITE
    • Tech Decisions
      • VISIT SITE
    • Campus Safety
      • VISIT SITE
    • Design Well
      • VISIT SITE
    • KBB Online
      • VISIT SITE
    • AV-iQ
      • VISIT SITE
    • CE Pro-iQ
      • VISIT SITE
  • Search
  • TOPICS
    • News
      • People & Places
      • Product Briefs
    • Projects
    • Events
    • Control
      • Central Vac
      • Energy/Power
      • HVAC/IAQ
      • Interfaces/Devices
      • Lighting
      • Motorized Shades
      • Whole House Systems
    • Audio/Video
      • Audio/Video
      • AV Accessories
      • AV Racks
      • Cabling
      • Displays
      • Furniture
      • Headphones
      • Home Theater
      • Media
      • Mounts/Lifts
      • Multiroom AV
      • Projectors/Screens
      • Speakers/Subwoofers
      • Wireless AV
    • Security
      • Access Control
      • Alarms/Sensors
      • Services/Platforms
      • Surveillance/Cameras
    • Business Support
      • Associations/Buying Groups
      • Cell Phone Boosters
      • Distributors/Reps
      • Operations
      • Recurring Revenue
      • Research
      • Sales/Marketing
      • Software Services
      • Tools/Testers
    • Networking
      • Cellular
      • Devices/Equipment
      • Wireless
      • Wired/Installation
    • Markets
      • Builders
      • Commercial
      • Design
      • Europe
      • Outdoors
      • Resimercial
      • Wellness
    • CE Pro Hub Pages
      • Savant
      • Bose
      • Inside Sound United
  • PRODUCTS
  • RESOURCES
    • Reports/Downloads
    • Buyer’s Guide
    • Webcasts
    • Podcasts
    • Digital Edition
    • CE Pro-IQ
  • SUBSCRIBE
    • CEPRO PRINT EDITION
    • CEPRO DIGITAL EDITION
    • CEPRO NEWSLETTERS
    • CEDIA SHOW UPDATES
  • DISCOVER
    • Cedia Expo
      VISIT SITE
    • Commercial Integrator
      VISIT SITE
    • Security Sales
      VISIT SITE
    • Tech Decisions
      VISIT SITE
    • Campus Safety
      VISIT SITE
    • Design Well
      VISIT SITE
    • Total Tech Summit
      VISIT SITE
    • KBB Online
      VISIT SITE
    • AV-iQ
    • CE Pro-iQ
M
POPULAR SEARCHES
News
Projects
Control
Audio Video
Security
Business Support
Markets
SUBSCRIBE CEDIA EXPO CEPro-iQ
Audio/Video | Commercial | Resimercial | Sponsored Content | Videos
December 6, 2021

Sound Masking Technology Basics & Installation Tips

Lencore explains the key components and concepts of sound masking, including absorption, blocking and covering.
Jason Knott  
Article:
Audio/Video | Commercial | Resimercial | Sponsored Content | Videos
December 6, 2021

Sound Masking Technology Basics & Installation Tips

With corporate offices tending to have fewer people in them post-pandemic, sound masking technology is becoming vitally important. It sounds contrary to logic at first… the idea that an emptier facility needs more sound masking than one that is full of people, but that’s exactly the situation, according to David Smith, COO of Lencore.

That is one of the big trends in the resimercial space as offices look to re-open and bring back employees. For integrators that address the resimercial space, bringing sound masking options to the table could be lucrative.

One of the leaders in the space is Lencore, a manufacturer of sound masking, packaging and background audio equipment.

“What we really do is raise the ambient background sound within an office environment to reduce distractions within the space and provide speech privacy so that those within that space can really kind of get their heads down, get work done and not be distracted by conversations that are going on around them,” says Smith.

He explains, “When you and I are speaking in our normal voice, we speak at about 65 decibels. When you get to about 7 or 12 feet away from that conversation, the decibel level drops to about 46 decibels. Many people have this misconception that sound masking creates a cone of silence, when in fact we’re actually introducing noise into the space. We raise the ambient background noise level to about 47 or 48 decibels, which is just above that indirect speech level in order to mask or cover those conversations. We like to take people from the library, where the tap of a pen or the whisper of a conversation can be very distracting, and put you in the coffee shop, where there’s hustle and bustle and activity going on around you. But for some reason, that higher noise level is not distracting. That’s essentially what we’re trying to accomplish with sound masking… to minimize the amount of outside conversation you can understand. If you can understand less than 20% of the conversation around you, you are less distracted. That’s proven research.”

“What we really do is raise the ambient background sound within an office environment to reduce distractions within the space and provide speech privacy so that those within that space can really kind of get their heads down, get work done and not be distracted by conversations that are going on around them.”

David Smith, COO, Lencore

Since the onset of the pandemic, Lencore has seen more facilities re-open with fewer people. That means more distractions are possible.

“Before the pandemic, companies were moving toward more collaborative environments… trying to create more open spaces. They were removing the partitions between cubicles and creating bench or a desk type of environments. That design element meant the elimination of sound-absorptive materials, such as acoustical ceilings or carpet or even fabric panels. They all seemed to disappear and were replaced with things like wood and glass and metals, which created a fun dynamic, work environment but also a place where you were no longer controlling acoustics,” says Smith.

He describes sound masking using the “three basic ABCs”: absorb, block and cover. In open-space offices, “cover” is really the only option left to manage acoustics within a space. And so people were introducing sound masking as a solution because they wanted to keep the design within that space.

Now post-COVID-19, offices that may have been designed to accommodate 100 people now only have 50 people in them.

“You still want to maintain speech privacy. Those environments are going to feel eerily quiet. And sound masking is the introduction of noise within that space so you can actually create more comfort because it will feel busier. It is really an opportunity to create some wellness within that environment,” he notes.

The three basic components of a sound masking system are the head-end equipment, the operating platform, and the speakers.

“By combining those three together, we’re able to effectively cover and mask speech within a facility. From a design standpoint, we make it very easy. By sending us a reflected ceiling plan, we do all the design, layout, and wiring diagrams. We provide bill of materials and then effectively demonstrate how and where those products would then be installed,” says Smith.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jason Knott
Follow
Jason Knott:
Jason Knott is Chief Content Officer for Emerald's Connected Brands. Jason has covered low-voltage electronics as an editor since 1990, serving as editor and publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He joined CE Pro in 2000 and serves as Editor-in-Chief of that brand. He served as chairman of the Security Industry Association’s Education Committee from 2000-2004 and sat on the board of that association from 1998-2002. He is also a former board member of the Alarm Industry Research and Educational Foundation. He has been a member of the CEDIA Business Working Group since 2010. Jason graduated from the University of Southern California.
View Jason Knott's complete profile

ARTICLE TOPICS

Audio/Video • Commercial • Resimercial • Sponsored Content • Videos

ARTICLE TAGS

Commercial • Lencore • Resimercial

SHARE

Share On Facebook
Share On Twitter
Share On Linkedin
Share On Whatsapp
Share Via Email
Copy URL
← Previous Article Next Article →
Article Associations/Buying GroupsBusiness SupportEventsNewsOperationsSales/Marketing

ProSource Lays Out Education Track for Annual Summit 2023

ProSource Summit theme ‘Plug-In’ to focus on building company culture, honing operations, and igniting sales and profits.
Article Audio/VideoMounts/LiftsNewsProducts

New Dealer-Only MantelMount Pro Line Launches

MantelMount Pro is a full line of flat-panel TV mounting options sold exclusively through custom installation integrators.
Article Associations/Buying GroupsBusiness SupportEventsNewsOperationsSales/Marketing

ProSource Lays Out Education Track for Annual Summit 2023

ProSource Summit theme ‘Plug-In’ to focus on building company culture, honing operations, and igniting sales and profits.
Article Audio/VideoNewsProductsSpeakers/SubwoofersWireless AV

Klipsch Rolls Out The Nines & The Sevens to Bolster Heritage Wireless Speakers Lineup

Following up on The Fives, Klipsch adds powered The Sevens & The Nines to Heritage Wireless Series featuring Bluetooth, built-in phone preamp, 24/192 hi-res audio support, real wood veneer.

SHOW NEWSLETTER

Sign Up

CE Pro

Subscribe Sign Up

Content Types

News
Products
Projects
Companies
Downloads
Webcasts
Podcasts
Events

Specials

CEDIA EXPO
CE Pro 100
CE Pro Summit
Awards Programs

Company Info

About
Contact Us
Customer Service
Media Solutions & Advertising

Subscribe

Magazine
Newsletters
Digital Edition

Connect

Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
YouTube
RSS Feed

Categories

AUDIO/VIDEO
AV Accessories
AV Racks
Amplifiers/Receivers
Cabling
Displays
Furniture
Mounts/Lifts
Multiroom AV
Projector Screens
Speakers/Subwoofers
Wireless AV
CONTROL
Central Vac
Energy/Power
Interfaces/Devices
HVAC/IAQ
Lighting
Motorized Shades
Whole-House Systems
NETWORKING
Cellular
Devices/Equipment
Wireless
Wiring/Installation
SECURITY
Access Control
Alarms/Sensors
Services/Platforms
Surveillance Cameras
BUSINESS SUPPORT
Associations/Buying Groups
Distributors/Reps
Operations
Recurring Revenue
Research
Sales/Marketing
Software/Services
Tools/Testers
MARKETS
Builders
Commercial
Design
Europe
Outdoors
Wellness
FOLLOW US ON
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow
  • Follow

© 2023 Emerald X, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

  • ABOUT
  • CAREERS
  • TERMS OF USE
  • PRIVACY POLICY

McIntosh Labs

McIntosh Labs