Sound Isolation Calculator by Component Acoustics

Sound Isolation Calculator brought to you by www.tmlaboratories.com

Sound isolation. Noise control. Soundproofing. Sound blocking. They all mean the same thing: reducing the sound between your home theater and its surroundings. Don’t confuse sound isolation with acoustical treatment. Acoustical treatment improves the quality of sound within your home theater room; that is, the sound travelling from your speakers to your ears when you are watching a movie. While both of these fall within the domain of room acoustics, they are very different issues. And they are handled by completely different materials and methods. A room that has excellent sound isolation may have very poor acoustics due to insufficient or incorrect acoustical treatment, and vice-versa. Acoustical treatment is critical for overall sound quality, but sound isolation may be a significant issue as well. Sound isolation must begin in the earliest stages of home theater construction. If the walls are framed, you are already greatly limited in your sound isolation options. The type of construction for walls, ceiling and/or floor determines the ability of these structures to isolate sound. Sound isolation is commonly measured using a single number: the Sound Transmission Class (STC). This gives the average number of decibels by which a wall, ceiling or floor will attenuate sound. A higher STC number means that less sound is transmitted out of or into the home theater. This Excel spreadsheet calculator computes the overall STC of a room, based on the different materials used to construction it walls, floor, ceiling, and doors. STC numbers don't combine simply. The lower STC materials are the weak links, and greatly lower the overall STC, even when covering relatively small areas. The calculator can also predict the overall loss of STC due to unsealed leaks or cracks in the home theater's construction. You must have Microsoft Excel installed on your computer to use this calculator. To download this free calculator click here.
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